As the top two teams at #IPL8 face each other in Qualifier 1 match today, there is an interesting statistic that needs a look in.
On the #Fair #Play Points table, #CSK are as usual on the top (its pretty remarkable, how they do well on both the tables - points and fair play - season after season) and #MI? .. you guessed it right ... at the bottom (this is big pain point in their inconsistent performances over the years).
Is the Fair Play points table is a good indicator of team's consistency, form and winability?
Its an interesting question to answer.
Teams that generally stay on top of this fair play table, either do very well or do very poorly.
The 2015 Fair Play table looks like this
1. CSK
2. KKR
3. KXIP
4. DD
5. SRH
6. RR
7. RCB
8. MI
Barring CSK that is on top, teams from positions 2 to 5 have been knocked out while teams 6,7 and 8 have qualified for the playoffs. This is an amazing stat.
Does playing fair mean compromising on winning? or should teams shouldn't care about fair play and focus only on the points table?
This is why CSK is the best team in IPL ever.
And they have been consistent on both tables year after year.
Just goes to show how #MSDhoni has built this team to play fair and yet keep winning. Win at all cost ... may not work all the time .
RR, RCB and MI can really learn from the CSK about this fair play habit!
No doubt they have some outstanding performers and entertainers, but champs with humility are always looked up to by the public!
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This is it .. after grueling six weeks of non stop action, drama and amazing performance .. it has come down to the top 4 teams making the playoffs at #IPL - Indian Premier League. Cant get better and bigger than this!
Qualifier 1 - #MSDhoni led table-toppers Chennai Super Kings, the indomitable force in all seasons of the IPL will take on the mercurial and in-form Mumbai Indians led by #RohitSharma at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai today. Promises to be a cracker of a game. Remember, winner goes straight to the #IPL final - a massive incentive to win. The loser gets another crack by playing qualifier 2. That's a bonus too!
Team #MI - will be selected from below
Rohit Sharma
Corey Anderson
AC Blizzard
Jaspreet Bumrah,
Unmukt Chand,
M de Lange,
S Gopal,
Alex Hales,
Harbhajan Singh,
Ben Hilfenhaus,
SD Lad,
Mitchell McClenaghan,
Lasith Malinga,
Abhimanyu Mithun,
C Munro,
Pragyan Ojha,
Harsh Pandya,
Parthiv Patel,
Kieron Pollard,
Navin Rana,
Ambati Rayudu
Lendl Simmons,
J Suchith,
P Suyal,
Aditya Tare,
Vinay Kumar,
AA Wakhare
Team #CSK - will be selected from below
MS Dhoni,
Kyle Abbott,
Baba Aparajith,
Ravichandran Ashwin,
Shrinivas Badree,
AK Bains,
Dwayne Bravo,
Faf du Plessis,
ER Dwivedi,
Mike Henry,
Mike Hussey,
Ravindra Jadeja,
Brendon McCullum,
Mithun Manhas,
RG More,
Pawan Negi,
Ashish Nehra,
Ishwar Pandey,
Irfan Pathan,
Pratyush Singh,
Suresh Raina,
Mohit Sharma,
R Sharma,
Dwayne Smith,
AJ Tye
Both teams look solid both with the bat and ball.
CSK looks stronger with the bat slightly whereas Mumbai look a shade better on the bowling front.
MS' boys can turn around games on their sheer relentlessness while Rohit can inspire his MI team to produce an incredible batting or bowling innings. Thats how it is pioised?
So, who will win? who will prevail? who can handle pressure better?
The clinical #CSK or the red-hot #MI? Time will tell.
May the best team win!
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The IPL Points table picture is finally clear on a #Super #Sunday.
After weeks of speculation, tricks and turns, rain god interruptions and some amazing cricket performances ... the final 4 teams have been decided.
1. Chennai Super Kings
2. Mumbai Indians
3. Royal Challengers Bangalore
4. Rajasthan Royals
The battle for these positions was so tight and complex, #MI, #RCB and #RR actually finished on 16 points each. Mumbai pipped Bangalore on higher number of wins while RCB edged RR due to better net run rate. It was that close...
Fair to say, the best four teams qualified although KKR will feel they missed out inspite of being pretty consistent and strong throughout while SRH will feel hard done by that heart-crushing loss vs RCB in the previous game.
