The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to start in the United Arab Emirates on September 19, 2021. While we are one sleep away from the tournament, here’s a quick rundown of the first half of the tournament and how the franchises fared.
Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni and Co are currently placed second in the IPL 2021 points table behind the Delhi Capitals. What worked for the Chennai-based team is their batting department and their spin bowling.
Before the IPL was suspended, CSK exhibited the best scoring rate in the middle (9.44) and death overs (12.86) and have hit the most sixes (62). The opening pair of Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad have done wonders for them. They were ably supported by Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja and Ambati Rayudu.
As for the spinning department, the troika of Jadeja, Moeen and Imrah Tahir shared a total of 13 wickets among them at an economy rate of 6.28. This is the best among all sides.
However, what has not worked for them is the ageing guns.
Both MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina failed to fire in the first half of the league. In four outings, Dhoni only managed to score 37 runs. Raina, on the other hand, hit a solid 36-ball 54. However, form deserted him soon as in the next five innings he could only score 69 runs at a strike rate of 113.
Delhi Capitals
The Delhi-based franchise, with 12 points, are perched top on the IPL points table. As they look primed to lift the elusive trophy, the opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw have been their saving grace this season. The booming pair scored a total of 512 runs in eight partnerships at a rate of 9.25 per over.
Other than the batting, Avesh Khan’s introduction in the bowling attack has been a revelation for them. In the India leag, he picked up 14 wickets.
What has not worked for them is their middle-order batting and death-overs bowling. Captain Rishabh Pant is yet to find his form in the tournament along with Steve Smith, who only scored 104 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 112.
In 2020, with Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada, they sported the best bowling pair in death overs. While Nortje is yet to feature, Rabada has struggled to hit the right lengths in the end overs.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders is yet to tick some of the right boxes, if not at all the boxes. The team has not been able to function in unison, costing them matches. They are languishing at the bottom of the IPL points table with four points. If their top order performs, their middle fails to capitalise on it. And in run chases, the middle order is left with too much to do after the top order fails to click.
Single-handedly, Pat Cummins was their top player. He not only picked up nine wickets but also chipped in with useful runs.
What has not worked for them is their bowling, primarily, among other things.
Other than the top order, the middle order has not fired. Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik have failed to make a dent in the tournament so far.
On the bowling front, the KKR department has picked the fewest wickets among all teams in 2019, second fewest in 2020 and are currently the joint-lowest in 2021 so far.
Neither the pacers nor the sinners have been a threat to the opposition. Sunil Narine‘s wicket-taking threat has disappeared and Kuldeep Yadav is yet to make the playing XI.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
In the India leg of the IPL, the pair of Jonny Bairstow and Rashid Khan was the highlight for Sunrisers Hyderabad. For the team that has only two points in the league, it will be a tough climb in the second leg. Bairstow is the leading run-getter for SRH scoring at 8.50 runs per over in comparison to 7.04 by rest of his teammates. And his team often crumbled down after his dismissals.
In 7 games, Rashid picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 6.14 and the victims include the likes of AB de Villiers, Andre Russell, Chris Gayle. He is yet to get support from his colleague.
What has not worked for them is the batting lineup and their bowling unit.
Other than Bairstow, none of the batsmen could score freely in the tournament. The middle-order has hurt the scoring ability of the team and the lower order has failed to win matches even in winning situations. The inexperience clearly exudes. While the middle order was bolstered by Kane Williamson‘s presence, they are yet to master finishing.
In the bowling department, the overseas bowlers picked 17 wickets at an economy rate of 6.93. The Indian counterparts could manage only 19 in more than double the number of overs at 8.75 per over. In terms of strike rate, SRH has a poor fast bowling unit.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The Virat Kohli-led team has aced the death-over game this season, with their batting line-up performing supremely.
In the Chennai leg, AB de Villiers won the team the matches on his own on a slow Chennai track at a rate of 14.85 in the death overs as compared to the tournament average of 8.49 at the same venue.
While it was de Villiers who finished games for them, it was the addition of Glenn Maxwell, who did wonders for them. Maxwell scored at 145 between overs seven and 15 which saw RCB’s middle overs scoring rate increasing to 7.51.
However, the Bangalore-based team have been plagued by their spinners and Kohli’s move up the order.
Opening the batting, he has an average of 33 and a strike rate of 121. His move up the order has not paid dividends. Although his scoring increases after the field is spread out. If Kohli manages to give them solid starts, the duo of Maxwell and De Villiers will be enough for them to win matches.
RCB spinners have been in abysmal form this season. Both Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar failed to put up a repeat performance. This time around, their spin department has been bolstered by the addition of Wanindu Hasaranga.
Rajasthan Royals
They have won 3 out 0f 7 matches in the first half. Their scoring rate of 10.96 between overs 16 and 20 is the second-best in the competition only behind CSK. The batting, this season, has been a huge plus for them. The consistency of Sanju Samson (227 runs at an average of 46 and striking at 146) has been a huge morale booster for them.
The pace department has been right on the money as they are going at 10 per over and picking 16 wickets.
The spinners have only picked up three wickets in seven games. Owing to this, the team brought in the services of No 1 ranked spinner Tabriaz Shamsi.
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma has been doing most of the heavy lifting for the team at the top. Always giving them a solid start, scoring 201 runs in five innings in Chennai with a strike rate of 130.52.
Last season, the bowling attack was led by pacers and spinners. But with pacers struggling to cast their magic, the bowling department was lifted by Rahul Chahar‘s strikes in the middle phase.
Punjab Kings
Led by KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle have scored two-thirds of their total runs. In all their three wins in the tournament, Rahul has batted through almost the entire innings – 91 vs RR, 60* vs MI and 91* vs RCB. And whenever the openers were dismissed, the rest of the lineup was blown away.
The overseas recruits have to fire in the second leg of the IPL. They’ve had their worst returns in terms of overseas players. In 18 innings between their five overseas batting recruits, they have only scored 254 runs at 14.94 with a strike rate of 114 and no score of over 50.
