The Plunder Games - Week 2 Recap
Have you been too busy studying for your exams to take note of what has been going on in the IPL? Or have you been too engrossed in searching for a job to know who has hit the most ‘DLF Maximums’ over the past week? Maybe all your time is being taken up by stalking your ex-boyfriend; or you could just be some closeted IPL fan who likes to keep up appearances by publicly denouncing the ‘pajama cricket’ but want to know how your favorite IPL team is doing?
Never fear. For the attention-deficit IPL fan in you, I present to you ‘The Plunder Games’ – a weekly recap of all the IPL action. Here, you can catch up with all the past week’s action in just 10 minutes.
Game 12: MI vs RR
Mumbai Indians - 197/6 (Pollard 64, Rayudu 47*) beat the Rajasthan Royals 170 (Shah 76, Rahane 40, Munaf 4-28)
Match in 140 characters: Frenetic hitting from Pollard and Rayadu take MI to 197, Rahane and Shah threaten a tight contest, but the night belonged to the big Trinidadian.
Winning Moment: Owais Shah was threatening to overshadow Pollard’s knock with a blistering innings of his own, when a beleaguered Bhajji threw the ball to his go-to bowler – Malinga, and he didn’t disappoint. Off the first ball, he knocked back Shah’s stumps and that was basically the end of the Royals’ resistance.
Performer of the day: 33 balls, 6 fours, 4 sixes, all added up to a typical Pollard-ian innings. If that wasn’t enough, he returned to scalp 4 batsmen and take 1 catch.
Best tweet of the game: Once a Shah, Owais Shah. #IPL (by @coolfunnytshirt)
Fake Fact: Pollard’s workout consists entirely of lifting Junior Ambani everyday (courtesy @_fakeiplplayer)
Game 13: RCB vs CSK
Chennai Super Kings 208/5 (Du Plessis 71, Dhoni 41, Murali 3-21) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 205/8 (Gayle 68, Kohli 57, Bollinger 3-24) by five wickets.
Match in 140 characters: Gayle, Agarwal and Kohli take RCB to 205, du Plessis sets platform, Dhoni maintains tempo, Morkel smokes Kohli to take CSK to a thrilling win.
#TrottsFault: The obvious choice might be Virat Kohli; but he is a part-timer, and against Morkel’s clean hitting he had no chance. On the other hand, Vinay Kumar bowled like a novice in the final over dishing out full tosses and no balls, which CSK made full use of.
Winning Moment: The game might have been decided off the final ball, but it truly turned on its head in the previous over when Morkel blitzed 28 runs off Kohli.
Performer of the day: Till this game, Morne was the Morkel grabbing all the attention in this IPL. In the space of 6 balls, Albie changed all that with an adrenaline-packed innings, which swung the game CSK’s way.
Best tweet of the game: It seems Raina has a special place in his heart for long on to mid wicket region.Doesn’t matter if he is batting or bowling. (by @holdingwilley)
Fake Fact: Dan Christian was seen offering bowling tips to Vinay Kumar on the day before the RCB-CSK game.
Game 14: PWI vs KXIP
Kings XI Punjab 116/3 (Marsh 64*, Chawla 24*) beat Pune Warriors 115 (Manhas 31, Mascarenhas 5-25) by seven wickets.
Match in 140 characters: Pune Warriors stumble and stutter to 115, thanks to a Mascarenhas 5-fer; led by Marsh, Kings XI ease to victory.
Performer of the day: Shaun Marsh may have had a horror Aussie summer, but in the IPL colors, he still continues to torment the bowlers. His unbeaten 64 extinguished any hopes that the Pune Warriors might have had.
Best tweet of the game: #AltPulseQuestion Who has the most pinchable cheeks – Piyush Chawwwwla or Preity Zinta? #IPL (by @AltCricket)
Game 15: KKR vs RR
Kolkata Knight Riders 137 /5 (Kallis 31, Bisla 29) beat Rajasthan Royals 131/5 (Shah 31, Dravid 28, Shakib 3-17) by five wickets.
Match in 140 characters: On a tricky pitch, Royals scrape to 131 as Shakib keeps them in check; KKR chase it down without much of trouble..
Performer of the day: Shakib al Hasan had a good start to his IPL, with a match winning 3/17 which kept the Royals down to a chaseable target.
Best tweet of the game: Funny that GG is the captain of KKR but the team is playing with MSDs tactics. Take it till the end. (by @siddyness)
Game 16: CSK vs PWI
Pune Warriors 156 /3 (Ryder 73*, Smith 44*) beat Chennai Super Kings 155/5 (Jadeja 44, du Plessis 43) by seven wickets.
Match in 140 characters: Despite du Plessis’ and Jaddu’s knocks, CSK don’t get enough, Ryder bats through innings and Smith explodes to chase down 156.
#TrottsFault: Its not often that captain cool MS Dhoni costs his team the game; a painstaking 26 with no big hits in the end stalled CSK’s progress and some of his tactics including holding back Jadeja while the Warriors were batting and giving Yo Mahesh the final over backfired spectacularly.
Winning moment: du Plessis’ stumping off Rahul Sharma’s bowling killed CSK’s momentum early in the game and despite some lusty hitting by Jadeja, they fell short by at least 25 runs.
Performer of the day: Steve Smith has been the biggest success story for the Pune Warriors. In the field, he is incredibly quick with a safe pair of hands. With the bat, he has applied the finishing touches well. His dismantling of Kulasekara in the penultimate over tilted a game which was heading for a tight finish, in favor of the Warriors.
