Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals have a head to head of 15 to 6 (tilting in CSK’s favour) and with Delhi wining their last match vs KXIP in what can be considered as a ‘nail biter’ of a finish and with CSK having lost their previous encounter by a whisker, both teams were stepping in the encounter with a point to prove and carry on the momentum.

CSK won the toss and quite expectedly chose to bowl first. DD sent in the Indian duo of Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan to open. Delhi was off to a relatively better start with Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan carefully playing and not taking those unnecessary risks. Shaw had a close one where he did nick the ball off Chahar, but it went unnoticed and he was literally given another chance.

Making the most of his stay at the crease belting Chawla for two consecutive boundaries, Prithvi Shaw was looking solid and something seemed to get in his eye and a strategic timeout was called for. Back from the timeout, we got to witness some excellent running between the wickets for a two and finally brought about a good 50 off 35 balls. Dhawan and Shaw looked poised for a big one and at the end of 10 overs, were at 88/0 with a brilliant six hit by Prithvi Shaw.

Dhawan was finally dismissed by Chawla and with Pant walking in the middle. Prithvi Shaw on the other end was looking good with boundaries and smart running. With him accelerating, it could give Rishabh Pant some time to settle in before he goes all guns blazing.

But again, this was not to be as attempting to slog, coming all the way down the wicket, he mistimed and was stumped by the legendary Dhoni and walked back scoring a comprehensive 64 off 43 with 9 fours and 1 six. Skipper Shreyas Iyer was in and now forging a crucial partnership with Pant became all the more important. Jadeja with his bowling was off his usual as he finished his 4 overs conceding 44 runs and Chawla with 2 wickets off his 4 over quota looked in better form.

Rishabh Pant continued to awe us with those delightful cover drives escaping all the fielders and timed to perfection. With 124/2 at the end of 15 overs, it looked good for DC.

Sam Curran was back in the attack and with Rishabh Pant defending the ball it was done and dusted there. Sam Curran in a way of aggression threw the ball, but the angle was poor and the ball went straight to the boundary courtesy an overthrow. It was obviously met with disappointment from the skipper but a welcome bonus for DC but the over otherwise was relatively economical.

Rishabh Pant was in good touch and so was Shreyas Iyer getting those crucial runs at the expense of Josh Hazelwood. But Sam Curran turned things around dismising Shreyas Iyer and it was possible because of an exceptional catch off Dhoni diving to his right and catching it to perfection. That over by Curran really was one of his best and economical further proving himself as an asset to the CSK outfit. With Josh Hazelwood handed the reins for the final over, DC made a good 14 runs off of it and took their total to a competitive 175/3. Sam Curran overtook Shami and claimed the purple cap (further claimed by Rabada) for his stellar performance.

CSK sent in Vijay and Watson. What I really appreciate and like about the CSK think tank is that when they see certain players underperform, they don’t chop, drop the player and change the team immediately. They give a rope to the player and that is really appreciated. You might point out that Ngidi isn’t playing today, but we still got to see a lukewarm debut by Josh Hazelwood.

Maybe a game changing moment was Shaw dropping Watson because that was clearly a sitter and we know what a match winner Watson is. CSK was off to a slow start with 10/0 at the end of 3 overs. With a 4 off Avesh Khan, Watson was off the blocks and was looking to dominate and with 12 off the over, it was looking good. But Watson was dismissed by Axar Patel and this is the 6th time he’s dismissing this Aussie legend further goes to show what an excellent bowler he is.

Faf was in now and was off to an excellent start and with his last match heroics, he’s been in phenomenal form. But Vijay’s poor run continued and was out to Nortje. Gaikwad was the new batsman at the crease, after a poor debut he was certainly looking to turn that around. Mishra was looking good and clearly this pitch was a spinner’s haven.

At the end of 9 overs with 44/2 on the board, CSK were looking in control and known for taking games to the n’th minute, this chase wouldn’t be too challenging. Only if cricket was predictable and T20 was as easy as the scoring rate was, in no time after the strategic timeout ended, Gaikwad was out after another below par performance owing to an unfortunate run out. As the commentators said the pressure was getting to CSK with 12.18 as the asking rate, it would always be challenging. Jadhav was the new batsman in and all of us were ardently hoping Dhoni would walk in next and the last match flourish was still fresh in our minds. At the end of 10 overs, it was 47/3 and CSK had to shift gears and try something new.

With the asking rate breathing down the neck of CSK, DC was cleaver to send in spinners to restrict the flow of runs and leg spinners always play a crucial role. Shimron Hetmyer dropped what was an easy chance to get Faf and this might sting later. And Faf overtook KL Rahul for the purple cap and with 71/3 CSK had to get going and score big as the asking rate was touching 15. Kedar Jadhav started with a bang getting a 4 off Avesh Khan but 101 off 41 with an ageing suqad barring Curran would be interesting to see.

Getting a lucky boundary just managing to escape the clutches off the fielder over extra cover, he was looking for immediate runs and was lofting it and for his luck it landed in the no man’s area and this was happening to Faf too. With 92 off the final 6, this would certainly be a good chase provided we get to see some boundaries. Faf started off dispatching Rabada for a boundary down mid wicket and rotating strike was going to be the most important now.

With a close run out call, Faf survived and with 79 off 28, it was almost going to be a repeat of their previous encounter where they were simply not able to bridge the gap. With Nortje getting Jadhav’s wicket, time was ripe for Dhoni to come in. And listening to all of us was him ahead of Curran and last match heroics would certainly guarantee a win today.

With 75 off the last 24 it was almost funny thinking how CSK would make it and yes, a ‘miraculous’ knock was needed from Faf and Dhoni. With pacers left with their quota of overs, CSK had to make the most. Starting off with a four of Avesh Khan, Dhoni looked as cool as a cucumber and after 2 dots, another 4, it wasn’t enough.

