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