TATA IPL MATCH REVIEWS: MATCHES 29-35

Hello and a warm welcome to another blog on the match reviews of every game in this year’s IPL season. These 6 games were special because Thala played two great knocks, SRHvRCB classic at the Chinnaswamy, a dramatic game at the Eden Gardens and Mullanpur and much more drama. Again, this is going to be a huge blog, so get ready and let’s get started

Mumbai Indians VS Chennai Super Kings | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to field first in the most important clash of IPL’s greatest teams. CSK started slowly and lost Rahane and Ravindra early but the young captain, Ruturaj ruled over Mumbai as he played some fantastic shots, along with local boy Dube got a superb fifty. But the real motivation for the CSK bowlers to defend the target, which was very difficult at the Wankhede was their Thala, who calmly walked, hit 3 sixes ran a 2, and walked back calmly as if nothing happened to give CSK a par score of 206. The MI openers once again were fantastic but when Ishan and SKY fell quickly, CSK had the upper hand but Rohit Sharma was at his best and supported well by Tilak Verma. At this stage, it was easily achievable but some quiet overs from Tushar and Shardul brought the game back to CSK. Pathirana handled the wicket-taking process, picking 4 of them and even though Rohit fought till the end and got a superb 100, it wasn’t enough as MI fell short, giving CSK a memorable win by 20 runs.
In an entertaining El-Classico, I had mentioned Ruturaj played some fantastic shots and Dube as well, both getting fifties but the rate was still below 10 but the finish by Thala, a man who is 42 years old, 5 years since his international retirement hits India’s vice-captain for 3 sixes in the first 3 balls he faced is simply incredible. In my opinion, he can easily play another year for CSK because he is still quick behind the stumps and in the batting, he should always have a role of playing a maximum of 10 balls and hitting about 30 runs to give the perfect finish, and I feel no one else can do it in the world except him. Those 4 balls he faced, nullified a great century by Rohit Sharma From finishing with a below-par total of about 195, he added those 10 runs, which was enough motivation for Pathirana and co to dismantle MI in their run chase. Wankhede is known for teams chasing totals but that knock from Dhoni ensured the CSK bowlers had first, 10 extra runs, and second the composure to defend a total at the Wankhede, which is almost impossible in the current T20 world. So overall an evenly poised game with great knocks from Gaikwad, Dube and Rohit Sharma but Dhoni’s 4-ball 20 made the difference and that is also exactly the margin of victory for CSK…

Royal Challengers Bengaluru VS Sunrisers Hyderabad | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to field first on a classic Chinnaswamy track. The SRH openers made full use of it, with Travis Head scoring a super quick fifty and the openers guided SRH to their 100 in just the 7th over. RCB did pull some things back but Head was strong and notched up a superb 100. Once he fell, SRH were projected to hit about 260-270 but some brilliant hitting in the end from Klassen and Samad got SRH to the highest IPL score of all time, beating their previous record by 10 runs and posting a massive 287 on board. At this point, the game was effectively done but the RCB openers refused to give up as Kohli and Faf came out all guns blazing, but when Kohli fell, RCB started losing wickets and they needed 166 off the last 10 overs with half the side dismissed. But then came one of the best knocks by a veteran in the history of IPL which gave RCB an outside chance. It was DK, who smoked the SRH bowlers to every corner of the crowd and was well supported by Lomror. But Cummins picked Lomror and the innings slowed down, which RCB couldn’t afford. DK fought till the end and played a jaw-dropping 83, but SRH won the game comfortably by 25 runs.
In a record-breaking T20 game, the RCB bowlers again messed up their lengths and gave too many freebies to a star-studded SRH batting, who are playing a T20 form of bazball, which is to hit 250+ runs in an inning. Head was brilliant and Klassen supported him well. But the difference I would say came from the bat of Samad, who gave the Sunrisers 20 runs extra. But as an RCB fan, I was super happy that the batting didn’t crumble and lose by a big margin. I would say that Jack’s run-out was the real game-changer, so luck was again not on our side. But the knock played by DK was just unforgettable. A man who started commentating and playing such a knock also deserves a standing ovation, which he did reserved by the SRH fans as well. For the SRH bowling, again Cummins, similar to the MI game, was the game changer as he picked up key wickets so was Markande, who picked up the crucial wicket of Kohli. So overall, a nightmare of a day for the bowlers and I would say, even though RCB did lose the game by 25 runs, hitting 262 is in a way a huge score and in my opinion, it was a huge morale victory for RCB, as they did not crumble under the 287 and fought till the last man, and that fighting spirit will help even their bowlers to be motivated to put up a better show in their next game at the Eden Gardens, where the track will also be a belter. So RCB needs to win every game from now on to have a chance to play the playoffs. SRH are sitting pretty at the top-4, with 4 wins and 2 losses.