At this stage, it looked like CSK was playing for pride. Imagine 65 runs off 18 balls, need Dre Russ for that but Hetmyer was having a tough day dropping two catches but with Faf getting out the very next ball, he did not have to face the brunt luckily.

55 off the last 12, even the most hopeful CSK fans would be able to say that it was obviously going to be impossible. Dhoni was dismissed off Rabada and it was done and dusted. And just like that, Delhi closed the innings in style edging CSK and handing them a 44 runs loss.

DC looked calm and composed and this certainly was a team effort. Good to see them play this well, hopefully the momentum carries right through the tournament.

The joke all around was that RCB was facing its ‘B’ team in the form of Kings XI Punjab. This dubious claim stems from the fact that KXIP features a lot of Karnataka players and ex-RCB players who now don KXIP jersey. On a serious note, this was going to be an enthralling encounter and RCB fans always beam with pride seeing their players on the other side and them performing well might sting but is still a pretty sight.

RCB won the toss and decided to bowl first. KXIP were still reeling from their unfortunate loss in their opener vs DC, so this match batting first versus a formidable RCB bowling attack was always going to be an interesting match up.

KXIP sent in Karnataka lads Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul to open. Off to a tremendous start getting consecutive boundaries of Yadav, Saini and Steyn in the initial 5 overs, there were looking in a very comfortable position. KL Rahul on the other hand broke the record for the fastest Indian to reach 2000 runs in IPL surpassing the great Sachin Tendulkar after wild speculations of who it was in the commentary box.

Chahal finally got a breakthrough when he dismissed Mayank Agarwal for 26 and foxed him with a googly that he clearly misread. With the ‘simulated’ crowd yelling ‘RCB, RCB’; in was W Sundar who was welcomed into the attack with a misfielded boundary courtesy KL Rahul. At the end of 8 overs, KXIP was at 65/1 with Rahul and Pooran in the crease. Chahal was back in the attack and with a loud appeal for an LBW of Pooran, they did not review what was clearly a good decision and Kohli later smiled acknowledging the big screen.

With 20 runs of the Umesh Yadav over, KXIP capitalized very well and were looking comfortable at 90/1 at the end of 10 overs looking for a big one.

The over by Saini yielded KXIP 13 runs and with Shivam Dube getting the wicket of his 1st ball of Pooran, joy was back in the RCB household but not long enough as in was Maxwell. But Maxwell hit a loose shot and Negi was almost there diving to catch it but just missed it but this was turning out to be an excellent over for Dube conceding just 4 runs with a wicket as well.

With 6 overs left, Punjab still had 8 wickets in hand and with 120 on board, KL swept Chahal for a wonderful boundary. Anjum Chopra in the commentary box was also awesome to hear as her insights are out of the world.

Shivam Dube again was amongst the wickets dismissing Maxwell for 5 and in was Karun Nair. KL Rahul was looking solid (was a 100 on cards? well it did look like it). Steyn to be very honest isn’t even half of what he was when he was in his prime and with a wide and a six off him, it further magnified my claims. Kohli also dropped a very simple catch very unlikely of him and that wicket of Rahul would have gotten RCB in the driver’s seat.

With consecutive boundaries off Saini, Rahul was looking to get more and Kohli dropping another which was unbelievable in the final ball of the over; it looked like RCB were giving it all away easily to KXIP and letting Rahul to get to his 100. Off to a six in the next over and a magnificent Spiderman effort to catch it at boundary by AB, did not help and with a four again, KL Rahul brought about a well deserved 100 and the orange cap. He also broke the record for the highest score made by a captain and by an Indian in the IPL. Had Kohli not dropped him twice, maybe he wouldn’t have added those 57 runs (calculated after Kohli dropped him) in the fag end and the runs to chase would be significantly lesser to chase.

What becomes pertinent to point out that he was playing selflessly and his celebration silencing all his demons and the critics was noteworthy and by taking the aerial route for balls, he wanted those big runs. Rightly pointed by the commentators, another six and Steyn brought about his ‘half century’ in giving away runs. 19 off the over and KXIP was certainly looking at 200+. The final over of Dube was a costly affair as he gave away 20 runs and was he was furter made to toil as he was smacked for 2 4s and 2 6s among the 2s and what not. Rahul ended with a magical 132 off 69 and single handedly guided KXIP to 206/3.

What was funny was that with such a poor bowling effort barring Chahal, we had 3 bowlers of RCB in purple cap top 15 contenders and Chahal with 4 was topping the charts (before Shami overtook him in the latter stage of the match). With KP also in the post match program emphasizing on the lack of depth in KXIP’s bowling tank, maybe all was not lost for RCB.

RCB were in to chase and sent in Padikkal and Finch to open. With Padikkal getting dismissed for 1, there was absolutely no timing in the shot and while we were expecting King Kohli to walk in, in came Josh Philippe, an inexperienced campaigner. His stay at the crease was also disastrous and uneventful getting dismissed for 0 off 3. Finally the skipper was here and was off to a relatively slower start defending balls vs Cottrell. And in unbelievable visuals, the skipper was dismissed for 1 off 5 playing perhaps the ill timed shot. The scoreboard read 4/3 and it was awful for RCB fans whose hopes were diminishing. Bishnoi took two of those catches and was looking good in the field.

With de Villiers and Finch at the crease, it still looked very difficult. Finch brought about the 1st boundary for RCB with a 4. The very next ball was contentious caught behind of Finch which the umpire declared out but a timely DRS saved him and the decision was overturned. de Villiers on the other was holding the fort up by cracking elegant boundaries in the form of a 6 and a 4, with the simulated crowd chanting his name, his miracle would help RCB seal the game. At the end of 5 overs, RCB was at 25/3 needing another 181 off 90 balls.

