Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
Where do these teams go from here?
Kolkata- McCullum has propelled them to near-instant victory, but what if he doesn't fire? None of the other batsmen, bar Ponting, had a good match. The bowling looked better than otherwise due to a misfiring Bangalore batting side. They need to support Ishant rather than try to be stars. LR Shukla is a dangerman from this team.
Bangalore- Their bowling misfired and put before their slow-scoring batsmen an impossible target. Too many loose balls on either side of the wicket. Their fielders need to support the bowlers more. As for the batting, they need to stretch their reserves to get a better performance, because their less-fancied players may do a lot better than the tried and Test-ed.
Chennai- Hussey's the man! What if he's on a holiday? They won't get a total of 240 that their weak bowling can defend successfully. Their bowling looked weak, and that total of 240 could have been chased down- just that it was huge. The batting, bar keepers, was not too bad. Patel opening ahead of Dhoni was a strange one, but batting was impressive- even beyond Hussey. They need to hold on to their catches, tough as they may be. The more fancied Sudeep Tyagi would be a better choice than local Amarnath, while Joginder's run-scoring ability will also come useful. To sum it up, change the batting order, change the bowling lineup, hold on to catches and get more out of Joginder Sharma.
Punjab's Silver Kings- Their bowling needs to tighten up. Maybe Irfan can open with Lee and Sreesanth can come as a change bowler. They can rotate their wicketkeepers Sanga and Dharmani, to avoid any fatigue out there. Hopes and Chawla need to tighten up, while Karan Goel should never get another over to bowl- he should stick to batting. As for batting, they tried really hard, but 240 was a mammoth target and Katich ahead of Irfan was a misfit. For the next match, they can rearrange the bowling order, stick to their main bowlers and open the innings with Hopes and Irfan.
Rajasthan Royals- They have a Mallya brand on their backs, but let's hope they don't end up like the Mallya team. This is a good team when put together, but they looked totally unprepared, and didn't really have a plan. Indecision between wickets, running risks between wickets, as also some rash shots onto the stumps (and one bad decision by an umpire) didn't help at all. They missed Graeme Smith and Morne Morkel, and it showed. Langer may get a game next. They need to build up on their largely effective fielding, but laggards like Munaf Patel need to be shown the door to the fitness centre. And of course, try to get wickets!
Delhi Daredevils- Buoyed by batting of Sehwag and Gambhir, they can drop one batsman for an extra bowler. That would have to be Rajat '100k' Bhatia, who will get targeted by batting sides which are more stable. Sangwan may come in, and of course, Their electric fielding was remarkable, and a stronger bowling unit would make them virtually unstoppable. They need to stretch the batting ability of Vettori and Maharoof, while replacing 'Bang' with Amit Mishra is not a bad idea either. They can afford to go without an overseas player!
Kolkata- McCullum has propelled them to near-instant victory, but what if he doesn't fire? None of the other batsmen, bar Ponting, had a good match. The bowling looked better than otherwise due to a misfiring Bangalore batting side. They need to support Ishant rather than try to be stars. LR Shukla is a dangerman from this team.
Bangalore- Their bowling misfired and put before their slow-scoring batsmen an impossible target. Too many loose balls on either side of the wicket. Their fielders need to support the bowlers more. As for the batting, they need to stretch their reserves to get a better performance, because their less-fancied players may do a lot better than the tried and Test-ed.
Chennai- Hussey's the man! What if he's on a holiday? They won't get a total of 240 that their weak bowling can defend successfully. Their bowling looked weak, and that total of 240 could have been chased down- just that it was huge. The batting, bar keepers, was not too bad. Patel opening ahead of Dhoni was a strange one, but batting was impressive- even beyond Hussey. They need to hold on to their catches, tough as they may be. The more fancied Sudeep Tyagi would be a better choice than local Amarnath, while Joginder's run-scoring ability will also come useful. To sum it up, change the batting order, change the bowling lineup, hold on to catches and get more out of Joginder Sharma.
Punjab's Silver Kings- Their bowling needs to tighten up. Maybe Irfan can open with Lee and Sreesanth can come as a change bowler. They can rotate their wicketkeepers Sanga and Dharmani, to avoid any fatigue out there. Hopes and Chawla need to tighten up, while Karan Goel should never get another over to bowl- he should stick to batting. As for batting, they tried really hard, but 240 was a mammoth target and Katich ahead of Irfan was a misfit. For the next match, they can rearrange the bowling order, stick to their main bowlers and open the innings with Hopes and Irfan.
Rajasthan Royals- They have a Mallya brand on their backs, but let's hope they don't end up like the Mallya team. This is a good team when put together, but they looked totally unprepared, and didn't really have a plan. Indecision between wickets, running risks between wickets, as also some rash shots onto the stumps (and one bad decision by an umpire) didn't help at all. They missed Graeme Smith and Morne Morkel, and it showed. Langer may get a game next. They need to build up on their largely effective fielding, but laggards like Munaf Patel need to be shown the door to the fitness centre. And of course, try to get wickets!
Delhi Daredevils- Buoyed by batting of Sehwag and Gambhir, they can drop one batsman for an extra bowler. That would have to be Rajat '100k' Bhatia, who will get targeted by batting sides which are more stable. Sangwan may come in, and of course, Their electric fielding was remarkable, and a stronger bowling unit would make them virtually unstoppable. They need to stretch the batting ability of Vettori and Maharoof, while replacing 'Bang' with Amit Mishra is not a bad idea either. They can afford to go without an overseas player!
(Gilly and Symo)
