2011 Champions League T20 – The Group Stage
It’s been great but this is what I felt two weeks ago.
Oh this team chasing is gonna lose. They're gone. So bad losing all those wickets. What a tricky chase. Oh look they won. #ScriptOfCLT202011—
(@Crownish) September 26, 2011
There is no change in the stance.
Beloved CSK went out in the first round, ending at the bottom of Group A, bucking trends like only N Srinivasan’s team can by screwing up two chases horribly. This was after losing to Mumbai Indians (now with 9.09% less Indians) from a position of certain victory and beating the Cape Cobras after looking down and out. Stephen Fleming attributed it to ‘no gas in the tank’, saying the England tour had drained the big players. It was like hearing Gary Kirsten attribute the lackluster Twenty20 World Championships performances of India in 2009 and 2010 to the IPL seasons that preceded them. True words, and there ain’t nothing you can do about it. This exit doesn’t rankle much, considering it’s the only break MSD and Raina will get in some time.
It could get worse, Mumbuy-lots-of-foreigners-and-play-them-only-as-much-as-possible Indians could still win this tournament.
PS: I have been writing match previews and reports for select games, you can read them here.
It was mostly a boring match. Rahul Dravid’s T20 innings was the highlight of it. He adapted well but the grace traded for rushed effectiveness only spoilt the memories. Maybe because it was a slogfest the last time these two played on this pitch, no doubt that was on CSK’s mind when they had the ropes at the MAC pushed according to this Scott Styris tweet:
The boundaries at slog corner for tomo's match have been increased! @rossltaylor #hititsomewhereelseforachange—
Scott Styris (@scottbstyris) May 03, 2011
No such excitement this time though. Rahul Dravid’s knock was exactly the kind of innings that used to be written off as a freak innings even if one came every 5-6 ODIs. RR powered through to 86 for no loss in their first 10 overs helped by some very poor fielding by CSK. At which point Shadab Jakati began the fightback by plucking a screamer from Shane Watson right above his head. The Chennai choke was then applied.
The rest of the batsmen didn’t learn from Dravid and kept holing out. Dravid himself got out trying to go over the top when he could’ve easily reaped runs with his conventional shot making. In an amusing strategy #win, Taylor was out caught inches from the long on ropes.
Mid innings, when the Royals looked on course for at least 170, Stephen Fleming was asked how much he would be comfortable chasing, he replied 148. Rajasthan Royals ended their innings without a single six, at 147/6.
Vijay couldn’t repeat the innings that established his T20 cred but the Mike Hussey bot and Raina settled down. The two grafted runs in a busy boring partnership till the eleventh over. The eleventh over thankfully for all the audiences watching across the world saw two sixes as the two took on Nayan Doshi. That over also got the CSK run rate past the asking rate.
With 3 required for a win, Raina tried to win with a big shot and lost his wicket. Morkel walked in at the non striker’s end, watched as Hussey smashed a four, blew his smoking bat and walked off, CSK won by 8 wickets.
Paul Valthaty Update
At the end of the CSK vs RR match, Hussey briefly shared the most runs this IPL tag with Sachin (327 runs) although with a higher average, one lesser not out innings, in fewer innings, two fewer matches, higher strike rate etc. Sachin got it back half an hour later and ended the night 24 runs ahead. Kallis also pushed past Valthaty this afternoon but tonight the cap rests on the bald pate of Sehwag who dropped a mega ton on DC to move up past Sachin and Hussey to the top spot.
Valthaty needs 122 runs just to overtake Sehwag as the leading run scorer. He’s scored that many in a single innings already this season. Encore?
Chennai Super Kings overcome Deccan Chargers
Chennai Super Kings fought back after a huge scare from the Deccan Chargers to win their home game by 19 runs on Sunday, May 1st.
