Maverick Mumbai derails Delhi Capitals to clinch 5th IPL Title in emphatic way

 "Third Man" A Match Review by Kannan

Match: IPL 2020 finals between Mumbai Finals Vs Delhi Capitals, 10th November, Dubai

 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 , is this Mumbai Indians can win the titles only in odd years? Will law of averages play spoilsport to the MI's go at back to back titles? Will Rohit depart early to give a sniff for Rabada and co to pull a miraculous win to bag the title? The answer seems to be no going by the events on 10th of November at Dubai where Mumbai put up a splendid show with  the ball and backed it by audacity with the bat to make it a " no contest" against the first time finalist Delhi Capitals - to clinch their 5th IPL title and first time winning it for consecutive years, matching the feat of the super kings at their prime, and making a name for themself as one of best T20 sides going across the globe.

The commanding 5-wkt win was brilliantly set up by the bowlers striking from ball one, restricting Delhi to an below par total of 156/7 followed by a authoritative batting display, led by the skipper Rohit, to clinch the game in 18.4 overs without giving a sense of hope to the capitals - who were no match either in paper or the performances on the park.

Earlier, they used to define IPL as the tournament where 7 teams will be fighting to meet CSK in the finals. Now, Mumbai is making the trophy their own -  7 Teams fighting to lose to Mumbai in the finals.

Toss and playing  11:

DC won and elected to bat with no changes in playing XI from the earlier game. Mumbai had one surprise change by bringing in the off spinning all rounder Jayant in place of the leggie Rahul chahar.

Boult Jolts DC yet again, Jayant cleans up the big fish Dhawan, 22/3 by 4 overs:

What a fantastic series Trent "Tremendous" Boult is having with the ball, especially winning the battle in the power play striking in the 1st over 8 times this season - 4 times against as many matches against the finalist DC, and setting up games for his team. This time even better by striking in the 1st ball of the match, sending the dangerous Stoinis with the one that went away with the angle, and not allowing to tick off the opening partnership which was needed for the capitals to post a challenging total. Rahane left early when he glanced one to the De Cock in 3 rd over.

 Delhi traded off Boult to Mumbai Indians last season and paying a heavy price surrendering to the man who should be bowling for them. He has snatched the finals from his former "home" team in a space of just 10 balls. 

It was a tactical move to include off spinner Jayant in the XI, perhaps to counter the left handers in the Delhi line up, and bringing him on inside the power play against Dhawan was a master stroke - Jayant bowled a flighted looping off spinner which gripped and turned,inviting Dhawan to go for the sweep, only to see his stumps rearranged landing a huge blow to the hopes of the Capitals.

"Pant"astic Pant and Skipper Shreyas fights back:

 It was refreshing to see the approach of the DC by not buckling down under pressure after the early wickets - rather, the pair of Shreyas and the talented, but under performing Pant, met fire with fire by taking on the Mumbai bowlers by striking beautifully and rotating the strike with ease. Shreyas, who lost his touch mid-way through the tournament, found his range at the perfect stage with the company of the aggressive Rishabh Pant, who came out all guns blazing hitting his favourite shots through and behind square leg and clearing the infield with ease. The duo put on a 96 run Partnership for the 4th wicket and setting up things nicely for the onslaught at the death, when Pant (58 of 36) got decieved by the slower one from the death over specialist Courter-Nile and holed out to long on.

Shreyas register half century, Mumbai conquers the Death:

 Shreyas continued to fight back but Mumbai bowlers, led by Courter Nile at the back end, pegs back things by picking up wickets and not allowing the DC lower middle order to break free - Shreyas remained unbeaten on 65* but Mumbai were the happier team at the end restricting the opponents to a underwhelming 156

Rohit and De Cock conquers Power play with "power hitting"

Rabada and co needed to snap early wickets to have the outcome in their favour, but the seasoned  MI Skipper Rohit and the dasher De Cock were in a punishing mood - Rohit welcoming R Ashwin, who opened the bowling,  with a six and De Cock targetting fellow South African Rabada for 18 runs in his 1st over. At 45 for 1 in 4.1 overs when De Cock fell to Stoinis, the match and momentum was already drifted towards the defending champions."

