Indian Premier League - General Discussion

[Sherlock Holmes]

I really enjoy this place and people say sarcasm is my strong suit. However, I urge the moderators here (who do an amazing job) to clear the trash. Let's keep the trolls for twitter.

Most of your posts, especially where you sarcastically voice your say on Virat's Press Conference talks will be vanished

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Most of your posts, especially where you sarcastically voice your say on Virat's Press Conference talks will be vanished

That's why I said it's my strong suit. If you find just that, look harder mate.

 

[Bevab]

I'll take the contrarian stance and suggest that AbD and Maxi are best utilized in this team's lineup at five and four respectively. Reasons being...

Contrary to popular belief, Maxi is not a great hitter from the first ball. I've said it before but most of his best performances have come at number four or when he walks in early and has time to settle in. ABD on the other hand isn't a first ball hitter either but can get going slightly quicker and more consistently than Maxi.

In addition, ABD has slightly lost some of his aura/skill that he had years ago where he looked nigh on invincible at the crease. He still is a monster but he can be dismissed whilst building an innings or even while in the middle of a launch more frequently these days, where as those were rare in the past despite his playing style remaining the same.

And finally, ABD is most likely to be the keeper now. It took a toll on him physically last season and while he will be better prepared this time around, it still is a big ask of him after everything he does and I would want to keep his batting workload slightly lesser and have the others pick the slack up. Maxi on the other hand may not even bowl in most games and should be justifying his position as a batsman this time around.

ABD walking in like today near the start of the second half of the innings, taking an over or two to get set and then launching in time for the death overs to pile the pressure on can be unstoppable. All he needs is for Kohli and Maxi to play to their normal potential before that and he can take the side home. You've also paid top dollar for Maxi, might as well use him in the position where he works best especially if he is in a good space mentally.

The rest of the lineup looks eccentric though. Washi opening at Chepauk is nothing new but doing it versus MI's attack is vastly different from the TNPL or even the SMAT. I don't remember him being a very aggressive starter in many games either. Either way, the bloke is a powerplay spinner and a damn good one at that. Bowl him there even if there are two right handers at the crease.

I've questioned the Christian purchase before and I still don't get it? He is a change-up seamer with no real fast delivery to surprise anyone, can hit hard in the death sometimes and.. that's it? His real strength lies in his experience but does it really matter when half the times he will be up against very good middle order batsmen? I simply believe that he is not of the highest standard to be a regular IPL XI starter (would love to be proven wrong given his story) especially with Harshal in the XI. The latter is an inferior player skill-wise for sure but can spare you an overseas slot for the same role. Speaking of Harshal...

He is too low down at nine. A few seasons ago he was near the top of the run scoring charts in SMAT. I've believed in him being a better batsman than a bowler but if he can bowl like today then RCB have a very useful utilitarian player who offers real balance to the side. The worry is that Shahbaz Ahmed will have to be dropped again given his roles are already partially covered by Sundar and Harshal. He deserves better IMO. Ten IPL teams can't come soon enough.

I'm a huge fan of the Kohli opening experiment too but not when there are actually adequate openers in Padikkal, Patidar and Azharuddeen. I believe Finn Allen is too raw to be a regular opener at the moment, but the thing with such players is that they can always be a one season wonder under the right circumstances. Still think RCB made a mistake with buying Jamieson and Christian when they could have got both roles covered by overspending on Morris (releasing him was a huge mistake IMO, he was the first star pacer to look reliable consistently at the death for RCB in a long time). But eh, you make your bed I guess and Jamieson has the talent with both bat and ball to justify his price-tag (yes, I believe he can be worth that much if used properly).

I wouldn't mind this lineup going forward from RCB

Patidar
Padikkal
Kohli
Maxi
ABD
Harshal
Sundar
Jamieson
Siraj/Saini
Zampa/Richardson
Chahal

Chennai and Ahmedabad both have the type of surfaces that can suit Zampa and even Richardson IMO. I would also trust Richardson more at the death than Christian, the latter's batting isn't needed when Jamieson is down at eight. Could always bring in Azharuddeen for Patidar if you wanted to give ABD a rest. Saini isn't far off from starting either, could always have him instead of the second overseas bowler and have Christian or Allen in.

The key to making this lineup work is to actually play bold. You've got ABD in at five waiting to walk out, there should be no excuse or any of the "playing yourself in for a big innings" nonsense. Keep the scoring rate up with the openers using the powerplay very aggressively (if not, Kohli can always be the one walking out as an opener inevitably, Kohli playing like a T20 accumulator instead of an ODI, Maxi doing Maxi things with Harshal and Washi to gush out a few blows in the end with Jamieson too. The main thing that should be the constant is ABD walking in by the twelfth or thirteenth over at max.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I'll take the contrarian stance and suggest that AbD and Maxi are best utilized in this team's lineup at five and four respectively. Reasons being...

