Indian Premier League - General Discussion

[SaiSrini]

Ended up getting a ticket for today’s game. Hoping it proves to be a great spectacle.

Enjoy! Hoping you got a lower stand. I saw the players like ants from The K upper stand on Friday vs RCB!

But still, it’s a lot of fun at Chepauk with the crowd energy, the Marina breeze, the food, etc. and I predict it’ll be a tough game with Rashid and Sai Kishore dangerous after their first win.

GT is a mini ‘Tamil Nadu squad’ and technically the home team. But one man on CSK is enough to nullify that!!

 

[Aravind.]

Fizz is very much underrated, I hope he will get to play today, even though Mini Malinga is ready. Fizz is perfect for Chennai Pitch.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Lord Umesh supremacy

 

[Aravind.]

Sai Kishore against CSK in Chepauk, prove your worth...

 

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

Tewatia is batting too late in the batting order. He should be batting a little above. Also in 2024 we still have Vijay Shankar? I thought with Raydu's retirement he dint have anything to look forward to.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Shivam Dubey looks like a Yuvraj Singh under MS Dhoni and in CSK.

Pathirana doesn't bowl mandatory 5 wides when playing for CSK.

 

[CerealKiller]

Poor super league

Better to be poor than have a trophyless decade

@Bevab David averages 69 @ 155 v spin in PSL.

Didn't play on the more balanced pitches this year though. On flat decks he was phenomenal

 

[Bevab]

Enjoy! Hoping you got a lower stand. I saw the players like ants from The K upper stand on Friday vs RCB!

But still, it’s a lot of fun at Chepauk with the crowd energy, the Marina breeze, the food, etc. and I predict it’ll be a tough game with Rashid and Sai Kishore dangerous after their first win.

GT is a mini ‘Tamil Nadu squad’ and technically the home team. But one man on CSK is enough to nullify that!!

I was in a middle-ish tier luckily and had a great view of the pitch. I’ve seen it from the upper stand more than a decade ago (the last time I visited Chepauk) and it was quite good too.

Agreed, the atmosphere was fantastic. Definitely more loud now compared to back then but it was a bit grating on how Dhoni focused it was.

 

[Till Valhalla]

Better to be poor than have a trophyless decade

Not talking about money but talking about quality of cricket.

 

[Bevab]

Stadium Experience:

• Seems to be much better now compared to when I last went for an IPL game. The facilities are much improved, entry is less of a hassle, food is miles better and water is easily available. I didn't bring anything with me personally but it did appear like they were slightly less draconian on what you could bring into the stadium.
  
  
  
• Crowd interactivity was quite good IMO, the announcer was good enough to play into certain tropes and not be too wild or variable to draw the crowd in. It's clear that they prioritized the viewing experience for a fan today way more than it ever was in the past, prior to this I wouldn't have been enthused about attending a live IPL game but after this I wouldn't mind going back in the future even if it's a different stand.
  
  
  
• I still think the entire ticketing process is a bit of a sham, most if not all tickets are being sold at up-scaled prices or provided as complimentary tickets to influential individuals. Saw a few noteworthy local celebrities that I doubt had to pay or struggle as much as the common folk to get their tickets and I think that while this is the case in every stadium, it's worse in Chepauk. Hope the situation changes once a certain individual retires....
  
  
  
• ....speaking of which, I found the increased attention on Dhoni a bit grating personally. He's seen as something equivalent to a sporting legend for obvious reasons here but it may have extended well beyond that in the last few seasons. You have the entire stadium chanting his name whenever a wicket falls even now in the hopes that he's up next and there were loud and wide shouts for him even when Dube and Mitchell were batting... I'm pretty sure I saw Dube noticing it and getting a bit flustered. Right before Jadeja walked out to bat entire stands stood up and veered towards the pavilion in hopes that it was Dhoni who walked out. At least now you don't have people jeering/booing the batter at crease for Dhoni and instead they're cheering for whoever did walk to bat. Funnily enough it may be why Gaikwad and Jadeja barely acknowledged the crowd from what I noticed at my end when there were some who called out for them during the second innings.

Game Experience:


In the first innings....

• Rachin Ravindra is bound to be the next superstar of NZ cricket, possibly their best ever cricketer if they nurture him well and play him in his best roles. It's hilarious that many were skeptical of him being bought in the auction at a rather cheap price including hardcore NZ fans due to his anomalous stats that were a result of him being wrongly misused for so long. He appeared to be seeing the ball earlier than every player out there and he was timing those slogs of his beautifully, I don't think CSK get anywhere close to over 200 without his early assault. He's also a huge boon to the immigrant community in NZ as a role model and can easily be the idol that many look up to in the future to bring more cricketers through the NZ pathway. From a CSK perspective, he has to be one of the three or four retained players in the upcoming mega-auction.
  
