Kohli's Blunderbus

Virat Kohli blamed his bowlers for failing to defend 75 in last 4 overs. It was 66 of 24 in reality. He is well within his rights to be upset and criticise his bowlers. But it was Virat Kohli who was the worst culprit in last night's debacle against KKR. Why ? Let's see.

KKR bowling:

Fast bowlers: 6 overs - 89 runs - 0 wickets - 14.83 Runs per over
Spin bowlers: 14 overs - 115 runs - 3 wickets - 8.21 Runs per over

RCB bowling

Pacer Saini bowled pretty well for 4-0-34-2. He picked up 2 wickets including that of DK of his last ball of 17th over. But what did others do ?

Fast bowlers: 8 overs - 125 runs - 0 wickets - 15.83 runs per over.
Spin bowlers: 7.1 overs - 45 runs - 3 wickets - 6.38 runs per over.

RCB spinners had put in a magnificent show and picked up 3 wickets too. Yet, they bowled only 7.1 overs of spin. Negi bowling last over was because Siraj and Southee had screwed up big time. Else, the last over would have been bowled by a pacer too. Kohli simply forgot Moeen Ali was alive and kicking. Kohli just doesn't fit as a captain when Dhoni isn't there on field in the shorter formats of Cricket.

Views of a Chennai Super Fan – When Sir was enough for the Knights

Match: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings in Kolkata

Result: Chennai Super Kings won by 4 wickets

Narrative:

Kolkata Knight Riders batted first and Gambhir opened with a new partner in Yusuf Pathan. The move seemed to have worked as KKR raced to 46 in 6 overs, as they take full toll of Albie Morkel in particular. It took a Hussey special at third man to trigger a slide, as Gambhir was the first one to get dismissed. Two balls later, a direct hit from Badri sent Kallis on his way without facing a delivery; Morgan and Pathan followed quickly, and just like that KKR had lost 4 wickets for 9 runs in the space of 13 deliveries. Tiwary and Das staged a mini fight-back, but once Ashwin scalped both of them in consecutive overs, Jadeja picked three other lower order wickets as KKR stalled to 119/9 from their allotted overs.

The Plunder Games – Final Week Recap

1st Qualifier: KKR vs DD

Kolkata Knight Riders 162 for 4 (Yusuf 40*) beat Delhi Daredevils 144 for 8 (Jayawardene 40, Kallis 2-24, Narine 2-24) by 18 runs

Match in 140 characters: Pathan and Shukla blitz in last four overs to power KKR to a stiff 162; poor shot selection, umpiring blunder and bizarre tactics cost DD

#TrottsFault: In a tournament which has seen captains struggling over when to send their best hitters to the middle, one more ridiculous instance can be added. When Jayawardene got out, the required run rate was well above 10 an over and the situation required a barnstorming knock like the one Yusuf Pathan played earlier in the game; instead Sehwag sent Negi, known more for his bowling ahead of Taylor. Rao and Negi pottered around as the innings stagnated, and when Ross Taylor finally came out to bat, he had to face Narine with 3 overs left and a RRR touching 14. It was eerily similar to the IPL-3 final, where Tendulkar kept Pollard for too late, costing Mumbai Indians the title.

Charlie Sheen Winning moment: If there was one batsman who could make light weight of the target of 163, it was Sehwag. So when Balaji had him nicking behind in the 3rd over, KKR had put one foot in the final already.

Viagra Performer of the day: Yusuf Pathan has been getting a lot of grief over his non-performance in this year’s IPL, but the KKR management stuck to their guns believing that he would come good eventually. He repaid that ironclad faith with the type of innings, he has built his reputation on. At the end of 16 overs, it looked like KKR would be happy with a total of 140; instead, they got an additional 20 runs which proved to be the difference in the end.

Best tweet of the game: Viru claims he never looks at the pitch before a game. Looking at the bowlers he picked today, I am starting to believe him now. #getlostpls (by @fakeiplplayer)

Eliminator: CSK vs MI

Chennai Super Kings 187 for 5 (Dhoni 51, Hussey 49) v Mumbai Indians 149 for 9 (Smith 38, Bravo 2-10, Morkel 2-31)

Match in 140 characters: Despite early hiccups, Badri and Mussey stabilize as Dhoni and Bravo provide explosive finish to innings…MI fall short by 38 runs

Charlie Sheen Winning Moment: Ironically, it was the fall of Jadeja at the start of the 15th over which turned out to be the exact situation CSK would have wanted to be in. With Dhoni and Bravo at the crease, and Morkel to come, CSK had the license to go after the bowling. MSD and Bravo did it in style as they exploded to add 73 runs in 29 balls to post a total that was beyond even MI’s powerful line-up.

The Plunder games – Week 6 Recap

Have you been too busy studying for your exams to take note of what has been going on in the IPL? Or have you been too engrossed in searching for a job to know who has hit the most ‘DLF Maximums’ over the past week? Maybe all your time is being taken up by stalking your ex-boyfriend; or you could just be some closeted IPL fan who likes to keep up appearances by publicly denouncing the ‘pajama cricket’ but want to know how your favorite IPL team is doing?

Never fear. For the attention-deficit IPL fan in you, I present to you ‘The Plunder Games’ – a weekly recap of all the IPL action. Here, you can catch up with all the past week’s action in just 10 minutes.

Game 54: MI vs RCB

Royal Challengers Bangalore 142 for 1 (Gayle 82*) beat Mumbai Indians 141 for 6 (Karthik 44) by nine wickets

Match in 140 characters: RCB bowlers finally fire to restrict the Mumbai Indians to 141; Gayle and Kohli seal the chase without any fuss, as RCB move to 4th spot

Charlie Sheen Winning Moment: When the Mumbai Indians somehow rebuilt their way back to 100/4 in 15 overs, it looked like they had a good launching pad for the big hitters to come in and boost the run rate; instead it was that man Murali, who not for the first time derailed the opposition’s hopes by picking two wickets off successive deliveries.

Viagra Performer of the day: Chris Gayle got the Orange Cap, scored 500 runs in the tournament, and scored another match winning knock to lead RCB to victory. He has hardly been troubled this season, and it is a troubling sign for all bowlers as IPL 5 reaches it business end.

Best tweet of the game: Umpire thinks about giving it out. But then sees it’s Bhajji, decides NO WAY can Bhajji get a wicket. (by @thecricketcouch)