Indian Premier League PC Style

[BlitzBerg]

@User- the NRR doesn't equal out. Check it once again.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Guys, did I ask you for the lineups as yet? When I've the stats and everything else ready, only then you can post the lineups.

Varun, NRR is correct. +0.94 and -0.931.

 

[Dipak]

Down and down again.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Mid season review​

With the conclusion of round 7 we are halfway through the season. And, it makes the rest of the rounds to come pretty interesting as we have 5 teams tied at the same number points separated by net run rate for the top spot and others not too far behind. Let us have a look at how things went during the first half.

First century of the league - Kevin Pietersen 105 (131) [LINK]​

We didn?t have to wait long for the first hundred of the IPL. It came in the very first match and in the very first innings where Kevin Pietersen of Delhi Duelers made 105. Delhi however ended up on the losing side as young wicket keeper batsman Naman Ojha of Mumbai Mirchis played a scintillating knock of 91 not out which included 5 massive sixes.

First five-for of the league - Dale Steyn 6 for 51 (10) [LINK]​

Technically a 6-for, it was Dale Steyn of Punjab Lions who ripped apart Chennai?s batting lineup on a beautiful looking Mohali wicket which was expected to be a runs galore. After reducing them to a mere 224, it was a cake walk for Punjab batsmen as openers Dilshan and Hafeez put on 141 runs for the first wicket. Punjab won comfortably by 7 wickets.

The Kevin Pietersen show! [1] [2] [3] [4]​

Delhi Duelers may not be in form as a unit but, their premier overseas batsman Kevin Pietersen had a point or two to prove it seems. Smashing 3 consecutive hundreds, he showed what he?s capable of. Be it opening the innings or coming in at number 3, he continued to pile on the runs. In 7 matches so far he has scored 556 runs at an unbelievable average of 92.7 with 4 centuries to his name. He was brutal against Hyderabad Hulks where he hit the highest individual score of the league so far as he made 151 runs off 125 deliveries. His innings included 14 fours and 5 maximums.

Looking at where the teams stand now, we can be sure it is going to be real close! No team has dominated in particular. Let?s have a look at some of the weak-links for various teams which managers might have overlooked for the time being.

Pos | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | Points | NRR

1​

|

Punjab Lions​

|

7​

|

4​

|

3​

|

0​

|

8​

|+0.424

2​

|

Chennai Cyborgs​

|

7​

|

4​

|

3​

|

0​

|

8​

|+0.279

3​

|

Mumbai Mirchis​

|

7​

|

4​

|

3​

|

0​

|

8​

|+0.170

4​

|

Bengaluru Brave Brats​

|

7​

|

4​

|

3​

|

0​

|

8​

|+0.067

5​

|

Hyderabad Hulks​

|

7​

|

4​

|

3​

|

0​

|

8​

|-0.099

6​

|

Delhi Duelers​

|

7​

|

3​

|

4​

|

0​

|

6​

|-0.284

7​

|

Jaipur Jaguars​

|

7​

|

3​

|

4​

|

0​

|

6​

|-0.476

8​

|

Bengal Tigers​

|

7​

|

2​

|

5​

|

0​

|

4​

|-0.072

---​

Form: WLWWLWL

Mahela Jayawardene has scored just 196 runs in 7 innings with a high score of 49​

Even though Punjab Lions top the standings table for now, there are certain things which may worry them. Form of players like Mahela Jayawardene, Harbhajan Singh and skipper himself Yuvraj Singh hasn?t been anything to speak about. The overseas star batsman hasn?t gone past 50 even once in 7 games while Harbhajan has only managed a lone wicket in 4 games he?s played and has gone over 6 runs per over. Yuvraj Singh has recovered from his illness but, is still not hundred percent. He comes in lower down the order and hasn?t managed to strike the ball that well. His bowling too hasn?t really been to the mark. It is the youngsters in Mandeep Singh, Unmukt Chand and Varun Aaron who have stood up for the team and Lions would hope they continue doing so while their big guns step up as well.

---

Form: LWLWWWL

Ian Bell still to get a game for Chennai Cyborgs​

Opening partner for Robin Uthappa is still missing! While Uthappa has been scoring runs consistently, Chennai have tried to open with Jaffer, Chopra, Jadhav and now Kaif but, no one has really got going. Maybe a settled opening pair is needed and for that you need to give more chances to a certain player. But, there are a lot of changes as far as opening is concerned. Form of Jono Trott hasn?t been great even though he has got starts. Unadkat has got 5 games and has only picked up a single wicket which questions his selection. One among the top all-rounders in world cricket, Shakib Al Hasan hasn?t had a great league so far. The biggest problem has been Ravi Ashwin?s inability to take wickets so far. The off spinner has kept things tight but, has only managed 4 wickets in 7 games. Vinay Kumar and Brett Lee have formed a fantastic opening bowling pair as the duo has 27 wickets in between them. Vinay Kumar is also the leading wicket taker with 17 wickets to his name. Chennai Cyborgs would want their ?expected? key performers to start performing or the team can slip below in the standings.

---

Form: WWLWWLL

Ricky Ponting has found it tough to get going​

Having won 4 of their first 5 matches, Mumbai Mirchis have lost two on the trot. Skipper Tendulkar and his opening partner Amla have been providing starts but, Ricky Ponting seems out of touch in the middle order. Badrinath hasn?t been able to do much either. Mumbai have persisted with the same looking XI for most part but, results aren?t going their way now. Zaheer Khan hasn?t taken more than one wicket in any game so far. Swann has blown hot and cold. Time for some changes?

