IPL 2018: 5 talking points after the first round of games

After all the preseason hype and analysis, the action finally shifted on to the cricket field. The Indian Premier League got off an eventful start with a lot of surprises. There were as many as five debutants in the opening four matches. With new captains Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik, Kings XI and Kolkata Knight Riders posted comfortable victories. The same can't be said of CSK who had to pull off one of the best ever comebacks in the history of IPL to register a win in the comeback match from their ban. Mumbai Indians have a lot to think about their death bowling after their performances against CSK. The Rajsthan's comeback from the ban was not as sweet as CSK's as succumbed to confidence-sapping defeat. The defeats for RCB and DD left them a lot to ponder over about their lineups for the upcoming matches.

So here are the five talking from the first round of fixtures:

#1 CSK's bowling lineup

When the team sheets came out for the opening match a lot were taken back by the sheer number of bowlers the Super Kings had in their lineup. The Super Kings had as many as 7 bowlers, along with part-timers in the form of Raina and Jadhav to chip in with two or three overs, making it 9 bowlers.

So obviously when that many bowlers, you will not be able to use all of them properly. The spin trio of Jadeja, Tahir and Harbhajan bowled only five overs conceding 46 runs and picking up just a wicket of Ishan Kishan. While these three will be deadly in places like Chepauk where the pitch suits them, the CSK think-tank needs a take look into the lineup again for the away matches as these many bowlers in the lineup left them vulnerable with the bat against Mumbai Indians.