I don’t know what it is about DC that brings out the slapstick in CSK, this happened in 2009 and this happened two nights ago. Sample this:
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That’s not to say DC didn’t have a shtick of their own called Sunny Sohal. The shots he played to the pacers Morkel and Bollinger were ridiculous. He didn’t have a bucket of luck as much as a torrent that he rode to get to his 50. Sohal repeatedly backed off to the leg to make room for hitting on the off, found the ball following him, closed his eyes, even fell over and swung. Each time he got lucky, edging it AND getting boundaries. Only when he was facing Randiv did he play ‘shots’, slogs over midwicket and long on added to the misery for CSK. Then like most lucky fools who don’t acknowledge the luck they had, he tried one reverse sweep too many and was bowled.
But he left DC at a very comfortable position, requiring just 95 off 13.1 overs to overhaul CSK’s score of 165.
That CSK score didn’t look like it would happen at one point in time. Steyn wasn’t playing but DC’s bowlers did a great job to restrict CSK to a sedate start. Ojha removed Murali Vijay and the part timers were rushing through rather tight overs. Mike Hussey bot was grafting runs at one end when Raina decided to break free. A little success but he got out just when he got CSK to a 18th over par score. Thankfully Morkel the batsman turned up and tonked the ball over the ropes for one medium and two humongous sixes in the 19th over. That last flourish pushed the total from a tricky 140-ish score to a certainly defendable 165/5.
Sohal’s periscope shots studded innings though looked good to push all that aside. It was irritating to watch good bowling from Morkel and Bollinger not just rendered ineffective but costly. 94 from 13.1 should be cakewalk ideally but the rest of the DC batsmen couldn’t do it. Dhawan had been rotating strike earlier but lost his wicket when he tried to take charge. Jakati, already having dismissed the openers, took a brilliant catch to dismiss Chipli, White struggled and that led to Sanga going for the big hits and being bowled. Bollinger and Morkel returned to finish their quota and this time got the rewards they deserved, snagging White, Christian, JPD helped along by tighter fielding.
The margin of victory may not say it but the match was as good as lost for CSK for a long period of time. It seemed for a while that they just waited for Sohal’s luck to run out before thinking out a fresh plan. That luck running out bit didn’t happen against Punjab and we know how that ended. MSD needs to work out his set pieces and contingency plans for his set pieces to avoid being blown away by upstarts again. The table’s pretty even at the moment and these little things will matter if CSK are to make it to the top two.
Paul Valthaty Update:
First Virat Kohli overtook both Paul Valthaty and Master Performer Sachin Tendulkar™. Then Sachin overtook them again, then Virender Sehwag overtook everybody but Sachin and Valthaty overtook just Kohli to get behind Sehwag and Sachin. Paul Valthaty also had a disappointing game at his IRL home ground, scratching his way to 33 off 38 in the same game that Sachin reclaimed the Orange cap with a 51 as MI surged to a 33 run win with the help of some good ole cheating . How many more obstacles must this man face? How many more twists will his story of eventual triumph take?
Chennai Super Kings constrict Pune Warriors India Part II
They’re playing games faster than I can write crappy reviews.
Chennai Super Kings constrict Pune Warriors India
Presumably having learnt from Mumbai’s performance in the field last week, the Chennai Super Kings threw themselves on the field with determination against the Pune Warriors India at the Chepauk to convincingly defend a modest total.
CSK brought in Jakati for Joginder while PWI brought in Jerome Taylor, Nathan McCullum and Manish Pandey. Yuvi put CSK in to bat and Murali Vijay immediately played a Tendulkar like innings. By that I specifically mean the WC semi final innings where he survived a lot of chances thanks to poor fielding. Vijay being no Tendulkar didn’t make as many runs before finally being dismissed (short ball, bleddy Indian batsman) in the 10th over with the score on 64. Michael Hussey did his robotic run accumulation routine at the other end.
I missed the match from here until when PWI started batting but here’s how it went: Raina flopped immediately, Dhoni hit a few and got out, Hussey got to 60, tried to hit and got out, Albie Morkel mega flopped (duck!), Badri and Aniruddha scored whatever they could coming in so late. Takes a lot to defend142 and PWI could have easily done it.
If it weren’t for CSK’s excellent fielding.
