IPL week 4 - In Overdrive!
It’s week four of the IPL and we are nearly at the half way point of the competition. This season of the IPL has been the closest so far and the points table reflects that truth. All the teams except Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers are caught in the middle of the table in a big scramble for points. Having played the same amount of matches, the teams find themselves neck and neck with each other and a single loss or win could change the entire order of the table. Delhi Daredevils and Deccan don’t feature in the mid-table rat race since they both find themselves at the opposite ends of the table – Delhi sitting right at the top while Deccan languishing at the bottom hoping against hope for a turn around.
So as usual, here is a look at few of the interesting things that happened in the due course of this action packed week of the Indian Premier League.
Different Scoops
I’m not talking about different flavored ice cream scoops but rather two innovative shots played by two members of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team. Dilshan who is known for his ‘Dil scoop’, where he scoops the ball straight over the head of the wicketkeeper made the most out of the shot, scoring boundaries against Rajasthan Royals in his knock of 76. He was joined by AB de Villiers, who also wrecked havoc playing his trademark, ‘Vil scoop’ which is different from Dilshan’s and has the ball travel in 30 degrees wide of the keeper. The IPL pulse question asked which one was better and the ‘Vil scoop’ came out on top. Not as easy as choosing between Chocolate or Vanilla though.
Rain, rain go away!
This week for the first time this season the rain played spoil sport disrupting not one match, but two. The KKR versus DC match was abandoned without a single ball being bowled and the points being shared. The Deccan outfit finally managed to get a point on board. Two matches down the line, the very same thing happened and the RCB versus CSK match was also abandoned without a single ball being bowled. This was a highly anticipated match between two big powers of the IPL who are known for their rivalry. Wonder what made the rain gods so angry that they decided to cancel two good matches and made the poor spectators witness Danny Morrison doing the rain dance.
Destructive power hitting
The 33rd match between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians was all about getting ahead of the mid-table rat race. With Mumbai needing 32 runs of the last 2 overs, the match looked like it was Punjab’s for the taking, or at least it was until Alviro Peterson and Ambati Rayudu stepped up and started hammering the ball into the crowd in the penultimate over bowled by leggie, Chawla. That over went for 27 runs as Mumbai managed to cross the finish line with a ball to spare. The destructive power hitting of Peterson and Rayudu left Chawla in a state of complete shock and also helped garner their team two precious points.
Deccan Chargers finally register a win!
Having played 6 matches, Deccan Chargers failed to win a single match. However that changed as they took on Pune Warriors and managed to win the match by a handsome margin of 18 runs. They still languish at the bottom but at least they have a solitary win to their name.
Yuvstrong
Yuvraj Singh gets back on the field!
Yuvraj Singh who underwent treatment after being diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer made his first appearance on the cricket field. He stood and supported his Pune team from the sidelines and had words of inspiration for the team as well. Hope he gets on the field soon and does he what he does best –
These are just a few things that caught my eye this week. As we near the halfway stage, the tournament has started to heat up and we’re in for one big rollercoaster ride.