 Hit"Man's Half century , Ishan's cameo carries Mumbai closer to a convincing win:

 Rohit, who had a silent tournament so far due to loss of form and injury, looked at his best by going after the bowling from the word go by playing his trademark cuts, pulls and effortless sixes over the leg side of the fast bowlers. There was no respite for the man with the purple cap Rabada or the fast and furious Nortje as they were dispatched nonchalantly for maximum over the deep mid wicket boundary. The young spinner Dube had a forgettable outing being hit over long on and long off for huge sixes from the willow of the charismatic captain.

The 2nd wicket partnership with Surya kumar was brief and entertaining before it ended in a miscommunication while running and Surya kumar, though batted remarkably this season, showed what a splendid team man he was by sacrificing his wicket to the in-form skipper.

It was now the turn of the  "super striker" Ishan , with the maximum (30 sixes) sixes in this IPL,  to join the party with the captain and he didn't disappoint by showing his range of shots, powerful hitting and back foot play especially driving and cutting through the off-side. 

Rohit, playing in his 200th IPL match, constructed a brilliant 50 of just 36 balls  in  the match that mattered the most, silencing his critics, detractors and proving a point to the Sunil Joshi led (Virat Kohli influenced??) selection committee who had doubts over his form and fitness by ignoring him for the limited over leg of the upcoming Australian tour. When his match winning innings of 68 ended through a spectacular catch by the substitute fielder, the game was almost sealed and DC was just going through the motions.

Delhi bowlers managed to dismiss pollard and Pandya cheaply, but MI were just a hit away for victory and Krunal becomes the luckiest to get the winning runs, taking Mumbai across the line to be crowned as the Champions for the 5th time, much to the delight of the dug out and the fans across India.

Krunal Pandya dugs out the Yorker from Nortje for the most "valuable single"of this Dream 11 IPL 2020, the dressing room erupts in joy!! Ecastic Rohit Sharma! Celebrations and handshakes with gloves on! All the doubts, uncertainty at the start of the tournament is now a thing of the past.. From bio bubble to nail biting finishes, double super over, centuries, spectacular fielding displays, and the last league match deciding the teams for the play - offs..It was an Incredible Premier League all the way!!

" Mumbai on top of the world for the 5th time, curtains down for IPL 2020"

Yours Truly,

Kannan

Curtains down for SRH as all round Stoinis guide Delhi to maiden IPL finale

 "Third Man" - your truly, Kannan

Qualifier 2: SRH vs DC at Abhu Dhabi, 8th November 2020 

Toss: Shreyas, the Delhi skipper, won the crucial toss and decided to bat first having made 2 fine changes - Prithvi and Sam out and the talented Hetmeyer and the leggie Pravin Dube coming in. SRH stuck to the same combination with Saha hamstring tear keeping him out.

Finally, after many years of promise and optimism, Delhi Capitals are into their maiden finals, defeating SRH by 17, runs, which is a big victory for the franchise keeping faith on the young team led from the front by shreyas Iyer. Sun Risers had a remarkable comeback from no where by beating Mumbai comprehensively at the league phase to enter the play off, edging past RCB in a close game in the eliminator, and bowing down to the Daring Delhi fighting till the end in today's do or die encounter.

Change in Strategy, change in opening:

With the starts being horrendous in past few games, Delhi, coached by the Legend Ponting, choose for a change in opening partner for Dhawan by going for Stoinis, being the in form player. The change in the strategy produced the biggest power play score for DC in this season as they raced to 65/0 in 6 overs with Stoinis cutting loose with boundaries and Dhawan striking it beautifully. The partnership of 86 in 8 overs set the tone and the confidence for the batsman to follow on a wonderful batting wicket. 

