Indian Premier League 11 : Expectations, Entertainment and the Extravaganza.
Match 52, IPL 2015.
A rain curtailed match between the Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB), SRH have set a target of 135 in 11 overs with Moises Henriques smashing 57 from 22 balls and Warner 50 of 30, rain intervenes again.
Clock strikes 12.15 AM, the crowd have stayed put in spite of incessant rain, out come Gayle and Kohli to chase what looks like an unattainable target.
81 required off 36 balls. (D/L method)
Cut to the final over, RCB have scored 68/3 losing Gayle 35(14), de Villiers 0(1) and Mandeep Singh 1(3). 13 needed of 6, Bhuvi is handed the ball, Dinesh Karthik is on strike, This is how the last over unfolded.
Just like a commercial movie, it had all the elements, entertaining the crowd thoroughly.
This is just one instance of several nail biters that IPL has produced over the years. There have been super overs, hat-tricks, last ball finishes and what not.
We at Super Over, instead of providing you with a conventional SWOT analysis of each team, have compiled what you can expect from this year’s IPL, the first eleven and team rating (out of 10).
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
- The return of Thala, Dhoni and his men in yellow armor, after an exile of two years in itself is the most awaited moment for CSK fans.
- Suresh Raina, though a bit stiff in India colors, will be expected to return to his best in all three departments.
- Some ever so slow off-cutters, in-dipping yorkers and some sleek calypso moves from their own DJ, Bravo.
- Chepauk, continuing to be the fortress under the vigil of new spin attack in Jadeja, Bhajji and Tahir and a slightly weak Indian pace attack.
- Dhoni’s batting position, defining his role in the batting order in the wake of continuous dip in his strike rate as a finisher.
Super Over XI: Murali Vijay, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni, Kedhar Jadhav, D J Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir/Mark Wood, Deepak Chahar/Harbhajan Singh.
Super Over rating: 7.5
Delhi Daredevils (DD)
- How does the off chance of having to face Boult, Morris and Shami in the same bowling line up sound for starters.
- One of the most successful captains in IPL, Gambhir marshalling his troops to winning ways.
- The right blend of — youth in Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant and big hitters in Munro and Maxwell can help them lift their maiden IPL trophy.
- Chris Morris, will be given license to swing his arms.
- The punter, Ricky Ponting placing stakes in players with potential.
Super Over XI: Gautam Gambhir, Colin Munro, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, Chris Morris, Vijay Shankar, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Nadeem, Amit Mishra.
Super Over rating: 8.5
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)
- Setting big targets, thanks to their strong batting line up in K L Rahul, in-form opener Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch and Punjab Da Puttar, Yuvraj Singh.
- A mixed bag of, off spinners and leg spinners from the skipper, Ravi Ashwin.
- Aggressive tactics from the coach and captain duo of Sehwag and Ashwin.
- Possible sloppiness behind the stumps from the makeshift wicketkeeper K L Rahul.
- Last but not the least, a Gayle storm on the cards.
Super Over XI: Chris Gayle/Aaron Finch, Mayank Agarwal,Lokesh Rahul, Yuvraj Singh, David Miller, Manoj Tiwary, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma.
Super Over rating: 8
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
- With Tom Curran replacing Starc, KKR will be hoping the trio of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn can play through the tournament without any concerns whatsoever.
- Monstrous sixes flying off the magnificent swing of Chris Lynn’s bat, clearing the boundaries with ease.
- Robin having lost his Batman in Gambhir, will have to take up the onus of leading the batting line up.
- Young Shubman Gill and Kamlesh Nagarkoti announcing their arrival on the big stage.
- Dinesh Karthik, leading for the first time in IPL, a two time champion team, will have to fill the big shoes of Gambhir.
Super Over XI: Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Mitchell Johnson, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Vinay Kumar/Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
Super Over rating: 7.5
Mumbai Indians (MI)
- Ishan Kishan, the 19 year old southpaw will be raring to tear apart some strong bowling attacks.
- The pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah,Pat Cummins and Mustafizur Rahman making life hard for the batsmen.
- Rohit Sharma, with the ability to make any team look helpless, needs be consistent in doing so
- Chances of middle murder crumbling under pressure situations.
- A change of role for Hardik Pandya, from a slogging finisher to a number four batsman who has to structure the innings.
Super Over XI: Rohit Sharma, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard/J P Duminy, Krunal Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav,Pat Cummins/Mitchell McClenaghan, Rahul Chahar, Mustafizur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah.
Super Over rating: 8
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
- Ajinkya Rahane, the underrated cricketer, has the opportunity to showcase his leadership abilities.
- The spin wizard, Shane Warne, weaving the same web of magic which helped Rajasthan win their maiden IPL trophy.
- The duo of Buttler and Stokes scripting beautiful finishes to well constructed beginnings by Rahane and Tripathi.
- Indian pace department going for cleaners on bad days.
- D’Arcy Short filling in for Steve Smith, with Heinrich Klassen as the back up.
Super Over XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, D’Arcy Short, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Sharma/Shreyas Gopal.
Super Over rating: 8
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
- The usual suspects, Kohli and de Villiers continuing their magical saga with the bat
- The spin twins, Yuzi Chahal and Washington Sundar creating early inroads in the powerplay overs.
- As unlikely as it sounds, a good bowling display with Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Chahal and Washington Sundar being certainities in the first eleven.
- The problem of plenty affecting the first eleven, resulting in the possibility of Kohli returning to number three .
- Depending on untested Indian batsmen like Sarfaraz Khan, Pavan Deshpande, Pavan Negi to finish off matches might prove to be fatal.
- Some unusual picks coming back to haunt RCB, like choosing to replace Nathan Coulter-Nile with all rounder Corey Anderson, not in best of forms.
Super Over XI: Virat Kohli, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Super Over rating: 8
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
- A big blow to consistent explosive starts owing to the loss of Warner, with his involvement in the sandpaper-gate.
- Beautiful display of swing bowling at the top, a bag of variations in the middle overs, thrifty death bowling from the likes of Bhuvi, Sandeep Sharma, Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi.
- A definite change in style of captaincy, under the reigns of Kane Williamson.
- The middle order of Manish Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha and Deepak Hooda have added responsibility in pacing the innings.
- Better finishes with added firepower in the form of Shakib Al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite, Yusuf Pathan.
Super Over XI: Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma/Basil Thampi.
Super Over rating: 8.5
It has been a decade since the inception of IPL and like any other event, it has evolved through time.
- The use of Decision Review System has been finally ratified.
- IPL can now be streamed live in virtual reality (VR) form on Hotstar.
- There has been indications that player draft system might replace the auctions.
Few things though, have remained constant.
- The riveting contest between bat and ball.
- The unflinching allegiance of the fans.
- THE BATTLE FOR GLORY!
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