Contrary to popular belief, Maxi is not a great hitter from the first ball. I've said it before but most of his best performances have come at number four or when he walks in early and has time to settle in. ABD on the other hand isn't a first ball hitter either but can get going slightly quicker and more consistently than Maxi.

In addition, ABD has slightly lost some of his aura/skill that he had years ago where he looked nigh on invincible at the crease. He still is a monster but he can be dismissed whilst building an innings or even while in the middle of a launch more frequently these days, where as those were rare in the past despite his playing style remaining the same.

And finally, ABD is most likely to be the keeper now. It took a toll on him physically last season and while he will be better prepared this time around, it still is a big ask of him after everything he does and I would want to keep his batting workload slightly lesser and have the others pick the slack up. Maxi on the other hand may not even bowl in most games and should be justifying his position as a batsman this time around.

ABD walking in like today near the start of the second half of the innings, taking an over or two to get set and then launching in time for the death overs to pile the pressure on can be unstoppable. All he needs is for Kohli and Maxi to play to their normal potential before that and he can take the side home. You've also paid top dollar for Maxi, might as well use him in the position where he works best especially if he is in a good space mentally.

The rest of the lineup looks eccentric though. Washi opening at Chepauk is nothing new but doing it versus MI's attack is vastly different from the TNPL or even the SMAT. I don't remember him being a very aggressive starter in many games either. Either way, the bloke is a powerplay spinner and a damn good one at that. Bowl him there even if there are two right handers at the crease.

I've questioned the Christian purchase before and I still don't get it? He is a change-up seamer with no real fast delivery to surprise anyone, can hit hard in the death sometimes and.. that's it? His real strength lies in his experience but does it really matter when half the times he will be up against very good middle order batsmen? I simply believe that he is not of the highest standard to be a regular IPL XI starter (would love to be proven wrong given his story) especially with Harshal in the XI. The latter is an inferior player skill-wise for sure but can spare you an overseas slot for the same role. Speaking of Harshal...

He is too low down at nine. A few seasons ago he was near the top of the run scoring charts in SMAT. I've believed in him being a better batsman than a bowler but if he can bowl like today then RCB have a very useful utilitarian player who offers real balance to the side. The worry is that Shahbaz Ahmed will have to be dropped again given his roles are already partially covered by Sundar and Harshal. He deserves better IMO. Ten IPL teams can't come soon enough.

I'm a huge fan of the Kohli opening experiment too but not when there are actually adequate openers in Padikkal, Patidar and Azharuddeen. I believe Finn Allen is too raw to be a regular opener at the moment, but the thing with such players is that they can always be a one season wonder under the right circumstances. Still think RCB made a mistake with buying Jamieson and Christian when they could have got both roles covered by overspending on Morris (releasing him was a huge mistake IMO, he was the first star pacer to look reliable consistently at the death for RCB in a long time). But eh, you make your bed I guess and Jamieson has the talent with both bat and ball to justify his price-tag (yes, I believe he can be worth that much if used properly).

I wouldn't mind this lineup going forward from RCB

Patidar
Padikkal
Kohli
Maxi
ABD
Harshal
Sundar
Jamieson
Siraj/Saini
Zampa/Richardson
Chahal

Chennai and Ahmedabad both have the type of surfaces that can suit Zampa and even Richardson IMO. I would also trust Richardson more at the death than Christian, the latter's batting isn't needed when Jamieson is down at eight. Could always bring in Azharuddeen for Patidar if you wanted to give ABD a rest. Saini isn't far off from starting either, could always have him instead of the second overseas bowler and have Christian or Allen in.

The key to making this lineup work is to actually play bold. You've got ABD in at five waiting to walk out, there should be no excuse or any of the "playing yourself in for a big innings" nonsense. Keep the scoring rate up with the openers using the powerplay very aggressively (if not, Kohli can always be the one walking out as an opener inevitably, Kohli playing like a T20 accumulator instead of an ODI, Maxi doing Maxi things with Harshal and Washi to gush out a few blows in the end with Jamieson too. The main thing that should be the constant is ABD walking in by the twelfth or thirteenth over at max.

I lose energy responding to you because your posts are so long. It reminds me a lot of one of my favourite sports persons i.e Sebastian Vettel. His press conferences are just endless. But then, both are food for thought and sometimes eye openers, so I have to take the trouble of reading the whole damn thing.

