6 Things We Learned from IPL 12 - In Retrospect
When the IPL started in 2008, we didn’t know what to expect. T20 cricket was still catching on and the IPL seemed like the Bollywood blockbuster of cricket.
12 years later though, the IPL is still the biggest T20 league in the world. This year’s IPL has been as fascinating as ever. So, let’s look at half dozen things we learned from the dozenth edition of the IPL.
#1 Dads’ still got it
Chennai Super Kings or better known as “the dads’ army” reached their 8th final in 10 appearances and almost clinched the title. Before the start of the tournament, on paper, they had an excellent team only if this was the 6th edition of the IPL, not the 12th. Most of their players had seen their better days on cricket fields but they just turned up game after game.
Let’s face it. They didn’t have the best of seasons. Their openers hardly fired (individually nor as a combo), the middle order was appalling, fast bowlers just didn’t come to the party until the grand finale and their fielding was just “we don’t want you to break a leg diving”. Yet they made the play-offs and nearly won the tournament.
Cricket is a team sport and T20 is no different. But shorter the game, bigger the impact of individual performances. Whilst it’s extremely important to put together a well-balanced team, it is equally important to have out and out match winners – the real impact players.
Players like Andre Russel, David Warner, KG Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah lit up the tournament with their individual brilliances and more importantly, they did it with such consistency and won matches almost single-handedly. Back in the day when the T20s started, we believed that sheer match winners can be hit and miss at times, but in this tournament, that thought was put to rest by these players and many others who made their mark with individual brilliances.
#5 In absentia
You can’t hide from the fact that this IPL missed some of the big-name players. Pat Cummings, Mitch Starc, Glen Maxwell, Hashim Amla, Eoin Morgan, Jason Holder, Ross Taylor, Angelo Mathews and many others missed this year’s IPL due to injuries, priorities and various other reasons. Towards the back end of the tournament, some of the international stars left the tournament for world cup preparations and national duty. All this took the shine off the tournament just a wee bit.
#6 Wooden spoon again!
RCB, RR and KXIP finished at the bottom of the table again. These teams have had the odd good tournament here and there, but you get the feeling that they have been underachieving more regularly than the others.
Analyzing causes for their bad performances is for another blog but it is clear that they get the team selections and combinations wrong more than the other teams, more often. There’s proper daylight between Kohli, De Villiers, Chahal and the other players at RCB, a top order of Rahane, Samson and Smith; too slow in T20 cricket, KXIP needs better overseas quicks and stronger middle order players – facts. These teams gotta do something so that they’ll be talked among the likes of MI and CSK.
12 years later though, the IPL is still the biggest T20 league in the world. This year’s IPL has been as fascinating as ever. So, let’s look at half dozen things we learned from the dozenth edition of the IPL.
#1 Dads’ still got it
Chennai Super Kings or better known as “the dads’ army” reached their 8th final in 10 appearances and almost clinched the title. Before the start of the tournament, on paper, they had an excellent team only if this was the 6th edition of the IPL, not the 12th. Most of their players had seen their better days on cricket fields but they just turned up game after game.
Let’s face it. They didn’t have the best of seasons. Their openers hardly fired (individually nor as a combo), the middle order was appalling, fast bowlers just didn’t come to the party until the grand finale and their fielding was just “we don’t want you to break a leg diving”. Yet they made the play-offs and nearly won the tournament.
How???
MS Dhoni the finisher and the captain, Imran Tahir and co and the consistently inconsistent batting unit –
Dhoni V3.0: Dhoni had a break-through tournament. A break-through after 12 years? Seriously? Yes, Dhoni Version 3.0. We’ve seen the young swashbuckling Dhoni with long hair taking his helicopter out and hammering the hell out of bowling attacks, then we saw the calm, calculated, ice cool Dhoni who also struggled to make quick runs, but in this tournament, we saw a Dhoni who was happy, relaxed and performing. He was still calm (except when he decided to roam out from the dugout to have a quick word with the on-field umpire regarding a no-ball call), calculated but he performed – he finished off games with near precision. His hands behind the stumps were lightning fast and he remains as one of the wiliest captains in the circuit. He was the glue that kept CSK together.
