Around the IPL: Week 1
A week of Swayamvars, run-chases and making correct decisions
We’re past the first week of Pepsi IPL 2014 and we’ve already seen plenty of action on and off the field. The tournament took off with a cracking opening ceremony – dance, music, fireworks et al – after which we’ve been witness to lots of exhilarating stuff on the field. Here’s a recap of the most memorable moments of the week gone by.
Shahrukh Hosts Kohli’s Swayamvar
Rewind to the night of the opening ceremony. After the captains of the eight competing teams had signed the MCC Spirit of Cricket plaque – pledging to play hard but within the spirit of the game – and after a passionate and touching speech from the interim BCCI-IPL President, Sunil Gavaskar, the stage was set alight by none other than the Baadshah of Bollywood – Shah Rukh Khan. King Khan, along with Bollywood heartthrob Deepika Padukone and several others, sizzled by dancing to some popular Bollywood numbers, before asking the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to join him on stage.
After the song and dance, Shah Rukh Khan decided to help Virat Kohli choose a bride – Swayamvar style. Kohli spelled out all the qualities he was looking for in the ‘bride to be’ – in jest of course – and King Khan did his best to find a girl matching those traits. Kohli was left speechless, red and blushing when King Khan removed the lid on the suspense over the last option for bride. It was none other than Anushka Sharma!
KXIP’s Run “Chase” Machine
The first week saw Kings XI Punjab pull off two incredible run-chases – thanks to some outrageous strokeplay by their new acquisition, Glenn Maxwell. Apart from the brute power with which his bat made contact with ball, it was the comfort with which the Australian pulled off those unorthodox shots that stood out. His go-to shot – the slog sweep – earned him plenty of runs. But what left all those who watched his duel efforts – 43-ball 95 against CSK and 45-ball 89 against RR – spellbound was the precision with which he picked the spots in the outfield, despite playing those reverse-sweeps and switch-hits.
Aaron Tests the Speed Gun
It is not often that one gets to see Indian bowlers clock speeds consistently in excess of 140 kph. Hence, in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s outing against the Delhi Daredevils, when Varun Aaron clocked in the 140’s consistently, it was one of those spells that every Indian cricket fan would savour. The 24-year-old from Jharkhand averaged 142.62 kph in his three-over spell – breaching the 140 kph mark 17 times out of the 20 balls he bowled that evening. Even experienced batsmen like Murali Vijay, JP Duminy and Ross Taylor struggled to come to terms with his bowling. As if to prove that performance wasn’t a flash in the pan, Aaron once again sent the speed gun soaring in the following match against the Mumbai Indians.
King Kallis Cranks Up the Heat
In the days leading up to Pepsi IPL 2014, several experts had wondered how much value Jacques Kallis would add to the Kolkata Knight Riders set-up. At 38 years of age and with a batting strike of 112 in Twenty20 cricket, they said Kallis didn’t quite fit the bill for the 20-over format.
Heading towards the final quarter of the innings in their match against the Mumbai Indians, KKR were barely scoring at a run-a-ball. Kallis’ critics would have been sharpening their ammunition at that point. That’s when the South African all-rounder decided to turn on the heat and silence those who dared to doubt him; in the 15th over of the innings, he announced his intentions by dispatching Pragyan Ojha for two sixes and a boundary. He then picked up boundaries off the next over bowled by Kieron Pollard, and two overs later, swatted Zaheer Khan for a six over midwicket. In a matter of minutes, Kallis – who was on 35 from 32 balls at one stage – raced to 72 from 46 balls (aided with five boundaries and three sixes). The change in strike-rate was astonishing – the last 37 runs came off 14 balls at a strike-rate of 264.29! Sufficed to say, KKR, after posting 163 runs on the board, won the match convincingly – by 41 runs.
Duminy’s “Correct” Decision
Often, cricket, much like life, is about making the right choices and timing them to a tee. A correct decision might mean the individual taking a call, and his entire team, will reap the rewards. However, one bad move might end up with disastrous results for all involved. In the Delhi Daredevils’ match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, it was one such correct decision – and the timing of that decision – that helped the former chase down what was a challenging target.
Delhi Daredevils’ chase could have gone either way when their stand-in skipper, Dinesh Karthik, was dismissed midway through the 15th over with his team needing 49 runs from 33 balls. A couple of quiet overs later, the required rate had breached the 10-an-over mark. But that’s when JP Duminy – who had scored a run-a-ball 26 till then – made the decision of going after his South African teammate, Morne Morkel. Having faced him on numerous occasions in the nets while playing for South Africa, Duminy perhaps had a fair idea of what was coming, and hence, he knew what to do and executed his plans to perfection. A missed slog off the first ball was followed by picking up a brace down to thirdman. The third delivery was sent racing to the long-off fence, while the next two legal deliveries were deposited beyond the boundary backward of square on the leg-side. After the 21-run over, the scales had decisively tilted in favour of DD, who ended up winning by four-wickets – all thanks to that one correct decision by Duminy.