With Bishnoi starting off erratically giving 7 off a ball, RCB were making the most of this over getting 15 of it. Murugan Ashwin was welcomed to the attack with Finch getting a boundary with 7 off the over, the asking rate was still peaking at 12.2. With Finch getting bowled by Bishnoi, RCB was staring down the barrel at 53/4. Now, AB was gone and an attemot to attack M Ashwin went in vain getting dismissed off a googly. With 5 wickets gone, it looked impossible for RCB.

With a six of Neesham, there was some joy but multiples of that were needed and considering Dube and Sundar at the crease, it would be a little crazy to expect some fireworks t chase down this dominating total. With Dube getting dismissed by Maxwell, it was just disappointing and heartbreaking. Umesh Yadav trying to go for the big one was dismissed for 0 off 2 and 7 wickets down, getting to a respecatble 100 seemed like a climb up a humongous mountain. With Washington Sundar batting relatively well and commentator’s jinx, he was out for a well made 30 off 26 balls.

After those dismissals, the tail was just falling like a pack of cards. And as the commentators rightly pointed out, the leggies tasting success can be attributed to Anil Kumble’s role. Bishnoi and Shami (purple cap holder as of now) looked very impressive. Chahal was out LBW and RCB’s disatsrous night finally came to a close with KXIP registering a comprehensive 97 wins.

Match 5 featured KKR and MI locking horns with each other. They’ve had encounters in the past that have been legendary and with KKR opening their campaign against MI was very interesting and I was certainly looking forward to the match.

KKR won the toss and put in MI to bat. MI sent in Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma to open. Quinton de Kock was dismissed for 1 off 3 balls by Shivam Mavi who looked exceptional. Rohit Sharma on the other end was in full flow and with Suryakumar Yadav at the other end, they brought about their 50 runs partnership. Suryakumar with his 47 off 28 balls laced with 6 fours and 1 six, he was batting well. But this did not last long as Suryakumar Yadav was out run out.

Now, in was Saurabh Tiwary the hero of last match and Rohit Sharma at the crease. At the end of 11 overs, 99-2 and were looking to make the most of their stay at the crease. With Kuldeep and Narine bowling economical spells from opposite ends, it was ideal for KKR. Rohit Sharma brought about his 37th IPL 50 off 39 balls and the longer he stayed at the crease, the more he would settle in and would pile on the big runs.

Rohit Sharma finally found his mojo when he hit a maximum and it sailed across the boundary rope. It was literally timed to perfection. There was one more in store off Kuldeep which sailed above his head. Rohit was looking solid at 70 off 47 balls and was poised for a big one. Saurabh Tiwary carrying on for the momentum of the last game, hit a good boundary. But he was dismissed soon after and in came Hardik Pandya. Then one is remembered of the knock of 94 in the last edition of the IPL where he went berserk.

Mavi’s second wicket was Rohit Sharma who was dismissed for 80 off 54 balls. With some contributions from Hardik Pandya (dismissed hit wicket) and Kieran Pollard scoring 18 and 13 runs at the latter stage of the innings, MI finished with 195/5. Mavi with his two wickets and economic spells from Narine and Russell really helped KKR contain the MI batsman.

KKR was in to bat with Shubman Gill and Sunil Narine. They were off to a rocky start with Gill getting dismissed for 7 and soon enough Narine was out. He did not create the impact he ideally was sent in for. With Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana at the crease, KKR needed them to step up their game to help them secure this crucial win. Rahul Chahar’s over was turning out to be expensive with 14 runs being conceded and KKR were carrying on the momentum dispatching Krunal Pandya to the boundary as well.

With another 125 needed of the final 10 overs, KKR really needed to shift gears to bridge the gap. But with Karthik getting dismissed off Chahar LBW the very 1st ball after the strategic timeout, in walked experienced campaigner Eoin Morgan who had to deliver. Kieran Pollard got his 1st wicket after the 2015 IPL dismissing Nitish Rana, and with Russell walking in we could certainly expect fireworks. With the foreign recruits at the crease and an asking rate of 14.75 with Bumrah having 3 over still left in his kitty, it looked a little difficult for them.

Bumrah was bowling really well making up for last match’s performance and as Harsha Bhogle pointing out, it certainly was an exciting match up between him and Russell (considering there was also some tension observed). Bumrah would’ve almost gotten Morgan out as the ball touched the stump but was not enough to pluck the bails off.

Morgan hit a glorious six off Pattinson and with 107 to get off 38, they certainly needed more of this. With Bumrah dismissing Dre Russ and Morgan consecutively, it looked almost done and dusted for KKR. Rising from the ashes from last match’s debacle, he was bowling a magical spell. Two big fishes in an over, super cool stuff from Bumrah. 2/5 from 3 overs, this was an economic and blissful spell.

With wickets tumbling ay the end, it was done and Naik was the last recognized batsman for out KKR and the tail was exposed. But a six off Bumrah, the ‘simulated crowd’ was over the top excited and the over yielded 27 runs off it and Bumrah’s spell was smeared by this last minute excellence of Cummins who was finally dismissed for 33 off 12 balls by Pattinson.

MI finally closed the match snatching an excellent win of 49 runs.

Match 4 of the Dream 11 IPL with CSK and RR locking horns was always going to be an exciting match. CSK won the toss and decided to bowl first. RR sent in Yashasvi Jaiswal, the sensation of U19 cricket and Steve Smith, a seasoned campaigner to bat.