Today's games held big significance for all teams
In the first one, RCB faced DD. A huge game for RCB to win and keep their qualifying hopes alive. Alarmingly for them, DD posted a strong 188 in 20 overs to send scare waves in that RCB #dugout. However, as with their two previous games - rain - affected this game too. And this time, it was kind to them. The game washed off. RCB taking a vital one point to ensure they end up on 16 points and secured a qualifying berth. It was kind of out-of-jail situation for them really because the target was indeed stiff.
The other game, it was a knockout between SRH and MI.
Hyderabad had the home advantage but were blown away by a terrific spell of fast bowling from Malinga and McClenaghan upfront to be bowled out for a paltry 113 in 20 overs. MI openers Simmons and Parthiv chased the target easily to hand over 2 points and most importantly second spot in that points table. How wheels of fortune turned for them .. after five straight defeats at the beginning of the season, to hit that #2 spot was nothing short of amazing. It must be said though that other teams floundering at wrong moments helped their cause big time.
So its all set for the play-offs stage at #IPL8
19th May 2015 - Qualifier 1 - CSK vs MI at Mumbai (MI will have big home advantage plus loser of this game gets another crack at the final)
20th May 2015 - Eliminator - RCB vs RR at Pune (Winner needs to play loser of Qualifier 1 to progress to final, Loser eliminated)
22nd May 2015- Qualifier 2 - Loser of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Eliminator
24th May 2015 - Big final at Kolkata
Mouth watering prospect this!
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In a pulsating high scoring, must win game for both sides, #RajasthanRoyals prevailed over #KolkataKnightRiders by 10 runs to ensure qualification into the knockout stage of this year's #IPL.
#ShaneWatson and #AjinkyaRahane set tone for RR innings right upfront with a brisk 80 run partnership in 7 overs. After Rahane's dismissal to a silly run-out, their innings wandered a bit but #Watto took responsibility to hold fort and carried his bat through with a brilliant hundred to setup a massive 199 in 20 overs.
Although the target looked high, there was one team that could overhaul it and that was KKR. With top guns #Gambhir, #Utthappa, #Yusuf and #Russell you wouldn't bet against them chasing it down, especially with thin RR bowling attack.
Gambhir departed early off a mistimed pull off #Morris. #Dhawal struck in his first over to get rid of Utthappa to send KKR reeling. This is when the two #powerhitters #YusufPathan and #AndreRussell came together. They stitched a wonderful partnership and took the attack to RR through some lusty hitting.
With all RR bowlers under the hammer, #SteveSmith threw the ball to #Morris in desperation. And He turned the game around for RR with a magnificent spell of seam bowling. First he induced a mistimed shot off Russell (who was looking extremely dangerous with his powerpacked shot making). In the same over, he had Suryakumar Yadav caught behind for nought. This is where the game changed big time.
With 5 wickets down, it was left to Yusuf to rescue KKR. He fought on gainly but Watto got his scoop one to long on and the game virtually ended there. Shakib tried some fancy shots but it was Umesh Yadav who kept KKR in the chase with his lusty hitting.
Morris bowled a wonderfully tight last over to deny KKR a win. RR bowlers somehow managed to wriggle out of this situation today. Had it not been for Watto's century and Morris' matchwinning bowling performance, RR would be back on their way.
With this win, RR qualify (althoigh their exact position will be determined only after the last two league games #RCB v #DD and #SRH v #MI.
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Who will make it to the top 4 at this year's IPL?
With just a game or two remaining for most teams, the picture is very unclear! The last three results have made it even more interesting and puzzling!
As if last week's action wasn't intriguing enough, this week is proving to provide greater suspense and drama than a Sherlock Holmes' mystery.
Take a look
- 6 teams out of 8 have a chance to qualify for the knockout stages of this tournament.
- Positions 1 to 4 are completely hazy and no one can pin-point their standing with just a game or two remaining per team
- The two ousted teams #DD and #KXIP won their latest games throwing the field wide open yet again
#DD steamrolls #CSK
With CSK really looking to close out its pole position in the points table, facing DD was their easiest game. This considering DD have been hot-cold all the way through and their inconsistency in batting has let them down badly. CSK, although not red hot, were expected to breeze through this one. What happened was nothing short of amazing.
First CSK was shot out for 120 on a pretty good wicket owing to some solid bowling and fielding from DD. Then their batsman took center-stage (Yuvraj and Nayyar) and annihilated a rusty CSK bowling attack and easily chased the set target, It was as if DD had nothing to loose and played with gay abandon. Result a thumping win for DD, a big dent for CSK on two counts. No points and their #NRR took a solid beating (which seems to be extremely critical for position qualification considering state of the points table)
#KXIP hurts #RCB badly
The other ousted team, KXIP had nothing to lose either.
