This has been an interesting week in IPL. Some of the top sides are looking to find solutions to some issues at the start of IPL 2024. Look at RCB, who have won just one game out of five so far. There is a lot of talk about Virat Kohli and the way he has batted. The issue for me is not Kohli but those batting around him. Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green are all out of form, at the moment, and that is hurting RCB. I am not someone who advocates constant chopping and changing in a T20 side because of one or two losses. But RCB is five games into the tournament, and I think it is time for Will Jacks to have a go and create real energy within the side. His off-spin can come in handy.
If Jacks comes in, it possibly means one of Green or Maxwell will have to sit out. RCB may not have thought about such a scenario at the start of the tournament, but I guess the time has come to start thinking about this option.
As far as the Kohli situation is concerned, it is hard to be critical of him when he is the one scoring all the runs and those around him aren’t. He is a big player who is trying to take the responsibility to take the side to a good score. If the scenario was different with Kohli scoring runs and those around him also contributing and there were runs left in the dressing room because one player was not scoring as quickly as required, that would be a different story. Because in that instance you would look at what more Kohli could provide in terms of strike rate during his innings.
Chennai Super Kings started well before getting dropped out a little. I still have full faith in them to get through to the playoffs. After two back-to-back losses, there will be some pressure on Ruturaj Gaikwad as captain. He had a good start with some runs under the belt in the first two games. He needs to up the strike rate a little in the powerplay. I am sure that will happen as a natural progression as captain. Gradually, he should ease into the twin roles of an opener and leader, taking that extra responsibility. He has got his ex-captain and head coach around him in the form of MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming.
This is still not a crisis point for CSK, by any means, but I feel that it is something that needs to be taken care of.
LSG have got great wins. I keep making a point about Nicholas Pooran’s batting position, and I will keep saying it till it happens. He needs to bat higher up the order. He is still getting 30s and 40s not out. I know they are winning, but I still feel there is more to Pooran than just unbeaten 30s and 40s.
With Krunal also coming in good shape with the ball, LSG continues to look great.
Mumbai Indians got off a huge load of their shoulder with the win over Delhi Capitals on Sunday. Batters upped their game. Rohit Sharma got runs, Hardik did too. Bumrah opening the
bowling is something I have talked about, and it was nice to see MI making him bowl with the new ball. Suryakumar Yadav coming back is a huge lift. That win against DC was a massive moment for them. It can act as a launch pad to kick on the tournament with a fully fit side now.
Gujarat Titans are stuttering and stumbling now in the points table. I can see that they are clearly missing Mohammed Shami with the ball. This is a team which is in a transition phase at the moment, and they just need to show some patience in finding the right combination.
Delhi are struggling. Their top-order is one of their biggest assets, but with the injury to Mitchell Marsh, it has not delivered the desired results. Anrich Nortje is leaking runs. They have to quickly up their game or it will be too late.
Coming to the Sunrisers Hyderabad, I just love watching them play. There is great energy in the SRH side when you see the likes of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, and Aiden Markram in their acts. It seems they are having great fun in the middle when they get going. That they are out there to make a point.
KKR has been brilliant. They have played some outstanding cricket this far. They went back to Sunil Narine as an opener and how well did he respond to the move.
We have already seen plenty of 200+ scores this. Maybe many more to come. You get a feeling that players are taking the game to a new level and expectations within the setup are rising. Teams will need to understand the trends and catch them quickly to stay in competition.
This last week saw some senior players and veterans such as Kohli, Narine, shining as well as some youngsters including Mayank Yadav. I enjoyed the week in IPL for the same reason. I can see that some sides are beginning to find their feet in the tournament after slow starts while a few have maintained a decent shape so far. Some exciting games are coming up in the next week with CSK taking on KKR, old rivals against each other. And then there is an MI vs CSK clash. A battle for the ages. Let’s see what level of entertainment, thrills the next week offers us.