#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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#ViratKohli, a.k.a. the poster boy of Indian cricket is on the charge ...
Needing a win to stay in touch with qualification for Qualifier1/Eliminator, the #RCB are trying their best to post a win here.
Their bowlers produced the goods earlier in the day, led once again by the man in supreme form - #MitchellStarc with a superb spell of 3 for 24 to restrict CSK to a 149 for 9 in 20 overs.
In reply, the RCB lost track early. #ABDevilliers and Mandeep Singh both departed at close interval to put them in a dock. But #Cheeku is fighting on gamely...
He has strung a good partnership with Dinesh Karthik and they seem to be rolling through at the moment.
Dont count the CSK out for one moment. That man #MSDhoni is capable of turning this around with some masterstroke or the other. Virat has also know to throw away games lately. So, its moving towards and exciting clash towards the end....
Score:
CSK: 148 for 9, 20 overs
RCB: 86 for 3, 12 overs
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Whats happening to #CSK captain and "cool" #MSD?
He seems to have developed a habit of getting bowled at this IPL.
In the last two games he has been out bowled to fairly innocuous deliveries from opponent bowlers.
In the first instance, he was bowled right through the gate by a Piyush Chawla (of #KKR) delivery that googled a bit and took his middle stump. Agreed that the ball seemed to stay a bit low but never seen MS getting out in this manner.
In the following game against #SRH, a rookie Ashish Reddy sneaked in a straighter one yet again to dislodge Dhonis stumps. This time, too, he was trying to push the delivery to on side and completely missed it.
Although its just two games and cannot look too much into it, MS has rarely been bowled playing nothing shots like these. Is something bothering him? His personal form at the moment isn't great too. He hasn't won a game for this team single handedly so far. Perhaps, a game like that could just ignite him?
Inspite of his poor form, CSK still sitting pretty at #2 on the points table.
Just goes to show, its not about the MS show with this team. Others are standing up brilliantly to guide their team home on most occasions.
As with MS, we're looking for that super cameo (that we've related to him all these years) in coming games!
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#IPL2015
And so we thought IPL, or T20 for that matter, was a batsman's game?
Think again. With all rules stacked heavily in their favor - the powerplay, the two bouncers per over rule, the Freehit, massive bats (but the ball has remained unchanged over the years), field restrictions and everything else - the batsmen are still not able to strike it rich in this year's edition so far!
Just one century in 34 games!
#Brendon McCullum is the only one to get to the three figure mark this year with a stunning 100 for 56 deliveries against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Rohit has come close with 98 but other than that there havent been huge individual scores from batsmen.
Goes to show, its not about the rules or advantages, its about skill and applying it to score runs!
Edges are flying for sixes, mishits are clearing ropes easily, defensive shots are screaming to the fence and short boundaries making life easy for batsmen.. Yet .. just one century.
Why?
Is the level of batsmanship and skill going down overall?
Are bowlers doing better than expected?
Too much pressure on batsmen to perform given their advantages?
Just feel, the overall skills are dropping and cricketers making entry to international sides, especially in test cricket, via IPL will struggle big time. There will be odd exceptions but generally the level of batting is going down. Sad but true!
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#IPL2015 - Delhi Daredevils paid Yuvraj Singh a whopping INR. 12 Crore (approx. USD 2 million) in the IPL auction this year. It raised a lot of eyebrows considering #Yuvi's form and over fitness.
As it stands, his performance for the DD has been well below par so far. We all know he is magnificent impact player but he seems past his best for sure.
No doubt, the #cancer problem has drained a lot out of him and you want him to do well to inspire others to excel in their fields despite the dreaded disease.
C'mon Yuvraj ... show youngsters the way. Inspire them to achieve new heights in moments of adversity. We all know you can!
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#RajasthanRoyals vs #Kings XI Punjab
#Ahmedabad
In a stunning run chase in regulation play, KXIP tied RR's mammoth 191 in 20 overs to setup a mouthwatering #IPLSuperOver decider.