What made matters worse for #RCB was #rain curtailed the game to 10 over a side. A clear lottery. In such cases the minnows clearly have an edge because the pressure to win solely lies with the stronger team! And it turned out exactly that way.
Edgy RCB bowlers leaked out too many runs upfront. Saha smashing Starc, Aravind to take away the initiative. Some poor batting at the end meant they scored 112 in 10 overs. OK but not a great total to challenge Gayle, Kohli and Devilliers? Well, as it panned out, KXIP broke through the batting order with good bowling and fielding getting the Big 3 out cheaply and then choking the innings wonderfully by 20 runs! Big margin. No points to RCB and dent in their #NRR just like CSK.
#MI surprise #KKR
Needing to win badly, MI went out with purpose while KKR needing one win to assure a top two positioning on the points table went cautiously. Result? even after a poor start and early wickets, MI's Pandya and Pollard managed to pile on 171 in 20 overs. Pandya was brilliant while Pollard, for a change, played second fiddle but ensured he stayed there to avoid any further damage.
KKR never looked ready for that run chase and ran out of steam. Yusuf Pathan did try to pull a rabbit out of the hat but a brilliant final over by Pollard ensured MI defended and won by 5 runs (12 runs were needed for last over with Pathan at the crease)
So, where is all this heading?
Looks like the last game will decide the top 4.
And boy will that not be interesting? and DD/KXIP playing spoilsport means its anyone's guess to choose a winner....
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What an extra ordinary last week at #IPL8!!
From a 4 four war battle for 2 spots, its come down to 5 way battle for 3 spots and everything is so uncertain!
#RRs under big threat of not qualifying in top 4
From a seemingly safe Top-2 spot a week ago, RR have slid considerably and look on the brink of finishing outside the top 4. Thats an amazing turnaround of fortunes for this team that looked absolutely dominant at the beginning of the tournament. Just goes to show its about momentum. The day they lost that super over to KXIP, their fortunes and momentum have turned for worse! They're losing game after game and stand on verge of elimination from the #playoffs. With just one game to go, a victory doesnt guarantee them that spot unless one the lower teams flounders badly. Watson as captain or Steve Smith, is not making any difference to their performance at the moment.
#CSK just about holding onto its lead
An off color CSK has just about managed to win sufficient games to stay top of the points table. This is courtesy #MSDhoni captaincy and overall balance of their team. Their home record in enviable and that has helped them too. The playoffs however are outside #Chennai and that will worry them no ends. They need to pull up their socks to maintain their reputation as the best side in the IPL over the years. Reversal to Mumbai at Chidambaram Stadium due to miscalculated gamble by Dhoni had gotten them into a tight spot, but a typical hard fought victory against RR ensured they stay top. With two games to go, they seem all set to play in the #knockouts.
#KKR marching on their overall ability and attitude to win
Led wonderfully by Gautam Gambhir, the defending champions rose to the top for a short while. However, its their overall ability both with bat but more so with the bowl thats helping them stay in hunt for Qualifier 1 (a game where loser gets another crack to make it to the final). Andre Russell has been a revelation for them while Yusuf and the spin trio of Piyush, Hogg and Narine have pushed KKR along wonderfully well.
#RCB on the charge after #ABdevillers, #Gayle and #ViratKohli strike rich form
The batting, that seemed to be their bane in the first half of the tournament has started clicking and how? First it was the Killer "Gayle" show with a stunning 117 vs KXIP. This was followed by an even more entertaining 133* by AB deVilliers and solid 82* by Virat Kohli to demolish MI. Mitchell Starc and Co are bowling oppositions out consistently to ensure they get much need wins to get into the knockouts.
#SRH could be the dark horse
While the top teams have been hogging all limelight, SRH has quietly sneaked into 3rd place after their win against KXIP. avid Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Moses Henriques are winning games with the bat and surprisingly their bowling lineup is bowling other teams inspite of resting both their bigwigs - Steyn and Boult. Watch for this team, if they reach playoffs.
#MI, once again from behind...
first 5 games lost, then 5 games won. This is how it has been for MI this season. Backs to wall on one day and outright dominant the other. Inconsistency has been their biggest threat and worry all through. Bowlers need to pull up their socks. Batsmen seem to coming into their own but a collective effort will be critical to put them into the playoffs
#DD and #KXIP - Could they play spoilsport for the top 6?
