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Showing posts with label Malinga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malinga. Show all posts

IPL 2.0 weekly-update-1: It's a surprise bag

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 comments

The second edition of Indan Premier League started off on April 18th exactly on the same date of the first edition. Like the first the second season will definitely won't have the novelty factor. However different country, different conditions have changed the equations. Also, there have been a few surprises in the script so far. The team which finished at the basement in first season "Deccan Chargers" are on the top with 100% winning record. Last year's champs Rajasthan Royals have experienced mixed season so far. But their trump card Yusuf Pathan has already scripted two awesome victories.


Some highlights of last two weeks.

  • The first day belonged to veterans. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid came out with flying colors with solid batting and ensuread victory for their team. Anil Kumble made a difference by his extraordinary bowling figures 5/5.
  • Spinners are key players in bowling attack. Anil Kumble, Piyush Chawla and Yusuf Pathan are keeping batsmen on their toes. Even part time spinners like Suresh Raina are able to check the scoring rate. In yesterday's match RCB v/s KKR, 15 overs of RCB were bowled by spinners. Who had speculated this before the start of the tournament ?
  • Malinga has been the best among pacers. The Sri-Lanka bowler representing Mumbai Indians has been a tough customer to handle with his toe crushing yorkers.
  • Gilly and Hayden are still the best. Former openers of world beating Australian team have been major scorers in the tournament so far. Their breezy innings had given solid foundation to their respective teams.
  • Rains have been major villains in this IPL. Two games were completely washed out. Also results of two matches of Kings XI were decided using D/L method. On both occasions Kings XI were on receiving end.
  • Super Over is a super idea! The first tie of IPL was the match between RR and KKR. The winners were decided using a new format super-over, a format in which both teams will given an over each to score maximum runs. KKR scored 15 runs and RR's Yusuf Pathan chased the runs in just 4 balls! The format has been welcomed by many cricketing experts.
  • Ajantha Mendis is not a mystery anymore. The KKR bowler who had been nightmare to batsmen is no longer a mystery bowler. The bowler gave away 16 runs in just 4 balls in a super-over decider. In other match againt Mumbai, the opening combo of Sachin and Jayasurya dismissed his deliveries to stands several times. In yesterday's match the mystery bowler was out of playing eleven.
  • International T20 stars may not be IPL stars. The major example for this Robin Uthappa. The T20 specialist who RCB had exchanged from Mumbai in place of Zaheer Khan is yet to bat beyond first over in the tournament. Not only batting he had been sloppy in the field too. In the match against DDD he dropped a catch at crucial juncture. At that point the match could have gone both ways.
  • One anonymous blogger has created flutters in the blogosphere and entire cricketing world by posting many funny inside stores of team KKR. The KKR team management is yet to find out who the mole is. It is some internal person or an enthusiastic bloggy on cyberspace. Still a million dollar question ...
  • Last but not the least - Strategy breaks! .. Lalit Modi's marketing brain's idea has received tons of criticism. On several occasions batting team has lost a wicket within first over after the break. For the viewers too it's a patch in the entertainment quotient of watching a T20 game.
[Image source: cricinfo.com]

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Snatching Victory From The Jaws Of Defeat

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Even though Mumbai Indians lost the match by 3 runs & RCB won it with a ball to spare it wouldn’t be wrong to say that cricket was a winner today, one tasted a unique flavor of T20; low scoring thrillers. The beauty of T20 is its ability produce nail bitters, IPL 2.0 is no different, and a nail bitter is more intense if it’s a low scoring one. In the end some tidy bowling and some shoddy batting saw Kings XI win by 3 runs. Lack of good bowlers and some shoddy performance by KKR saw RCB snatch victory from the hands of defeat.

119 was what Kings XI managed on a tired surface of Kingsmead which had already produced a low scoring chase in the afternoon. Mumbai Indians have the strongest bowling attack in this IPL 4 ODI specialist or rather T20 specialist. Malinga is a revelation this season, all he does is fires in toe crushing Yorker; batsman try to survive rather than score. At any instant it’s either ball or the bat of Yuvraj bat that moves; this time ball moved. Sangakkara anchored the innings to a respectable 119 even after some good death bowling from Malinga; the Yorker to Chawla was a treat to watch, right on the money. He now heads the purple cap for the most wickets in the series with an avg of 5 and econ of 4; that’s some numbers.

Chasing 120 on a slow pitch is quite tricky, and gets tougher when you lose Sanath of the first ball; he really is having a torrid time this IPL. Sachin followed him the next over to yet another Debutant; one needs a count on number of times Sachin has fallen to a Debutant. Abdulla’s toe crushing Yorker to Dhawan reduced MI to 12 for 3. Bravo got sucked into Powar’s flight and scooped into the deep. Duminy n Nayar did try to steady the sinking ship before Pathan punctured by rattling Nayar’s leg stump. Chawla’s penultimate was the key, the ploy of leg spinner against legside favored Bhajji worked out quite well in the end. And one can never take away the accurate and canning last over by Abdulla. Duminy finally fell to Abdulla’s variations slow bouncer caught at deep midwicket. Finally MI fell short by 3 runs after some good out fielding by Powar.

Earlier in the day KP’s RCB stole a nail bitter with a ball to spare. It was a historical day in T20 as 15 of 20 overs were bowled by 4 spinners and staring with spin at both the ends, reminding us the spin quartet of the 70s’. IPL 2.0 so far ironically has belonged to the spinners; Royals, Kings XI & now Challengers have started off with spinners. McCullum’s unforgettable nightmare continues as he fell for a golden duck to KP. Kumble is getting better with each game, KKR’s reached a defendable 139.

For the first time in IPL RCB have an opening stand of 69, Goswami’s run a ball 43 was vital, KP’s and Kohli’s wicket made sure that we have a nail bitter. Some hammering from Boucher made sure that SRK wouldn’t book his return ticket; and has wowed not to return until KKR starts winning, which means he won’t return. Ishant’s spell of 2 for 15 was the only silver lining. Late bashing from Boucher saw RCB win with a ball to spare.

Both the teams Snatched Victory From The Jaws Of Defeat.

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