Hosts dominating
Six games into the IPL and already there is a bit of a trend developing. All the wins have gone to the home team. CSK, RR, PBKS, KKR, GT, RCB have won in their home venues. Will be interesting to see if this continues.
Trash or treasure
Former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik‘s comment on RCB’s latest acquisition, Yash Dayal set social media ablaze.After an impressive first three overs against PBKS, Kartik, while praising the bowler and his move from GT, said, “Someone’s trash is someone’s treasure. After the game which RCB won, the franchise posted a picture of him with an emphatic, “He’s treasure. Period.”
Indian players shining
“Where talent meets opportunity”, is the motto of the Indian Premier League. The tournament has proved to be life-changing for many players and has allowed them to burst on the scene and show their wares to the world. However, foreign stars have often hogged the limelight.
This year, after the first four days, we have had stunning performances under pressure from Indian players. Harshit Rana for KKR, Virat Kohli for RCB, Mohit Sharma and Sai Kishore for the Titans, Naman Dheer’s cameo for MI, Harpreet Brar’s squeeze act for Punjab vs RCB and Yash Dayal and Mohd Siraj’s timely strikes for Punjab. It is after all, the Indian Premier League.
Two bouncer rule
What has been good to see is the way pacers have used the two bouncer rule to keep batters honest. Apart from it being a good defensive ploy, they have also used it as an attacking option. Mohit Sharma and Spencer Johnson used the large field and biggish square boundaries at Ahmedabad by banging the ball in the surface and making the MI batters hit the ball in the air and got them caught in the deep.
RCB also used the ploy to strangle Shivam Dube of CSK. Dale Steyn, the former SA pace great, tweeted, “Short ball tactic is already showing who can and who can’t. Gana (sic) be a long tournament for some batters.”