When Stoinis (38 of 27 balls) was done in by a quicker one from Rashid, the damage was already done. Perhaps, Rashid should have been in bit earlier to break the partnership, something which Warner missed to do.

Dhawan wokes up again, Hetmeyer plays a blinder to set a huge target of 190:

Shikar and Shreyas carefully played out Rashid Khan without giving him anymore wicket and scoring 6 per over, meticulously executing the plan against him. Dhawan looked again in splendid touch driving, cutting and sweeping with authority, registering yet another 50 of just 26 balls - taking his tally in this series to 600 runs. DC's fortune in this tournament has directly proportional to Shikar's success with the bat and he proved what a big match player he is striking at the right time, similar to his success for Team India whenever he plays in a world tournament.

Hetmeyer, the talented West Indian left hander, repayed the faith shown by the Capitals think tank by accelerating towards the death overs with a fine 42 of just 22 balls and taking them closer to the 200 run barrier. 

 Natarajan and co pull back things in final overs:

 It must be praise worthy of the brilliant comback in the last 2 overs, especially the final over from Natarajan, where he relentlessly bowled Yorker after Yorker and restricted Delhi to 189 by giving just 7 runs.

Yet again Stoinis, this time with the ball:

Sun risers hopes of a big Innings from Warner didn't materialise as he left early getting cleaned by Rabada for just 2 runs. Stoinis had the ball in hand and in no time he produced moment of magic sending back the talented priyam Garg and the mainstay Manish Pandey leaving SRH reeling at 44/3 in 5 overs.

Yet again it has to be Williamson and Holder to due the rescue act for the Hyderabad Franchise

Williamson, Samad keeps the hope alive:

 Williamson, yet again rising up to the occassion, continuing from where he left in the previous match, by playing a amazing innings striking it cleanly and driving it with grace and elegance. The down the track six of Axar and the pick up shot to clear  Rabada over the mid-wicket was delight for cricket lovers - The game was on as long as this man was at the wicket.

 The breezy 57 Partnership for the 5th wicket with the unknown Abdul samad, who demonstrated his batting skills on the big stage, took the game deep and it was set for a tight finish. Samad,( 33 of 16), took on Nortje, the quickest bowler of this tournament, in the 15th over by nonchalantly pulling him over the mid-wicket boundary, straight out of the books of Ricky ponting, followed by consecutive boundaries through the off side - This over swung the match towards SRH with 43 needed from 22 balls, not impossible with the duo out in the middle..

Stoinis seals the Match, Rabada parties with triple strike & 4 for to regain purple cap:

 Just when things were going good, cometh the hour, cometh the man - Stoinis returns to the bowling crease and snaps ups the big fish Williamson by bowling a wide slower one which Kane couldn't meet with the sweet spot and holed out to deep cover for a well constructed 67 of 45 balls - SRH almost bags the ticket to the finals.

  Rabada, who was off colour in last few matches, returned to bowl the 19th over and snaps up three wickets, closing the game in favour of the DC and celebrating by snatching the purple cap again from Bumrah with 29 wickets. It was the turn of another South African Nortje to do the formalities by bowling a tight final over - Finishing the Sun Risers campaign to the finals.

Where did SRH lose the match?

 A deep dive in to the reason and the margin of the defeat would show that the below par act on the field - misfields, overthrows, droped catches, especially the one for Stoinis, cost SRH the match while Delhi rose to the occasion stopping numerous boundaries and snapping the catches ended up on the sides of victory. 

"Delhi grabs the ticket to Dubai to play the Mighty 4 times champion Mumbai "

 10th November, will it be a historic day for the Capitals or 5th championship for the Majestic Mumbai led by the talisman "hit"man??

Sun risers in Hyderabad "eliminating" RCB out of the IPL 2020

 "Third Man" A Match Review by Kannan

Eliminator : RCB vs SRH at Abhu Dhabi, 6th November 2020

 Both the teams were coming into this match with mixed fortunes, RCB laid low with 5 losses in a row while SRH making a spectacular comback with 4 wins on a trot. The past performances doesn't matter as one of the team is going to be "eliminated". 

