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