***Official*** IPL match discussion thread

[SJS]

Pollock 4-1-9-1. Such a gun.

and one dropped catch and one possible edge to keeper ignored by umpire. All this and a maiden over to Dhoni !!

The over to Dhoni was a classic. Dhoni has ben made to look quite a novice with the bat by some of the veterans in this tournament. This time it was Pollock's turn.

10.1 .... Dhoni moves across his stumps and tries to work the ball through the leg side, he misses and gets hit on the pad outside the line of off stump
10.2 ...., Dhoni once again moves forward and across and gets hit on the thigh by a shorter ball from Pollock that angles into the right-hander
10.3 ...., good length delivery outside off stump, Dhoni stands on the back foot and punches the ball towards cover
10.4 ...., Dhoni moves forward and across and tries to defend but gets hit on the pad outside off, he's getting the ball to cut into the right-hander
10.5 ...., Dhoni moves across and fends but gets beaten, loud appeal for caught behind but the umpire says not out
10.6 ...., Dhoni fends off the back foot and gets beaten once again, ....​

 

[honestbharani]

and one dropped catch and one possible edge to keeper ignored by umpire. All this and a maiden over to Dhoni !!

The over to Dhoni was a classic. Dhoni has ben made to look quite a novice with the bat by some of the veterans in this tournament. This time it was Pollock's turn.

10.1 .... Dhoni moves across his stumps and tries to work the ball through the leg side, he misses and gets hit on the pad outside the line of off stump
10.2 ...., Dhoni once again moves forward and across and gets hit on the thigh by a shorter ball from Pollock that angles into the right-hander
10.3 ...., good length delivery outside off stump, Dhoni stands on the back foot and punches the ball towards cover
10.4 ...., Dhoni moves forward and across and tries to defend but gets hit on the pad outside off, he's getting the ball to cut into the right-hander
10.5 ...., Dhoni moves across and fends but gets beaten, loud appeal for caught behind but the umpire says not out
10.6 ...., Dhoni fends off the back foot and gets beaten once again, ....​

tbh... I thought Dhoni was trying to ensure he didn't pick up a wicket there, although I do agree he was made to look rather clueless by Pollock.



Dhoni seems to be a great leader but as I have commented before, he just doesn't seem to have a Plan B. He has a plan and if it works, great, otherwise, we are screwed. Not that anyone could have done much with Sanath in that kind of form. Kinda got the weird feeling that this will be the first and last of his in terms of significant innings in the IPL though. Juz don't think he still has it in him to deliver consistently, for some reason.


Bravo going back will be a pretty HUGE knock for Mumbai though. Wonder how they will cope with that.


Badri continues to impress. I really do hope the selectors have him as the next for a test slot after maybe Rohit Sharma. The guy has got lots of talent, more than a decent technique and doesn't get bogged down either. He can bowl a bit too and is a pretty good fielder. I hope he can make it to the test side sooner than later. I bet he would be a good batsman at the international level too, at least in tests.


Given the Super Kings poor bowling line up (for me, easily the worst in the tourney), this kind of a mauling was always on the cards. Hopefully they can still get the 2 wins they need to move on to the semis. Hoping for the best.


Ideally, I would like to see Mohali, Jaipur and Chennai all make it to the semis easily and then a bit of a 3 way for the last spot between Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. That would really light up the remaining group matches, for me.

 

[SJS]

Ideally, I would like to see Mohali, Jaipur and Chennai all make it to the semis easily and then a bit of a 3 way for the last spot between Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. That would really light up the remaining group matches, for me.

My ideal line up would be Mohali, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. I still feel Jaipur have overachieved. It may or may not be possible for teams which look better to catch up but I would love to see four teams led by two seniors and two super stars of the day from India in the finals.

Imagine a match up between Ganguly and Dhoni and Sachin and Yuvraj.

Of course being from Mumbai, I will be devastated if they dont make it, In which case I praythat Delhi do

 

[SJS]

tbh... I thought Dhoni was trying to ensure he didn't pick up a wicket there, although I do agree he was made to look rather clueless by Pollock.