The toss and the team changes:

 SRH got the toss in favour and put RCB to bat first on what it looked like a tricky wicket to bat on. Interestingly, Saha, who was looking in ominous touch, was out and replaced by wicket keeper Goswami for the SRH. RCB was desperate for a win by ringing in three changes packing the side with spinners and bringing in Finch back.

Holders bag of tricks 

The strange tactics of keeping himself to open the innings backfired as Kohli fell early glancing a lifting Holder's delivery to the keeper. Holder was on song and bowling beautifully with able support from the dependable Rashid and the ever improving Natarajan - RCB reduced to 62 for 4 in 10 overs, yet again depending so much on ABD to deliver.

Holder never allowed RCB to accelerate by scalping 3 wickets and setting the match beautifully in their favor.

Can ABD fire at the end giving a fighting total to defend?

RCB fans would be praying for yet another ABD special, as he has done in this season shifting to the top gear in the final overs. The lack of batting to follow and the nature of the pitch kept the superman quiet - He still produced a neat half century and waiting to explode in the death. 

Natarajan nails De Villiers and restricts challengers to 131

Here comes Natarajan, the new found leader of the SRH pace attack with a big heart and superlative performaces at the death, and delivers a perfect unplayable Yorker in the 18th over to dismiss ABD - surely the Game changing moment of the match. Had AB survived to face 10 more balls, it would have been absolute carnage and RCB might have finished at 160, that was not to be. They could manage only a below par 131, still not an easy one on a knock out game

Siraj prizes out Warner, early wickets, SRH in trouble:

SRH were in a spot of bother at the 6th over at 43 for 2 with Siraj finding the rythm and swing, especially the wicket of Warner was the vital moment of the Power play.

Zampa, chahal spun a web around:

The pitch was assisting the spinners and the leggies Chahal and Zampa were difficult to get away in the middle overs keeping the asking rate up, though the super economical sundar had an off day. The match was evenly poised at the 12th over where SRH had accumulated just 67 runs for the loss of 4 wickets.

Calm, calculative Williamson and all round Holder steadies the Ship, keeps sun Risers hopes alive:

What a calculated innings from Williamson,one of the best players going on in world cricket with an astute cricketing brain, rotating the strike and hitting the boundaries when needed, producing a half century which mattered the most, and keeping calm till the end.Holder shine with both bat and ball, gave good support to Kane in the steady 5th wicket partnership. With 9 runs needed of the final over, Holder exploded with couple of boundaries to finish the match with 2 balls to spare, ending the "eh sala cum namade!" Campaign for the much improved RCB this season.

Kohli yet again unable to take his team to the finals whether it is RCB or Team India, a big thing missing in his otherwise impressive CV - Having said this, it was a fantastic season for the RCB by holding the top 3 spot throughout before losing steam at the later half. 

"The sun rises in Hyderabad in style at the right time at the business end, one more win against DC on Sunday will take them to the finals"

4 Time champions Mumbai storms into yet another finals by decimating Delhi Capitals

 "Third Man" by Kannan

Qualifier 1, IPL 2020, Delhi vs Mumbai at Dubai on 5th November

Yet another IPL, Yet another qualifier win for the defending champions Mumbai and they storm into the finale in style by demolishing the Capitals, led by the assault by the batsman in the death and fiery opening spell from  the double B's - Bumrah and Boult which had the 3 Delhi batsman walk back to the dug out with no runs on the board.

Delhi skipper shreyas won the toss, sent Mumbai into bat at the qualifier 1 played at the wonderful Dubai International stadium - perhaps the only thing which went right in their way was the toss.

Mumbai was off to a flier with De cock getting off the mark with a boundary of the first ball and scoring 14 runs in the first over setting the tone for the innings. The introduction of impressive Ashwin in the power play immediately produced result as he trapped the out of form skipper Rohit Sharma for a duck. 

