IPL 2 - a review

As the dust settles over Johannesburg and the people get back to their daily routines, the cricketing world (read Asian bloc) readies itself for the World T20 championship, due to begin next week. The more traditional folks are all set for the Ashes, which begins in July. Either way, IPL is soon becoming a forgotten chapter, albeit a great money-spinning one at that. 

I must admit before hand that I am not a hardcore cricket series review writer. I honestly do not delude myself to write about a tournament that saw 59 matches in 37 days. Its just too cumbersome to gather the memories and embellish them with attractive adjectives. However, I will make a small attempt to reason some things:

• First things first. Let's start with the name. If this is the Indian Premier League, what/where is the division two? If this is supposedly a scaled-down version of the European domestic football leagues, then wouldn't the competitiveness of the matches be increased a bit more by the fear of relegation to and the reward of promotion from lower divisions? And also, there have been reports that come 2011, the number of franchises will increase to 10, which in turn, will increase the total number of league games to 72 from the current 56. In such a scenario, the number of permutations and combinations arising from potential semi-finalists will be so mind-boggling, mathematicians will have their tasks cut out. Before long, I reckon there will arise a pressing need to make it simpler. 
  
  
• The format of the tournament needs a serious rethink. It makes no sense that the winning team (Deccan Chargers) entered the semi-finals over another (Kings XI Punjab) having the same number of points but dropped out only because of an inferior run-rate while the team (Delhi Daredevils) that looked most likely to lift the trophy and played like one crashed out at the semi-finals stage for the second season running. Delhi would have an excellent reason to feel aggrieved at the format that will punish 14 days of good performance by one day (nay, 3 hours) of superior cricket by the opposition. 
  
  
• The strategic break, unlike what most people think and latch on to, works both ways. It's all fine if the batting team racks up a hefty score (80+ for 2 wickets or something like that) in 10 overs and the bowling team has no opportunity to regroup and rethink their strategy. If anything, matches in IPL 2 were more closely fought than IPL 1, not primarily because of the strategy break, but also because of the bouncier pitches and a majority of the national teams coming off tours. This is not to suggest that I am a fan of strategy breaks. They are a right pain in the you-know-where when I'm catching the match on TV. 
  
  
• It's a tremendous insult to the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Anil Kumble and their respective sides to not be appreciated or be given an opportunity to savor the hardwork of reaching a final and ensuring those watching the game get a splendid encounter. The organizers' decision to have the Closing Ceremony before the prizes were distributed to the participating teams, officials and groundstaff smacked of insouciant arrogance. Personally, and I am not entirely sure I will be contradicted on this, the cricket comprehensively outperformed the glitz and the glamour that followed.
  
  
• There were some noises, most notably from John Buchanan, the coach of Kolkata Knight Riders and his counterpart from Delhi, Greg Shipperd, about increasing the number of foreign players per playing XI. Their argument holds thin water, simply because, if the intention of this tournament was to unearth hidden gems of Indian domestic cricket, then Manish Pandey, Shadab Jakati, the two Ojhas (Pragyan and Naman), among others have succeeded in fulfilling those hopes. In addition, just because your bench strength includes the likes of Glenn McGrath, Chaminda Vaas or Mashrafe Mortaza, you just can't complain that you don't have enough opportunities to play them. Royal Challengers Bangalore never had the same line-up for consecutive matches until the fag end of the tournament and ended up giving opportunities to almost all their players. It is quite a different thing that they were forced to, rather than intend to, look for a stable XI in their quest for the semi-finals, given their inconsistent run at the beginning of the tournament. 
  
  
• Overalll, fielding was extremely poor. Almost one catch was dropped per match, if not per inning. Maybe, the cold evenings didn't help, but that is no excuse for internationally renowned fielders like Gibbs (against Delhi in the first semi-final) and Uthappa (against Deccan in the last league game) to drop dollies. Oh, the man who holds the world record for most catches by an outfielder in Test cricket muffed one in the final. Pressure can strike anywhere and to anyone, isn't it, Rahul Dravid?
  

Congratulations to Deccan Chargers for winning this IPL. Congratulations to Royal Challengers Bangalore as well, for turning the corner and playing like Imran Khan once called his 1992 World Cup winning team, "cornered tigers". Hope the next season is as good as this one.

