Indian Premier League - General Discussion

[SaiSrini]

On an off topic note - I don't need to prove to anyone that 'I support all India players even if they do not hail from TN'. I come from a place called Chennai which stood up and applauded Pakistan when they won in Chennai, at the height of political tensions during the Kargil war period in 1999. We adopt non-Tamil people as our own (e.g. Rajinikanth, MS Dhoni, etc). Everyone has an attachment to their state/city and that's perfectly normal. However my backing of Ashwin in the whole 'Mankad' episode is not driven by state bias and again, I am not going to go deeper here because as I said, I don't need to prove to anyone. I have criticized Ashwin whenever his actions have not concured with what I've believed in.

Yes I've a problem with Kohli's captaincy but I have been posting a lot here in this forum about how brilliant Kohli has been as a batsman. I also had problems with Sachin's captaincy at that time and fortunately, Sachin himself understood that (maybe from people close to him) and he avoided captaincy for his own and the country's good.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

On an off topic note - I don't need to prove to anyone that 'I support all India players even if they do not hail from TN'. I come from a place called Chennai which stood up and applauded Pakistan when they won in Chennai, at the height of political tensions during the Kargil war period in 1999. We adopt non-Tamil people as our own (e.g. Rajinikanth, MS Dhoni, etc). Everyone has an attachment to their state/city and that's perfectly normal. However my backing of Ashwin in the whole 'Mankad' episode is not driven by state bias and again, I am not going to go deeper here because as I said, I don't need to prove to anyone. I have criticized Ashwin whenever his actions have not concured with what I've believed in.

Yes I've a problem with Kohli's captaincy but I have been posting a lot here in this forum about how brilliant Kohli has been as a batsman. I also had problems with Sachin's captaincy at that time and fortunately, Sachin himself understood that (maybe from people close to him) and he avoided captaincy for his own and the country's good.

None of us here are trying to prove jack to anyone. It's an open discussion forum and for someone like me, I treat it as a platform to learn and be more open to another person's opinion. I have no issue admitting that forums such as these, specially planet cricket reduces bigotry. It offers freedom that I have not seen on any platform and I am on a few discussion boards which are not just confined to cricket.

The place you come from and the place I come from are absolutely IRRESPECTIVE in an argument/discussion when it comes to events such as the applause of the Pakistan team in Chennai (where you come from) or the abandonment of the India/SL semi final in Kolkata in the 1996 world cup (where I come from). It's about your views on a platform such as this. When the kettle was hot, I definitely went overboard with my Ashwin bashing. But, I am human enough to admit it. When Kohli messes up, I critique him but I also don't judge him for the human he is. You DO. The whole world knows his batsmanship so shut that crap. It's not rocket science. Your posts are highlighted by CSK, MS Dhoni (national icon), SRT (national icon), DK, Vijay Shankar, Washington Sundar and I also recall Baba Aprajit.

This entire incident was done, but coming out and boasting about the interview Ashwin gave is a tell tell sign about how narrow minded your spectrum is. I can give you a thousand tweets about Shane Warne's views and it doesn't validate my point or yours. But one needs to understand that. I'm not here to validate my opinion by using Warne as a support system although he is twice the cricketer you so adore.

Ashwin has used two other questionable tactics -1) When he came jumping and claiming an overthrow which was a dead ball and by making Sarfaraz not field and using a substitute. Again, it's within the rules but if you're going to come out here and post interviews and present them as some sort of fact.. well, newsflash- I will pull those facts from whichever part of India you like to boast about down.

 

[Bevab]

Kolkata seem to be the team to beat so far, in this year’s IPL. They were on an entirely different planet in today’s match. And, they haven’t got any overseas players who’d be leaving the tournament early right? That could very well make them the favourites.

Also, glad to see Gurney perform well on his debut. Should have received his chance way before this game.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Kolkata seem to be the team to beat so far, in this year’s IPL. They were on an entirely different planet in today’s match. And, they haven’t got any overseas players who’d be leaving the tournament early right? That could very well make them the favourites.

Also, glad to see Gurney perform well on his debut. Should have received his chance way before this game.