De Cock continued to impress in the company of the man of the moment Surya kumar, both of them matching shot by shot - De cock was clearing the boundaries at ease while Surya Kumar was delightful with his touch play and occasionally exhibiting his muscular power by clearing the fence, the six through the covers of Ashwin was definitely the shot of a man who deserved to wear the Team India Jersey.

The capitals bowling attack, barring Ashwin, was wayward and punished severely by each of the Mumbai batsman who walked in. The intelligent Ashwin brought all his guiles and experience into play and pulled back things by bagging a 3 for and putting a brake on the scoring accounting for the key wickets of De cock and Pollard for a duck, continuing his dominance over the West Indian in the IPL.

Demolition act at the death

At 100/4 in the 13th over, MI would have settled for a score of 170, but the "finisher" hard "hit" Pandya and Ishan Kishan, in his new role down the order, were on a mission " Destroy Delhi" from the word go and were unstoppable hitting barrage of sixes all over the park and handed "Capital punishment" for the Delhi fast bowlers. Pandya (37 of just 14 balls)looks like he is batting on a different planet everytime he walks out at the death , whacking them out of the park effortlessly with his timing and wrist power. Ishan, the pocket size dynamo, is on a cracking form at the business end and no different today - hitting them with brute force and extended bat swing to score a match winning 55 of just 30 balls.

The Last 3 overs going for 55 runs, last 5 overs produced 92 runs - Mission accomplished for the Mumbai Indians and Delhi had an uphill task to chase 201 runs. The form of the key bowlers Rabada, going for plenty and wicketless in last 3 matches, and the express quick Nortje, who was clobbered for 51 runs in his 4 overs, must be hurting Delhi.

Nightmare start for Delhi - 0/3 in 2 overs

chasing 201 for victory, DC would have wanted their openers to fire big to have any chance of getting closer to the target. Facing the Swing and left arm angle of Boult, and the express pace and variations from Bumrah is never going to be easy for the lackluster Prithvi Shaw and Dhawan, who forgot the act of scoring runs after the twin centuries, which looked like happened long time ago.

Prithvi and Rahane failed the fast bowling examination from Boult in the 1st over, getting out for ducks - Tentative Prithvi edged one that went away while Rahane was trapped plumb in front with a "Boult special" that nipped back in. Bumrah, who bowled the 2nd over made Dhawan looked like a tail ender cleaning up with a scorching Yorker bowled at 140+ speed. 

At 0/3 by the second over, with the top order back in the dug out, it's all over for the Capitals and just a matter of statistical interest on the margin of defeat. The Double B's have demolished the DC in 12 balls!

Stoinis and Axar saves some pride

  When Bumrah scalped the skipper Shreyas, DC was looking like getting bowled out under 100 but for the stroke filled half century from Stoinis and a Cameo from Axar (42 off 33) with some big hits down the ground, proving his credentials as a worthy all rounder.

Bumrah,the man with the purple cap and on a purple patch, returned for a second spell and breathed fire dismissing Stoinis and Sam bagging a well deserving 4 for and eventually the man of the match. Stoinis would not forget the unplayable fast inswinger that rattled his stumps and his reputation.

Head ache for Ponting & co for the Qualifier 2

Delhi managed to score just 143 and managed to lose by a big margin- Their 5th consecutive loss and looking down and out and unless one of the top 3 scores big and bowlers delivers, they are likely to lose the qualifier too against the winner of SRH vs RCB. Prithvi shaw surely needs to be replaced for his poor starts - 5 times getting out in the 1st over, 3 ducks in the last 10 innings, DC must look for changes at the top and changes in the fortunes. 

"Magnificent Mumbai into the finals, Delhi down but not out"

The Race to the play off - Permutations and combinations

 " Third Man" - by Kannan

It can't get closer than this, mumbai with 9 wins at the top of the table already into the play off, csk with 5 wins at the bottom ruled out of the play off race, nothing to seperate rest of the 6 teams with 6 or 7 wins each fighting for 3 spots...

