Week 4 review

 MI are out; A week that oscillated between close matches and lackluster performances

This must probably have been the week where the tournament must have taken full shape. Right at the middle of the season where teams are expected to have zeroed in on the best combination and teams are expected to have struck the right form to carry them through. But on the contrary, the week has turned out to be the most unpredictable of all. While MI's fate seems to have been sealed already, some of the remaining teams also ran the risk of following MI to the exit door too soon. But just when you thought that was going to happen, the very same teams put up better shows to escape the trap door.

KKR are entering the same rut that has engulfed MI. Even though both their matches were close games, their over dependence on Dre Rus to take them over the line has meant that the finishing touches are not being put in place resulting in close defeats to RR and GT. They need to pull their sock up soon. PBKS also had a poor outing this week and ended up being thrashed by DC's spinners.

As for GT, they are on a roll - Hardik's batting and a collective bowling effort continue to keep them afloat. They seem like potential play-off material and just like RR in the inaugural season they seem like the dark horse.

RR were the form team of the week making two scores of over 200 in both their matches. Yuzi Chahal's magical hattrick trumped KKR while a Butler masterpiece accompanied by an unexplainable act of stupidity from the DC team helped RR prevent DC from claiming an unlikely victory. After all, it is not every day that you see a game where the chasing team needs 36 off the final over and rattles 18 runs off the first 3 balls. Pant & Co. were fined heavily for their intervention during the match but their little intervention in itself was a self-inflicted penalty actually.

DC, LSG and RCB had a mixed week. DC's routing of PBKS was supposed to be a launchpad but indiscretion brought them down against RR. LSG had a week game against RCB only to bounce back against MI - riding on a super century from KL. MI are definitely KL's bunny having already been at the receiving end of a KL century last week.

RCB too had an up and down week as skipper Faf got back his form against LSG. Unfortunately for fans though Kohli continued to bite the dust. Kohli's wretched form rubbed on to the whole team as RCB got walloped by SRH in their next match - dismissed for a partly 68 on the back of another golden duck for VK - incidentally the third time RCB have scored less than 100 on the 23rd of April across seasons!

MSD's resurgence in the game against MI has been the only spark for CSK at the tournament so far. Even if it was for one game, MSD did turn back the clock and sent fans into a dizzy. It was definitely pleasing to watch MSD toy around with the MI thinktank. SRH had the one game this week and it was a perfect game for them - classic bowling display followed by the perfect chase that transformed the NRR into the positive side.

Week 4 performances

Excellent:  SRH, GT, RR, CSK

Good: LSG, DC

Fair enough: RCB, KKR, MI

Mediocre: PBKS

My performance quotient for each team

Week 3 review

 MI's debacle; SRH's ascendency; Is the tournament taking shape already?

It's been a week of weird tales. MI and SRH started at the base of the table. By the end of the week MI are still rooted to the bottom and SRH are in the top 4. SRH are the team of the week. After dispatching runaway leaders GT with disdain, SRH went on to whip KKR and PBKS. A look back at the commonality of that run shows strong contributions from the bowlers - especially the super quick Umran Malik. The way he humbled Shreyas Iyer and the way he humbled the bottom 5 of PBKS are stand out memories of the week. Steyn and Muralitharan's celebration of Iyer's wicket comes in a close second. Not that SRH are dependent on bowlers alone - Kane, Pooran, Markram and Jansen have proved to be worthy foreign additions while Bhuvi, Nattu and Washington have also chipped in. 

In sharp contrast comes MI's disastrous run. While SKY has been trying to pull the team together and Baby AB has been threatening to break-free (only to deceive), the rest have been appalling. Skipper Rohit needs to pick himself up if MI are to show any semblance of recovery. Not to mention the bowling. Bumrah has been blowing hot and cold - cold dominating mostly. The remaining bowlers have not even come close to standards - MI are definitely missing Archer. And it looks like the writing is already on the wall for MI. Will they or won't they?

The other form team of the week is GT. Barring the loss to SRH, they have been consistent - riding on the back of a newfound Hardik and a spirited bowling unit. Although they huffed and puffed to victory over CSK, they did seem in control of the chase with Miller the killer. Also appreciable in Rashid Khan's ascendency to the captaincy - for someone who blossomed in the IPL from a raw talent to world beater, captaincy is certainly a deserving credit.

RCB, RR and LSG are still trying to dust off inconsistencies. While DK has come to the rescue of RCB more than once, Butler certainly seems like shouldering RR's season. While there has been the occasional support from Hetmeyer, the remaining batsmen need to live up to the benchmark they set for themselves in the first week. As for RCB, Maxwell's arrival seems to have provided them with hope but that significant knock from VK is still pending. A good sign for RCB though is the bowling starting to click. KL's century against MI is an ominous sing for LSG but they also need to come good as an unit. But all signs are positive for them.

And finally, to the defending champions. They showed promise in the run fest against RCB only to let slip a winning chance against GT. Looking up the table, teams above them are stronger in almost all aspects and they need to come up with a plan. They looked good in shades - Dube's flamboyance and Ruturaj's return to form are welcome signals. But the bowling needs to back the batters. Theekshana needs support and with Chahar missing the IPL, they quickly need a turnaround. Does Jaddu have it in him to bring it? Will MSD be able to wield his brain around one more time like how he plotted that Kohli wicket? Let us wait and see.

Week 3 performances

Excellent:  SRH

Good: RCB, LSG, GT

Fair enough: RR, CSK, PBKS

Mediocre: KKR, DC, MI

My performance quotient for each team

Week 2 review

 A topsy-turvy week; MI & CSK continue the rut; Cummins, Tewatia blast through

It was as topsy-turvy as it can get. While RCB were the form team of the week, the remaining teams had absolute levelers to contend with. Sunrisers looked like they are set for a difficult run at the tournament. Against LSG, after a more than good bowling performance, the batters came up a cropper one more time. Not that they had the upper hand but they let us squander at the crucial moment - something they will have needed to correct before the season unravels. And they did put up a better respond against CSK with the batters making an impact to match their bowlers.