Jaiswal looked impressive rotating strike in his short stay at the crease and hit the solitary boundary, but was dismissed soon after for 6. In came, Sanju Samson and man, was he on fire. Hitting a whooping 9 maximums, he looked like a man on a mission and brought about his 50 off a mere 19 balls and was eventually dismissed for a well dismissed 72 off 32 balls scoring at 231.25 as the strike rate.

Steve Smith on the other end was also batting well and was striking at a good strike rate but was involved in an unfortunate run out that dismissed the new batsman David Miller for 0 and he certainly looked devastated walking back. Robin Uthappa was the new man in and along with Steve Smith with 149/3 off 14 overs looked primed for a big one but soon after the strategic timeout was dismissed for 5.

Up next was Tewatia who walked in and chipping in those crucial runs was going to be important for the team total. Steve Smith scooped a wonderful boundary and the way he fell on the ground attempting to play the shot showed his conviction for the shot. Curran with his exceptional yorker dismissed Tewatia with an LBW and the review clearly indicated it being in line with the stumps. Now with RR having lost 5 wickets, they somewhat seemed to lose plot.

Riyan Parag was in and with Smith at 67, they would certainly guide RR to a decent total. Riyan Parag hit a boundary and was dismissed soon enough with a sneaky edge that S Curran got. Tom Curran was almost going to be dismissed for 0 in a contentious catch by Dhoni but the umpire worngly gave him out and the because the focus was on the catch and the nick, later LBW replay indicated it would have been out had CSK appealed for the LBW and Dhoni was shaking his head in disapproval. Soon enough, Steve Smith was dismissed for 69 off 47 balls.

RR had an advantage of their batting being deep and with Archer now in the crease, with 186/7 at the end of 19 overs, it still seemed possible to reach 200, maybe? Archer helped fulfil that prophecy with glorious sixes of the very 1st ball, 2nd ball, the 3rd ball bringing about 200 (the first in this IPL) in what was a no ball of Ngidi and in the free hit Archer hit another magnificent 6 and that turned out to be a no ball as well. This free hit was now a wide and another free hit was shown by the umpire, this over was turning out to be a disastrous over for Ngidi but he recovered well with a dot and two singles. The last ball had Archer on strike and this one was a single that RR to an unimaginable 216/7.

Jofra Archer was the game changer as with a sweet knock of 27 off 8, he really helped RR to 200 and a very challenging total and a nightmare for CSK. If they do chase it, they would have the distinction of chasing the highest total in the history. Sam Curran with his 3 scalps was the pick of the bowlers while the rest of the attack was pounded mercilessly.

CSK sent in Murali Vijay and Shane Watson in and after 2 relatively dull over, Vijay hit two consecutive fours of Unadkat. Shane Watson hit a flick shot off Archer for a magnificent six and at the end of 5 overs, CSK was at 36/0 and in the attack was Tom Curran who had very mediocre IPLs previously, but was looking to change that.

What was impressive was that Shane Watson was going bang bang and not playing with any restrain which was a welcome sign for CSK. Getting two back to back sixes and fours, it looked like CSK were actually getting back in the game in style at the cost of Unadkat. But with Shane Watson getting dismissed and with Murali Vijay still persisting in his poor vein of form, CSK now had Sam Curran and du Plessis at the crease Sam Curran with his quickfire 17 off 5 was still not able to turn things around and CSK still had a daunting 140 off 67 balls. Tewatia with 2 wickets (eventually ending with 3 wickets) was looking poised and was bowling well. He was on a roll dismissing Gaikwad on debut for a golden duck and CSK were staring down the barrel at 77/4 at the end of 9 overs.

With 135 needed off the final 10, at an astonishing 13.5 runs per over, CSK had to really amp it up. Jadhav and du Plessis were clearly under tremendous pressure and with Rayadu also not playing, the onus would fall on them and Dhoni and Jadeja coming in next. They could not afford any more dot balls at this stage. Jadhav with three consecutive fours off Gopal helped alleviate pressure. With relatively quieter overs, the pressure was building and the required rate was soaring to 15.35.

As the commentators rightly pointed out, ‘intent’ was lacking in the openers. Even a free hit du Plessis was unable to convert it to a six and Jadhav was dismissed the very next ball of a splendid one hand catch by Samson, the keeper. Dhoni was now in and a miraculous knock from him would help revive CSKs sinking ship but with 102 required off 36 balls, it seemed unlikely. Faf was still trying some last minute antics with a shot that could’ve been caught by Parag and he dropped it which added 6 runs to CSKs total. With another six off Tewatia, the ‘simulated’ spectators seemed excited and the final 5 required 86 runs for CSK.

With Faf spicing up things with last minute boundaries, the gap was tremendous to bridge but he managed to get his 50 off 29 balls in style with a six. With some marvellous sixes, he was giving some hope to the deflated hopes of CSK fans. Faf du Plessis playing another gem of an innings was dismissed for 72 off 37 balls.

CSKs torment finally came to an end when Dhoni brought about three of his classic sixes and the innings came to a close with them losing by 16 runs and man, did it look like a close encounter in the end. But had CSK done this from the start, the result would’ve read something else.

After all the wait for RCB to play this IPL, today was the day we would finally get to see namma Bengaluru team play. SRH has been a team we’ve had a long history considering having faced them in the summit clash of IPL 2016 and lost that match. Matches with SRH feature high expectations and a renewal of hope for RCB fans to avenge that loss.

SRH won the toss and decided to bowl first. RCB sent in Devdutt Padikkal and the experienced Aaron Finch. The debutant Padikkal played exceptionally well and scored a well crafted 56 off 42 balls laced with 8 marvellous boundaries. He was very impressive and has pretty much cemented his place in the playing 11 for future matches. Well, he certainly fell prey to the commentator’s curse and was dismissed and soon after even Finch departed playing a not so exhilarating 29 off 27 balls.