First of all, AB has lost nothing yet. Not in any form, shape or size. He just has one deficiency which is that he cannot play cricket 365 days anymore.

The last test series AB played, was in 18 and he was the best batsman against the best bowling attack in the world. His century basically completely turned the series around. He's not your average Joe or a world class finisher or slogger like Pandya or Pollard. He is just the most complete batsman of this generation. My father, who is a humongous cricket tragic just endlessly keeps saying he's the modern day IVA Richards and I never saw him so I hopelessly keep telling him that I cannot compare. His point is that nothing really beats him. Of course, like any sports mortal he will have challenges and he will fail but my dad says that there is no situation a bowler would want to see him walk out. Apparently, Richards was the same but with more physicality.

The only white ball batsman who I think comes close to AB is Jos Buttler and I don't think he has the extreme game on the defensive side which AB does. I don't subscribe to your logic that AB can't build an innings consistently. I think he can do it as well as a Kohli/Williamson but he will ensure the RRR or NRR doesn't get out of hand.

No. 3​	57​	13​	18​	3​	133*​	2176​	49.45​	154.44​
No. 4​	69​	16​	15​	0​	90*​	1930​	36.42​	146.88​

These are AB's numbers at 3 and 4.

I don't mind Maxwell at 4 and I agree with you that Kohli should mostly open but this man is the gun batsman in this side. As I said, today's game was a situation where in Maxwell's place AB is never giving it away.

If a wicket falls in the PP, you can use Sundar as an umbrella man ala Badrinath. But, ideally I want AB in before the 10th over. He is most dangerous when he's set at the 15 over mark. I think you and I will both agree that Dube and Morris were unnecessarily sacked and with them this line up would look a lot more complete.

If this farce continues, there will come games where we will be sick to our stomach with AB batting where he is. If he bats for a large part of the innings, the game is over. It doesn't matter what the other team does.

I would say

Kohli
Paddikal
AB
Maxwell
Christian
Sundar
Patel
Jamieson
Shahbaz
Chahal
Saini/Siraj

I am sure the poking around at the top will ignite the need of Finn Allen at the top and personally, I just don't get Christian. The hilarious thing is I feel Richardson is the best death bowler of the lot and if Jamieson travels in a couple of games, 15 crores could soon be benched.

It's a good win tonight and thank heavens Maxwell did some good. He can explode if he has 1/2 good knocks. It's even more reason to have AB bat 3. Hell, bat Maxwell at 3 and AB at 4. No issues. And as I said, the only time these two bat 4/5 is when Sundar bats 3 after an early wicket. With Kohli, the insurance policy is already there. Too many sides look for hell down the order. The job is to slog and really, these days a lot of bowlers do that. I actually think MI should bat Pollard 5 and Hardik 6.

EDIT- By the way, that Shahbaz fellow is a very good bat as well. He can hit em a mile!

 

[Till Valhalla]

I'll take the contrarian stance and suggest that AbD and Maxi are best utilized in this team's lineup at five and four respectively. Reasons being...

Contrary to popular belief, Maxi is not a great hitter from the first ball. I've said it before but most of his best performances have come at number four or when he walks in early and has time to settle in. ABD on the other hand isn't a first ball hitter either but can get going slightly quicker and more consistently than Maxi.

In addition, ABD has slightly lost some of his aura/skill that he had years ago where he looked nigh on invincible at the crease. He still is a monster but he can be dismissed whilst building an innings or even while in the middle of a launch more frequently these days, where as those were rare in the past despite his playing style remaining the same.

And finally, ABD is most likely to be the keeper now. It took a toll on him physically last season and while he will be better prepared this time around, it still is a big ask of him after everything he does and I would want to keep his batting workload slightly lesser and have the others pick the slack up. Maxi on the other hand may not even bowl in most games and should be justifying his position as a batsman this time around.

ABD walking in like today near the start of the second half of the innings, taking an over or two to get set and then launching in time for the death overs to pile the pressure on can be unstoppable. All he needs is for Kohli and Maxi to play to their normal potential before that and he can take the side home. You've also paid top dollar for Maxi, might as well use him in the position where he works best especially if he is in a good space mentally.

The rest of the lineup looks eccentric though. Washi opening at Chepauk is nothing new but doing it versus MI's attack is vastly different from the TNPL or even the SMAT. I don't remember him being a very aggressive starter in many games either. Either way, the bloke is a powerplay spinner and a damn good one at that. Bowl him there even if there are two right handers at the crease.