A league of extraordinary matches

If Bangalore and Delhi showed how to chase this week, KKR and Punjab demonstrated how to botch it up. Their targets were under run-a-ball and while KKR managed to get themselves over the line (and simultaneously drag Rajasthan along with them to the tournament exit door), Punjab destroyed their chances of making the semi-final with an abject batting display, undoing the good work of their bowlers. Ironic, considering how people had said their batting outweighed their bowling before the tournament started. This is nothing to take away from Chennai's spinners, who strangled Punjab's batters and forced them to commit errors. When a side concedes 38 runs off 12 overs of spin and takes 6 wickets in the bargain, there can be only 1 winner, even with a gettable total. 

Punjab's loss yesterday opened a huge window for Deccan and Bangalore, specifically for the latter, as the margin of crashing out of IPL 2 became a lot wider for them. And they duly obliged, with Manish Pandey, a 19-year-old youngster from Karnataka slogging and cutting his way to become the first Indian centurion over 2 seasons (aptly at Centurion). Spurred by on his ton and a late flourish from Virat Kohli, Bangalore finished at 170-4, setting up a strong case for qualification. If Punjab had to qualify, Deccan had to overhaul that total in 11.2 overs, an-almost impossible task. Expectedly, Bangalore ensured this did not happen and as if to prove that they didn't really want net run-rates to come into the picture, defeated Deccan by 12 runs. Gibbs and Gilchrist had got off to a rocket start, again, and though Gilly fell early, Gibbs motored along and took advantage of an easy life at 49. However, after he fell, Deccan collapsed to a mild extent and ultimately left themselves with a mammoth task of getting 26 off the last over. Rohit Sharma would have fancied his chances, but he was already out by then, accounted for by Kumble. He would be quietly satisfied at the performance of the other bowlers, especially Akhil and Kohli, who stood up when Kallis limped off with a hamstring problem. 

With the league matches all done and dusted with, the semi-final line up reads thus:

FIRST SEMI-FINAL - MAY 22, 2009, CENTURION

Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers

With their 2nd loss on the trot, Deccan would have no momentum. But, only a complete idiot would rule out a team that has Gilchrist, Gibbs, Symonds, Rohit Sharma, and the current Purple Cap owner, RP Singh. Delhi may have won twice against Deccan during the league but, they will look at erasing the memories of embarrassing loss in IPL 1's semi-final against Rajasthan. The most encouraging sign for them would be the welcome return to form of Virender Sehwag. Their bowling is top-class and with a very stable middle-order and a terrific death-bowler in Rajat Bhatia, they will look to chase against Deccan, considering Rohit Sharma's recent Houdini's acts. 

SECOND SEMI-FINAL - MAY 23, 2009, JOHANNESBURG

Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Surprise, surprise. Bangalore's last 3 opponents in the league phase were Chennai, Delhi and Deccan (this year's semifinalists, if you missed the point) and all were defeated. It may be argued that Chennai and Delhi handed their matches on a platter with some poor batting, but Bangalore's bowling was also praise-worthy. Chennai and Bangalore shared their league encounters this year, like they did last year. While this may seem that both teams are evenly matched, Chennai have the edge in terms of batting, with 2 of the top 5 run-getters in their ranks (Hayden and Raina). Expect Dhoni to warn his team severely against any semblance of complacency, considering the public lashing he gave his bowlers after KKR's remarkable chase against them a few days ago. Bangalore would be worried by Kallis leaving the field today but, have an extra day to get him back to match fitness. Their more pressing concern would be fielding, as Uthappa put down yet another sitter today. 

And, finally, the Knights shine forth...

Or, should I say, the only Knight. 

Brendon McCullum has had the worst fate among all his teammates. Simply because, he has had to explain all the losses his team have been facing to the media and others who have been hurling those questions relentlessly. Granted, it was his responsibility to face them, but, how long could one keep forking out reasons for one demoralizing defeat after another, when it was plain for everyone to see that it was a combination of ill-luck, pathetic bowling, lack of support for batsmen in form and a petulant owner who, instead of offering encouragement, flew back home suggesting that his team let him down, still getting publicity on the way?

A majority of the cricketing world agrees that the Aussies are a tough lot, revel in adversity and more often than not, ensure that their losses are well-earned for their opponents. McCullum fits this type, as he has a remarkable fighting spirit and an inspiring faith in his abilities in the face of a potentially soul-crushing challenge. 