---

Form: WWLLLWW

Ryan ten Doeschate has struggled both with the bat and ball​

Bengaluru have been chopping and changing their XI all the time. Rahul Dravid, after scoring a quick 91 in the very first match has had a quite season otherwise. Gayle has been consistent but, the storm hasn?t yet come. Michael Hussey has been their best player and it?s a surprise he?s only played 4 games. Bowling seems to be a worry with Kumar, Patel and Agarkar not able to have much of an effect. The best minnow player RtD hasn?t done anything of note both in batting and bowling. Misbah-ul-Haq has only played 1 game so far...

---

Form: WLWWLLW

Apart from one knock, Michael Clarke hasn't got the runs to speak of​

Another team still looking for a settled opening pair. They have tried various combinations and haven?t stuck to any one in particular. Their overseas signings have been a disappointment so far. Only Kallis has lived up to the expectations, rest all are struggling. Michael Clarke, Angelo Mathews, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, are all short on form. The team has had its moments but, would want to see more results going their way.

---

Form: LWLLWLW

Ajinkya Rahane has had worst 4 games but, will hope for a second chance and would want to perform to his potential​

One of the strongest teams but, languishing at the bottom half of the table. On one side, Kevin Pietersen has been an inspiration and on the other, overseas bowlers in Malinga and Morkel haven?t really been that great. Rahane has had a forgettable season while local batsmen like Pandey and Dhawan haven?t got many chances. They have performed well on various occasions but, results haven?t favored them. Delhi would love the luck to change and hope their ?big? players do justice to their selection.

---

Form: LLWLLWW

AB de Villiers is out of form and seems clueless about the composition of the side​

They won the knockout warm up cup but, have only managed to win 3 of their 7 games so far in the main league. The reason for their poor showing could actually be put down to poor management. Ambati Rayudu opens the batting, scores a century and the next match he is in at 7. Skipper AB de Villiers himself hasn?t been able to score many runs. Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli have shown some form lately. Jaipur managers would want to look at their team once again and field a proper looking XI rather than one for the sake of it.

---

Form: LLWLWLL

Bengal would hope they get to see 'Dadagiri' soon as Sourav has had a disappointing season so far​

Heavily relied on few players, Bengal Tigers are at the bottom of the table. Even though, Shane Watson and Brendon McCullum have performed well, the team hasn?t produced results. Dada?s had a horrid 4 innings. None of the bowlers have really stood out. Sunil Narine?s mystery hasn?t worked its magic as of yet and team has lost 5 games. The consistency just hasn?t been there. They can forget the first half and should look to start afresh and be more consistent. It?s a surprise they haven?t been changing their overseas players much especially as the likes of Morgan are waiting for their turn.

---

Round 8

Mumbai Mirchis v Delhi Duelers at Mumbai (Pitch: Excellent)

Hyderabad Hulks v Bengal Tigers at Hyderabad (Pitch: Normal)

Jaipur Jaguars v Bengaluru Brave Brats at Jaipur (Pitch: Normal)

Chennai Cyborgs v Punjab Lions at Chennai (Pitch: Poor)

Please post the lineups here.​

 

[Ahmad Shah]

Good team review, this will surely help the managers in many ways.

 

[Fenil]

The review is spot on! Hopefully, we will have a change in fortune in the latter half of the tournament.

 

[Sartaj]

Wow,amazing review there,must have taken quite some effort.
Brilliant!


1.Daniel Vettori ^
2.Angelo Mathews ^
3.Jacques Kallis ^
4.Michael Clarke
5.MS Dhoni * +
6.Venugopal Rao
7.Mithun Manhas
8.Irfan Pathan ^
9.Pragyan Ojha ^
10.Ashok Dinda ^
11.Umesh Yadav ^

 

[BlitzBerg]

Really admire the effort you've put in, user.

Varun978 to post lineups

 

[Dipak]

Mumbai


Tendulkar ^
Amla
Badrinath
Bopara ^
Ojha
Laxman
Bisla
Swann ^
Broad ^
Nehra ^
Zaheer ^

Zaheer gets the axe if he under performs.

 

[Fenil]

Since we are half way stage, can we start trades now?

 

[Prats]

That review was just beautifully written! Read it all.

Chennai Cyborgs v Punjab Lions at Chennai (Pitch: Poor)

1. Robin Uthappa
2. Jonathan Trott
3. Kumar Sangakkara (wk & c)
4. Suresh Raina
5. Shakib Al Hasan ^
6. Ravindra Jadeja ^
7. Mohammad Kaif
8. Brett Lee ^
9. Ravi Ashwin ^
10. Vinay Kumar ^
11. Yo Mahesh ^

 

[Gaurav_7]

Since we are half way stage, can we start trades now?

I remember I said it but, no. Mid season trades, I don't think would be good at this stage. After the season finishes. And, you and Sartaj are going to be a deadly duo when it comes to trades.

 

[Dipak]

Great review though.

 

[badvintage]

Good review, going with the same line-up like last game

 

[VC the slogger]

Great writeup & thanks for pointing out some our mistakes. Will rectify them now.