First week of IPL - Part I

        One week has been passed in IPL and still we couldn’t find who will surely make the semi-finals. Last year it was pretty clear that who all will go to semi-finals after first week. There are plenty of surprises this time around with unexpected teams looking stronger than what many have assumed and the teams which ruled the last year’s edition biting the dust. After one week this is my opinion on how the teams fared till now and will fare from now on:

Bangalore Royal Challengers:

                        

Till now:

       Started off with an thumping victory against the defending, depleted champions Royal Challengers but after that it’s the same old story of last edition with strings of losses. They are not able to pick their eleven perfectly which compounds their problem. Their in-form batsmen were Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis, who are still considered by many as test batsmen. Their bowling too not an imposing and many would still wonder why they are leaving out Dale steyn while picking up the eleven. Their top 3 didn’t done enough and Robin Uthappa was a clear failure with both gloves and most importantly as an opening batsmen.

From now:

       The future isn’t bright with Dravid returned to India and Pieterson too returning to his national side by next week, they don’t have players as back-up. With the lack of fire power at the top order and no sting in bowling attack I am expecting the same script like the one in last year.

Look out for:

Kallis - Getting to the terms of T20 in batting.

Boucher – With Pieterson leaving, he will be back as wicket-keeper and we can expect some fire works from him.

Virat Kohli – Looking good at the lower order. Time to move him up.

Chennai Super Kings:

Till now:

        A reversal of results, for the last year finalists with 2 losses in 3 games. If they have lost the first game to the far more superiorly played Mumbai Indians, in the second game they have given a clinical performance to shut out Challenge from Royal Challengers. But they were edged out by Delhi, to be precise by AB de Villiers and Dilshan in the 3^rd match. If we see the reason for that, their batting was not firing collectively. Only Mathew Hayden and Suresh Raina were able to play big shots. Others were not able to cope up with the needs of T20. And in bowling too, CSK has to improve a lot. They relied on Freddie, but he can’t do anything in favor for them. He is one of the biggest failures in this IPL as he already packed up due to injury. Balaji and Muralidharan were bowled well. Except for them bowling looks very ordinary. Dhoni’s leadership is not inspiring and he is making too many mistakes in giving overs to his bowlers.

From now:

         They can be happy by the fact that their squad will be at the full strength till the end of this tournament. All the batsmen in their line-up were proven ones, so its about striking the form for them. If their batting gets going means they are unstoppable and Dhoni must use his bowlers well. Taking Joginder Sharma in playing eleven and giving 1 over to him justifies nothing. And also he must understand that Badri was not a No.7 batsman. He must promote him up the order.

Look out for:

Hayden – It’s really hard to believe that this man was retired. With Australia team was in patchy form, there must be something running through the Australian selectors mind.

Muralidharan: With the pitches aiding assistance to the spinners, his 4 overs will determine the prospects of Chennai.

Raina: He is giving starts but now its time for him to stay till the end finish the job as many of his team members were yet to find the form.

Delhi Daredevils:

Till now:

        A team with a clean sheet in the tournament. 2 win out of 2 matches and they seem to be good for more with the depth of their batting. In the first match they have got through with some top bowling by Vettori and power hitting by Sehwag. In the second match, though they have lost their openers early, dilshan and de Villiers shown that it’s not a 2-man team with their lusty hitting all over the ground. Not much to say about their bowling as they are being thrashed except Vettori. But their batting sees them through.

From now:

Their batting power is enough to see them through the leagues. The real problem will be when they enter into semi – finals. Many were still wondering why they have not fielding Mcgrath in playing eleven.

Look out for:

AB de Villiers: He has shown what he is capable of, in the match against CSK. Expect more fireworks from him.

Virender Sehwag: Everybody knows how he will play. The damage caused by him will be proportional to the amount of time he spends in the field.

Dilshan: A big-hitter, quick runner makes him a complete T20 batsman. He is proving his worth.

Deccan Chargers:

Till now:

      They were doing what Rajasthan Royals have done in the last tournament. Written off by many, they are upto the predictions made on them during last year. All their batsmen were in-form and their bowling is one of the strongest in the tournament with RP Singh, Edwards and Ojha in the line-up. They have good all – rounders too. In the first match they have thrashed the hopeless KKR and in the second match they have again thrashed the minnows RCB. Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma has been the reason behind the clinical second win.

From now:

         Fidel Edwards will leave in a week and they have to rely heavily on RP Singh for early wickets. Ojha has been really good in this tournament. Deceiving the batsmen with his flight and also very economical. In the last IPL itself, he had a great success and he is continuing here. Their batting is looking great with Gilchrist and Gibbs at the top. They also have Rohit Sharma in the middle and Ravi teja and Venu at the lower order makes this batting line-up a perfect one for T20. So there are clearly heading for semi – finals unless their players go completely off the form like last year.

Watch out for:

Ojha: This man is one of the left arm slow bowlers we have seen in shorter format. A reliable spinner.

Gilchrist: If he gets going, then his team will follow suit.

 

Rohit Sharma: He has a liking for IPL. He is being consistent in both the editions.

    Part - II with the analysis of other teams will be published tomorrow.