The experiments on Mohnish Mishra continued and he opened the batting with Jesse Ryder. To the joy of DC fans, all he did was redirect an Albie Morkel delivery on to his stumps. Ryder looked as dangerous as a Talli Tubby can when he hit a straight six beyond the sightscreen off Ashwin. Next delivery an arm ball skidded into his stumps as he made room to cut it square. Manish Pandey was at the other end, settling down in his first game after serving a 4 match ban for seeking a higher pay instead of shutting up and signing on for servitude at RCB. He too was early into a shot trying to guide it down to third man; managing only to guide it as far as his stumps. In walked Captain Yuvraj, who had hit a century at the MAC last month against WI in the World Cup in between cramping up, throwing up and fighting delirium. Uthappa immediately deserted him, attempting a rather gymnastic sweep only to be bowled round his legs, leaving PWI at 40/4 and Ashwin with a wicket maiden over.
The choke applied was rather vintage CSK and it was heart warming to see. Ashwin and Randiv were lovely, flighting the ball, making the batsmen check themselves and spend their energy trying to hit the ball past the inner circle. The fielding made sure that Yuvraj and Manhas didn’t get any boundaries in the first three overs they were in, escalating the RRR. What they did fail at was getting direct hits, giving Yuvraj a reprieve early on.
Their partnership of 38 saw just one four and a six; the pressure piled on and Manhas was out trying to steal runs using the pace of Bollinger. Nathan McCullum came in and rotated the strike waiting for Yuvraj to explode but it never came. Yuvraj looked very tired, turning down easy runs and that he could barely middle anything didn’t help. A tired mistimed slash over cover saw Jakati pull off a brilliant catch mid air in the 19thover and PWI were as good as out. Yuvraj Singh, 34 off 43b, 2×4, 0×6, SR: 79.06 was where the game was won.
The RRR was beyond possible and PWI lost more wickets as CSK’s bowling and fielding remained relentless. Nathan McCullum top edged a bouncer while Jerome Taylor and Rahul Sharma were run out as Morkel and Bollinger returned to finish with brilliant, accurate spells. PWI ended the night on 117/9, CSK winning by 25 runs.
Abhinav Mukund put in a contribution with a direct hit from long on to run out Taylor. I don’t know how he’s done in the domestic T20s but it would be worth to give him a go in place of Aniruddha. Although he will have to bat in the middle order, no accommodations there.
PWI have been screwed badly by Ashish Nehra’s injury, they had can’t take Smith/Paine until the bowling gets more consistent contributions from the local bunch. CSK are closer to their best combination but still too dependent on the spinners and that’s been their bane in away games where the pitches haven’t been as helpful as the MAC one.
We just avoided the wooden spoon thanks to Punjab’s spirited response to Delhi’s 221. This win gives us some breathing space before facing Pune again on Wednesday, this time at the DY Patil Stadium, Pune’s ‘home ground’. Hopefully we overcome the away game jitters, win this one and get on a roll!
Paul Valthaty Update:
His middle name is Chandrashekhar, his complete name is Paul Chandrashekhar Valthaty and his friends probably call him PC. He is no longer the Orange Cap wearer (should be wearer not holder IMO) in IPL 2011 because Sachin is now 8 runs clear of him and will probably widen the gap in his MI’s next match vs Rajasthan against that guy whose nightmares he allegedly appears. Paul Valthaty might have a mountain to climb to win back a ridiculous looking trophy.
Mumbai Indians outclass Chennai Super Kings
A week after one Borivali boy slapped them around in Mohali, Chennai got the same treatment from another one, this time in Mumbai. Nohit Rohit Sharma finally got a turn at batting early enough in this IPL and didn’t waste time replicating his international career, he scored runs. Beautifully, I must grudgingly add.
The highly influential MS Dhoni’s say in the selection matters of CSK saw Joginder Sharma make a comeback to the playing XI while Southee made way for Randiv. Mumbai dropped Ali Murtaza, the only MI player in my fantasy team to bring in Harbhajan Singh. The many levels on which this loss hurt me is not funny.