Shahrukh Hosts Kohli’s Swayamvar
Rewind to the night of the opening ceremony. After the captains of the eight competing teams had signed the MCC Spirit of Cricket plaque – pledging to play hard but within the spirit of the game – and after a passionate and touching speech from the interim BCCI-IPL President, Sunil Gavaskar, the stage was set alight by none other than the Baadshah of Bollywood – Shah Rukh Khan. King Khan, along with Bollywood heartthrob Deepika Padukone and several others, sizzled by dancing to some popular Bollywood numbers, before asking the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to join him on stage.
After the song and dance, Shah Rukh Khan decided to help Virat Kohli choose a bride – Swayamvar style. Kohli spelled out all the qualities he was looking for in the ‘bride to be’ – in jest of course – and King Khan did his best to find a girl matching those traits. Kohli was left speechless, red and blushing when King Khan removed the lid on the suspense over the last option for bride. It was none other than Anushka Sharma!
KXIP’s Run “Chase” Machine
The first week saw Kings XI Punjab pull off two incredible run-chases – thanks to some outrageous strokeplay by their new acquisition, Glenn Maxwell. Apart from the brute power with which his bat made contact with ball, it was the comfort with which the Australian pulled off those unorthodox shots that stood out. His go-to shot – the slog sweep – earned him plenty of runs. But what left all those who watched his duel efforts – 43-ball 95 against CSK and 45-ball 89 against RR – spellbound was the precision with which he picked the spots in the outfield, despite playing those reverse-sweeps and switch-hits.
Aaron Tests the Speed Gun
It is not often that one gets to see Indian bowlers clock speeds consistently in excess of 140 kph. Hence, in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s outing against the Delhi Daredevils, when Varun Aaron clocked in the 140’s consistently, it was one of those spells that every Indian cricket fan would savour. The 24-year-old from Jharkhand averaged 142.62 kph in his three-over spell – breaching the 140 kph mark 17 times out of the 20 balls he bowled that evening. Even experienced batsmen like Murali Vijay, JP Duminy and Ross Taylor struggled to come to terms with his bowling. As if to prove that performance wasn’t a flash in the pan, Aaron once again sent the speed gun soaring in the following match against the Mumbai Indians.
King Kallis Cranks Up the Heat
In the days leading up to Pepsi IPL 2014, several experts had wondered how much value Jacques Kallis would add to the Kolkata Knight Riders set-up. At 38 years of age and with a batting strike of 112 in Twenty20 cricket, they said Kallis didn’t quite fit the bill for the 20-over format.
Heading towards the final quarter of the innings in their match against the Mumbai Indians, KKR were barely scoring at a run-a-ball. Kallis’ critics would have been sharpening their ammunition at that point. That’s when the South African all-rounder decided to turn on the heat and silence those who dared to doubt him; in the 15th over of the innings, he announced his intentions by dispatching Pragyan Ojha for two sixes and a boundary. He then picked up boundaries off the next over bowled by Kieron Pollard, and two overs later, swatted Zaheer Khan for a six over midwicket. In a matter of minutes, Kallis – who was on 35 from 32 balls at one stage – raced to 72 from 46 balls (aided with five boundaries and three sixes). The change in strike-rate was astonishing – the last 37 runs came off 14 balls at a strike-rate of 264.29! Sufficed to say, KKR, after posting 163 runs on the board, won the match convincingly – by 41 runs.
Duminy’s “Correct” Decision
Often, cricket, much like life, is about making the right choices and timing them to a tee. A correct decision might mean the individual taking a call, and his entire team, will reap the rewards. However, one bad move might end up with disastrous results for all involved. In the Delhi Daredevils’ match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, it was one such correct decision – and the timing of that decision – that helped the former chase down what was a challenging target.
Delhi Daredevils’ chase could have gone either way when their stand-in skipper, Dinesh Karthik, was dismissed midway through the 15th over with his team needing 49 runs from 33 balls. A couple of quiet overs later, the required rate had breached the 10-an-over mark. But that’s when JP Duminy – who had scored a run-a-ball 26 till then – made the decision of going after his South African teammate, Morne Morkel. Having faced him on numerous occasions in the nets while playing for South Africa, Duminy perhaps had a fair idea of what was coming, and hence, he knew what to do and executed his plans to perfection. A missed slog off the first ball was followed by picking up a brace down to thirdman. The third delivery was sent racing to the long-off fence, while the next two legal deliveries were deposited beyond the boundary backward of square on the leg-side. After the 21-run over, the scales had decisively tilted in favour of DD, who ended up winning by four-wickets – all thanks to that one correct decision by Duminy.
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