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