The bowlers began well reducing MI to 13-2 with makeshift opener R Sathish and that other guy Sachin Tendulkar dismissed. Rohit Sharma though played wonderfully right from the start bringing up the scoring rate with Rayudu. After Rayudu’s dismissal he partnered up with DC mate Symonds to keep going. Symonds looked uncomfortable against spin but got on by reading the ball off the pitch and hacking at them.
There was the odd bit of luck and some decisions from Dhoni which went awry. Joginder and Raina went for runs in their second spells after economical first ones, deliveries repeatedly just missed the leg stump after beating the batsmen, aerial shots landed between men and catches were dropped, comically. Bollinger did well at the end though to restrict Mumbai to 165/4.
Vijay’s promising 12 was cut short by Munaf and Raina was tricked into hitting a lame return catch to Harbhajan reducing Chennai to 38/2. CSK’s tireless worker Badri came in and set about rebuilding with Mike Hussey. The duo built up to a position of strength taking CSK to 98 after the 11th over before Malinga returned and immediately caught Hussey by surprise with a short ball. Kieron Pollard dove and held a brilliant catch at midwicket and MI never let go after that.
MI’s exceptionally tight fielding heaped on the pressure, Sachin sneaked in overs by Pollard and Sathish as the rest of CSK’s batsmen fell to scoreboard pressure. Dhoni mishit a Pollard delivery to third man where Rohit took another stunner. Harbhajan broke the partnership between Badri and Cheeka jr and then virtually sealed the match with 3 wickets in his next over, bagging a 5 wicket haul as Morkel, Ashwin and Joginder tried to go for broke. Badri, having got to 50 by then barely got any strike towards the end but kept Chennai mathematically in the hunt till midway into the last over. With 25 runs needed off the last over Badri managed to take off 16 runs (with the help of a misfield, finally!) as Mumbai wrapped up a nine run win.
It was beautiful batting from Badrinath but Mumbai were just too good with their fielding and bowlers sticking to their plans. Harbhajan Even a rhythm bowler like Munaf came in to bowl the 20th over after last having bowled in the 6th over and did a decent job for the situation.
Chennai had to face the ignominy of going down to the 10th spot in the points table if Delhi had won their match convincingly enough today against Punjab. They escaped that fate by a close margin though and need to pick themselves up in the next few weeks to keep the campaign alive.
The altered format of the qualifiers this year adds an incentive to teams that try to finish on top instead of finishing in the top four so that is what they need to aim for. They had a worse run last year before rallying to make it to the semis so they know how hard it is. Would be better though if they avoid being in that situation altogether.
The idea of not making it to the semis for the first time itself should be enough of a motivation leave aside the expectations of being the defending champion.
Lost a stupid bet hence must upload this Poonam Pandey + MS Dhoniimage. Copyright belongs to www.pakistant20.blogspot.com
Now it’s time for the
Paul Valthaty Update
Paul Valthaty has played two matches for the Kings XI Punjab since the last Paul Valthaty Update, first he slammed 46 off 31 balls with four 4s and three 6s against his former team, the Rajasthan Royals as KXIP surged to a 48 run win at Mohali. Unremarkable you say? Not at all because from being the guy who was tied with Sachin Tendulkar in the run charts he became the guy leaving Sachin behind in his trail in the run charts. Sachin Tendulkar made 35 to go forward from the 201 the both were tied on but Paul Valthaty’s 48 saw him clear the little master by 13 whole runs. Paul Valthaty, Orange Cap IPL 2011 is something we should get used to hearing.
He’d have been on top even if he had got a duck today because Sachin only managed 5 runs in Mumbai’s next match which was definitely because of the stronger opposition they played against. But Paul Valthaty isn’t a man of half measures, when he hits them they stay hit and countless such hard hitting related clichés hold true of this man. He scored 14 today which means he’s an eye popping 22 runs ahead of the old hand.
Next Paul Valthaty update will be up on 1st May, after KXIPs next match which is on 30th April. Must update team.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala Crush Chennai Super Kings
Kochi Tuskers Kerala, with help from rain and Ravindra defeated the Chennai Super Kings in Kochi today. I expected Raina to go apeshit on KTK but their ungainly large hands helped them field well and effect run outs more accurately. No such luck for Chennai with aerial shots landing in gaps and stumps being missed by mere micro millimeters and batsmen just grounding their bats. And the rain, that was unlucky too.