Kolkata Knight Riders VS Rajasthan Royals | Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to field first on a good batting surface at the Eden Gardens. RR were off to the perfect start by picking up Salt early, but they were put to the sword by Narine, who batted like a dream and notched up a surprising century, his first in his career, and some useful knocks from the talented Raghuvanshi and Rinku gave the Knight Riders a superb 223. the RR openers came out all guns blazing but Jaiswal and Samson fell shortly. Parag also came all guns blazing but when he fell, the RR middle-order crumbled but Buttler was on song. At one point RR needed more than 100 runs and was reduced to 121/6 but Buttler and Powell fought bravely, but when Powell fell, Buttler was all alone, but he still kept believing in himself, got the odd boundaries and won a heist for his team, upsetting the Knight Riders at their home ground and giving his team a memorable win by 2 wickets.
In another thrilling game played by the top 2 teams. The silver lining of the game for KKR was Sunil Narine, whose role was to play a short, but aggressive cameo at the start and give his team a headstart, but this man didn’t stop and from nowhere, he got a 100, an achievement which was almost impossible by him. The RR bowlers were getting hit but avoided KKR from hitting a total of 230-240. And KKR were perfect with the ball, with Sunil Narine again bowling a superb spell but magic man Jos Buttler, had other ideas. He kept his team in the hunt and pulled off a heist against a strong KKR unit at their home. So overall a a below-par effort by both teams in both departments but two knocks, one from Narine and the other by Buttler, made this clash an interesting and thrilling game at the Eden Gardens, but in the end, Buttler kept his composure and stole a win from the Knight Riders.

Gujarat Titans VS Delhi Capitals | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Delhi Capitals won the toss and opted to field first with Delhi going with just 3 foreign players the entire game. But the Delhi bowlers were rolling through the GT line-up from the start, the chief contributor being Mukesh Kumar, picking up 3 wickets. The only one to score a 30+ score was Rashid Khan as the Titans were knocked off for just 89. The Delhi batter didn’t have much to hit, so they came out all guns blazing, with Fraser McGurk, Hope, Porel and Pant contributing equally, hitting quick-fire 15+ scores to finish the game with 11 overs spare, giving a thumping to the Titans at home.
In a GT thumping at Ahmedabad, the Delhi bowlers didn’t put a foot wrong and the bowlers finally had an extremely good day in the IPL, which is rare. Pant was superb behind the stumps, with four dismissals. Credit to DC finishing the game by 9 overs as their NRR was hit by the KKR game and they brought it down in style, giving a shocking defeat to Shubman Gill and his men by 6 wickets.
(Nothing was interesting in this game, so this is the shortest preview so far)

Punjab Kings VS Mumbai Indians | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium, Mullanpur
Sam Curran, the stand-in captain, won the toss and opted to field first on a sluggish surface at Mullanpur. MI lost Kishan early but SKY was smoking boundaries while Rohit gave him good company. When Rohit fell, Varma took over his role as SKY notched up a superb fifty and they were looking to score a 200+ score. But the Kings’ bowlers pulled things back and restricted MI to 192, still a huge total at this ground. And again the top order collapsed as the Kings tried to experiment, making Sam Curran open the batting but he failed and the Kings were reduced to 14/4. But again the heroes of PBKS, Shashank and Ashutosh gave their team an outside chance, but Shashank fell early and Bumrah was running through the batting. But Shashank and Brar put up a last stand and at a point, they just needed 28 off the last over. But Bumrah applied the pressure and Ashutosh threw his wicket, and so did Brar. The Kings still fought with Rabada hitting a six but were bowled out, again a heartbreaking loss, giving MI a good victory by 9 runs.
In another classic PBKS loss, SKY played a big role in the batting as those 78 runs were gold on this type of wicket. Maybe MI were 10 runs short because they could easily hit 200+ but still, they had a formidable total. And again the same story of the top-order failing and Shashank and Ashutosh had to save the game. But this game was too far to reach for both of them, but Ashutosh played a blinder of a knock, hitting 7 sixes. But Bumrah, the best bowler in the world undoubtedly, was again superb and even though he didn’t get a wicket in his last over, he just gave 3 runs. This put pressure on Ashutosh as he played a rash shot and lost his wicket. But I would want to appreciate the fighting spirit of the Kings because their number 11 batter did give them hope till the last over. So overall a comprehensive MI game for most of the part but Ashutosh played a blinder but Bumrah and Coetzee picked 3 wickets each and ensured MI did get a nervy win by 9 runs.

