Karma, god, records, scripts and thrillers. The Indian Premier League has been as exciting as ever. Here is our look at the second week of the IPL.
Big guns fail to fire: Week 1 Indian Premier League Wrap
Kuldeep, karma and god
There was a time Kuldeep Yadav was forever on the India and Kolkata Knight Riders bench, seemingly trapped in a vicious circle. He had no rhythm partly due to a lack of game time, and the lack of rhythm was pointed out to keep him longer on the bench. Former India chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth had alleged that KKR had destroyed Kuldeep, and things would have been different had the left-arm wrist-spinner operated under MS Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings. This is the context in which Kuldeep went up against his former franchise for Delhi Capitals at Brabourne Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
KKR were pursuing 117 for 3 in pursuit of DC’s 215. KKR captain Shreyas Iyer, a fabulous destroyer of spin, was in flow, having just registered a fifty. Kuldeep had Iyer stumped, and in his next over, dismissed Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine and Umesh Yadav. Kuldeep has thrived while bowling at the Cricket Club of India ground; the larger square boundaries provide additional protection for him to give the ball some air, although the risk is always there with the smaller straight rope. Kuldeep’s 4 for 35 brought him Player of the Match, and even moved Srikkanth to proclaim that this performance was proof that god exists.
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Cyclone Cummins
KKR were not chasing a tall target, only 162, but they’d lost half their side against Mumbai Indians, and importantly their trump card Andre Russell, with just 101 on the board. Enter Pat Cummins in his first game of this IPL. Within the next three overs of mayhem, KKR had won with 24 balls to spare without losing a single additional wicket, and the record for the fastest fifty in the league had been equalled.
At least KL Rahul had had the advantage of fielding restrictions when he made a 14-ball fifty at the top of the order for Punjab Kings against DC in Mohali in 2018. Cummins needed no such buffer of the powerplay as he pulverised 56 from just 15 balls. The Australian captain rained six sixes on the shorter boundary at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, in the long arc from the sightscreen all the way to fine leg.
After the astonishing assault, Cummins said that he was most surprised by his innings, and had only been thinking of targeting the shorter side of the ground and having a go if the ball was in his area. “Wasn’t trying to overthink it.” As they say, it is best to go in with a blank mind to give yourself the best chance of entering the proverbial zone.
End it like DK
Indian cricket continues to search for a finisher even as Hardik Pandya seeks to use his Gujarat Titans captaincy stint to push for a comeback to the national side. Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik, nearly 37, says do not forget me. At 87 for 5 in the 13th over in a chase of 170, Royal Challengers Bangalore were almost out of the game. Then Karthik decided to sweep, reverse-sweep and loft the wily Ashwin out of the Wankhede Stadium.
The momentum changed, and Karthik punished Rajasthan Royals further. No matter how far outside off they bowled, he kept sweeping them wide of the boundary riders. If there was deep backward square leg in place, he went over short fine leg’s head. If they moved the deep fielder finer, he swept squarer during a 23-ball 44. He is a nightmare to set a field to when he is in this mood.
He remains as fit as ever, and keeps pushing for twos. He could really be an asset in manipulating the field on the large Australian grounds for the T20 World Cup later this year. But are the Indian selectors willing to entrust a veteran with the critical job?
Tewatia and his scripts
A chase of 190 was chugging along nicely but has now almost gone off the rails for Gujarat Titans against Punjab Kings. Suddenly, 19 runs are required off the last over. The captain has just been run out and has stormed off with some angry words for his partner, the designated finisher. But David Miller is struggling to get bat to ball. With 13 needed off three, he mistimes one back to the bowler Odean Smith, who, in his eagerness to run non-striker Rahul Tewatia out, concedes an overthrow.
The stage is set for the man who shot into the limelight with five sixes in an over off Sheldon Cottrell two seasons ago in the UAE. Two balls, nothing but two sixes will do now. Smith has been doing well angling the ball wide across the left-handers away from their hitting arc, but decides to bowl fuller and closer to Tewatia. The man winds himself up and unleashes two massive sixes over cow corner. Job done, coolness under the heat of pressure reiterated.
And to think that he shouldn’t even have been on strike, but for the needless overthrow. Skipper Pandya, who’s had his face buried in his hands in disappointment until now, starts shaking his head in disbelief in the dugout. Whoever writes Tewatia’s scripts is a genius of the heartstopping thriller genre.
The young and the productive
Prithvi Shaw led India to the 2018 Under-19 World Cup title, and Shubman Gill was Player of the Tournament. Both batsmen have since gone on to play for India, and are expected to serve the national side for years to come. Both have had solid starts to this IPL with a couple of fifties each.
Gill’s has been the more heartening performance, as he’s had this reputation of a technically sound and gifted batsman not always tuned in to the frenetic pace of T20. But he’s made a conscious effort this season to reduce the number of dot balls he plays. His classy drives, cuts and pulls have always been pleasing to watch, and the icing on the cake has been the high strike-rate at which he’s scored this time.
Shaw, meanwhile, has been Shaw, bashing everything out of sight until the inevitable dismissal. For him to last long enough in the middle to score 38, 61 and 51, though, is quite an achievement for his breakneck style.
During his boundary deluge against Lucknow Super Giants, he moved even the usually impassive visage of Ricky Ponting for the DC head coach to burst into wholesome applause.