In that case it wasn't Dhoni who managed that objective, providence did - Dhoni managed to play just one of six deliveries the way he tried

 

[honestbharani]

In that case it wasn't Dhoni who managed that objective, providence did - Dhoni managed to play just one of six deliveries the way he tried

lol... probably yes. But I thought it was kinda obvious that Dhoni's intent was to mainly play out that over, since it was Pollock's last and it was only the 11th over or so of the innings.

 

[SJS]

lol... probably yes. But I thought it was kinda obvious that Dhoni's intent was to mainly play out that over, since it was Pollock's last and it was only the 11th over or so of the innings.

I know where you are coming from but it is amazing how Warne and McGrath (I think) and now Pollock have exposed his limitations at the crease.

I have great respect for Dhoni's 'thought process'. He is a cerebral cricketer even though we dont associate that with someone with Dhoni's (or Afridi's) attitude to batting. I wonder what changes he will make because he cant do much about his batting style which is now fixed and cant be changed much at this stage of his career.

We are already seeing Dhoni's strike rates dropping and I suspect this wil continue till he finds a way to counter the better bowlers of the world.

 

[Jonty Lathwal]

yesterday's match was a total rocker ...........

Jayasuriya was amazing.............

 

[Laurrz]

Chennai are in massive danger of not making the semis now.... the ladder certainly is interesting....all top 6 teams can make it i feel

how huge is Mumbai vs KKR tomorrow

 

[weldone]

even though we dont associate that with someone with Dhoni's (or Afridi's) attitude to batting.

I'm sure you would agree that there are huge differences between Dhoni's and Afridi's attitude to batting...

 

[duffer]

Chennai are in massive danger of not making the semis now.... the ladder certainly is interesting....all top 6 teams can make it i feel

how huge is Mumbai vs KKR tomorrow

Nah, they still have games against the Chargers and RC's so that's the two wins needed to qualify right there.

Mumbai v Calcutta is the biggest game of the tournament so far. Both teams have big momentum behind them.

Oh and really impressed by Badri again last night although as Dhoni said no matter what score they got, Sanath playing like that would've chased em down

Sachin v Shoaib on Friday = OMG!

 

[Isura]

Awesome how Sanath went home during the 5 day break. Must have been the home cooking.

 

[Laurrz]

Nah, they still have games against the Chargers and RC's so that's the two wins needed to qualify right there.

dont think it will be that easy imo, Re: last time DC played Chennai

 

[duffer]

Haven't seen this anywhere else on here but : Australia seeks league of it's own

Interesting that they've acknowledged they can't compete with the IPL's financial muscle, but would a 3-4 week tournament in our summer and then 6 weeks of the IPL and a 20/20 Champions League be too much per year?

 

[Arjun]

Nah, they still have games against the Chargers and RC's so that's the two wins needed to qualify right there.

Mumbai v Calcutta is the biggest game of the tournament so far. Both teams have big momentum behind them.

Oh and really impressed by Badri again last night although as Dhoni said no matter what score they got, Sanath playing like that would've chased em down

Sachin v Shoaib on Friday = OMG!

The Kolkata Knightriders may look good and the form book may favour them, but they're still very shaky. Their batting is still dependent heavily on Dave Hussey, and not surprisingly, struggle to put forth large totals. Their running between wickets is uninspiring, and when they come into their element with a wicket or two down, that says something about the team. Their bowling looks strong, but even as Akhtar demolished the Daredevils, the rest of the attack looked off colour, and less said about the fielding, the better. They've been riding on exceptional performances by stars, but the rest of the team has done little of note- though Laxmiratan Shukla is a more-than-useful player.

