The Chargers have played 6 matches and have managed to win only 1 match so far despite having all the muscle power for a T20 match, the Chargers have suffered from a lack luster performance from T20 heavy weights like Afridi, Symonds and Styris , their leadership at times have been flawed and uninspiring, Laxman is only averaging 31 in 6 matches, Afridi and Styris are averaging 6.5 and 4 respectively their best player with the bat was Symonds who incidentally was also their worst player with the ball. Now their batting is revolving around young Rohit Sharma who has played several brave innings but all in vain his team mates have let him down on all occasions. IMO the Chargers are done for the season as they are struggling in all departments their bowling ever since the tournament started looked too friendly, Laxman failed to use his bowlers intelligently he has been struggling to pick up a winning combination in the first six matches they might have to win all of their remaining matches to qualify for semis.
The Royal challengers have so far proven to be the Royal Duds in this tournament they have lost 5 out of 7 matches, this team was never a title contender being the most expensive franchise in IPL they could have done much better with the money they spent, their roster resembles that of a test team, the franchise received a huge blow when Nathan Bracken got injured and withdrew from the current IPL season he could have been lethal in this format.
Dale steyn and Misbah arrived late, but surprisingly Dravid benched Misbah for two matches after his arrival, he has been persisting with Kallis who proved by his performance why he was dropped by SA in the T20 WC, he failed both with the bat and ball, in 7 matches he is only averaging 16.85 and has taken only 4 wickets at an econ rate og 9.85 in 7 matches.
Their pace attack is good, since the arrival of Steyn they have lost two close matches, with Ross taylor gone for the rest of the IPL season Dravid will have to make some changes he might have to promote Misbah up and will have to replace Kallis, they need one more quality spinner who can take wickets and stifle the opposition for runs in the middle of the innings Kallis is giving away too many runs.
The Royal Chargers will have to fix their batting line up to reach the final four if they score runs ,they have enough fire power in their bowling to do the rest of the job.
The most expensive team is still playing without its Icon player and captain Sachin Tendulkar who is reportedly injured, the fans are still waiting to see Sachin open the innings with Jayasuriya, Mumbai has won only 2 out of 6 games , the franchise received a second blow when Harbhajan Singh Mumbai’s stand in captain was banned for the remaining matches in IPL, the team also suffered when Lasith Malinga withdrew due to injury and Pollock is the only major strike bowler left in the attack, Jayasuriya is only averaging 20 in the 6 matches he played, Uthappa and Bravo are averaging 35.4 and 36.75 respectively these three players will have to lift up their game. Since most of the teams are struggling to find the right combination since the Australian players left, Mumbai still has an outside chance to make a comeback if Sachin comes back and lifts up their batting.
SRK’s Kolkata was touted as the favorite to win it all so far they have managed to win only 2 out of 6 matches, since the departure of the Australian players they are looking ordinary, Gangulyand Hafeez are averaging 16 and 12.25 respectively, Salman Butt who replaced McCullum has so far plaed 1 match and scored only 7, Kolkata desperately needs Gayle they still have a very potent pace attack and with the arrival of Shoaib it will get more stronger, Shoaib hasn’t played any considerable competitve cricket in the last 5 months, his fitness is doubtful, but he is a wicket taking bowler with a very high strike rate and in T 20 wickets are the key he will definitely prove to be a hand ful.
But Bowling is not the problem Kolkata is facing their top order has to score, the next few matches will determine their fate as they are getting reinforcement, Chennai Superkings is struggling since the departure of Australian players and if KKR wins their next few matches they will be able to secure the fourth place, I think Deccan Chargers and KKR will battle for the fourth spot.
The Chennai super Kings are not kings anymore in fact with their curren roster they are the weakest team in IPL, with the departure of Oram, Hussey and Hayden they are struggling and I doubt if they will be able to win a single match without these guys, it would require a Herculean Individual performance from Dhoni, Murali or Fleming to win any further matches and I doubt this would happen their bowling largely depends upon Murali and Joginder, Morkel has failed so far,only a miracle can save them now. The Chennai franchise did not planned for depth in their roster and their management failed to recognize the importance of strike bowlers with the exception of Murali most of the bowlers in their roster are just utility bowlers, its a general misconception that the T20 format is a batsman dominated game, in my opinion no team can win without having quality bowlers in their ranks, at least two strike bowlers are a must for each team.
Chennai just lost their third match to Deccan chargers, batting first they scored only 144, Patel failed again, Fleming was looking good but got out because of an un believable catch, Raina and Dhoni restored the innings but they also got out after brief cameos, a late charge by Morkel and Joginder gave respectibilty to the Chennai total, but in the end it was never enough against a weak bowling almost all the Deccan batsmen scored, Afridi scored 20 off 6 balls and the Charger won their second match with two overs to spare.
Recent Comments