Hello and a warm welcome to yet another blog on the daily match reviews of this year’s IPL. Here I will talk about the game played between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Sunrisers of Hyderabad playing the grande finale at Chepauk, Chennai. So let’s get started!
Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first surprisingly, which proved to be a fatal decision as Head and Abhishek fell early again to Starc and co. as they were once again in tatters. Even their recovery man Tripathi couldn’t do anything much as even Russell and the spinners joined the party as SRH were destroyed again, restricted to about 110. SRH did get some hope initially as Narine fell early but Gurbaz and Venky Iyer played as if the target was about 240, as again they killed the game in the powerplay. This game was quite similar to the way SRH trashed LSG but here it was just 110 to win as KKR won the TATA IPL 2024 which they deserved thoroughly as they were absolutely brilliant right from the start.
In an anticlimax, SRH’s batting just decayed in the playoffs and honestly, I have nothing to write on this game. It was sheer dominance by KKR once again, they set their plans brilliantly and executed them even perfectly as every bowler pitched in well. The only thing I would want to point out is Gurbaz’s wicket, which looked clearly not out and he reviewed it, but ball-tracting wasn’t available in the final, which was completely shocking as in every other match it was possible and you can’t get these technical flaws in such an important clash. The game was already done by then but at least Gurbaz could stay till the end with Venky and finish it.
So here we come to the end of the daily match reviews. I kept my word, and even though there were many obstacles, I somehow managed it as in the beginning I was travelling and in the back end my school and coaching started, so sorry for the delays. I feel proud of this achievement as I have written every single game by myself, by just seeing the cricbuzz scorecard, except for RCB games which I saw from ball one and remember everything even now. So thanks to everyone seeing and reading these blogs, to the ones I sent and to the ones I didn’t send, thanks a lot to everyone for having some time to read my content. So the World Cup has started and the small teams are doing surprisingly well in this World Cup. I will try my best to write a World Cup review blog but can’t say anything now. Once again thanks a lot for all the support, let’s try to meet very soon, Goodbye and take care!
Month: June 2024
Brilliant Performance Against the Odds: QUALIFIER-2: SRHvRR
Hello and a warm welcome to yet another blog on the daily match reviews of this year’s IPL. Here I will talk about the game played between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Rajasthan Royals at Chepauk. So let’s get started!
Sanju Samson won another toss and opted to field first. Once again SRH were off to a rusty start and the batting initially fared out quite similar to how they played with KKR but Klassen played beautifully towards the back end but still, they ended up being short, hitting about 170. Yet again the RR openers were off to a flying start and were set for an easy win but Cummins masterfully used Shahbaz and Abhishek Sharma against an aggressive Samson and Jaiswal, both perishing playing the big shots and this triggered a massive collapse, which RR couldn’t recover. Jurel fought till the end with an incredible fifty but it was too much as SRH won a superb game comfortably.
After being trashed by KKR, Cummins and his boys were brilliant with the ball as with the bat yet again they were below par as they lost about 3 wickets in the powerplay. SRH would be proud of themselves as their bowlers finally won a game for them. Sanju was once again brilliant as captain, setting his fields perfectly but with bat, he faltered for the second time in the playoffs as he needlessly took the risk this innings. But you can’t compare Cummins as captain to anybody else in the present world as he has won multiple tournaments for his country. He sensed that by reducing the pace on the ball, brought Shahbaz and Abhishek, who so far was used as a pure batter, which maybe surprised RR and maybe they thought that he was a part-time spinner and could go after him. But this was maybe SRH’s secret cannonball to crush the opposition and in a matter of few overs RR from being on top threw the game. So this was the overall difference as both teams had some really good bowling performances but were under-par with bat. So the next blog will be on the grand finale between SRH and KKR.
“Ee Saala Cup Namde Hopes Washed Away by the Sabarmati River”: ELIMINATOR: RRvRCB
Hello and a warm welcome to yet another blog on the daily match reviews on this year’s IPL. Here I will write about the game played between the Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium at Ahmedabad. So let’s get started!