Best tweet of the game: Faf Du Plessis will wear an Orange Cap, yellow jersey and Trousers + Red boots when CSK take the field, Will look like a Tamil Hero. #IPL (by @forwardshortleg)
Fake Fact: The reason why Dinda Jumps So high before bowling is because he was born in a leap year (courtesy @joydas)
Game 17: KKR vs KXIP
Kings XI Punjab 134/9 (Mandeep Singh 38, Narine 5-19 ) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 132/7 (Das 35, Chawla 3-18) by 2 runs.
Match in 140 characters: Narine mesmerizes as Kings XI are kept down to 134, despite a good start, KKR stumble as Chawla and Harmeet shock Kolkata.
Winning moment: Despite Chawla’s heroics earlier, the game was going to be won or lost by little known Harmeet Singh, when he was thrown the ball for the final over. KKR needed 9 runs to win the game but could only manage 6, as Kings XI stole an unlikely win.
Performer of the day: Sunil Narine is one of the better spinners in international cricket these days, and in this game he showed why he is highly rated. In 4 overs of masterful bowling, he kept the batsmen guessing as he returned with figures of 5/19. Though his team lost the game, Narine was easily the best performer among the two sides.
Game 18: RR vs RCB
Rajasthan Royals 195/2 (Rahane 103*, Shah 60) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 136 (Agarwal 34, Trivedi 4 for 25) by 59 runs.
Match in 140 characters: Rahane sizzles and Owais smashes as RCB run for cover, Trivedi leads a disciplined Royals effort in the field as they surge to top of table.
#TrottsFault: If it was Kohli who had a horror game with the ball last time, it was S Aravind’s turn in this game. Not too long ago, he featured in the national team, but after the ruthless punishment at the hands of Rahane, it is hard to see him coming back after this effort.
Winning Moment: While it was Rahane and Shah who set a massive target, it was Pankaj Singh’s two wickets in the 5th over (Agarwal and Gayle) which sealed the game in favor of the Royals.
Performer of the day: IPL-5 could well be the tournament which opens the door for Rahane to enter into the Indian T20 side. For long, he has been considered a batsman for the longest form of the game, and only recently did he make his foray into ODIs. After a scintillating 98 last week, his century against RCB was one full of power and grace which showcased his full repertoire. Greater things await the new maestro from Mumbai.
Game 19: DD vs MI
Delhi Daredevils 93/ 3 (Sehwag 32) beat Mumbai Indians 92 (Harbhajan 33, Umesh 2-10, Nadeem 2-16) by 7 wickets.
Match in 140 characters: Nadeem leads a strong Daredevils performance in the field despite Bhajji’s heroics with the bat as Sehwag and Mahela lead a controlled chase.
#TrottsFault: The entire MI top order, including Rohit Sharma who apart from running out Rayadu, kept playing high risk shots when the situation warranted some rebuilding.
Performer of the day: For a team which does not have any high profile spinners, Shahbaz Nadeem is perhaps as big a boon as any of the fancy top order batsmen. He strangled MI right at the top of the game, and induced them into playing rash shots to get away.
Best tweet of the game: MI: Duniya hila denge, DD: Mahela denge, Taylor: Sila denge, RCB: Pila denge (by @crownish)
Game 20: RR vs DC
Rajasthan Royals 197/5 (Hodge 48*, Mishra 3-32) beat Deccan Chargers 196 / 2 (Duminy 58*, Dhawan 52) by five wickets.
Match in 140 characters: Duminy led a strong Deccan ‘Charge’ as Royals are left with a target of 197, Dravid, Rahane and Hodge’s fireworks ensure thrilling win.
Winning Moment: The Royals’ chase was so well planned that they didn’t really look like they were in trouble at any stage. Little known wicket keeper Yagnik duly dispatched Steyn for two boundaries in the final over to seal the win.
Performer of the day: Brad Hodge who scored an unbeaten 48 at a strike rate of 228.57. In a high scoring match featuring plenty of slam bang innings, his knock stood out.
Game 21: RCB vs PWI
Royal Challengers Bangalore 186/4 (Gayle 81, Tiwary 36*, de Villiers 33*) beat Pune Warriors 182 /6 (Uthappa 69, Ryder 34, Samuels 34) by six wickets.
Match in 140 characters: Utthappa, Ryder and Samuels power the Warriors to 182, Gayle leads a spirited assault while de Villiers and Tiwary steal an unlikely win.
#TrottsFault: While it is tough to choose between Rahul Sharma and Ashish Nehra, the winner is the lanky Delhi seamer. He is the more experienced performer who has been in this situation numerous times before. With RCB needing 24 runs in the final over, one would have backed Nehra to defend it more times than not. Unfortunately, those days are gone long by.
Winning Moment: Gayle whacked 5 sixes in a Rahul Sharma over to pull back the chase for RCB and de Villiers played a manic yet creative innings to haul them to the precipice of an improbable win; but in the end, it was left to the much maligned Tiwary, who defied the script and pummeled the last ball to the boundary in the final over, triggering wild celebrations in Bangalore.
Performer of the day: AB de Villiers’ knock of 33 in 14 deliveries might not seem out of place in T20s; but the figures don’t tell the story of an innings which contained innovative strokes under tremendous pressure and which ultimately helped RCB over the line.
Best tweet of the game: Uthappa says Danny Morrison is too loud. Tell us something we don’t know, lad. #IPL (by @headless_sky)
Fake Fact: Chris Gayle has been signed up as the new ambassador for iPhone 4S – since their punchline suits him every time he goes to bat. “This changes everything. Again.” (courtesy @CluelessVictory)
Tweet of the week:
DD must be seeing their past in MI’s present. #ipl (by @boredcricket)
Articles that might interest you :
https://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/04/17/robust-royals-beat-clumsy-chargers/
https://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/04/16/an-ipl-xi-of-certain-nobodies/