So Mumbai are in with a chance of a huge win. Make no mistake, Sanath has demolished some of the best bowling attacks in world cricket, even at a very late age, so this attack won't be beyond him. And who can forget six-four-six Sachin facing Akhtar in the 2003 World Cup? Pollock's incredibly tight spell against a superior batting lineup is also a good sign. Moreover, this unit is working well as a team, with very few exceptional individual performances, but a sum total that makes a difference- tight overs by stock bowlers, Bravo getting wickets, rookies like Dhawal Kulkarni scalping at least two a game, and six scores over 30 adding up to you-know-what. They've had a rough start in the IPL, but things are looking good here.

 

[Arjun]

Haven't seen this anywhere else on here but : Australia seeks league of it's own

Interesting that they've acknowledged they can't compete with the IPL's financial muscle, but would a 3-4 week tournament in our summer and then 6 weeks of the IPL and a 20/20 Champions League be too much per year?

Australian domestic cricket is widely watched within the country, and is now broadcast worldwide- even here in India, where we rarely get to watch our own domestic scene. They shouldn't have any problem, unless they're trying to compete for money with the IPL- they still have a quality base.

 

[duffer]

Australian domestic cricket is widely watched within the country, and is now broadcast worldwide- even here in India, where we rarely get to watch our own domestic scene. They shouldn't have any problem, unless they're trying to compete for money with the IPL- they still have a quality base.

Not sure about widely watched in Australia. I go to Uni and work there and no-one even mentions state cricket, even when the Pura Cup final was on TV. Not sure how it rates on Fox Sports but you're overestimating the popularity of the domestic comps in their current state.

 

[Arjun]

dont think it will be that easy imo, Re: last time DC played Chennai

Mumbai have a batting unit that adds up well, and adds up a lot when Sanath, Sachin and Shaun strike form: Deccan are still heavily dependent on Gilchrist and Sharma, andonly now, Venugopal has been their latest batsman in form.

Mumbai have a tight bowling lineup bolstered by very tight fielding. Deccan only won against a skinny bowling lineup there, and their own bowling is the weakest in the tournament.

Mumbai are on a roll now, with four straight wins, including two against toppers Delhi and Rajasthan. Deccan only have two wins, against any team.

Mumbai will lose Dwayne Bravo, who struck form with the ball recently, in addition to chunky scores that made an impact. Deccan only lost Symonds, and are smarting a bit, so it's even here.

No doubt a tight match, but Mumbai have the upper hand here.

 

[Arjun]

Not sure about widely watched in Australia. I go to Uni and work there and no-one even mentions state cricket, even when the Pura Cup final was on TV. Not sure how it rates on Fox Sports but you're overestimating the popularity of the domestic comps in their current state.

Australia is more a Football/Rugby country, so cricket is lower in priority, but the quality won't be so bad. The only problem is that the revenue generated won't be as big as it is here. Since you were here in India, you might have noticed the re-runs of some Australian domestic matches here on STAR cricket, so there are people watching, though the interest here is not as much as in Indian domestic cricket, where we have no TV coverage and are dependent totally on Cricinfo and PTI/AFP.

 

[Arjun]

Bravo going back will be a pretty HUGE knock for Mumbai though. Wonder how they will cope with that.

Dilhara Fernando comes in. He's got a lot more pace and strike power, but that's an all-rounder replaced by a specialist pacer.

They have an option of playing a five-piece bowling lineup of Pollock-Nehra-Dhawal-Dilhara-Raje(sh) or replacing Raje(sh) with an extra batsman, either Rahane or Pinal Shah. Either way, the other option of replacing Rohan Raje with spinner Rajesh Pawar should be explored.

 

[sideshowtim]

Australia is more a Football/Rugby country, so cricket is lower in priority, but the quality won't be so bad. The only problem is that the revenue generated won't be as big as it is here. Since you were here in India, you might have noticed the re-runs of some Australian domestic matches here on STAR cricket, so there are people watching, though the interest here is not as much as in Indian domestic cricket, where we have no TV coverage and are dependent totally on Cricinfo and PTI/AFP.

Uh, no. Cricket is the most watched sport in this country. And by far and away the #1 summer sport. Just because people don't talk about state cricket at duffer's work doesn't mean they don't watch it....