 The favourites Delhi can still miss the play off, while Punjab, Rajasthan, SRH who were having a poor run suddenly found momentum at the later stages, next 3 days are going to be nervy for the 6 teams with eye on NRR and close look at result of the other matches to go in their favour.

 With the IPL 2020 reaching the business end, next 3 days are going to be exciting for the fans and tension filled times for the franchises - The three days that matters after the ups and the downs over 2 and half month long marathon tournament. let's have a quick look at the upcoming league matches starting Sunday, 1st November - 4 crucial matches to go for the teams to grab 3 spots in the play off, with Mumbai already qualified and CSK eliminated ( we don't associate this word to CSK in the IPL history, isn't it?)

Csk vs Punjab ( match 53)

This is going to be a do or die game for punjab (6 wins till now) Where a loss will see them taking the flight back home along with csk, a win will keep them in contention to the play off. While am writing this, kings have started with a bang and Mayank opening will keep the scoreboard ticking as well. If Gayle storm, classy KL and the match winner Mayank finds their range, surely a win on the cards. As a csk fan, would love to see the yellow army go out on a High with a win.

KKR vs RR (Match 54)

The contest between KKR and RR is a straight forward one as the loser exits the tournament and the winner to keep an eye on the calculator and the results from other matches.

RR has the upper hand though with back to back wins primarily through their Talisman Stokes resurgence with the bat and rest of the batting unit firing at the right time after the inconsistent show during the early stages. KKR has been losing more than winning after Morgan took over the reigns mid-way, and the batting unit failing to click is a cause of concern with their goto man Russel nowhere in the scheme of things to show his muscle power.

RCB vs Delhi ( Match. 55)

The contest between the "Bangalore"ian Kohli against his "home" team is unlikely to affect their spot in the Top 4 as both the teams are already sitting with 7 wins and the winner will seal the play off berth. Both the teams are down in confidence after going into a losing streak having started the tournament on a high. The losing team will pray for Mumbai to beat SRH to stay alive for the Play off spot.

 RCB's dependency on ABD continues while the skipper Kohli has to play a key knock with remarkable strike rate to carry them home. Delhi, on the other hand is struggling both with bat and ball through 4 consecutive losses - The form of Prithvi, Dhawan blewing hot and cold, Shreyas and Pant not firing is a real worry, not to forget the bowling unit which is losing out of steam of late.

SRH vs MI ( Match 56)

SRH were no where in the picture and the blinder from Saha followed by the thumping win over Delhi Capitals has done wonders to their belief and the NRR as well.

 David Warner is always the man to watch out for while the addition of Kane has provided solidity to the top order, and if magician Rashid has a good day, SRH will fancy beating Mumbai Indians. IF SRH loses to Mumbai, they will also catch the same flight booked for the super kings back home.

" Fasten your seat belts on, don't switch off your television sets as the race to the play off is on " Let the best 4 teams March on, Game on for true cricket lovers.

Team India squad for the Australian tour - has they got it Right?

BCCI Selectors announces India’s squad to the Tour Down Under –2020/21

 

“Third Man” is back after a week to discuss and introspect the squad announced for the upcoming full tour to Australia commencing 27^th November and closing out on 15^th January, a grueling 3 months tour comprising of four Tests ,three ODI’s and three T20’s. Overall it looks a well-balanced strong squad on paper to take on the mighty Australians at their home territory, with Rohit Sharma conspicuous by his absence from all the forms of the game, considering his status as a indispensable player in the India Team over the last few years.

 

“Hit”Man out of Down under for all three formats – What’s happening BCCI?

