IPL 2019: Five talking points from the buzzing weekend (12-13th April)
This was a week of upsets in the IPL. Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore were looking distraught after their horrendous start but both sides emerged victorious in their respective matches. After six straight losses, RCB celebrated their first win despite Chris Gayle’s 99*. Rajasthan defeated Mumbai Indians on their special ‘Education for all’ day.
Chennai Super Kings continued their excellent streak and overcame Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. Delhi Capitals sprung a surprise by castling Sunrisers Hyderabad at their fortress. The weekend featuring all eight teams was full of action and power-packed performances. Here are the five most outstanding moments from the weekend that was:
1. Jasprit Bumrah’s turn-around over
In Saturday afternoon’s ESA game at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Indians posted 187/5 in their first innings. Quinton de Kock’s 81, Rohit Sharma’s 47 and a late assault from Hardik Pandya helped the side get to an above-par total. RR openers began the chase well and Buttler hit the straps running. At the 16-over mark, Royals needed 20 runs from 24 balls and then came Bumrah.
Bumrah sparkled with his performances in 2018-19. This IPL, the batsmen are treating him differently. They are conserving their wickets against him. Against RR, Bumrah bowled the 17th over. He conceded only three runs and picked the wicket of Sanju Samson. On the first ball of his next over, he sent back Steve Smith and rocked RR’s chances. Until Gopal crashed a boundary, Bumrah had taken MI very close to a win.
2. Gayle stranded on 99
Chris Gayle is miles ahead of any other batsman in terms of T20 centuries. The Universe Boss has 21 hundreds in the 20-over format while no one else has more than seven. Batting against his old team Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gayle was on the cusp of adding another century to his collection.
At the PCA Stadium in Mohali, KL Rahul and Chris Gayle opened the batting for Kings XI Punjab. RCB kept chipping away with the wickets but Gayle remained firm at the crease. He completed his half-century in just 29 balls and maintained the high run-rate. When the last over of the innings began, Gayle was not out on 90 from 60 balls. In the next three deliveries, he scored five runs. On the last ball, the opener needed a six. Gayle managed a boundary and finished with his first 99 in T20 career.
3. Tahir runs and runs
At the Eden Gardens, Chennai Super Kings collided with Kolkata Knight Riders. Both teams were packed with international spinners. CSK had Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner while KKR boasted Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla. Ultimately, it was the South African leggie who came out on the top.
Tahir conceded four runs in his first over. In his second, he struck on the second ball and accounted for Nitish Rana. One ball after, the pair of Faf du Plessis and Tahir combined for the dismissal of Robin Uthappa. The South African spinner then sent back Chris Lynn and Andre Russell to complete his four-for. Tahir eventually finished with 4/27 from his four overs.
4. Dry spell of Kuldeep
In recent times, Kuldeep Yadav has emerged as India’s most skilful spinner. He has troubled batsmen with his left-arm wrist spin in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. Coming into the IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders hoped for him to exhibit his magic but Yadav has not been effective this season.
In KKR’s eight matches, Kuldeep has picked only three wickets. In total, the wrist spinner has bowled 29 overs and conceded 227 runs. Kuldeep averaged 75.66 this season and his economy rate is 7.82 runs per over. With six matches still to go, the lefty twirler needs to find his form immediately.
5. Sunrisers fall off the cliff
Playing at the home ground, Sunrisers Hyderabad inserted Delhi Capitals to bat first. Riding on the contributions from Shreyas Iyer and Colin Munro, DC posted 155/7 in their 20 overs. For SRH, David Warner and Jonny Bairstow led the chase and added 72 runs for the first wicket. After 15 overs, SRH stood at 100/2 in 15 overs. Then they nosedived.
First, it was Keemo Paul who dismissed Ricky Bhui in the 16th over. Kagiso Rabada struck next and dismissed David Warner and Vijay Shankar in succession. In another double-wicket over, Chris Morris sent back Rashid Khan and Abhishek Sharma. Rabada returned to clean the tail and added two more wickets to his account. From 101/2, SRH ended up at 116 all out. They lost by 39 runs.
