IPL 2014: Early Signs

Glenn Maxwell has been the face of IPL 7

As I write this piece, the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League is a week and ten matches old. What’s been surprising, though, is that the matches haven’t been the usual nail-biters, which one expects from the T20 format and even more so from a venue like Sharjah, which witnessed some of the closest contests in the 50-over version during its glory days in 80’s and 90’s. Every franchise has played at least a couple of matches, and that gives an early insight of the things to come.

Kings XI Punjab, not surprisingly, have emerged as the team to beat. During the IPL 7 auctions, many pundits believed that KXIP made some smart buys, and it is certainly showing in their results. They have chased down totals in excess of 190 twice and defended a total in excess of 190 with consummate ease. Glenn Maxwell, who was surprisingly not retained by Mumbai Indians, has created a “desert storm” of sorts and has been largely instrumental in the early advantage which the Punjab based franchise is enjoying. However, they aren’t a one-man team; David Miller, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Akshar Patel and Mitchell Johnson have all contributed in some ways.

These are early days, and it remains to be seen whether Maxwell and Co. retain their early zing for the entire duration of this long tournament and give their owner Preity Zinta more reasons to jump out of her seat in the dugout. Early signs are that they would be one of the four teams in the knock-outs.

Royal Challengers Bangalore minus their destructive opener Chris Gayle have managed 100% win record in the first week, and that has been surprisingly due to their bowling attack. For a team heavily loaded with the four most explosive top order T20 batsmen of this era, it is their unsung bowling unit, consisting of Mitchell Starc, Varun Aaron, and the young Yuzvendra Chahal, who have delivered the goods and restricted the opposition to below-par totals. Vintage Yuvraj Singh was a sight to behold at Sharjah against Delhi Daredevils, and, if he can deliver a few more punches like that, Dr. Vijay Mallya would be happy with the returns on his investment. Bowling is still a concern, but, with Gayle on the bench, a place in the knock-outs can’t be ruled out for RCB this year.

Chennai Super Kings got back to their usual dominating self after that onslaught which they suffered at the hands of Maxwell in their opening game of the season. Dynamic opening combination coupled with a strong number 3, 4 and 5 means Chennai have their bases covered when it comes to their batting arsenal. Bowling looks decent. However, the biggest loss for CSK has been Dwayne Bravo, who is ruled out of this season due to an injury. Only a brave man would predict that CSK, with the kind of balance they have and, of course, MSD at helm, would not make the cut to the knock-outs.

Kolkata Knight Riders have blown hot one day and cold the other. But they surely have an envious bowling attack, more so from the variety perspective. Gautam Gambhir was candid when he said that the focus was on shopping for good bowlers because at the end of the day, irrespective of the format, it’s the bowlers who will win you more cricket matches. Only cause of worry at this stage for KKR looks to be the form of Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan. Manish Pandey, Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa have shown early promise, and, if they can post decent totals, they have the bowlers to restrict the opposition. They have a fair chance of being there in the knock-outs too.

Man to man, Sunrisers Hyderabad is one side that can match the bowling unit of KKR. However, their batting is top-heavy with a weak middle order, relying too much on Darren Sammy lower down. If SRH are to go all the way, their bowlers and top 3 batters will have to play a major role.

Rajasthan Royals has been an underdog team right from the season 1 when they won the first edition of IPL. Under Rahul Dravid last year, they were a revelation (keeping aside the off-field controversies) both in IPL 6 and Champions League. The challenge for their new captain Shane Watson is to get all 11 players deliver at their optimum best. If they do that, history has shown that RR can surely upset a few fancied teams and earn a place in the knock-outs.

Delhi Daredevils had a disappointing IPL 6 and tried to fix it this year by not retaining any of the players before the auction. They got Gary Kirsten on board as a coach and bought back mercurial Kevin Pietersen as their skipper. Though Pietersen has not played a game so far due to injury, he can add muscle to their batting line up, which currently seems to be over-reliant on JP Duminy. Non-performing top order coupled with a lack of quality spinner is another area of concern, and, at present, a place in the knock-outs looks like an outside chance.

Mumbai Indians – Well, the defending champions are off colour this season, which is not surprising. While teams like KXIP, KKR and CSK made some interesting buys at the auction, neither did MI pay much attention in retaining quality players (Mitchell Johnson and Maxwell) nor did they focus on buying good Indian batting talent. That Karnataka’s wicket-keeper batsman CM Gautam had to be included in the playing XI as a specialist batsman speaks volumes about MI’s lack of batting options. On the bowling front, while Lasith Malinga’s availability for the entire duration of the tournament is in doubt, the spin-duo of Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh has been below-par. Overall, MI’s chances of making a cut this year to knock-outs look bleak.

More importantly early signs from IPL 7 is that the emphasis is solely on cricket, and rightly so. IPL – as a brand – badly requires focus on on-field activities rather than off-field muddle.