 

Well, I can read your mind and the most of us will be baffled by the confusion surrounding Rohit, being the Vice-Captain of the limited overs team, dropped from the full tour due to a hamstring injury picked up during this IPL and missing 2 games already. It would have served better had BCCI released a clear statement on the extent of the injury and recovery time to clear the doubts from the ardent fans following Team India. It is strange to see Rohit padded up and gearing for a practice session for the IPL, while BCCI already ruling him out of a future tour. The ideal situation could be including him in the squad, monitoring his progress and name a replacement if he is not declared fit. If he is seriously injured, Mumbai Indians should have ruled him out of rest of the IPL matches in the larger interest of his Team India Career – With lot of money at stake, is BCCI unable to convince the franchise to release Rohit on fitness grounds?

 

 

Royal Challenger’s Tour to Australia?– Is the Captain just has a say in Team selection or the Captain selects the team?

Though not questioning the caliber of players chosen, the squad looks heavily loaded with players from RCB raising questions on the influence of the captain and favoritism towards players from one franchise to represent India captained by the skipper of the Franchise. While the likes of Chahal, Sundar, Saini, Umesh Yadav are quality players to represent India, the same cannot be said of Siraj – He did not set the world alight in his previous stints for Team India and barring one outstanding spell in this IPL, he has been quite ordinary. Spare a thought for players like Surya Kumar Yadav, who has been plundering runs at an enormous strike rate for the last 3 seasons for the Mumbai Indians – What has he done wrong to be ignored?

The bigger question is selecting players for Test matches based on IPL performances which will set wrong precedents for the domestic players who are sweating it out at the Ranji trophy, as rightly questioned by the cricket turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar. My take is on the same lines – IPL performances can be a yardstick only to select players for International T20 Matches only.

 

Young guns getting a go for the big Australia Series – Applause to the selectors

With the regular members of India Test & ODI team being automatic picks, it is a commendable to see the likes of Varun Chakravarthy, Mayank ( for all three formats), Sundar and the deserving Samson getting changes in the T20 squads based on current form and it will be a greater learning curve to bowl and bat on the bigger Australian grounds as well as the quicker pitches which will have something for the bowlers all the way. Waking up at 5.00 AM IST to see the contest between bat and the ball, the opening session at Gabba Brisbane with swing and seam, the bounce at MCG- Melbourne, Pace and carry for the bowlers and the dimensions and the challenge of the wind called “ free mantle doctor” at WACA Perth, the spinners paradise at Adelaide oval – A cracker of the series is on the cards between two of the greatest cricketing rivalries of the decade.

 

The vice-Captain saga

With the dumping of Rohit Sharma and the sudden elevation for KL Rahul by handing over the Vice captaincy reins for the ODI & T20 series, the Selectors has added fuel to the Rohit Vs Kohli controversy which has been going on since the ODI world cup. Imagine a situation if Rohit recovers and wins a place back into the Team, how hard it will be for his captaincy aspirations as he has done nothing wrong for the little time he has captained India and has been extremely good leader leading Mumbai Indians to multiple titles.

While KL Rahul has been duly rewarded for a place in limited over teams by his scintillating show at this IPL, once again the T20 Performances leading to Test selection crops up – He was fairly unsuccessful as an opener in the previous three test tours and eventually dropped for the home series against the Windies & Kiwis, where Rohit took up the challenge as the opener and made merry making centuries and double centuries cementing his place in the Test side. Hope KL can prove us wrong and put up a remarkable show as a test opener as he has done in his debut century in the same Australian soil years back.

 

Let’s have some fun –Shocking omissions -  Players unlucky to miss the bus to Australia Tour

Having discussed on a series note on some of the selection condrums, would like to finish with some fun on the players who are missing from the squad announced.

Kedar Jadav, who was trolled day and night for his “test Match” batting in this IPL for CSK, couldn’t win a place in the Test squad? BCCI, What have you done?

An International full tour without MSD – It took some time to realize that Dhoni is a former India Cricketer, something we fans could not get into terms yet.

ABD missing out – Kohli , You were so loyal to the “ Royal” Challengers by picking most of them ,How could you afford to drop ABD, your best buddy?