  
  
• It's easy to criticise Rahane for his underwhelming performances over the years and his inconsistency but it's easy to see why he was persisted with for so long across formats. His technique is a thing of beauty and when he gets into a groove he's a world class batter. A shame that it never resulted in him having an international career worthy of that but it looks like he's found his niche in the IPL as a pace hitter and I hope he continues to have a solid couple of seasons at the least wherever he ends up in the future.
  
  
  
• Dube is such a wild player. He's a limited player (imagine being substituted in and out regularly despite being an all-rounder on paper) who can bowl but doesn't have too much pace and isn't too skilled to swing or cut the ball, his fielding is poor and his batting can be neutered if you have the tools for it. And yet, he's one of the best cricketers in the Indian circuit if you play to his strengths of hitting the ball in his arc, matching him up against spin or bowling the same type of deliveries to him. It also appears like he's finally worked more on the weaker parts of his game to be less exposed and now he's at least capable of minimising the damage dealt if someone goes after that particularly.
  
  
  
• Rizvi was unbelievable. Imagine walking in for your debut during the nineteenth over, matching up against the best T20 spinner of our times who is also a good death bowler and then slog sweeping him for a six and then dancing down the ground to hit another one by the end of the over. It's easy to see why they went big for him in the auction and have played him in the first two games, youngsters who are unfazed by pressure like this are rare.
  
  
  
• Jadeja's definitely got a role as a late overs slower ball hitter. The slow balls allow him to use his creativity to either hit the ball into unconventional areas or be set himself up to hit into his strong zones. This may be the best use of him going forward. He's still a terrible runner though despite being so quick.
  
  
  
• Sai Kishore's really good with the basics of spin bowling, you can see how he bowls a really tight line and forces the batters to manuever around to get their runs or try to hit him over his head. It was remarkably intelligent bowling from him and it's a shame that his final figures got ruined by a misfield and Dube doing Dube things, there's no doubt that he deserves to be the next Indian spinner in the line once Ashwin and Jadeja depart as backup to Sundar, Bishnoi and Kuldeep across formats. My only slight worry (and this may be nitpicking) is that he didn't really seem to have an extra, really noticeable skill other than him being spot on with the fundamentals and making use of his tall frame? I'm not quite sure if that will be a bottleneck at the highest levels of international cricket and if that's what has kept him from playing more in the IPL so far. Of course this could just be me judging him on a day where the pitch wasn't spin friendly.
  
  
  
• Mohit's career revival as a late overs slow ball specialist leaning further into his strengths is quite remarkable. He's got good accuracy and variations to still be relevant despite his obvious lack of pace and does seem to be an intelligent pacer on his own. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a bit of a Nehra influence in there. Having said that....
  
  
  
• ....I'm not sure why Spencer Johnson is being used as a middle overs enforcer? He's bowled only two overs at the death so far in two games and none in the powerplay. Prior to this he's always been a new ball bowler or the first change. He's got a good, awkward ball that can be troubling when bowled back of a length or short at his height and that is his modus operandi but he's also capable of swinging it early from what I remember. It's strange that Omarzai and Umesh got an extra over respectively despite looking off colour in their previous over whilst Spencer wasn't out there having an over to himself. He wasn't really quick from what I saw today but I hope they give him an over in the powerplay as the first change going forward and utilise two more in the middle before one death over. He's a leftie like you Nehra, make full use of him!

In the second innings...

• It's safe to say that Gaikwad has stamped his authority on the side as the captain and he's not a mere conduit for Dhoni like how many are pretending on social media. He's involved in the bowling changes, he's frequently up there talking with his bowlers on what to do and he's active with his fields. The team also is responding to him. However there's still an element of Dhoni leading in his own way that's present and it's quite visible with how involved he is with the fields in and around his side. It was quite funny looking at how Gaikwad was setting the fielders up in one half and Dhoni was doing the same in the other half. There were also very few moments where the bowlers did look up to Dhoni as the defacto leader even if I barely noticed him being involved with the bowling plans. The funniest moment was the first DRS referral for the wide where Dhoni asked Deshpande to review it and Deshpande instantly asked for the review with Gaikwad running in from the boundary rope T-posing after a moment. However these were quite rare, Gaikwad took the review on another DRS LBW challenge where Dhoni was completely uninterested due to how unlikely it was to be pitching in line while the bowler wanted it (think it was Pathirana?) and sure enough... there was a huge gap between where it pitched and where it should have for a successful review.
  