DD and KXIP are out of the reckoning but can they beat one the top 6 and upset all equations. Dont count that out and thats what the excitement of IPL is all about!!
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#IPL - Points Table Standings
The end race has begun...
As all 8 teams play out their last few games in the league stage of this tournament, its one hell of a battle to grab the top four positions in the points table at #IPL8.
Just a few games ago, CSK and RR seemed to have consolidated those top 2 positions in the table. It has changed a bit and more drama seems to be in store.
RR slipping big time!
That #superover defeat to KXIP turned it around for worse for this team.
Since that game, they have never looked an invincible side as they did in the first five unbeaten games to soar to the top. After that, they have shared points twice (and should be thankful), won one game and lost three more! Things are going wrong for Watson's men at the wrong time. They need to be at their best at this business end of the IPL and they are slipping.
12 games 14 points. 2 more games to go. Perhaps a win will ensure a top 4 berth for them but unless they win both their next games, they cannot guarantee a top 2 finish (and ensure entry into Qualifier 1 - a game that provides opportunity to the loser to play another game - Qualifier 2 against winner of the Eliminator game (played between 3rd and 4th placed teams))
KKR looking solid
The spinners have turned things around for this team, especially in the home games at #EdenGardens, a traditional spin powerhouse. Brad Hogg has been a revelation at 44 years of age! His bowling has left opponent teams in tatters and they dont seem to have answers to his #chinamen and legbreaks!
He is wonderfully supported by Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine's entry into the fray lately has boosted KKR no ends. They seem to defend low totals easily. Their batting remains steady but chasing totals will be their biggest test as the tournament goes on,
11 games, 13 points
MI, RCB SRH on the charge
Three teams are making a charge for the fourth position in points table. And each team seems to be on the mission. MI, after the most dismal start to this IPL, has bounced back tremendously and hit peak form at the right time. RCB is making a big charge too with their batsmen flourishing while SRH is slowly sneaking up too. They could be the dark horse moving forward.
RCB: 10 games, 11 points
SRH: 10 games, 10 points
MI: 10 games, 10 points
CSK - undisputed leaders of the pack yet again!
Without a doubt they are the team to beat at this and every IPL season.
They just seem to make it to the top 2 positions in the table at will. Their balance, quality and captaincy abilities make them the perfect IPL team.
10 games, 14 points
DD and KXIP - Could they play party-crashers for other teams?
With both teams virtually out of running for knockout stages in this tournament, the best they can now do is disturb the table standing above them by surprising some of the other top teams and upsetting their equations.
All in all, things heating up at the business end of the #IPL8.
Lets hope the best 4 teams make it to the knockouts!
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#ChrisGayle vs #KXIP
The sleep whale, #ChrisGayle, woke up today and covered up for that poor form he was carrying all throughout this #IPL8. He's just that kind of a player. On his day, he can literally decimate any bowling attack in the world. Neither big names in bowling matter, nor where they pitch the ball does! That's why he is an impact player and this innings will have impacted #RCB no ends and they will look to soar ahead in the points table from now on, clearly knowing other teams will be vary of a Gayle storm possibility every game.
Today he was simply unstoppable right from the word go!
Mitchell Johnson was selected to start his run feast and he carried that along to all other bowlers including Axar Patel, Karn Singh, Glenn Maxwell and Sandeep Sharma. Anureet Singh was the only bowler to hold his head high with a brilliant spell for 0 for 25 in 4 overs when there was carnage at the other end.
Gayle's innings included 7 fours and 12 massive sixes i.e. exactly 100 runs came in boundaries. He was so dominant that his other superstar colleagues Virat Kohli and AB Devilliers were rendered mere spectators in that onslaught. Not that they were complaining but they are brisk scorers in their own right and to see them as bystanders in an innings indicates the complete domination shown by Christopher Gayle!
This is only the second century at this year's IPL (next to Brendon McCullum's 100 against KXIP as well). No wonder the two most explosive batsmen in world cricket have centuries to their name. On their day, no bowler is great enough to take them out.
In response, the jolted and shocked KXIP team capitulated poorly for 88 all out in 13 overs. Aravind and Starc grabbed 4 wickets each. The impact by Gayle was so much that no batsmen looked settled or focused.
There are Thunderstorms forecasted for many venues in coming days. We witnessed a Gayle storm yet again today! Thank you very much maannn!!
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