RCB then witnessed Virat and AB walked in and obviously they were expected to stabilize the ship. Off to relatively slower starts, both of them were showcasing some excellent running between the wickets and at the end of 15 overs, it read 116/5. There was still a lot of work to be done considering 5 more overs were left. AB de Villiers finally ended the boundaries drought with a masterful four but skipper Kohli’s stay on the crease was not at all delightful as he was dismissed for 14. T Natarajan got the priced wicket of Kohli and in was Shivam Dube, a pinch hitter.

AB de Villiers was going at it on the other end getting a crucial boundary off Bhuvi but he wasn’t his usual attacking self but with periodic boundaries it really helped calm the nerves of anxious fans as to how much would they put up on the board. At the end of 18 overs, RCB was at 141-3 and still there was a glimmer of hope that they could post a competitive total.

AB then smacked two glorious sixes off Sandeep Sharma and got 14 runs off that over. With the final over on cards, AB was poised at 44 off 27 balls and RCB slogged in the previous 3 overs for 31 runs and this over was going to be bowled by Bhuvi and AB welcomed him with a four right above his head. He brought up his 34th IPL fifty off 29 balls and was unfortunately dismissed run out by an excellent Manish Pandey throw with Jonny Bairstow doing the honors. The last 3 balls were uneventful with Shivam Dube getting run out and RCB finished with a competitive 163/5.

SRHs run chase was certainly going to be an interesting one as last time around the duo of Bairstow and Warner had brought about a 135 run partnership on 1st wicket in Hyderabad and batted like men possessed. But again , different conditions so it would be interesting to see how they would fare here.

SRH began their chase with Warner getting a boundary off the very 2nd ball and he looked poised for a big one. Umesh Yadav with his 2 consecutive wides and a boundary off the next looked a little erratic and was dispatched for a six again. Unbelievable was the way Warner was dismissed. Bairstow hit a shot straight and touched Yadav’s hand and straight into the non strikers wickets end and Warner was run out. Now what are the odds of that happening?

Warner trudged back a disappointed man, and in was Pandey. At the end of 7 overs, SRH were at 55/1 and in the attack was Chahal with the pursuit of wickets and bowled an economical over giving away just 4 runs. Bairstow and Pandey were stiching a crucial partnership of 50 and making the most of Yadav’s spell.

Finch dropping a sitter was extremely disappointing and with SRH requiring 76 off 51 at one stage, only a miracle could save RCB. With a misjudged review, RCB were desperate for wickets and with Chahal getting the wicket of Pandey, it provided some much needed relief. An exciting prospect in the form of Priyam Garg walked in and SRH still needed 75 runs of 48 balls.

Bairstow was trying to score quick runs and hit a lofted one and Steyn simply couldn’t connect it and make a dismissal, a subsequent run out also went in vain. He then brought about hid fifty off 37 balls with a magnificent boundary. The Yadav over really helped SRH as they now needed 56 off 36 balls. Bairstow was in full flow and had a lot of lucky escapes getting dropped but taking nothing away from his stellar knock.

Chahal finally got the prized wicket of Bairstow who was finally dismissed for 61 off 43 deliveries. And unbelievable turnaround, he dismisses Vijay Shankar for a duck who does nothing to the scoreboard and now all of a sudden, RCB fans hopes are alive and running. He was almost on a hattrick but a very economical spell was the need of the hour for RCB to bring them back in the game.

With Garg and Abhishek Sharma at the crease, things still did not look bleak but RCB with the right bowling could really contain the SRH batting lineup. Shivam Dube also got an unlikely wicket when Garg tried to scoop it and it hit his helmet then hitting the stumps in another very strange dismissal. Rashid Khan, a pinch hitter was now in the scheme of things and started with a four. Things still did not look impossible. SRH fans were in disarray now owing to another run out of Abhishek Sharma and he dashed right into Rashid injuring him and he was in agony.

However, he was still on crease and Saini leaking 5 runs in that wide, he let his emotions get the better of him. But he still got the wicket and in came Sandeep Sharma. Now it was pretty much the tail, unless Mitch Marsh had other plans and decides to walk in (the ardent RCB fan in me wouldn’t want that) and Saini again strikes and dismisses Rashid.

Mitch Marsh again couldn’t contribute much and sending him to bat perhaps wasn’t the best decision as he was limping and was dismissed and one wicket and RCB could seal the deal.

With 18 off the final over, it was almost done and dusted for SRH, not without Sandeep Sharma hitting Steyn for a four and an attempted six caught by skipper Kohli. And yes, RCB won their 1st match by 10 runs and started the campaign on an excellent note:’)

Delhi Capitals facing off Kings XI Punjab was certainly going to be an exciting encounter as on paper both teams looked exceptional. KXIP won the toss and decided to bowl. DC sent in the power duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw to open as predicted. Shikhar Dhawan was run out for duck in what was only a meaningless pursuit of run and with Prithvi Shaw dismissed for 5, things were obviously not looking good.

Adding to the agony, Shimron Hetmyer was out for 7 in an attempt to play a lofty and highly unnecessary shot. Shami was looking excellent with the ball and his 3 scalps of the top 3 proved that. The DC batsman seemed to take the aerial route and were not able to connect it for the big ones.

Shreyas Iyer with his knock of 39 laden with 3 sixed looked poised however he could not convert that into a big one for the team. Rishabh Pant with his rather slow paced 31 off 29 would’ve been an ideal anchor with 4 delightful boundaries, but he was dismissed by Ravi Bishnoi who was very impressive and his 4 over quota was quite economical in his terrific debut.

At the end of 15 overs DC was at a disappointing 96/5 and with Axar Patel and Marcus Stoinis in the crease, things still seemed quite possible for DC to post a respectable total. Twist in the tale, Cottrell got a sneaky edge and Axar Patel was walking point a disappointed man. DC tottering at 96/6 was certainly not a good sight.