  
  
• It's not easy judging how most bowlers bowled when Gujarat Titans were so lackluster with their batting. It seemed like their plan was basically "Gill and inshallah" and once he got out, everyone decided to do what they would do best irrespective of what the game situation was. Wouldn't surprise me if GT wrote this fixture off as a loss prior to the game and once they saw the first innings total decided that it was fairly unlikely they would chase it down anyway. (I didn't stick around for the post-game ceremony but it seems like Gill said they expected a big chase). Azmatullah went from batting at three in the previous game to six in this one, that's a big tactical change to make on the basis of one IPL game from a debutant. Shankar's stats at number four look good but I'm not sure if he is one, I think they're better served by having him come in at five and either hitting out after a few balls to settle or play a similar role at six with quicker aggression. The biggest culprit would have to be how disjointed their batting plan looked as a whole.
  
  
  
• Chahar's still got it to be a good powerplay bowler, loved how he was cramping up the batters frequently. Speaking of him... he's the ultimate team lad and vibes bloke. He was out in the pavilion dancing to the tunes during CSK's batting during the death overs and warming up whilst also cheering on the batters hitting and congratulating those who got out. Also had plenty of energy in the field to be upbeat and interacted with the crowd whenever possible.
  
  
  
• Mitchell's bowling was a surprise but ended up working well. The stadium was probably at the loudest when he drew that edge off Shankar and Dhoni made a great dive to catch. Also found it hilarious that he was revving the crowd up prior to that delivery with his subtle hand signs.
  
  
  
• The pick of the bowlers to me today was Tushar Deshpande. The man alternated between awkward, back of a length deliveries and fuller ones that were slower on average superbly. He still bowled a few loose balls as is the norm like that full toss that went for a boundary but he was excellent otherwise today. If this is the kind of stuff he's serving up in the nets it's easy to see why he's ahead of Thakur for now due to his higher pace. I hope he maintains his performance levels like today because it was a treat to watch him today deliver as I was biting my nails hoping he wouldn't revert to his inconsistent self.
  
  
  
• Pathirana is another frustrating bowler to watch. He was the toughest bowler to face today (albeit it could be due to the game situation, GT's plan and the batters he was bowling to) due to his slingy action gaining height on you awkwardly no matter where he pitches it but for every ball he nailed there was one that was extremely loose and could have been costly on another day. I'm half expecting a minimum of one wide in every over he bowls. The potential is there for him to be as good as Malinga if not even better but it's clear to see why he's struggled for Sri Lanka often. The good thing is that he's still incredibly young and is unlikely to ever become a fixture on the FC circuit unless he wishes for it like Hasaranga so there's still plenty of time for him to improve and shine before his body lets him down.
  
  
  
• I was one of those skeptical on Fizz when he was bought and I still have a few doubts but his off-cutters and slower balls are still a thing of beauty. I think his wicket ball spun as much as an orthodox spin ball from a few SLA darters out there if not more. It remains to be seen if he can keep up bowling in the mid to high 130s or if he reverts back to the low 130s which negates some of the danger his special balls serve but for now he deserves to play.

Whew, that was a long, long post. I hope it's bearable enough to read for everyone.

 

[CerealKiller]

Not talking about money but talking about quality of cricket.

It's still a lot of fun

 

[Till Valhalla]

It's still a lot of fun

Enjoy

 

[Bigby Wolf]

 

[SaiSrini]

Early days, but I think we might’ve cracked the ‘captaincy transition’ at CSK finally. I hope they have seen enough in Gaikwad’s captaincy to persist with him even if turbulence happens to the team this season. I’m confident he had a hand at Rizvi’s promotion over Jadeja (fans on social
media think it was MSD and/or Jaddu; I disagree). The new guys (Rachin, Mitchell) are already singing peons of Gaikwad. His mental toughness is quite high and that’s why the clamor over the years for him to take on captaincy.

I’ve liked Gill’s captaincy too. Obviously GT are more shaky due to the big hole left by Hardik and the injury to Shami. They still played superbly to beat MI.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Mayank Agarwal man what a downfall.

After his stellar performances in 2015-18 season in domestic he burst on the scene at the MCG boxing day test match.

Somehow has fallen miserably short to perform in the IPL.