Tahir and the spinners’ army: Imran Tahir won the purple cap (not for his running but for the 26 wickets he took), Harbajan was brilliant when he got the opportunity to play (looped it up, wide outside the off stump, inviting batsmen to have a go and then beating them with flight and guile) and Ravindra Jadeja was as tight as ever and as lethal as ever in dusty conditions. One could argue that they had the best conditions in Chepauk, but they still had to do the job and boy didn’t they do it in style.
The consistently inconsistent batting unit: Batting was an example of inconsistency (except MS Dhoni) but at different times in the tournament, different individuals just stepped up and made defining contributions. Be it Shane Watson's match winning 96 or a quick fire 20 from someone down the order, someone just stepped up when it mattered.
Will the dads still turn up in 2020? They actually might but you would think they need some youth specially in the fast bowling department (though the injured Lungi Ngidi would’ve added that in this edition as well). They’re not known to make wholesale changes but expect some youth to be injected to the dads’ army.
#2 Change of name, change of fortunes
Delhi Daredevils… sorry the Delhi Capitals were one of the most refreshing things ever in an IPL. They played with passion, freedom and madness. It was the madness of the youth, but they were so watchable and entertaining.
There were scintillating chases, inexplicable collapses but amidst everything, they finished the tournament just outside the top two and arguably became one of the most favored sides among the fans.
As always, they had an excellent side on paper but the difference this year was that they translated that into runs, wickets and more importantly, results. Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were brilliant with the bat and KG Rabada ably supported by Ishant, Mishra and co were outstanding with the ball. And the other players made decent contributions at different stages in the tournament to pull them forward.
More than just the numbers, the most refreshing thing was the brand of cricket they played, the exuberance of the youth and one has to credit Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly for letting these youngsters just express themselves rather than curb their natural instincts.
#3 Umpiring? Meh
Umpiring was an absolute shocker in this tournament. No-ball calls, wides, LBWs, run-outs, you name it and there would be umpiring errors and controversies surrounding it. The biggest surprise was that even some of the international umpires in the ICC’s Elite Panel made some shocking decisions.
We all understand and respect the fact that umpiring is tough, and humans are bound to make mistakes and those mistakes get exposed more than ever before due to the technology that’s in use. But, you’d have to agree that umpiring standards in this year’s IPL was well below par specially of the local Indian umpires. If the technology could be used for certain decisions such as no-ball calls, umpire's life might become a little easier.
#4 Match winners make a difference in Twenty20 cricket
MS Dhoni the finisher and the captain, Imran Tahir and co and the consistently inconsistent batting unit –
Dhoni V3.0: Dhoni had a break-through tournament. A break-through after 12 years? Seriously? Yes, Dhoni Version 3.0. We’ve seen the young swashbuckling Dhoni with long hair taking his helicopter out and hammering the hell out of bowling attacks, then we saw the calm, calculated, ice cool Dhoni who also struggled to make quick runs, but in this tournament, we saw a Dhoni who was happy, relaxed and performing. He was still calm (except when he decided to roam out from the dugout to have a quick word with the on-field umpire regarding a no-ball call), calculated but he performed – he finished off games with near precision. His hands behind the stumps were lightning fast and he remains as one of the wiliest captains in the circuit. He was the glue that kept CSK together.
Tahir and the spinners’ army: Imran Tahir won the purple cap (not for his running but for the 26 wickets he took), Harbajan was brilliant when he got the opportunity to play (looped it up, wide outside the off stump, inviting batsmen to have a go and then beating them with flight and guile) and Ravindra Jadeja was as tight as ever and as lethal as ever in dusty conditions. One could argue that they had the best conditions in Chepauk, but they still had to do the job and boy didn’t they do it in style.
The consistently inconsistent batting unit: Batting was an example of inconsistency (except MS Dhoni) but at different times in the tournament, different individuals just stepped up and made defining contributions. Be it Shane Watson's match winning 96 or a quick fire 20 from someone down the order, someone just stepped up when it mattered.
Will the dads still turn up in 2020? They actually might but you would think they need some youth specially in the fast bowling department (though the injured Lungi Ngidi would’ve added that in this edition as well). They’re not known to make wholesale changes but expect some youth to be injected to the dads’ army.
#2 Change of name, change of fortunes
Delhi Daredevils… sorry the Delhi Capitals were one of the most refreshing things ever in an IPL. They played with passion, freedom and madness. It was the madness of the youth, but they were so watchable and entertaining.
There were scintillating chases, inexplicable collapses but amidst everything, they finished the tournament just outside the top two and arguably became one of the most favored sides among the fans.