Stoinis was on fire in the Chris Jordan over getting a six and a four. He was slogging trying to make the most of his stay at the crease and was striking at a strike rate with consecutive boundaries off Cottrell. He got a 50 off 20 balls, he brought it up with a glorious six, the guiding knock of 53 by Stoinis, the knock witnessed 7 4s and 3 6s and was finally run out with still 1 ball left to spare in the innings. DC finally finished at an astonishing 157/8 and getting 30 runs off the final over which at one point looked impossible. Shami with his 3/15 was exceptional and was the pick of the bowlers.

KXIP with featuring a good chunk of Karnataka players looked solid and sent in KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal to open. Off to a slow start, KL Rahul hit a glorious six off Mohit Sharma and at the end of two overs were poised at 15/0 unlike DC who were already 2 wickets down. Mayank Agarwal steered the ship with a strokeful 89 off 60 balls while the rest of the batting and wickets were tumbling. With K Gowtham chipping in with a 20 off 14 balls, KXIP tied with DC on 157. Rabada and Stoinis were the pick of the bowlers, however Ashwin had to leave the field owing to a right hand’s shoulder and his economical over ensured two scalps which was noteworthy.

We were on for a super over. The super over was certainly not an exciting one as Kings XI sent in KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran with Rahul getting dismissed for 2 and Pooran for a 0, Glenn Maxwell was the last man standing. With a paltry total of 3 to chase for DC, they sealed the deal with Pant scoring 2 runs and the one extra that contributed to the victory.

IPL 2020 finally off to a start. The excitement was in the air and rightly as this is the premier festival of cricket in India but owing to this pandemic, the action shifted to UAE. The Emirates Board having struck gold in what can be understood as a memorandum with BCCI, have decided to host this 53 days of cricketing carnival lapped up by fans across India. After all the negativity in the media, this IPL certainly served as a refresher and finally something that will grab eyeballs in this ‘simulated sound’ stadium.

Considering the Coronavirus pandemic that’s going on right now, all safety protocols and precautions were practiced and with all cricketers complying to it, making it all the more better. The captains were on the field for the toss and Dhoni being the jovial self he is jokingly remarked that he asked the match referee whether he can keep a first slip owing to the social distancing norms that have to be followed, it certainly elicited a grin from Murali Kartik at the toss standing at a good distance.

CSK won the toss and decided to bowl first as expected. Mumbai Indians’ springed up a surprise by selecting Saurabh Tiwary ahead of Ishan Kishan and they did look like a solid team. CSK, on the other hand left out Tahir which seemed like a surprise however, it would be interesting to see how things would unfold.

Anticipation was high. Finally cricket in the form of IPL was returning and Rohit Sharma was off to a flyer with a marvellous boundary. The first over was fruitful with 12/0, Mumbai looked poised for a big total, however this was not to be as Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 12 after two screaming boundaries and Quinton de Kock was also dismissed for 33 after playing a quickfire knock. Surprise pick Saurabh Tiwary silenced his critics in a lukewarm 42 off 31 balls while Hardik Pandya with his delightful boundaries was a treat to watch but that was also short lived. No other significant contributions from Pollard and the rest of the batting line up did not really help much as Mumbai ended with an almost predicted 162.

The pick of the bowlers was Lungi Ngidi with his 3 wickets and Piyush Chawla with his wickets at strategic points was also very crucial. Jadeja seemed a little off colour but chipped in with 2 wickets so did Deepak Chahar and CSKs fielding was below par. Faf du Plessis with his excellent catches, yes two catches similar boundary catches was a sight one could watch on repeat. With 162 on board, it would be interesting to see how CSK would chase it down.

CSK was off to bad start as the previous edition hero Shane Watson was dismissed early on by a Boult delivery that took a late curve and foxed him and Murali Vijay looking completely out of sorts. It was only going to be challenging for Rayadu and Du Plessis walking in at 8-2. At the end of 5 overs, staring down the barrel at 23-2, it still looked very difficult and they were far off from what MI was at that stage. The 6th over proved to be a crucial one for CSK as Rayadu hit a glorious six off Bumrah and that over provided momentum as CSK got 14 runs off it. Suresh Raina who usually walks in at number 3 was certainly missed but Rayadu was making the most as MI fielders were having back to back bouts of poor fielding which leaked a lot of runs. The dip in fielding levels could also be attributed to the lack of practice and rust owing the pandemic.

Rayadu brought up about his fifty off 33 balls in style driving Bumrah for a straight drive four which was delightful and was ably supported by Faf. MI seemed lacklustre on field at some points and with Rayadu dismissed at 71 after mistiming a Rahul Chahar delivery at a crucial point where CSK still needed 42 runs off 24 when Jadeja walked in and started off with a boundary.

Everyone was ardently waiting for Dhoni to walk in but Curran walked in, with Jadhav padded up the wait for Dhoni was agonizing. Curran made things simpler with his timely boundaries in a knock of 18 off just 6 balls in the death overs but was dismissed after a magnificent catch by Pattinson. Dhoni was finally in and with 10 runs to win, it was expected of him to close the innings and take CSK to the winning side. Bumrah was getting plummeted all over and that was not the best sight. Du Plessis also got a crucial and controlled 50 that really helped stabilized CSKs ship. There was a sudden heartbreak as Dhoni had the prospect of getting dismissed for a golden duck, but luckily the umpire had to reverse his decision as he wrongly judged it. Requiring 5 runs off the final over, it looked easy and Faf sealed the deal with two boundaries off Boult and CSK got off to an excellent start in this IPL with this 1st win under their belt.