Lucknow Super Giants VS Chennai Super Kings | Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
KL Rahul won the toss and opted to field for a change in a sea of yellow at Lucknow. This proved to be a good decision as CSK lost Ravindra and Ruturaj early, but Rahane carried along with Jadeja, who was promoted to number 4. But since Rahane was gone, the innings faltered with CSK precariously placed by the 15th over. But Jadeja and Moeen played some good knocks and gave the perfect situation for Thala to finish, and so he did, in Thala style, hitting 28 runs in just 9 balls and giving CSK a respectable 176 on board. However, KL had other plans as he was at his absolute best, with he and de Kock notching a brilliant 100-run stand. de Kock struggled and CSK had an outside chance but Pooran, alongside his KLassy captain, finished the game quite comfortably by 8 wickets and with an over spare, giving the Super Giants a much-needed victory.

In a KLassy match, the CSK batters played a touch slower at a good batting surface at the Ekana. Krunal Pandya was the most influential bowler for KL as he picked up 2 key wickets. But Jadeja was superb and he and Moeen ensured that Dhoni had the perfect scenario to give a big finish, and like he always does, he did hit a superb 28. But still, CSK were short by about 10 runs as KL played some amazing shots and it looked like 176 was nothing at this track. It was supported by some poor fielding and some poor bowling by Jadeja, who had an off-day to give LSG a superb victory against a champion side. So overall, Thala’s knock was outplayed by the class of KL Rahul, who was creaming the ball and also played at a strike rate of 150+, a good sign for LSG moving into the tournament. But CSK can have their revenge against the Super Giants as the two teams meet again in their next game at CSK’s #Anbuden, Chepauk.

Delhi Capitals VS Sunrisers Hyderabad | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to field first in DC’s homecoming to the Arun Jaitley Stadium. However, they were received with boundaries on almost every ball by Head and Abhishek Sharma, both just cracking the Delhi bowling and gave Sunrisers 125/0 in the powerplay, the highest in any T20 ever played! But Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel pulled things back and at the halfway stage, SRH were played at 158/4. Shahbaz played a superb 59 and the Sunrisers yet again playing the T20 form of bazball, posted a huge 266. Prithvi Shaw also came out all guns blazing, but he and Warner fell shortly, but the extremely talented Fraser-McGurk and Porel were striking at about 16 per over. But when Fraser McGurk fell, the SRH bowlers pulled things back, with Natarajan and Cummins being the chief architects and gave the Sunrisers a huge victory by 67, bowling out the Capitals for 199.
In yet another SRH entertainer, Head and Abhishek played cricket as if they played a mobile game but credit to DC for pulling things back as 320 looked certain after the powerplay. Even the Delhi batters were superb, especially Fraser-McGurk, who has had a dream start to his IPL career but the SRH bowlers today were superb after Fraser-McGurk fell, as Stubbs and Pant struggled because the SRH bowlers smartly bowled some cutters and slower ones. So a match in which Delhi could have won changed completely because of Fraser-McGurk’s wicket, giving SRH a comprehensive win. The other positive for SRH is Shahbaz’s role with the bat, he was superb and played a superb rearguard to help his team not collapse in the middle, supported well by Nitish Reddy. So overall DC have been given their second beating of the season and their bowlers need to fire up as soon as possible to get them back on track.

So hope you all enjoyed these two huge blogs, from now on, I will be regularly putting a blog every day since my travel is over. So hope you enjoyed this blog and I will catch you in the next one. Until then, goodbye!