IPL 2018: Five pre-tournament predictions gone wrong inside two weeks

Every year, the arrival of IPL is very much-anticipated by cricket fans all across the globe. The reason is simple – it is one hell of an entertainer. Over the years, the league has successfully established its links in the hearts of the fans and that’s the reason for its humongous success. This year’s edition is special because of the mega-reshuffle of players that took place in the last week of January. Some franchises got exactly what they had planned while some struggled to tick all their desired boxes. It has now been two weeks since the start of the 11th edition of IPL and several of the pre-tournament predictions, myths and anticipations have seen the sand.

Here, we take a look at the five pre-tournament predictions that have gone wrong inside two weeks of the IPL:

---

Chris Gayle’s power is on the wane

You can not write the 'Universe Boss' off so easily. There were many apprehensions before the start of IPL 11 about Gayle even getting a game let alone firing on all cylinders but boy! the big West Indian has floored all and sundry in just three matches. With a tally of 229 runs from his three games which include two bludgeoning half-centuries against CSK and KKR and a scintillating hundred against SRH, he has announced his arrival into the competition with a bang. KXIP's mentor, Virender Sehwag, said before the competition that his team expects Gayle and Yuvraj to win them 2-3 matches each so that the work of the rest of the team is cut out but Gayle has completed his quota in just the three games that he has played so far.

With the kind of murderous intent he has displayed so far, he looks good for a few more confidence shattering assaults on the bowlers.

RCB have finally found a solution to their bowling woes

After the IPL auctions earlier this year, an optimistic Virat Kohli stated that his bowling unit will take charge this season and will provide the much-needed answers to their weakest department till date. Many modern-day cricketing greats have played in the RCB colors over the years but it was their shambolic bowling performance season after season that has always pegged them back.

The RCB camp managed some great bowling picks in Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Chris Woakes, Colin de Grandhome, Moeen Ali and Washington Sundar. Besides these, they had Yuzvendra Chahal and some talented youngsters like Kulwant Khejroliya, Mohammed Siraj, and Navdeep Saini to give a settled look to the bowling department. But after a little over two weeks and five matches in the tournament, the bowling still remains the biggest chink in the RCB armor. Barring Chahal (economy of 8.41), no other bowler has an economy rate of fewer than 8.5 runs per over. Umesh has performed in patches while Woakes has a worrisome economy rate of 10.36 runs per over. Southee and Moeen are still waiting for their chance to feature in the starting XI.

RCB bowlers have so far conceded more than 200 runs on two consecutive occasions while in the last match against Delhi they conceded 71 runs in the last five overs to help DD post a competitive total of 174 runs. These faults in their bowling unit highlight the fact that even a star-studded batting line-up like RCB can’t pay for their bowling generosities every time.

Daredevils have a solid team which will be hard to beat

Gautam Gambhir needs to recreate his KKR magic for Delhi Daredevils

Before the start of this year's competition, Delhi Daredevils (DD) were thought to be the best beneficiaries of the mega players' auction along with SRH. They had purchased so many quality players that it was even said that DD have managed to build two parallel elevens from the auctions. The likes of Colin Munro, Jason Roy, Glenn Maxwell, Rishabh Pant, Trent Boult, Chris Morris etc. are capable of winning matches single-handedly.

But somehow the star cast under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir has developed a formula to falter again and again. Their famed batting line-up has clicked only once when they chased down MI's 194-run target. On the other occasions, the batting was a big let-down and that's the prime reason DD find themselves at the bottom of the points table after a little over two weeks into the competition. Only Pant (223 runs from five games) has been consistent so far. Their much-vaunted bowling attack has fared no better. Though they were jolted by the ruling out of Rabada before the start of the tournament they still had good replacements for him. Morris and Shami have fared very poorly so far with economy rates in excess of 10 runs per over while taking 3 wickets a piece to show for. Though Boult has taken seven wickets, his economy rate, too, is on the expensive side of 8.5 which is not expected off a bowler of his caliber. Harshal Patel replaced Shami for the game against RCB, but he too failed to impress as he went for 33 runs from his three overs while picking up a solitary wicket.

DD need to come together as a unit and perform in unison otherwise they will have a very hard time in rising above from their current place at the bottom of the points table.

KKR have missed the trick in the auctions

Dinesh Karthik has so far thrived in his captaincy role.

It was believed after the auctions that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have made some serious mistakes during the event and have failed to assemble a unit that would recreate their earlier glory years. They lost the services of some established stalwarts of their camp that includes the likes of Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Umesh Yadav and Yusuf Pathan. But after two weeks into the mega event, they have effectively quashed all the doubts that hovered around their abilities.

The new skipper, Dinesh Karthik, has marshaled his troops well while the old guard of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, and André Russell have stepped up to the responsibility of taking their team forward. They got a setback against KXIP in their last game but there is hardly any hope for any team when the Gayle-storm is in full flow. KKR will be buoyed by Chris Lynn’s return to form as he smashed 71-runs from 41 balls in the encounter against KXIP. Russell injured his leg in the last match and KKR will hope that the injury is not a serious one as he has been a vital cog in their success so far in this season. He has accumulated 163 runs from his five innings so far at a very good average of 40.75. Nitish Rana, Karthik, and Shivam Mavi too have impressed in their respective roles. The team looks quite balanced and seems set for a top-four finish.

Chennai ‘Senior’ Kings can’t go much forward on aging legs

Dhoni's return to vintage hitting form is a good sign for CSK

When CSK’s mentor Stephen Flemming gave his two cents on his team’s tactic of going for the established players instead of raw sensations, the cricket pundits had a hard time believing that their aging players will not be an impediment in the team’s success. Now, after four matches they find themselves at the second spot in the points table with 3 wins from four games. Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo have been exceptional in their roles so far, with both taking turns to win matches for the team.

More importantly, their iconic talisman MS Dhoni looks in sublime touch and his assault against Kings XI Punjab almost took CSK home. Their last game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) saw the resurgence of their bowling attack which bowled RR out inside nineteen overs to register a massive 64-run victory.

The message is loud and clear for the other franchises that taking CSK as a team of elders and being complacent in their approach can cost them precious points which can ultimately ruin their campaign.