Just like in the CL T20 match linked to above, the Duckworth Lewis didn’t help at all tonight, adding just two to the total. Any player will tell you this is bullshit; in a T20 match the planning of the innings changes radically for every over cut short and the DL calculated par score just doesn’t take that into account. I thought the IPL was ready to employ the VJD method for rain curtailed games and I was looking forward to it but that didn’t happen evidently.
Chennai were 65/2 after 9 overs with two new batsmen at the crease when it began raining. Upon resumption, the match was reduced to 17 overs per side and CSK finished at 131/4 with Raina scoring 50. Brendon McCullum, on the third anniversary of his amazing knock in the first ever IPL match made short work of the total, taking on Doug Bollinger, Albie Morkel and Shadab Jakati superbly. He picked up his second Man of the Match award in a row, making some faithful fan very happy in fantasy cricket. He was supported well by all the Kochi batsmen, Mahela, Parthiv, Hodge and Jadeja.
Jadeja has improved terribly in his last two matches, batting and bowling brilliantly which is very frustrating because this could mean a return to team India. Where he may perform amazingly which would be awesome or he may perform like he’s done in his chances so far which would suck like hell. Maybe he performs best under an overseas captain like an ET that sucks on it’s own planet but is the shizz on planet Earth.
But we must leave this depressing match for what is turning out to be the highlight of my posts, today’s
Paul Valthaty Update
In a stunning development, I’ve learnt that Paul Valthaty is not a Malayali as originally thought but in fact Paul Valthaty is actually from Andhra Pradesh. I don’t know what to make of this sensational twist. Who is Paul Valthaty really?
Chennai Super Kings steamroll Royal Challengers Bangalore
When these two play, there is hype. The rest of India may wonder why two Madrasi teams hate each other but they won’t understand this enmity. It’s not a Pakistan vs India kind of rivalry but it’s intense nonetheless. Which is why yesterday’s match turned out to be a dampener.
Michael Hussey, not even cooled down from his ODI ton against Bangladesh returned to the squad opened with Murali Vijay while Bollinger was benched, to be eased into playing. Hussey was welcomed affectionately even by the RCB players and they dropped a large number of catches to keep him in the middle. Mohammad Kaif was one of the offenders, announcing his continues participation in the IPL lest anyone forgot. The rest of the batsmen played little cameos as big partnerships failed to materialize. Daniel Vettori was the most challenging bowler to face and he too got tonked for runs towards the end of his spell. Hussey switched gears well towards the end, was calculative and clinical with his execution and powered CSK to 183/5.
Dilshan fell very early, is it too early to call it a slump? Then Dan the man continued his pinch hitter experiments, sending in Asad Pathan who took care of himself with a ridiculous effort which left all the stumps exposed. Does NZC really need John Buchanan? Daniel Vettori seems to be quite the wacko himself.
Commendably, the fielding was tight and it helped as the pressure got to Mayank Agarwal. RAshwin, Jakati and Randhiv did a great job, starving the batsmen of room and space to free their arms. Kohli and de Villiers strung up a partnership but the latter’s lack of intent helped CSK keep the asking rate high. Kohli, Tiwary and Pujara all perished trying to accelerate the chase and it was too late by the time ABD finally started swinging. Johan van der Wath, puzzlingly playing ahead of Charl Langeveldt, tried to prove otherwise, hitting a few boundaries but it was too late for RCB by then.
They didn’t play to potential despite keeping CSK down to a manageable total and that took away some of the excitement from the game. Especially considering what Paul Valthaty had managed to do earlier in the week. Which brings me to the
Paul Valthaty Update:
Borivali’s other bright shining star, Kings XI Punjab’s Shaun Marsh of 2011, Paul Valthaty continued his series of assaults on the IPL’s best in KXIP’s match against Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad. Valthaty first took 4 wickets, derailing their innings and keeping it down to 165 and then slammed 75 runs off 47 balls to take KXIP home comfortably against the best bowling attack in the IPL. As my trump player, he earned me a whopping 620 points with his 4 wickets for an economy rate of just 7.25, his 47 ball 75 with 8 fours and 5 sixes and his man of the match award. AND he tied with Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run getter in the tournament. This guy. Legend.
