*Official* Indian Premier League 2011

[KiWiNiNjA]

James Franklin

 

[Athlai]

Jimmeh!

 

[Athlai]

Jimmeh gets MOTM and almost no love by anyone watching the game.

 

[Jono]

Haha tbf when I woke up and saw the scorecard I immediately thought of you

I then read further about the last over and felt the need to bag the **** out of Balaji.

 

[Burgey]

Is this still going? FMD

 

[Flem274*]

Is this still going? FMD

Anyway, lollin at Franklin's outside edge. Gets more action than the middle of his bat.

 

[Arjun]

And Tendulkar saying the Harbhajan move worked is ridiculous. He made a run-a-ball thirty. If Rayudu - the in-form player for Mumbai - had faced those thirty balls, they might have been chasing ten-twelve runs else in the last over. To send Harbhajan at three was dumb, to suggest the move worked is worse.

Any doubts on Tendulkar's incompetent captaincy have been removed by his stint in IPLs.

EDIT: MI needs 3 wins to win IPL. I think they will do something silly like this ("saving" in form batsmen and sending "pinch hitters" in T20) in at least one of them, and crash out.

Harbhajan has a strike rate over 160 in the IPL, and 140 overall. Hardly a poor choice, given flawed T20 perceptions on strike rate. Somehow, it didn't come off, but the partnership did work, as they got lots of runs together at a good rate. I'd still prefer one of Pollard or Symonds opening the innings, and have a top four of Pollard, Sachin, Symonds and Sharma. Rayudu's largely over-rated this season- he's got a sub-120 strike rate (in comparison to others who scored as many runs or fifties, but strike over 10 and a few over 130), which doesn't help the cause much.

Suman opening the innings should have raised more eyebrows than Harbhajan at three.

Both Pollard and Yusuf Pathan have been largely underused this IPL, with the preferred options often letting the teams down.

Let's not forget, this is Nita Ambani's team. She may be running it more. Tendulkar's just the face. He's a much smarter cricketer, a much smarter cricket brain and thus a smarter captain than what any of this suggests.

 

[Arjun]

Balaji should be banned for cricket.

**** he is absolutely horse ****.

Wouldn't say Balaji's bowling was horrible in the last over. He could have bowled better, but three of those fours were quite lucky. Full credit to Franklin and Rayudu for keeping their head though.

Bala had a ****ty day! He's bowled pretty well in the tournament. Rayudu=awesome!

Haha tbf when I woke up and saw the scorecard I immediately thought of you

I then read further about the last over and felt the need to bag the **** out of Balaji.

Writing off Balaji over this would be really, really sad. He had the hardest task on his hands, and should have bowled when that slow-medium Rajat Bhatia got the ball. Bala's still one of the best T20 seamers in India, and there are few, so he shouldn't be evaluated on moments like this, and should be a T20 contender for India, if nothing else. He's a much better bowler than this, and much better than this Dinda-Tyagi-Mithun-Umesh-Unadkat brigade we see playing for India often.

 

[honestbharani]

Any doubts on Tendulkar's incompetent captaincy have been removed by his stint in IPLs.

EDIT: MI needs 3 wins to win IPL. I think they will do something silly like this ("saving" in form batsmen and sending "pinch hitters" in T20) in at least one of them, and crash out.

This. He has a lot of good ideas but also a lot of **** ones, I guess

 

[Jono]

Writing off Balaji over this would be really, really sad. He had the hardest task on his hands

Haha, I can think of many more difficult tasks in cricket than defending 21 in the final over.

The other bowlers did a good job ensuring he had a lot of runs to defend in the final over, and he stuffed it up.

He also has a history of bowling poor last overs. IPL 1 final, ODI vs. Australia in 2004 in Brisbane.

 

[vcs]

Haha, I can think of many more difficult tasks in cricket than defending 21 in the final over.

The other bowlers did a good job ensuring he had a lot of runs to defend in the final over, and he stuffed it up.

He also has a history of bowling poor last overs. IPL 1 final, ODI vs. Australia in 2004 in Brisbane.

He's bowled several poor overs at the death in this IPL alone. Somehow, no captain so far seems to have cottoned on to the fact that he's just an ordinaryterrible death bowler.

 

[Blaze 18]

Harbhajan has a strike rate over 160 in the IPL, and 140 overall. Hardly a poor choice, given flawed T20 perceptions on strike rate. Somehow, it didn't come off, but the partnership did work, as they got lots of runs together at a good rate. I'd still prefer one of Pollard or Symonds opening the innings, and have a top four of Pollard, Sachin, Symonds and Sharma. Rayudu's largely over-rated this season- he's got a sub-120 strike rate (in comparison to others who scored as many runs or fifties, but strike over 10 and a few over 130), which doesn't help the cause much.

Suman opening the innings should have raised more eyebrows than Harbhajan at three.

Both Pollard and Yusuf Pathan have been largely underused this IPL, with the preferred options often letting the teams down.

Let's not forget, this is Nita Ambani's team. She may be running it more. Tendulkar's just the face. He's a much smarter cricketer, a much smarter cricket brain and thus a smarter captain than what any of this suggests.

Rayudu has the second most number of fifties this season - not overrated at all. His overall strike rate may be low (for the record, Tendulkar's is only 109), but Rayudu found the boundary more often than not when Mumbai needed it. You don't send a tail-ender over an in-form batsman when you have as few as twenty overs to work with. Your best batsmen/best hitters should get as much time in the middle as possible. And no, the Harbhajan move didn't work. Just because Franklin and Rayudu pulled off something extra-ordinary in the last over doesn't mean the move worked.

I'm sure Nita Ambani has no say in team selection/batting order etc. I doubt if even the coach has much of a say; pretty sure it's Tendulkar through and through. Mumbai made a similar mistake even in the last IPL final. They sent Harbhajan in at three, and when Pollard walked in to bat, Mumbai needed around 50-55 in three overs!

 

[Jono]

Yep, was more talking about when the game was there to be won in that final over.

EDIT: @vcs

 

[Blaze 18]

He's bowled several poor overs at the death in this IPL alone. Somehow, no captain so far seems to have cottoned on to the fact that he's just an ordinaryterrible death bowler.

I think people are being a tad too harsh on Balaji. He bowled a brilliant last over as recently as the last game (only over he bowled in the whole match, picked up two wickets). There's no doubt Balaji could and should have bowled better (particularly the last ball), but three of the four fours Franklin hit were lucky ones. Can't really blame Balaji for that. That's T20 for you.

 

[Shri]

Was just **** field settings by the captain. Would have got a straight-ish 3rd man in after the first couple of edged 4s.

 

[Blaze 18]

Agree.

 

[chicane]

Bala does tend to wilt under pressure, still remember Gayle battering him on his ODI debut. But yesterday has mired what has for the majority been a decent performance this tournament. He bowled too many full tosses in the end but the punishment was merciless all through, whatever the shot played or ball bowled, he was getting hit for four.

 

[Jono]

If you bowl a yorker the batsman can't edge it over the keeper ftr

 

[Blaze 18]

Not everyone is Malinga man.

 

[Athlai]

If you bowl a yorker the batsman can't edge it over the keeper ftr

Heh I remember Malinga doing a slightly edged scoop over the keeper's ehad off a Tait 150km/h yorker when he tonned up in that T20I. Crazy bastard.