We have always had a decent team. Season one was unfortunate but post that it has always been good for us. We have invested in the right talent. Also the captains we have got have been inspiring. We should be thankful to Gauti for Narine, Lynn, Robbie, Piyush and Kuldeep. Russel took over from Pandey and Shakib. We had ten Doeschate at one point.

We have though struggled with fast bowlers with some one always getting injured or pulling out. Missing Mavi and Nagarkoti this season was a big blow as well. We need to invest in one-two good overseas bowlers who would train Mavi and Nagarkoti. Gurney did look impressive today.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I think there's a very valuable lesson to be learnt from KKR. I love how their batting strategy works. I think a lot of other teams should look at using other cricketers to maximise the power play. I like how Uthappa is 1 drop and ready to rescue a situation and if a platform is laid they hold him back and use Rana.

Take for example RCB- I personally feel Kohli and AB should never bat together. Reason? If either gets out, the whole team feels like they're one wicket away from bowing out. While they're out there, unless the over count hits 15, Kohli never goes into overdrive and the onus lies on AB to dominate. I think they should opt for two openers who have a free license, one of them should definitely be Moeen Ali and Kohli at one drop with AB at 5/6.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Kolkata seem to be the team to beat so far, in this year’s IPL. They were on an entirely different planet in today’s match. And, they haven’t got any overseas players who’d be leaving the tournament early right? That could very well make them the favourites.

Also, glad to see Gurney perform well on his debut. Should have received his chance way before this game.

I will have my say when KKR beats teams like CSK or MI until then I can't say anything. To me somewhere they don't inspire that confidence that they would actually win even after those breath-taking performances where they have gone on to win out of no where. I want them to beat CSK or MI because both of them have won 3 titles each and when we talk about Mumbai they've got quality in their bowling attack and when talking about CSK I don't need to say anything else

Anyways it was a brilliant batting display last night from the Knight Riders

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I will have my say when KKR beats teams like CSK or MI until then I can't say anything. To me somewhere they don't inspire that confidence that they would actually win even after those breath-taking performances where they have gone on to win out of no where. I want them to beat CSK or MI because both of them have won 3 titles each and when we talk about Mumbai they've got quality in their bowling attack and when talking about CSK I don't need to say anything else

Anyways it was a brilliant batting display last night from the Knight Riders

They've beaten SRH who have also won two titles and I don't know what the others here feel but in my opinion, man to man SRH has by far the best side.

In IPL, team vs team match ups are highly exaggerated, mostly by Star Sports. I see eight pretty equal sides and the best managed and best led sides tend to win. The only team that's slightly ahead in terms of squad strength is SRH.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

They've beaten SRH who have also won two titles and I don't know what the others here feel but in my opinion, man to man SRH has by far the best side.

In IPL, team vs team match ups are highly exaggerated, mostly by Star Sports. I see eight pretty equal sides and the best managed and best led sides tend to win. The only team that's slightly ahead in terms of squad strength is SRH.

I think SRH are too much dependent on the opening pair and most of the times they would lose rather than winning it because of the lack of confidence in the middle order and Manish Pandey is proving to be worst of all since last year. And when you see their bowling it is very good most of the of times but whenever a player from the opposition has come up with something new to tackle their bowling attack they have failed for eg: IPL Finals last year, Russell's innings, etc.

Squad wise CSK is the strongest followed by DC and KXIP while MI is par with KKR and SRH but what is different is the belief that MI have on them to come out on top at any point of time. RR strategically looks completely out of sorts at Present while RCB are virtually out of it. So only 6 teams look in the competition now with CSK, SRH and MI being front-runners as of now

PS: Things can turn in the next 2 weeks or so

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I think SRH are too much dependent on the opening pair and most of the times they would lose rather than winning it because of the lack of confidence in the middle order and Manish Pandey is proving to be worst of all since last year. And when you see their bowling it is very good most of the of times but whenever a player from the opposition has come up with something new to tackle their bowling attack they have failed for eg: IPL Finals last year, Russell's innings, etc.