Kings XI Punjab, a team we’ve slammed for 240, took a hattrick against, routed in a semi final, slapped around even in a rain curtailed game, defended 116 against and chased 192 against in a high pressure match with a semi final spot on stake. 6-1. The one blip came in a game that was decided by a super over. Suffice to say, it’s a team CSK has very easily had the upper hand against. We’ve subjected them to most kinds of defeat possible, they’re our punching bags.
Which is why I didn’t expect Chennai to take the beating they did. The game started off nightmarishly with Praveen Kumar snaring two in the first two balls of the match, sending back Srikkanth junior and Raina with zilch on the scoreboard. Badri, who has come in at far worse situations pulled off yet another rescue while Vijay found his rhythm, finally, on a pitch he’d like to take home to show his parents. A vintage Dhoni cameo saw the total swell to 188/4. Neat huh, after being 0/2 in 0.2 overs?
Not exactly.
Paul Valthaty didn’t even wait for Gilchrist to get going. Partial loss of eyesight in the right eye and all, he came out all guns blazing. He hit hard, even his timing shots in the gaps were placed furiously. The bowlers repeatedly fed him back of a length filth which he rocked back and pulled or cut while the fielders dropped the one or two chances that came their way.
Gilchrist looked like he was settling in to play the innings he never did last year before (thankfully) holing out. The rest of the Punjab batsmen didn’t even have to do much but the bloody opportunists swung hard for their 15-20 odd each anyway. Shaun Marsh, Sunny Singh and Dinesh Karthik all played very adventurous second fiddles while Abhishek Nayar played like it was his India stint and contributed nothing.
Valthaty played an innings which would be a dream knock for any batsman in a T20 match. A big total to chase, a shrewd opposition captain, good bowlers with variety in the opposition ranks and his own non existent record to overcome. He never stopped attacking, never looked like tiring, assessed the field superbly, didn’t get distracted by his ton, rotated the strike regularly enough, stuck right through to the end and generally made Shane Warne look like a fool for having benched him in the Rajasthan Royals camp all the time he was there. All of those take some doing.
Repeating this innings will be a hard task but if delivers even half of this consistently over the next month, he could push KXIP closer to a spot in the qualifiers. Paul Valthaty, take a bow!
CSK have put in their one obligatory exceptionally bad bowling performance early this year, it’s the second time we’ve failed to defend 188. Frighteningly, we’d almost conceded a total of 246 last year against Rajasthan. Leftie seamer Doug Bollinger coming in place of rightie Tim Southee will give Dhoni options, something he needs to throw at rampaging opposition batsmen like Mr. Valthaty. Albie, despite the shit bowling will stay for the same reason, he gives MSD options in the batting line up.
Next up is RCB in Bengaluru. Stopping Dilshan, de Villiers and a solid, young Indian middle order won’t be easy, I hope CSK bounce back for it though.
Chennai Super Kings begin IPL 4 with a win
After a torturous opening ceremony, Chennai Super Kings played the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL season 4 opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. It was a middling match for three quarters of the game, after that the Kolkata Knight Riders contrived to lose it hilariously. The title defense is on.
The players seemed off key till the end and should get better. MSD, Raina and Ashwin being jaded is understandable too, these guys need time to celebrate and recuperate but all of them responded brilliantly soon as a window opened up. Aniruddha Srikkanth earned his ticket for the ride and the new blogs blokes Southee, Randhiv and Styris were all good; now to see how Francois du Plessis, Kulasekara and Tharanga fare. The best XI should be apparent by the first week of May but hopefully they’ll be an all crushing juggernaut by the time they come to play Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on April 22nd.
Food for thought: Teams that have won the season opener have always gone on to finish either 6th (KKR in 2008, 2010) or 7th (MI in 2009). CSK should end up way better than that.