Both teams scored 191 in their stipulated 20 overs
Rahane, Watson, Hooda scoring for RR while Shaun Marsh, Miller, Saha, Johnson and Axar's last ball boundary helped KXIP tie the game. Some sloppy RR fielding ensured the game went into a super over.
Batting first in the super over were KXIP.
Miller and Marsh, the two dashing top scorers in the regulation play .. stepped out to face Morris, arguably the best seamer on that RR side.
Ball 1 - Morris traps Miller LBW! What a start!
Ball 2 - Maxwell, the new man in , somehow sneaks in a single
Ball 3 (No ball) - Four
Ball 3 - Four
Ball 4 - Four
All by Marsh ... igniting KXIP hopes
Ball 5- No run
Ball 6 - 1 leg bye and Marsh is run out trying to steal another one
Score: 15/2 in over
RR need 16 to win
Watson and Faulkner walked in to face Johnson.
An all Aussie duel to decide an IPL game? WOW!!!
Ball 1 - Watson castled first ball. Similar start to KXIP in that SuperOver
Ball 2 - Another Aussie walks in ... Steve Smith - NO BALL - edged for four
Ball 2 - Single
Ball 3 - RUN OUT .... Faulkner is run out and its game over!
Remember - If you lose two wickets in a super over, you are considered all out... No more batting even if there are deliveries remaining!!
In what was looking like a straightforward win for RR in the regulation time, turned out to be a super over thrill to decide the winner and KXIP grabbed that chance with both hands!!
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The "Fair Play Award" is a wonderful concept brought in by #IPL.
The system ranks teams based on spirit of game demonstrated by teams, no or less verbal aggression, considerations on injuries of opponent teams, good over rates to finish innings, well mannered behavior on-off the field and respect earned from umpires, opposing teams and crowd. The team that scores most on this system wins the fair play award.
Over the last 7 seasons, it has been observed that one team has consistently performed magnificently on this system. Yes, that team is Chennai Super Kings or #CSK and a lot of its credit must go the "cult figure" #MSDhoni. The question is why?
For starters, MSD leading this team just gives it stability. His ability to pick the right players. nurture them into match winners and lead by example are top most qualities that make teams champions both in terms of wins on the field and off it.
He commands respect and can order his troops to behave if he senses problems. He gets them to focus on performance with bat-bowl rather than out-n-out gamesmanship. As a result, not only do they play fair but their record in the match points table is outstanding too. Twice winners, twice runners up and multiple time semi finalists. This team has got its priorities right. They go out to win games on their cricket skills not anything else. Hence they don't need to supplement their performance by antics and gimmicks that bring umpire wrath and negative points on the fair play system.
Another important aspect could be - MS being India captain - teams from other players automatically tone down themselves against CSK? (you don't want to peeve off the Indian captain if you are looking to play for India?)
Guess, the success mantra for CSK is "lets play cricket ...." and that leads them to do well on the ground and off it. Well done CSK! Other teams please take a cue!
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#IPL8
The IPL is hotting up. Some teams have hit the groove well right from the start while some of them are just settling in. Players have hit their straps upfront while others have struggled outright. The IPL has been a roller coaster already..
While #CSK and #RR have been the best winning teams till date (RR is unbeaten while CSK has only been beaten by RR), #MI, #RCB and #KXIP have had a hard time getting off the blocks.
MI, after losing 4 straight games before pulling one back against RCB, may just have got the impetus to make a dash at the top teams. KXIP and RCB have struggled to close games (RCB "almost" pulled it against MI only to stumble at the end while KXIP were blown away by #KKR's Russell-Yusuf partnership after dominating the game for most part). SRH have been shaky while KKR has been steady through their good batting and bowling, #CSK has always been a strong horse with wonderful balance led by the charismatic #MSDhoni and #RR have topped everyone with their batting heroes - Rahane, Steve Smith, Watson, Hooda, etc)
So, who do you think will take the first four spots in that league table at half way stage (7 games each)? RR and CSK seem to be certainly there but the other two? maybe KKR and SRH? or will RCB, MI or KXIP pull up some surprises?
Its all happening at #IPL2015 ... stay tuned!
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