For CSK though, the journey already looks arduous. After a feeble performance against PBKS, things got even worse as they surrendered meekly to SRH. Deepak Chahar's absence and Gaikwad's form are just the top two of at least 10 different issues that CSK have to correct. Coach Fleming clearly summed it up when he said they need to improve batting, bowling and fielding. One just hopes the revival comes next week. Otherwise CSK are in danger of facing an early exit from the season - remember it's a 10 team event now.

Speaking of teams in danger, MI are another team in a similar quagmire. Unlike CSK, their problem does not lie in all departments - it's rather smaller - they need someone to rise to the occasion. All of them barring SKY have been lackluster - even though Ishan has hit a couple of 50s. Their bowling and foreign recruits look woefully short of talent. If anything, now is the time for Rohit, Bumrah, Ishan and Pollard to rise up to SKY levels.

Staying in the sky, RR and LSG were brought back from the sky is spectacular fashion this week. Against RCB, RR seemed well in control before DK intervened (once again). And the team that seemed like a complete team last week with its bowlers, batters and allrounders came crashing down. It looked like that was going to repeat against LSG later in the week but they managed to hang on and come through with a win. 

On the contrary, LSG began the week with a resounding win against SRH on the back of a spectacular bowling performance built on Rahul's captaincy. Avesh picked 4 wickets in the match to establish himself as a formidable star at the IPL. They followed that with another emphatic dispatch of DD. So when Stoinis came into the fold in their next game against RR, they were supposed to rule the roost. But LSG got hit by the sucker punch as RR ran away with the game.

The highlight of the week is a close one. If Cummins' onslaught on MI was a once-in-a-lifetime, Tewatia was cool as a cucumber as he helped GT rattle off 12 runs off the final 2 balls against PBKS. Incidentally that six by Tewatia was the 4th consecutive match this week that someone had hit a six to the win the match. But Tewatia's six was the best of the lot.

And finally DC, who seemed like a contender last week, had a poor outing against LSG but more than made up for that by making 215 runs in the game against KKR. That match turned out to be KKR's leveler. In the end, like the crabs in a bucket, the teams have been pulling each other down into the bucket, keeping it a level playing field. Among the ruckus GT have once again gotten through a week without losing. Who will emerge from this next week? Let us wait and see - Will it be GT?

Week 2 performances

Excellent:  GT, RCB

Good: LSG, RR, KKR

Fair enough: DC, PBKS, SRH

Mediocre: CSK, MI

My performance quotient for each team

Week 1 review

 RR, KKR are early trend setters; Newcomers show promise; MI, CSK, SRH getting it all wrong; RCB, DD continue inconsistency

If the opening week of the season has anything to indicate, a clear picture already seems to be emerging. Rajasthan Royals look like a complete team and their careful picks at the auction seems to have paid dividends. With a team that boasts of blasters, RR have bulldozed their way to the top of the league with a couple of emphatic batting performances against SRH and MI. A look at the team and you can see absolutely no loop holes anywhere. The famed Chahal-Ashwin combo and the Butler-Samson combo have lived up to the expectations. And with players like Padikkal, Hetmeyer, Boult, Jaiswal in their ranks, they are all set to give nightmares to opponents as the season progresses.

Equally impressive has been KKR's push. Even though they faltered against RCB, they did make up for that with their bowling (despite the loss). But their decimation of PBKS through the Andre Russell onslaught would certainly send jitters.

LSG and GT have had mixed bags but have players that show lot of promise. LSG's Ayush Badoni is one to watch with his stroke making capabilities. KL's captaincy continues to be a point of contention but they do have the batting firepower to polish of some shortcomings. Let us hope KL's captaincy and the team's bowling performances show improvement as the tournament progresses. As for GT, they have made it out of the week unscathed without any defeats. On both occasions (against LSG and DC) they have had the team coming together to conjure up victories - a strong signal that they are here to go the distance.

RCB barely managed to scrap through in the game against KKR after having a rare better performance with the ball. Only this time, their batting faltered only to be rescued by DK. One hopes that this is just a blip and not a testimony of their inconsistency. Similarly DC have also blown hot and cold in their two games. Against MI, they had Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav to thank. But against GT, the wheels just came off. RCB and DC have to dust-off the dirt and make positive strides as we go into the second week. With Glen Maxwell and David Warner coming in for RCB and DC respectively, that should definitely happen.

The real surprise of the season has to be two of the other three. MI have been woefully off color despite Ishan Kishan proving his money's worth. Given that they ran into the RR juggernaut and also the fact that they were without SKY, let us hope it was just an aberration and the real MI would turn up soon. .As for CSK, their auction ploy to "bring back the family" seems to have backfired. Equally culpable is the decision to appoint Jadeja as captain a day before the season began. CSK are going to need a miracle if they have to turn their fortunes. The form of Ruturaj and a strong bowling unit are immediate requirements. Hopefully, these pieces fall in line.

And finally to SRH that seem destined to bring up the rear. They picked a team that was bowling dependent at the auction. But the bowlers dont seem to have a plan. There is no spinner to do a rescue act. Umran Malik has pace but nobody to guide him. As for the batting, it's be better not to say anything about it. Against RR it was a clueless display of cricket. And the bizarre umpiring decision that came along did little to help. SRH have a long way to go and the season already seems long for them!

Week 1 performances

Excellent: RR, KKR, GT

Good: LSG

Fair enough: DC, RCB, MI, PBKS

Mediocre: CSK, SRH