KKR were up against one of the pace-setters of this edition and while Chennai may have been off the boil for the last few matches, their back-up players are no less classy. Hayden and Murali have been rolling back the years in their respective departments, ably supported by Raina and Jakati. Indeed, if anything, their fielding has been their biggest let-down and despite Dhoni publicly pointing out that alarming deficiency, Chennai have done nothing to stem the rot, with Oram enrolling himself in the Butterfingers Brethren Court today. He won't be the last one, for sure. 

One of my earlier posts was about how some matches were going down to the last over. I'd thought that was as close as it could get. How wrong I was. The last few matches have gone to the last ball. Deccan vs Kolkata. Deccan vs Punjab. And Kolkata vs Chennai today. This tournament is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Oh, I wasn't mentioning about playing! 

Revenge is...

...a dish, best served cold (or in the case of Rajasthan, piping hot).

For sure, they were hurting after that humiliating loss against Punjab a week ago. Humiliating because, they had to chase a par score and they fell well short of the target, giving 3 wickets to a relative newbie, current purple cap holder, Yusuf Abdullah. So, it was only a matter of time before they turned on the screws with a blazing display. 

Yuvraj made 2 big mistakes today: one, to field first after winning the toss and two, to drop himself down the batting order. The second blunder may be condoned partly due to the shambolic performance by Punjab's bowlers, but, if he needed to lead from the front, then, nothing else could have motivated his team more than opening the batting. This is not to take anything away from the splendid opening pair of Smith and Ojha, mind you. They seemed to hit the ground running and even though Yusuf Pathan fell cheaply, the platform they set was ideal for a 200+ score. 

Brendon McCullum finally managed to get some boundaries today, but, ironically, it was Brad Hodge who chose the wrong gears just when KKR needed acceleration. So, KKR ended up with 154, which could have been defended gamely, if only their fielding was much better than it was. Speaking of which (I did not see yesterday's match), Chennai's almost cost them the match against a cavalier Deccan. MS Dhoni hit the nail on the head by saying that their batting and bowling are hiding a schoolboy fielding unit, but, they may pay the price in a low-scoring match. Which, given the fact that most venues (with the exception of Jo'burg) are seeing low-scoring affairs, might not be too far away. 

With the race for the semifinal spots well and truly hotting up, net run rates could prove to be very crucial in the final reckoning. And the funny thing is, Mumbai and Deccan are separated by just one point (Mumbai have 7, Deccan 8), but Mumbai have the superior net RR and they are 7th in the table, while Deccan are 4th. And most interestingly, these two will fight it out tomorrow. Adam Gilchrist's side has now lost 3 matches consecutively and they will be dead keen to arrest that slide. Mumbai, on the other hand, are playing like Pakistan used to do, some years back. With the exception of that rained off match against Rajasthan, their record in this tournament reads thus: W-L-W-L-W-L. They will be concerned about their top-order now, and given the fact that Zaheer won't play tomorrow (as he sustained a shoulder niggle while fielding against Bangalore on Sunday), their bowling will be a bit weaker as well. I'm going for Deccan to win tomorrow, unless, they contrive to self-destruct again. 

Bulldozed at the Bull Ring

Will wonders never cease? Barely had a week passed since Bangalore found themselves at the bottom of table, they are now joint top (albeit having played one more game) with Delhi, Deccan, and Punjab. And at the end of the first day of IPL 2, they were top (thanks to a superior run-rate after their emphatic win over Rajasthan). So, they have traversed the table in both directions in 15 days. Talk about unpredictability!

I am highly annoyed at Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar. Legends they may be, but, impartial commentators, they definitely are not. Right from the time Danny Morrison asked Sunny for his opinion of the pitch (and this happened soon after Tendulkar won the toss and promptly decided to bat), these 2 went on and on about Mumbai is doing this well and so on. I mean, even when Bangalore had done a great job of restricting them to a very gettable 150 on an apparent batting paradise, Ravi Shastri had the gall to say that the pitch might not be as conducive for batting as it was initially thought. Which means, he would rather blame the pitch for a poor total than be honest and give credit where its due - a fine spell from IPL debutant Dillon du Preez and poor shot selection from Mumbai's batsmen. Thankfully, during the post-match presentation, he had the decency to admit that Mumbai were comprehensively outbatted by a chanceless, unbeaten 126-run partnership between Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa. Sit on the fence, you biased idiots!

The other match between KKR and Punjab ended in another last-over nailbiter. Poor Brad Hodge must be wondering what more he must do to be part of a winning team. For the second time in as many matches, he gave respectability to his increasingly demoralised franchise and, from a neutral observer's perspective, should have been the choice for MOM. How could you award MOM to a player on the losing team (Yuvraj against Bangalore) and not take the same yardstick for another player today? It beats all logic!

