Au Revoir ,IPL!

We are halfway through the IPL league stage and IPL has been postponed Indefinitely. All the teams have completed 7 matches each with only PBKS and DC with 8 matches. There have been teams which are dominating and teams which have struggled. We have had close matches and also very definite wins with huge margins. Our adrenaline has been high throughout and doesn't seem like it will come down anytime soon. I have on my previous blog written about the 4 teams that are at the top of the table in this season. In this I will be covering the rest of the 4 teams. So please read part 1 of this blog too. You can find it here.

These observations are till the last match which happened on 2nd of May..

Rajasthan royals right now sit at number 5 with 6 points. RR made a huge change when they let go of Steve Smith who was their captain in the 2020 season and made Sanju Samson their new captain. Sanju Samson is inexperienced in captaincy. They have fared okay this season. They lost 2 of their matches quite badly against CSK and RCB however I still see a fighting spirit in them. Sanju Samson and Jos Butler have been good on the top of the order. Butler scored a match winning century. Yasahwi Jaiswal has played one good innings.Chetan Sakariya has been their new find and he has done pretty well. He has cemented his place in the team for now. What stood out to me is his story. It is an emotional and difficult story. IPL is such a wonderful platform for these players and has helped so many people’s lives. Personally, cricket has drawn me more with it’s stories than numbers. Let me know in the comments, which cricketer's story you are inspired by.

In Wankhede Stadium , we had both the lowest and highest score of the season so far and Punjab Kings was a part of both. For setting the highest total so far and also setting the lower total so far. Punjab Scored their mammoth total of 221 with help of their skipper KL Rahul’s 91,Chris Gayle’s 40 and Deepak Hooda’s brilliant 64 of 28 balls. However their next match itself, they scored just 106 even after playing their complete 20 overs and also after Shahrukh Khan scored a valiant 47. With the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and also seeing what Deepak Hooda and Shahrukh Khan can do with the Bat it is surprising to see the low scores scored by them. Punjab Kings show a lot of potential each season but have a bad run and just fall apart. However we saw them come back strongly and overpower RCB. Unfortunately for them, KL Rahul has Appendicitis for which he had to get surgery done. Hence against Delhi Capitals, Mayank Agarwal took over the captaincy. He stood to the role well and scored a 99 however didn't get any support from any other batsman. Delhi chased that total pretty comfortably. Despite Batting remaining their strong suit, it has been unable to win them games. They look like a complete team, however it has not been able to win at the crucial moments.

KKR have won only 2 out of their 7 matches so far. In their first match Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripati, scored 80 and 53 respectively which helped them win, however since Their top order batsmen have not looked good. None of them have shown any intent. Powerplay is a very important part of IPL and they haven't been able to make full use of it.The middle order have given cameos here and there but they haven't been able to convert it into wins. Brendon Mcullum, their head coach has come down very hard on the players.

This is what he said in the post match press conference after their 5th loss this season against Delhi Capitals-

"It's very, very disappointing. I think as a player, you ask to be given freedom and confidence and loyalty when it comes to selection, to go out there and take the game on and try and be aggressive... and to try and make things happen for your team,That's the style of play which both myself and the captain (Eoin Morgan) have asked of our players. But unfortunately we're not quite getting that. We're certainly not getting it in the abundance that we need,"

He has bashed the players and it hints that there might be big changes in the team. I completely understand where his anger is coming from and will be interested to see what kind of changes they would make.

SRH has had a disappointing season so far. They lost the first 4 matches , finally won one by chasing a 120 against Punjab Kings and then lost the super over. And then lost their next 2. This season is half done and they have won only one match. I don’t see the fire in them.Their batting has been below par and unfortunately their bowling which is one of the best in IPL has also not been able to win them matches. Like the previous season,they have been unlucky with injuries. They have lost the new star bowler, Natarajan, very early in the season. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has also missed out a few matches due to the strained muscle. However a lot of their success was because of David Warner and David Warner is not the form that he has been in the previous few seasons. He has been struggling as a batsman and that struggle is reflecting in his captaincy too. On 1st May, SRH announced Kane Williamson has taken over the reigns from David Warner. Their batting would need to fire up so that their bowlers will have some support. However with them sitting out David Warner they would soon need to find someone to depend on other than Kane Williamson. Also, the team dropping David Warner has caused a lot of anger from the fans. This break from IPL might be helpful for the team as the players would get time to reflect. They seem unlikely to qualify for playoffs however they would like to fight and give a tough time to the other teams.

Talking about a tough time,There has been a lot of talk around whether or not IPL should be conducted during these difficult times.It has been postponed indefinitely for now due to a few players in teams being tested positive for COVID-19. It is really disheartening that we would be unable to continue with IPL for now. It has been a small piece of normalcy in our stressful life. During these 4 hours we dissolve into the world of IPL, the players and the oly tension we have is of what is happening on the field. However if it is a threat to the players or the staff or the people in the hotel business, then they should put a hold on this.

These are incredibly difficult times. There are so many losses. So much pain is felt. The continuous feeling of dread is exhausting the body. Every phone call sends a nervousness thinking it might be bad news. I plead with everyone to stay safe and careful. Don’t leave your house unless it is absolutely necessary. Do the best you can at your end. I hope we will come out of this soon. Sending love and hope to everyone.