Squad wise CSK is the strongest followed by DC and KXIP while MI is par with KKR and SRH but what is different is the belief that MI have on them to come out on top at any point of time. RR strategically looks completely out of sorts at Present while RCB are virtually out of it. So only 6 teams look in the competition now with CSK, SRH and MI being front-runners as of now

PS: Things can turn in the next 2 weeks or so

I don't agree at all. CSK's squad is not the best by a long shot. Just like Pandey, Rayudu has show little this year. They just have an amazing amazing leader. MI are another very well oiled unit but once Behrendoff leaves, their bowling will revert to McCleneghan and it looks slim thereafter. As I said, they're all good sides and it all comes down to leadership and management. KKR have a brilliant XI and I for one think their batting is the best and most balanced. Their bowling is the weak link.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

CSK's squad is not the best by a long shot. Just like Pandey, Rayudu has show little this year.

That is where they get the strength. They have Watson who is currently the best T20 opener in the world then they have an in-form Suresh Raina with Kedar Jadhav to support him and Dhoni looks in terrific form this season. Jadeja seem to have improved this season while Chahar can form a good partnership with Mohit.

MI are another very well oiled unit but once Behrendoff leaves, their bowling will revert to McCleneghan and it looks slim thereafter.

I don't he will leave any earlier once IPL is done and I heard Malinga will be back in 13th April so there they don't have any problem

KKR have a brilliant XI and I for one think their batting is the best and most balanced. Their bowling is the weak link.

Exactly the reason why I don't see them winning!!!! Batsman win you matches bowlers win you tournaments.

 

[Velocity]

I think SRH are too much dependent on the opening pair and most of the times they would lose rather than winning it because of the lack of confidence in the middle order and Manish Pandey is proving to be worst of all since last year. And when you see their bowling it is very good most of the of times but whenever a player from the opposition has come up with something new to tackle their bowling attack they have failed for eg: IPL Finals last year, Russell's innings, etc.

Don't think it's the lack of confidence that highlights failures of SRH's middle order. The lack of game time which coincides with the lack of form of those batsmen is mainly the reason why SRH fail to cash in whenever the time comes when the top order fails. All of those batsmen are highly capable and they've played some match-winning knocks before. It's strange what's happened to Pandey. It seemed he only flourished in the purple jersey, and he's becoming a pain for SRH at this point.

SRH usually fail to seize the crucial moments, and generally, this has become the norm of this season. SRH would've taken the first match easily if it weren't for some Russell brilliance, and those 40 runs scored by Pollard in the last two overs in the MI game clearly had a huge impact on the game and one of the key reasons for that loss. But again they've proven time and time again that it requires a well-oiled bowling attack to take you deep into the tournament. If only the middle order would step it up, SRH could be more of the team t beat this season.

 

[Morphed]

Lol Gowtham talked about having a plan to bowl to Russell
Turned out he forgot to have a plan against Narine

We will most probably lose against mi as they are our bogey team
But will surely be an interesting contest between csk and us

Captain cool who calms down bowler and makes them great and Dre Russ who demoralises them and makes them gully cricketers

[HASHTAG]#FireVsIce[/HASHTAG]

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Lol Gowtham talked about having a plan to bowl to Russell
Turned out he forgot to have a plan against Narine

As far as I remember Narine was dropped somewhere in the 2nd over and very next ball Lynn was bowled but fortunately the bails didn't come off and more so it was lack of aggressive approach from RR due to which they failed to score big and that is where KKR got a huge advantage.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

I will have my say when KKR beats teams like CSK or MI until then I can't say anything. To me somewhere they don't inspire that confidence that they would actually win even after those breath-taking performances where they have gone on to win out of no where. I want them to beat CSK or MI because both of them have won 3 titles each and when we talk about Mumbai they've got quality in their bowling attack and when talking about CSK I don't need to say anything else

Anyways it was a brilliant batting display last night from the Knight Riders

And KKR has won 2 title. Agree we have not so good record against CSK and MI. If you remove Bumrah, MI do not have a quality bowling lineup. You want to know which team has a quality bowling lineup? It is SRH. CSK has team management and captain that just knows how to win. Although I feel Rohit is a better captain compared to Kohli, he has never had an explosive IPL season.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

If you remove Bumrah, MI do not have a quality bowling lineup.

Are you sure ? Because I think MI even have Rahul Chahar, Mayank Markhande and other Overseas bowler. Also Bumrah hasn't done that well for MI as he has done for India. And also to add to it in last 2 seasons Hardik Pandya is MI's leading wicket-taker and not Bumrah