Ps. Seeing our cricketers back in action not just on the field but even in advertisements across various brands was nice and Rabada talking Hindi was really funny. Kudos if you made it till here:’)

We will delve deep to explore Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and last but not the least Kings X1 Punjab.

Mumbai Indians:

This team has certainly set the bar high and has been one of the most consistent and talented teams on the circuit. Having won the IPL in 2013, 2015, 2017 and in 2019 this team has been unstoppable. Usually get off to sluggish and slow starts, the way they capitalize and strategize for the rest of the league games and still manage to qualify is something that this Rohit Sharma led team has been doing successfully.

A sneak peek into Mumbai Indians’ squad you’d see a good and balanced outfit boasting of names starting right with skipper Rohit Sharma, Quinton De Kock, Kieran Pollard, Mitch McClenaghan, Nathan Coulter Nile and the new entrants Trent Boult, Chris Lynn and James Pattinson. The Indian quota of players is fulfilled by young and talented players like the Pandya brothers, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Dhawal Kulkarni and Ishan Kishan to name a few.

What has worked best for Mumbai Indians is that they always invest in young Indian talent via their scouts and give them the right opportunities, this really pays off and we’ve seen how Bumrah and the Pandya brothers are household names in International cricket. Hopefully, we should see more players flowering into assets for their international teams from the MI stable.

My ideal playing 11 for Mumbai Indians is Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock* to open, Chris Lynn*, Ishan Kishan, Kieran Pollard* forming a strong middle order, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya as the dynamic all-rounders duo, Mitch McClenaghan*, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar and Dhawal Kulkarni completing the bowling department.

Trent Boult, James Pattinson can be brought in perhaps a little later on in the tournament and a rotation system to try out different combos can be given a go ahead.

My prediction is that Mumbai Indians will make it to the qualifiers and are a dominant and strong outfit.

Rajasthan Royals

Having won the inaugural edition of the IPL way back in 2008 what impresses me most about this team is the excellent initiatives they take up and help in promotion of the same.

The team is blessed with extremely talented players in the form of Steve Smith, the skipper with big names like Ben Stokes, David Miller, Andrew Tye, Oshane Thomas, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran and Jos Butler in the overseas department while the talented Indians include Sanju Samson, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Riyan Parag, the sensation of U19 cricket, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Robin Uthappa among the many prominent names.

They have an excellent team and for them over the years getting the right team balance and the foreign exports along with the expensive buys at auctions players haven’t reaped the benefits as much as they would’ve ideally expected, hopefully this time around we should get to see that.

My ideal playing 11 for RR would be Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal to open the innings right at the top, Steve Smith*, Robin Uthappa, Jos Butler*, Manan Vohra forming the solid middle order, Jofra Archer*, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat and Andrew Tye* forming the crux of my bowling attack would be ideal.

My prediction is that RR may just miss out on the qualifiers but we can still expect some great matches and good performances.

Delhi Capitals

Having very similar fortunes like RCB, this team has had mixed returns over multiple seasons of the IPL now. Having made some excellent purchases in the auctions, it does not translate to great performances and something not clicking for them time and again. The squad however this time around boasts off some very talented cricketers in the form Kagiso Rabada, Marcus Stoinis, Sandeep Lamichhane, Shimron Hetmyer, Alex Carey, Anrich Nortje and Keemo Paul. Again, barring Stoinis, Rabada and Carey, the others are relatively unknown and haven’t really set the stage on fire in previous editions of IPL let alone international cricket, so it will be interesting to see how that would change this time around with a new jersey and team environment.

The Indians in the team have some celebrated cricketers in the form of Shreyas Iyer, the skipper, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Amit Mishra, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Ravi Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan and not to forget Ishant Sharma

My playing 11 for Delhi Capitals would be Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan to open, Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Alex Carey*, Rishabh Pant to form a strong middle order,  Marcus Stonis*,Axar Patel who can contribute with the bat and the ball, Ravi Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada*, Anrich Nortje* a go ahead in the bowling department.

Later on, perhaps, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mohit Sharma, Harshal Patel, Keemo Paul and Shimron Hetmyer can be brought in based on the requirements.

My prediction is that Delhi Capitals would give some exciting matches and performances, but qualifying seems a little bleak and unlikely.

Kings 11 Punjab

Having reached as finalists in the 2014 edition, this team has made just the solo appearance in over 12 seasons of the IPL.

At the auctions, one can see a vociferous Preity Zinta bid for players and even from stands, but they have always fallen short of expectations and a lot of factors can be attributed to that.

The squad this time coached by Anil Kumble has KL Rahul taking over the reins as captain and with latest additions in the form of Jimmy Neesham and Chris Jordan, Glenn Maxwell, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and Hardus Viljoen are the other big names in the squad with the domestic players from India like J Suchith, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Mayank Agarwal, Md. Shami, Sarfaraz Khan, the talented Ravi Bishnoi and Ishan Porel, Karun Nair and Mandeep Singh making up a strong Indian contingent in the team.

An ideal playing 11 for KXIP would be KL Rahul and Chris Gayle* to open the innings, Glenn Maxwell*, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan forming a formidable middle order, Jimmy Neesham*, Mujeeb ur Rahman*, Ravi Bishnoi, Ishan Porel and Md.Shami, completing the bowling department.

Again, I don’t really see a change in fortunes for them and a qualification for the qualifiers seems a little unlikely. But with excting players in the rank, we can expect miracles in this side led by KL Rahul.

The focus will be on the general overview of team, a look through of the squads, the strengths and weaknesses, players to watch out for and my prediction of where they would end up finishing in the tournament.