I've questioned the Christian purchase before and I still don't get it? He is a change-up seamer with no real fast delivery to surprise anyone, can hit hard in the death sometimes and.. that's it? His real strength lies in his experience but does it really matter when half the times he will be up against very good middle order batsmen? I simply believe that he is not of the highest standard to be a regular IPL XI starter (would love to be proven wrong given his story) especially with Harshal in the XI. The latter is an inferior player skill-wise for sure but can spare you an overseas slot for the same role. Speaking of Harshal...

He is too low down at nine. A few seasons ago he was near the top of the run scoring charts in SMAT. I've believed in him being a better batsman than a bowler but if he can bowl like today then RCB have a very useful utilitarian player who offers real balance to the side. The worry is that Shahbaz Ahmed will have to be dropped again given his roles are already partially covered by Sundar and Harshal. He deserves better IMO. Ten IPL teams can't come soon enough.

I'm a huge fan of the Kohli opening experiment too but not when there are actually adequate openers in Padikkal, Patidar and Azharuddeen. I believe Finn Allen is too raw to be a regular opener at the moment, but the thing with such players is that they can always be a one season wonder under the right circumstances. Still think RCB made a mistake with buying Jamieson and Christian when they could have got both roles covered by overspending on Morris (releasing him was a huge mistake IMO, he was the first star pacer to look reliable consistently at the death for RCB in a long time). But eh, you make your bed I guess and Jamieson has the talent with both bat and ball to justify his price-tag (yes, I believe he can be worth that much if used properly).

I wouldn't mind this lineup going forward from RCB

Patidar
Padikkal
Kohli
Maxi
ABD
Harshal
Sundar
Jamieson
Siraj/Saini
Zampa/Richardson
Chahal

Chennai and Ahmedabad both have the type of surfaces that can suit Zampa and even Richardson IMO. I would also trust Richardson more at the death than Christian, the latter's batting isn't needed when Jamieson is down at eight. Could always bring in Azharuddeen for Patidar if you wanted to give ABD a rest. Saini isn't far off from starting either, could always have him instead of the second overseas bowler and have Christian or Allen in.

The key to making this lineup work is to actually play bold. You've got ABD in at five waiting to walk out, there should be no excuse or any of the "playing yourself in for a big innings" nonsense. Keep the scoring rate up with the openers using the powerplay very aggressively (if not, Kohli can always be the one walking out as an opener inevitably, Kohli playing like a T20 accumulator instead of an ODI, Maxi doing Maxi things with Harshal and Washi to gush out a few blows in the end with Jamieson too. The main thing that should be the constant is ABD walking in by the twelfth or thirteenth over at max.

I agree with your assessment of Maxi and AB and everything else.
Only thing I see that might not change is Virat opening.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Gotta love the IPL! Woke up this morning feeling happy for no reason in all this doom and gloom. The reason obviously is the innings last night and perhaps equally importantly the prospect of seeing MS tonight. There is a strange excitement and anticipation when your favourites play just once in the year. Shows how much nonsense cricket happens round the clock 365 days!

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

I'll take the contrarian stance and suggest that AbD and Maxi are best utilized in this team's lineup at five and four respectively. Reasons being...

Contrary to popular belief, Maxi is not a great hitter from the first ball. I've said it before but most of his best performances have come at number four or when he walks in early and has time to settle in. ABD on the other hand isn't a first ball hitter either but can get going slightly quicker and more consistently than Maxi.

In addition, ABD has slightly lost some of his aura/skill that he had years ago where he looked nigh on invincible at the crease. He still is a monster but he can be dismissed whilst building an innings or even while in the middle of a launch more frequently these days, where as those were rare in the past despite his playing style remaining the same.

And finally, ABD is most likely to be the keeper now. It took a toll on him physically last season and while he will be better prepared this time around, it still is a big ask of him after everything he does and I would want to keep his batting workload slightly lesser and have the others pick the slack up. Maxi on the other hand may not even bowl in most games and should be justifying his position as a batsman this time around.

ABD walking in like today near the start of the second half of the innings, taking an over or two to get set and then launching in time for the death overs to pile the pressure on can be unstoppable. All he needs is for Kohli and Maxi to play to their normal potential before that and he can take the side home. You've also paid top dollar for Maxi, might as well use him in the position where he works best especially if he is in a good space mentally.

The rest of the lineup looks eccentric though. Washi opening at Chepauk is nothing new but doing it versus MI's attack is vastly different from the TNPL or even the SMAT. I don't remember him being a very aggressive starter in many games either. Either way, the bloke is a powerplay spinner and a damn good one at that. Bowl him there even if there are two right handers at the crease.

