IPL: At the end of round 3...

At the end of Round 3 (for few teams it is round 4), one man continues his charm in IPL. This time he casted his magic with the ball too by picking 4 wickets followed by a gritty 75 to win the game for Kings XI against Deccan Chargers. The mental toughness, courage and steely resolve to succeed and to plant the seeds on his team mates assure a legend in making. To my limited following of the game, this is a first of its kind where a team is entirely dependent on a stranger. Not to say the least, the likes of Tendulkar and Kallis run appetite are being tested by an unknown commodity. I’m pretty confident that he has already earned a spot for the WI tour. And my love for Paul Valthaty continues.

But the biggest news of round 3 happened to be when a well made ton went in vein. You have to give it to Jayawardane for taking charge and opening the batting with McCullum. Eventually the duo made sure Tuskers registered their first win. Had Captain Tendulkar experimented with Rohit Sharma or Symmo during the bowling phase, may be Mumbai could have avoided the defeat.

Delhi was the last to join the party as they beat Pune at their home turf. Delhi win was always on the cards. Both teams are not known for their leadership, but known for their strong batting line up and weak bowling line up. The team that badly needed the win only lived up to the reputation.

Chennai back to winning ways, but the replacements Tim Southee and Suraj Randiv are not able to adequately fill the void created by Bollinger and Muralitharan.

The mostly losing captain of New Zealand is steering his new ship Bangalore on the losing side too. The choice of pinch hitters like Zaheer Khan and Asad Pathan is a good exhibition of incorrect calls and pessimism.

However, the Fortune wave has turned Bengal’s way as Knight Riders beat Royals back to back home and away convincingly. Good to see captain Gambir turning to party on both occasions.

To sum it up, Mumbai defeat is one off occasion. I won’t be surprised if the captaincy quotient and Malinga absence could hurt the team in the later stages of the tournament. Sincerely wish to see the Tendulkar, The Captain, on the winning side. Kolkata’s back to back victories put them on Tier 1 with Chennai and Mumbai.

Punjab, Pune, Delhi, Rajasthan and Kochi appear to be evenly poised at the next level. While Hyderabad remains to be the punch bag.

Waiting to see Pathan brothers, Suresh Raina, Sehwag, Jakati, Ojha to come good in the rounds ahead.

Dinesh

Cricket Lover