 

Thumps up for the Men in Blue for the Tour Down Under – Time to Bleed Blue

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spectacular Super Sunday at Incredible premier League

 Kings 11 vs MI- Match tied, 1st super over tied, Punjab beats Mumbai in the 2nd super over  - how often have we seen something like this to know the result of a game?? this is IPL and modern day T20 for you folks, the rules have changed, bats are getting big, grounds are getting smaller and entertainment unlimited..  On a match which started on a Sunday, closed on the Monday, leaving the fans short of time to sleep and to relieve the incredible game of cricket.Not to forget the super over in the 1st Match of the double header ( SRH vs KKR), it was a terrific tremendous tantalising triple treat to the super fans on a " super Sunday".

"Third Man" A Review by Kannan

“Super Over” Kings conquers Mumbai Indians on the 3^rd attempt

 

Wouldn’t be exciting to re-live the double Super over with plenty of  buzz, drama and of course, entertainment. Here we go on the quick recap of the Super over between KKIP and Mumbai Indians on the Sunday, 18^th October, perhaps the craziest day in the history of IPL. With the game tied at 176/6 (Yes, it cannot be closer than this with nothing separating the 2 teams even in wickets lost), both the teams gathers for the super over game.

 

1^st Super Over - Tied

It was competition of accurate yorker bowling between the ‘boom boom” Bumrah and the ‘Sultan of Swing’ Shami – Eventually, batsman from both the teams (Rahul & Pooran for Kings 11, Rohit and Quinton for MI) struggled to put bat to ball resulting in Punjab scoring only 5/2 , both the wicket falling to the brilliant Bumrah. MI was expected to chase this off pretty easily, but that was not to be. 2 runs were needed of the last ball where Quinton, in pursuit of the 2^nd run towards victory, was brilliantly run out by KL Rahul, collecting the ball and diving to dislodge the bails, all happening in fraction of a second.

 

Is the game over? Has Mumbai won the match on the basis of more boundaries scored in the original game ( 24 boundaries as against 22 for Punjab)? Yet another repeat of the World Cup finals between England and New Zealand? Plenty of confusion, animated conversation in the dugout - Umpires, support staff & the players are getting together. Finally, the news is out. Clarification provided on the  Changes in the IPL rule book effective 2020, It’s going to be yet another super over!! Don’t switch your television sets off, more fun on the cards.

 

Before we head into the deciding super over, Here is what the IPL Law’s says about the “TIED SUPER OVER”

• In the event of a super over being tied, the game has to be decided through subsequent super over (Until a result comes up)
• The players who took the field ( not the nominated players) during the previous Super over cannot participate in the next super over. In this game, Bumrah, Shami, Rahul, Pooran, Rohit, Quinton cannot participate again. ( There was some argument regarding Pollard nominated in the 1^st Super over and still walking out to bat in the 2^nd Super over, Umpires have clarified – Pollard did not bat in the preceding super over, hence he is available to participate in the next Super over)
• Rest of the rules applicable to the Super over remains the same.

2^nd Super Over - KKIP beats MI in the 2^nd super over

 

Hardik Pandya & Kieren Pollard, the power hitting master of MI walks out to bat against Chris Jordan, the death over specialist from the KKIP. Jordan restricts MI to 11/1, noteworthy to mention the brilliance of Mayank on the boundary line – Saving a certain six through his acrobatic act and batsman could manage only 2 runs. These are the little moments which decides the outcome of a nail-biting match and KKIP has to chase 12 runs in pursuit of the much needed 2 points.

 

Here comes Gayle, the universal boss and the in-form Mayank Agarwal to face the speed of Left arm quickie Trent boult. Gayle makes a statement in the first ball by clearing the long off for a six, Game on! Gayle storm has arrived at the UAE! The target becomes smaller now and astonishing Agarwal does the finishing act with two boundaries, KKIP wins the Super over with 2 balls to spare. KKIP are back into the reckoning with 3 wins.

 

“Except RR and CSK, all the teams are part of Super overs in this IPL 2020 – They both are clashing today. Is there going to be another one?