I've questioned the Christian purchase before and I still don't get it? He is a change-up seamer with no real fast delivery to surprise anyone, can hit hard in the death sometimes and.. that's it? His real strength lies in his experience but does it really matter when half the times he will be up against very good middle order batsmen? I simply believe that he is not of the highest standard to be a regular IPL XI starter (would love to be proven wrong given his story) especially with Harshal in the XI. The latter is an inferior player skill-wise for sure but can spare you an overseas slot for the same role. Speaking of Harshal...

He is too low down at nine. A few seasons ago he was near the top of the run scoring charts in SMAT. I've believed in him being a better batsman than a bowler but if he can bowl like today then RCB have a very useful utilitarian player who offers real balance to the side. The worry is that Shahbaz Ahmed will have to be dropped again given his roles are already partially covered by Sundar and Harshal. He deserves better IMO. Ten IPL teams can't come soon enough.

I'm a huge fan of the Kohli opening experiment too but not when there are actually adequate openers in Padikkal, Patidar and Azharuddeen. I believe Finn Allen is too raw to be a regular opener at the moment, but the thing with such players is that they can always be a one season wonder under the right circumstances. Still think RCB made a mistake with buying Jamieson and Christian when they could have got both roles covered by overspending on Morris (releasing him was a huge mistake IMO, he was the first star pacer to look reliable consistently at the death for RCB in a long time). But eh, you make your bed I guess and Jamieson has the talent with both bat and ball to justify his price-tag (yes, I believe he can be worth that much if used properly).

I wouldn't mind this lineup going forward from RCB

Patidar
Padikkal
Kohli
Maxi
ABD
Harshal
Sundar
Jamieson
Siraj/Saini
Zampa/Richardson
Chahal

Chennai and Ahmedabad both have the type of surfaces that can suit Zampa and even Richardson IMO. I would also trust Richardson more at the death than Christian, the latter's batting isn't needed when Jamieson is down at eight. Could always bring in Azharuddeen for Patidar if you wanted to give ABD a rest. Saini isn't far off from starting either, could always have him instead of the second overseas bowler and have Christian or Allen in.

The key to making this lineup work is to actually play bold. You've got ABD in at five waiting to walk out, there should be no excuse or any of the "playing yourself in for a big innings" nonsense. Keep the scoring rate up with the openers using the powerplay very aggressively (if not, Kohli can always be the one walking out as an opener inevitably, Kohli playing like a T20 accumulator instead of an ODI, Maxi doing Maxi things with Harshal and Washi to gush out a few blows in the end with Jamieson too. The main thing that should be the constant is ABD walking in by the twelfth or thirteenth over at max.

Top quality post this!!!! You've just nailed every point of yours in that!!!!!

I wonder how people who make baseless criticisms/trolls on certain match winners are allowed to stay on the forum while someone like you do not get appreciated enough.

I would say only an idiot could call Bumrah and Pant extremely over-rated. I would rather ask them to get a better life than being bitter all the time.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

@LiveLoveABD I don't have anything much to say on the AB issue but what I would say AB batting below Maxwell does make sense. And this isn't anything to do with AB's skills or his inability. AB is that good a player that he could play anywhere and yet perform the best for his team. And this isn't the case with Maxwell. Maxwell is nothing but a modern day unorthodox slogger. He clearly doesn't have in him to build an innings at first and then go for the big shots. Over the years of watching Maxwell I felt he performs the best when he gets to play his shots time and again rather than settling in first.

I think the strongest line-up for RCB would be

Paddikal
Patidar/ Azharudeen
Kohli
Maxwell
AB
Dan Christian
Washington Sundar
Harshal Patel
Kyle Jamieson/ Kane Richardson
Mohammad Siraj
Yuzvendra Chahal

 

[Khan Sahab54]

Mark Nicholas is on commentary?

Ea cricket 2007 vibes

 

[Khan Sahab54]

 

[SaiSrini]

Predictable XI for CSK! Rutu and Faf opening with Moeen, Curran and Bravo playing. They have to play Bravo for the death bowling. Hope he fires. Good that they're backing Ruturaj after that fine ending in IPL 2020.

CSK are batting till No. 11 today. Unreal batting depth. If this does not make them go harder from the start and maintain aggressive scoring rates, clearly they'll be MASSIVELY out of their minds.

GO MAHI!!! Lots of nostalgia on show today. MSD back, Raina back...Lot of history!! Uff.... This fills me up with excitement

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Delhi looking like a weak side on Paper atleast.

 

[SaiSrini]

Terrible terrible start this!!! Both openers GONE!!!

 

[wasteyouryouth]

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Not a good start this for CSK.

Just had a discussion with friend pre game that CSK management might promote Moeen Ali or Open with him considering he used to open early in his years back 2014 and here he is at no.3.