IPL 2014: Fantasy Guru - Sharjah calls for big hitters
Guru’s team after the KKR vs. KXIP fixture
Delhi Daredevils vs. Mumbai Indians:
Last Delhi Daredevils match was a perfect example of why I wanted JP Duminy out. Not only do the cricket teams end up paying for such a woeful tactic, but the fantasy teams which depend on such uncertain picks do, too. As it is unclear whether Kevin Pietersen would have learnt from that defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad that keeping a batsman of Duminy’s class that low down the order isn’t ideal, I am not entertaining the thought of picking him, again. Teams rarely change on such quick notice; look at Royal Challengers Bangalore and AB de Villiers.
Kevin Pietersen at No. 3 – A show of intent:
Kevin Pietersen, although took some time to get off the mark, played a couple of good shots that interest me. Moreover, the fact that he came in at number 3 signals what kind of a role he has in his mind for him this year. In addition to all these, the match is being played at Sharjah – a flat bed with shorter boundaries – and Pietersen has mastered the art of playing Lasith Malinga, the only threat from the opposition.
There is absolutely no reason as to why I should not pick him except for the fact that Delhi Daredevils next play after a span of 6 matches, which means he has to be transferred out after this match.
Is it a gamble worth taking? I would still say, yes! Come in, KP!
Mumbai – Need Rayudu at the top:
Guru’s team for the MI vs. DD fixture
Transfers made – 1; Transfers remaining – 56
Captain – Rohit Sharma
Kevin Pietersen in – Sunil Narine out
Ishwar Pandey in – Manish Pandey out (uncapped player trick to accommodate Pietersen)
As far as the Mumbai side of it is concerned, I have 3 of them – Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard – already in my team. While promoting Corey Anderson for this match would make sense and come off at the same time – considering the fact that it is good deck to bat on and Daredevils have only one mainstream spinner who is a leftie which makes it all that easy – doing the same in the match against Chennai Super Kings hardly did: Ambati Rayudu at No. 3/4 would have taken both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to cleaners.
For my fantasy team’s sake, I hope that they revert to Rayudu at top 4; else, I would have change the base of my team, which would cost a couple of more transfers than what I ideally would like to employ.
Sorry Slinga, not now either:
Unlike last match where I was very sure of keeping Lasith Malinga out, I am in a bit of fix when it comes to this fixture. While Pietersen and Duminy will handle him with ease, the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Quinton De Kock and Murali Vijay – although capable of doing it under a no-pressure situation – will crumble when forced to attack him. I would like to take a risk here and continue to keep Malinga out, as Mumbai next play only after a span of 4 matches.
Uncapped player:
Shahbaz Nadeem, Jasprit Bumrah on a flat deck and CM Gautam at 7 – all don’t make the cut. That leaves us with Aditya Tare, who has a great potential to deliver in this fixture against a Delhi Daredevils attack minus Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Unfortunately though, the choice, to me, comes between Tare and Pietersen as a result of combination issues. So I have decided to sacrifice Tare; since Nadeem will get carted, I employ the uncapped player trick again by bringing in Ishwar Pandey from the next match. Only a marginal improvement, but at least there is scope in Sharjah with the new ball.