1. RCB:

To start off with let’s get underway with our team from Bengaluru, Royal Challengers Bangalore. It’s unfortunate that this team with brimming potential and exceptional players almost always falls short in this tournament. Even experts haven’t been able to decipher what goes wrong every time, but they have more often than not faltered at the biggest moments and quite surprisingly have interesting records of scoring the highest total and the least total under their belt which is a distinction that no other team can boast off.

Having reached the finals in 2009, 2011 and in 2016, they weren’t able to get past the finish line and convert that into silverware.

This time the squad captained by Virat Kohli boasts of a talented and polished team comprising AB De Villiers, Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Moeen Ali, Adam Zampa, Yuzvendra Chahal among a plethora of young men finding their feet.

With the fresh talent in the form of Devdutt Padikkal, a local with a promising start to his domestic career in the mix of things, it will be interesting to see how RCB utilizes his services. With youngsters like Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube we have pinch hitters who can be useful assets to the team. The bowling seems balanced with the likes of Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Md. Siraj, Pawan Negi, the Sri Lankan Isuru Udana, Adam Zampa it looks like a decent bowling attack and the rotation to see who plays ahead of whom will be captain Kohli’s call.

RCB’s strength perhaps lies in the fact that they have good foreign exports in the batting line up who can really lend assistance to the batting and put on big totals. Their bowling however will have to be looked into and the choice for bowlers will be very imperative as Dubai is the playing conditions.

Seeking to strike the right balance will be crucial as with four foreigners featuring in the playing 11, the choice has to be apt.

My ideal playing 11 would be: With Aaron Finch* and Devdutt Padikkal to open, Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers*, Gurkeerat Mann, Shivam Dube can form an ideal middle order, ably supported by last minute exploits from Washington Sundar, and the bolwoing unit will be further cemented and strengthened by Dale Steyn*, Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Adam Zampa*.

With periodic and strategic changes, we can bring about in the matches ahead with rotation, this seems like a perfect team combination.

I have a strong feeling that RCB will make it to the Qualifiers this time around and let’s keep our fingers crossed.

2. CSK

Any superlative will fall short to describe this team that always manages to bring their A game to the forefront every time they step in to play. Having won the IPL 3 times in the past in 2010, 2011 and in 2018; the team also boasts off the highest win percentage among all teams in the IPL (61.28%, a stat that always leaves me baffled). They hold the records of most appearances in the playoffs (ten) and the Final (eight) of the IPL which is simply unimaginable.

Captained by MS Dhoni this team has always shown that they are consistent and that age is just a number.

With a refined and experienced squad, CSK looks like a very well-balanced team. Faf Du Plessis, Shane Watson, DJ Bravo, Ambati Rayadu, Sam Curran, Imran Tahir, Mitch Santner, Lungi Ngidi, Josh Hazelwood among their experienced overseas players, they have Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayadu, Shardul Thakur, Piyush Chawla, Kedar Jadhav, Deepak Chahar and obviously the skipper MS Dhoni as the Indian powerhouses in the lineup.

Their strengths lie in an exceptional batting and bowling line up. They can boast of experience and youngsters who have proven their worth in big match situations. Having unearthed players like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Narayan Jagadeesan and Ravisrinavasan Sai Kishore who are bright prospects and them featuring in the playing 11 if given a chance will be really interesting and exciting to see. 

An ideal playing 11 for CSK would be Murali Vijay, Shane Watson* to open, Ambati Rayadu, Faf Du Plessis*, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav lending their expertise to a strong and balanced middle order , Sam Curran* can also chip in with the bat and the ball, the exceptional Ravindra Jadeja as an all in one package, and the bowling dominated by Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir*

DJ Bravo and Josh Hazelwood can be brought in later and the others too. Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina will be missed.

My prediction is that CSK will be in the qualifiers and might even be potential finalists.

3. SRH

SRH has been a dominant outfit in the Ipl ever since they joined the league way back in 2013. Having won the IPL in 2016 in an epic encounter with RCB, they have qualified for the play-off stage of the tournament in every season since 2016.

What works best for them is the fact that they have a good pool of players from overseas in the form of David Warner, Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow, Billy Stanlake, Afghani power duo of Rashid Khan and Md. Nabi, Mitch Marsh and Fabien Allen joining the fold this year. With Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar Bhuvehswar Jumar, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed and Wriddhiman Saha and unknown commodities in the form of T Natarajan and Priyam Garg, the U19 Capt for team India in 2020, SRH is a team that has match winners and they can certainly guide the team to a respectable position in the IPL. With David Warner also returning as captain, we will have to see how things play out and the team combo he opts for.

An ideal playing 11 for SRH is David Warner*, Jonny Bairstow* to open the innings right at the top, the middle order solidified with the presence of Kane Williamson*, Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, and the bowling attack bolstered by the presence of Basil Thampi, Bhuvi, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul.

I predict SRH will go deep in the IPL, however them making it to the qualifiers seems highly likely.

4. KKR

Having won the IPL in 2012 and 2014, KKR is a dominant outfit that has had some reasonably average seasons in the past few seasons. They would certainly be looking to turn around that.

Captained by Dinesh Karthik, the team will look to optimize and use the talent of youngsters like Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti. In the overseas department, with the Aussie quick, Pat Cummins, Andre Rusell, Tom Banton, Eoin Morgan, Lockie ferguson, Sunil Narine, they have proven matchwinners.

An ideal playing 11 for KKR would be Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill to open the innings, a solid middle order comprising Eoin Morgan*, Andre Russell*, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Rinku Singh, the bowling set up with Lockie Ferguson*, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Pat Cummins*

Again, KKR’s strength is their power hitter Andre Russell who can turn any match around but with a relatively new team and set up, it will have to be seen how they can turn around their fortunes and emerge winners.

My prediction is that they might just miss out on the qualifiers bus, but we can look forward to some exciting matches and electrifying performances.