IPL 2019: The story so far…
We’re only in the first week of IPL 2019 and the world’s biggest T20 tournament has already seen plenty of drama. All eight teams have kicked off an interesting season with their first matches. Let’s look at how the teams fared in the opening round.
Chennai Super Kings
The defending champions began their IPL campaign in the way they know best – by winning. Though, the highlight of the opening match was a Chepauk pitch that turned too much for both teams. It was Chennai’s spin department that took advantage. Veteran Harbhajan Singh bagged 3 wickets in his 150th IPL game. Suresh Raina became the first batsman to reach 5000 runs in the tournament. It was a typical start for the Chennai Super Kings, who are undoubtedly the most consistent team in the IPL.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Year after year, RCB fans hope that their favourite team gets their hands on the elusive trophy or at the very least, has a fruitful season. Much to their disappointment, the franchise has failed to live up to expectations for most seasons. Even with the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and previously, Chris Gayle. This year as well, they got off to a horrid start against CSK. There was little they could do after putting up only 70 runs on the scoreboard. Kohli and co. would hope to put this loss behind them as they head back to their home ground.
Kolkata Knight Riders
One of the most fancied sides in the IPL, KKR played their season opener at a packed Eden Gardens against SRH. Although, it was the comeback kid David Warner that grabbed the limelight with a blistering 85. 182 was a steep chase, but Kolkata aren’t known to give up. They lost skipper Dinesh Karthik for a single-digit score but fought hard to claw back into the game. Andre Russell went on a rampage to seal what looked like an improbable chase, with 2 balls to spare. Sunrisers stood there with a stunned look on their faces, as the “Dre Russ” show took over Eden!
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad were without the services of their injured captain Kane Williamson. In his absence, their star pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar led the team in their first match of the season. Known for their bowling supremacy, SRH started off well after putting up a competitive 181. But halfway through, their bowling looked completely listless. Each of their bowlers went for big runs except Rashid Khan, who finished with an economy of 6.50. Sunrisers would desperately want their Captain Kane back in action!
Mumbai Indians
When was the last time Mumbai won their opening IPL game, you ask? Back in 2012. Yes, that’s right! Dubbed as “slow starters”, or “late bloomers”, Mumbai have a reputation of performing well at the business end of the tournament. And rightly so, their opener against the Delhi Capitals at Wankhede was the first of their losses. Rishabh Pant blazed away to a glorious 78, smashing Mumbai’s best bowler Jasprit Bumrah to all parts of the ground. Delhi finished with 213, a little too much for Mumbai to chase. With no real partnerships, the hosts fell 37 runs short in the end. Though, the Wankhede crowd had something else to take home – flashes of the old Yuvraj Singh!
Delhi Capitals
It looked like Rishabh Pant never left IPL 2018, as he continued his batting heroics against Mumbai in Delhi’s first game. Mumbai were too dumbfounded to come up with any sort of a plan against an in-form Pant, who was smacking bowlers for fun. Delhi raced away to 213 and then bowled superbly to restrict a star-studded Mumbai lineup. They’ve had disappointing seasons and are known to finish in the bottom half of the table. But with an all-new avatar and Sourav Ganguly as their mentor, things could get better for Delhi this year.
Rajasthan Royals
The best part about the start of the Rajasthan Royals’ campaign was the intent of their captain, Ajinkya Rahane. Despite allowing Chris Gayle to go berserk earlier, the Royals came back strongly in the chase. Rahane looked confident from the word go, striking boundaries with impeccable timing. His partner, Jos Buttler looked like he was carrying on from where he left last year. But one controversial dismissal of Buttler left the entire Royals side demoralised and they collapsed like ninepins. Rajasthan would’ve hoped to capitalise on a great start, especially with the inclusion of Steve Smith.
Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab had never won a game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. They were also behind in the head-to-head stats against the Rajasthan Royals. Until this year’s face off. Sadly, in a match that featured the Gaylestorm, Sarfaraz’s brilliant cameo, Buttler’s exceptional shot-making, it was the ‘Mankading’ dismissal that took center stage. Ashwin ran-out an on-song Buttler, who was apparently backing up far too much. A livid Buttler walked back to the dugout, and so did Rajasthan’s morale. Punjab have made a cracking start to their season, but they’ve got to continue the momentum, unlike last year.
