The IPL Athletic Supporter's Note - XVII

Oops, my apologies again. I thought I would post yesterday, but was overcome by a case of sincerityatworkitis.

The match between the RCB and the DD was proof that classical batsmanship still has a place in the T20 format. To me at least, the Kallis-Dravid partnership was one of the best I have seen in this tournament. It was run-making devoid of wild heaves and ugly swipes. And in the end, it took the Royal Challengers home rather easily, much against what I thought would happen.

There is something about Anil Kumble that seems to bring out the sincere gene in every player. Ever since he has taken over, the RC are looking less like strutters and more like fighters. Their bowling against the DD had discipline about it. It was made a bit easy by the two wickets that Praveen Kumar picked up early. After that, bioth Kumble and van der Merwe bowled tight spells and managed to choke even a deep batting team like the DD.

When the RC batted, I could not help but feel sorry for Kallis. There were at least five beautiful drives that went straight to fielders. This is where it gets loaded against the classical players. You just know as a fielding captain where that cover drive or that off drive will go. Fields can be set. Which is another reason why the ‘prayer and a wild heave’ school of batting seems to flourish in this format.

Not that it had an effect on Kallis that night. He picked one from the leg stump and sent it over mid-wicket with hardly any effort. A shot worth going miles to see, and yes, Srini, almost as good as the Bravo whip. Dravid looked a different player. Busy, running the ball into gaps, playing more bottom-handed cricket than he does usually, and most importantly for the RC, keeping big Jacques company. By the time he left, the target was clearly visible to the RC spotters without binoculars.

Yesterday’s matches did not belong to the glamorous, six-hitting world of the IPL. Hard-fought, scrapping, street-fighting affairs. The KKR – RR match panned out along expected lines once Quiney left. Asnodkar is in the middle of what can only be termed an extended lapse of reason. Every dismissal of his this season has had that Syd Barrett brand of bizarreness to it. Yusuf Pathan has gone off the boil, much like Sehwag and expectedly tries to blast his way out of poor form. This time around, he sent up a swirler that was best left to Karthik and his big gloves.

Am I seeing things or is it apparent that KKR are finally playing under their captain and not under their coach? McCullum may not be a great strategic captain, but he does set standards, sometimes with the bat and almost always on the field. Dinda rose ten feet tall and made his presence felt. Langeveldt (held back by Buchanan for reasons best known to the Almighty) showed what he could have done, had he been played earlier. Pity, because he might have just saved Buchanan his job.

Shukla batted beautifully and quite nervelessly to take the KKR home. Alas, if all this had only started happening two weeks ago.

The second match was again a wrong spot by me. I expected the Kings XI to push down an out-of-rhythm CSK. It nearly happened. The CSK innings fell apart once the opening partnership was broken. Sreesanth (he looks such a good bowler when he bowls with his mouth shut) bowled one brilliant over which turned the CSK innings turtle. He hustled in a quick, skidding short ball to Badrinath and beat him for pace on the hook. A few balls later, he produced a true beauty that ensured that Dhoni would not smell of sweat when he took off his shirt in the dressing room.

Brett Lee is in a sweet spot. He is bowling like a poet, if that term could be applied to fast bowlers at all. Powar must be one of the true exponents of pure flight. I think he did Raina in the flight, deceiving him into believing that the ball would drop a tad shorter than it did.

The Kings XI batting just did not make sense to me. Why weren’t they trying to milk the singles? Ashwin did Sangakkara in the flight and Murali got Katich in reverse Warne style. But then, someone could have stuck around and done the Shukla act for KXI.

The Punjab team seems to operate in the ‘switched on, switched off’ mode. And that is sad, for here was a team that looked balanced and so full of talent. ‘Where have you gone Jayawardene, a team turns its lonely eyes to you..’