Monday's match sees Deccan versus Chennai. Chennai have now won 2 games on the trot defending gettable totals and that means their bowlers are outperforming their batters. Dhoni himself admitted: 

"I think my batting is pathetic in the tournament so far. All the big-hitters including Albie Morkel, Jacob Oram and I didn't really click. We need to perform in the future as we are a side that relies heavily on its batting. If one of us clicks in future and with our top-order performing well we can give good targets to our bowlers to defend. And that is our strategy."

Given Deccan's lack of composure in the end overs of their last 2 matches, Dhoni, Morkel and Oram will look to capitalize on that slight weakness. Also, the absence of the feisty Edwards could hurt for Deccan. I reckon Chennai will make it a hattrick of wins tomorrow, just as Bangalore did today.

Thrillers...

Since my last post, some matches have gone right down to the wire. Picture this:

14th match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Daredevils at Port Elizabeth - Apr 26, 2009
Delhi Daredevils won by 6 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 149/7 (20/20 ov); Delhi Daredevils 150/4 (19.2/20 ov)

16th match: Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers at Durban - Apr 27, 2009
Deccan Chargers won by 6 wickets (with 3 balls remaining)
Chennai Super Kings 165/6 (20/20 ov); Deccan Chargers 169/4 (19.3/20 ov)

19th match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders at Durban - Apr 29, 2009
Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 5 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
Kolkata Knight Riders 139/6 (20/20 ov); Royal Challengers Bangalore 143/5 (19.5/20 ov)

20th match: Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians at Durban - Apr 29, 2009
Kings XI Punjab won by 3 runs
Kings XI Punjab 119/8 (20/20 ov); Mumbai Indians 116/7 (20/20 ov)

23rd match: Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians at East London - May 1, 2009
Mumbai Indians won by 9 runs
Mumbai Indians 148/6 (20/20 ov); Kolkata Knight Riders 139/6 (20/20 ov)

24th match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab at Durban - May 1, 2009
Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 8 runs
Royal Challengers Bangalore 145/9 (20/20 ov); Kings XI Punjab 137/7 (20/20 ov)

As you can see above, (and also from the table on the left), IPL 2009 is a more open affair than its predecessor. With the exception of the clueless KKR, the rest of the teams must fancy themselves in matches, given the close nature of finishes. The premium focus is now on nerves, not skill. That matters, of course, but as van der Merwe would admit, skill would only get you to a reasonable winning stage. It's your nerves that will help you cross the line, as demonstrated by the courageous Praveen Kumar who bowled a fantastic last over to prevent Punjab from getting 13 off 6 in the 20th over. 

Bangalore must be cock-a-hoop after this win, given that they have now lost KP's services (the fact that he was hardly contributing is another matter), while Punjab will feel they have done a Bangalore - snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. When Yuvraj departed, the equation was a very gettable 77 off 61 and a batting order that boasted of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Katich and Pathan would have definitely put the odds in their favor. 

However, a few things need ironing out for both teams. Bangalore (especially Ryder) still suffer from first-over-bogeys while Punjab's middle order performance will need a closer look, batting and bowling alike. Come to think of that, did anyone notice that no less than 7 of their total 9 batters who came out to the middle today were left handers (Yuvraj, Goel, Sangakkara, Katich, Pathan, Chawla and Shrivastav) ? And that is discounting Abdulla, whose player profile reads batting style as left-hand. Maybe, they ought to rename themselves as Left Handers XI Punjab!

The earlier match of today saw Mumbai take on KKR. Mumbai must have been badly hurting after that last-gasp loss against Punjab the other day and turned in a performance that will have pleased their owners a lot. Tendulkar departed just when the innings needed a shift of gears, but he need not have worried as that was provided by the ever-improving JP Duminy. And when the time came for defense, Zaheer chipped in with 3 crucial wickets and despite Hodge's stubborn resistance, it was too little too late for KKR. They have now lost their last 3 games and His Highness Lord of Many Brains Better Than One John Buchanan must now have a lot in his plate. 

It's now close to halfway stage of IPL 2 and though Delhi and Deccan have now lost their perfect record, they remain the teams to beat. The mid-table scramble is hotting up and with a host of interesting clashes in store, expect teams to move up (and drop down) in the table. The competition is only beginning!