Sanju Samson won an important toss and opted to field first. Kohi and Faf had no answers to an incredible spell by Boult in the powerplay. Both left shortly but Green and Patidar played a good mini partnership but wickets started to tumble. A good cameo from Swapnil and Lomror gave RCB 173, a total which was just about par. RR were off to a blazing start and the dew helped them. But RCB just kept pecking wickets and were in the game, fighting till the end. But Parag, Jaiswal and Powell held their nerve as they won a tricky win by 4 wickets with an over spare.
After a dream run to come into the playoffs, the fairy tale ended in the eliminator. Credit goes to Ashwin, who bowled brilliantly and didn’t give a boundary in his 4 overs and to Powell who took four important catches and provided a superb finish in the end. Yes, Dew did play its part but RCB do have to blame themselves in the batting especially the way they approached Boult, who was phenomenal in the powerplay. The second was Maxwell’s horror first ball shot against Ashwin, as he just swung his bat for no reason which opened the gates for RR to come in the game as Patidar needed some good support from the other end and was set. So the IPL ends for us and for DK as well. Wish him all the best being a commentator or an analyst, which he has been doing very well. This was an unforgettable season for us as we scripted the greatest comeback in the history of the IPL. Thank you RCB, Chinnaswamy and the 12th Man Army for all the entertainment as we again come next season…
Newton’s Third Law Proved by Cricket… QUALIFIER-1: KKRvSRH
Hello and a warm welcome to yet another blog on the daily match reviews on this year’s IPL. Here I will write on the game played between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the victory getting a ticket to the final. So let’s get started!
Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to field first. This worked wonders as again Head was dismissed for a duck but the difference for SRH compared to their previous game was even Abhishek fell early. Somehow Tripathi held one crease as Starc and the KKR spinners were absolutely unstoppable. Tripathi played a superb knock as they were set to get 180 but a freak run-out dented SRH’s chances of winning the game as Cummins somehow got them to 159. Since Salt was called for international duty, Gurbaz opened with Narine but there was no change in the intent as the KKR openers killed the game by the powerplay and the two Iyers, Shreyas and Venkatesh applied some powerplay finishes as KKR absolutely trashed SRH with about 6 overs spare.
SRH got a taste of their own medicine, and this match proved that every action has an equal and opposite reaction SRH did thrash teams before but they were trashed and outplayed today, hence the title (honestly accept the creativity of the title). KKR had their plans set beautifully and SRH just fell for their plans. They also did justify why they bought Starc for that price tag as he proved himself he is a match-winner and gets his complete form when it is a knock-out game. SRH maybe should have played Tripathi by the start of the tournament as he proved his worth in this game. Finally, have to give credit to Gurbaz, as he had to go home since his mom was unwell and since KKR completely relied on his services as Salt left, he stayed with them and played a vital knock for setting the tone for the Iyers to finish it, which was a little too aggressive as KKR’s juggernaut continued as they moved into the TATA IPL 2024 final. The next blog will be on the eliminator played between RCB and RR.
Another Day at Office ft. SRH: MATCH-69: SRHvPBKS
Hello and a warm welcome to yet another blog after a looooooooooong time as I return to finish what I started, what I promised, finishing the daily matches reviews of this incredible season at the IPL. I will write about the game between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Punjab Kings at Uppal. So let’s get started!
Jitesh Sharma won the toss and opted to field first with only Roussow being the overseas player. The PBKS openers surprised everybody with Taide and Prabhsimran playing some good shots and gave them a strong start before Roussow and Jitesh gave the finishing touches giving PBKS a 200+ total. They also did Head first ball but Abhishek Sharma and Tripathi absolutely didn’t care about his dismissal and played how the Sunrisers have been playing. The Kings were always behind the game as Nitish Reddy and Klassen applied the finishing touches when wickets started to tumble, giving the Sunrisers yet another victory at Uppal by 4 wickets.
In another dominant performance, The Kings had nothing to lose as they were already eliminated and they would be pleased with their batting performance with SRH bowling a little under-par. But throughout this tournament, their batters have won the game for them in most games. But this time it was a little different as Head fell in the first ball but credit to Tripathi for giving support to Abhishek to continue the way he has played this tournament and effectively the game was over after the powerplay as SRH stacked about 80 runs already in the powerplay and could play comfortably for the coming overs. This win ensured SRH came 2nd as the next game was washed out as RR fell back in the table and did play the eliminator against RCB. The next blog will be on the Qualifier 1 between SRH and KKR.