As always, they had an excellent side on paper but the difference this year was that they translated that into runs, wickets and more importantly, results. Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were brilliant with the bat and KG Rabada ably supported by Ishant, Mishra and co were outstanding with the ball. And the other players made decent contributions at different stages in the tournament to pull them forward.
More than just the numbers, the most refreshing thing was the brand of cricket they played, the exuberance of the youth and one has to credit Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly for letting these youngsters just express themselves rather than curb their natural instincts.
#3 Umpiring? Meh
Umpiring was an absolute shocker in this tournament. No-ball calls, wides, LBWs, run-outs, you name it and there would be umpiring errors and controversies surrounding it. The biggest surprise was that even some of the international umpires in the ICC’s Elite Panel made some shocking decisions.
We all understand and respect the fact that umpiring is tough, and humans are bound to make mistakes and those mistakes get exposed more than ever before due to the technology that’s in use. But, you’d have to agree that umpiring standards in this year’s IPL was well below par specially of the local Indian umpires. If the technology could be used for certain decisions such as no-ball calls, umpire's life might become a little easier.
#4 Match winners make a difference in Twenty20 cricket
Cricket is a team sport and T20 is no different. But shorter the game, bigger the impact of individual performances. Whilst it’s extremely important to put together a well-balanced team, it is equally important to have out and out match winners – the real impact players.
Players like Andre Russel, David Warner, KG Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah lit up the tournament with their individual brilliances and more importantly, they did it with such consistency and won matches almost single-handedly. Back in the day when the T20s started, we believed that sheer match winners can be hit and miss at times, but in this tournament, that thought was put to rest by these players and many others who made their mark with individual brilliances.
#5 In absentia
You can’t hide from the fact that this IPL missed some of the big-name players. Pat Cummings, Mitch Starc, Glen Maxwell, Hashim Amla, Eoin Morgan, Jason Holder, Ross Taylor, Angelo Mathews and many others missed this year’s IPL due to injuries, priorities and various other reasons. Towards the back end of the tournament, some of the international stars left the tournament for world cup preparations and national duty. All this took the shine off the tournament just a wee bit.
#6 Wooden spoon again!
RCB, RR and KXIP finished at the bottom of the table again. These teams have had the odd good tournament here and there, but you get the feeling that they have been underachieving more regularly than the others.
Analyzing causes for their bad performances is for another blog but it is clear that they get the team selections and combinations wrong more than the other teams, more often. There’s proper daylight between Kohli, De Villiers, Chahal and the other players at RCB, a top order of Rahane, Samson and Smith; too slow in T20 cricket, KXIP needs better overseas quicks and stronger middle order players – facts. These teams gotta do something so that they’ll be talked among the likes of MI and CSK.
Thank u Very much For this Useful Information. Sattamatka.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great information & Keep Sharing Regularly I love seeing blog that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free.
ReplyDeleteSatta Matka | Satta Matka Results | Online Matka Play | Kalyan Matka | Indian Matka 2021
Have you known Satta Matka Online Result guessing in your country legal or illegal? I am satta king dj viki dada today intensely discusses kalyan matka and how to get satta matka result quickly. I show you top class matka tips today and there matka guessing. In this indian matka game, you bet you a little amount of money for earning a vast amount of money. Using of matka trick and tips in matka market you crack any satta bazar and become a matka boss. Satta Matka Online Result kalyan is the most intelligent Matka gambling in india and saudi arabia. Milan rajdhani matka, madhur matka, and dpboss matka chart also provide by sattamatkagod.net. Satta matka sattamatka is the logiest word use in matka industry.
ReplyDelete.
.
.
.
..
.
Satta Matka Online Result
Hello
ReplyDeleteI Read your article. Thanks for sharing such beautiful information, and I hope you will share some more information about How to play satta chart . You wrote really very well, I really like your blog and information provided by you. I appreciate your work.
Thanks
Try Your Luck, A Complete Satta King Chart Available Here, Faridabad Satta Result, Ghaziabad Satta Result. Search Satta King Jai Shree Ganesh to know the old declared result of Jai Shree Ganesh game! https://www.sattakingjaishreeganesh.com
ReplyDeleteSatta Matka or simply Matka is Indian Form of Lottery. Matkaoffice.net is world's fastest matka official website. Welcome to top matka world ,SATTA MATKA, satta matka, kalyan.
ReplyDelete