IPL 2014: Fantasy Guru - Ranchi shows its face; what does Feroz Shah Kotla have in store?

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad:

Guru’s team for the RCB vs. SRH match

Transfers used – 1; Transfers remaining – 43

Dwayne Smith out – David Warner inSanju Samson out – Ishwar Pandey/Suryakumar Yadav in

Captain – Virat Kohli

While I know that the match is being played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, I don’t see how Chris Gayle can escape Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar without plenty of luck being involved on his side. Although the deck is quite flat, it offers appreciable assistance for the pacers in the first 6 overs; Gayle needs to be fortunate to get past the Sunrisers opening duo who are firing on all cylinders. I don’t want to gamble on the possibilities of that happening, so he stays out.

Virat Kohli is in my team. Yuvraj Singh has to face Dale Steyn. AB de Villiers is batting too low. Mitchell Starc isn’t worth an overseas spot, more so, when there is a stiff competition for the 4 available spots.

With Darren Sammy being used very defensively, the two other players who push for a spot are Aaron Finch and David Warner. If there is any threat to any of them scoring big on that ground, it is to Finch: Starc’s inswinger to the right-handed batsman is too tempting to look beyond. Although David Warner bats too low now for my liking, the fact that he will have no real threat in going bonkers against the RCB bowling line-up, when coming in after the early-swing phase, makes him the best pick from the Sunrisers side.

I will never pick a bowler, when the venue in concern is the one for this match, as, if he is somehow negotiated in the first 6 overs, there is little hope left for him to come back.

Uncapped player pick:

Yuzvendra Chahal has been a revelation, but Chinnaswamy stadium hardly cares about all those. It is one of the toughest venues for a spinner to succeed, and hence I go in with Rahul ahead of him. Same applies for leaving out Karn Sharma. I don’t really rate Yogesh Takawale and, for that matter, anyone who has ever had him in his/her fantasy teams. You could have figured out what it would be for those who have him in their IPL teams.

With Rahul in my team, I have got this match covered. With the exception of Manish Pandey, I don’t see any other options that are worth it for the next fixture, too. The fact that Suryakumar Yadav can bat as low as No. 7 drives me away from going for him.

One way to go about it is to look at how the very first match at Feroz Shah Kotla turns out. If it has anything in it for the pacers, then bring in Ishwar Pandey for CSK’s match against Daredevils. Else, settle with Suryakumar Yadav. With Manish contributing nothing in the last 3 matches, he could very well be dropped. Even if he plays, with the way he is being handled of late, I don’t see him scoring much.

If Samson offers the flexibility, why not use it? Now that I used a transfer to get him in, my motive should be to make sure I have all the uncapped players I want to in a specific match, in addition to Samson, and not to be obsessed about Samson’s used transfer. As long as he plays every Royals’ match, along with Tambe, it should be fine.

Rajasthan Royals vs. Kolkata Knight Riders:

Guru’s team for the RR vs. KKR match

Transfers made – 0; Transfers remaining – 43

Lokesh Rahul out – Sanju Samson in

With the Royals side of it being settled, what is with the Knight Riders’ players?

Robin Uthappa is back at the top, is cheap and the match is being played at one of the flattest decks in the world. He is my best pick for the match, even ahead of Sunil Narine and Jacques Kallis. I would still refrain from going for him, as I can always have a better double-game substitution.

With Kallis demoted to No. 3 again, I am not really in favour of having him in my team. Although he can be expected to give 4 overs, with the track not being a turner to rely on Piyush Chawla and Shakib Al Hasan, I don’t see him as a valuable pick when KKR don’t fit in the Schedule Mantra.

The only reason why I should include Narine on that deck is in hope that he will not go wicket-less for the 3rd consecutive time in a row. I don’t play that way, so he stays out, as well.

Uncapped player pick:

Get Samson back in the team at the cost of Rahul.

——-Latest update——-

Chennai Super Kings vs. Delhi Daredevils:

Guru’s team for CSK vs. DD match

Transfers made – 3; Transfers remaining – 40

David Warner out – Kevin Pietersen inShane Watson out – JP Duminy inAjinkya Rahane out – Dwayne Smith inPravin Tambe out – Yuzvendra Chahal inCaptain – Kevin Pietersen/Suresh Raina/Dwayne Smith

With Delhi Daredevils playing 2 matches in a 3-match round, both Kevin Pietersen and JP Duminy need to be in the team. Delhi have shown that if the need arises they will promote Duminy up the order, and a big knock from Pietersen is just around the corner. While I have been reluctant to have Duminy in the team, as he bats lower down the order, the quality of the Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings bowling attacks will make sure he comes out sooner than he has done so far. Therefore, it is worth a gamble, more so when he is getting 2 opportunities in quick succession.

While Quinton de Kock has been getting decent starts, he hasn’t yet shown his ability to make it big on these surfaces. With threats looming in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin and Sunil Narine, I don’t think he will make anything substantial.

I have Raina in my team already, while a choice has to be made between Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum as usual. I go for Smith this time, as McCullum has encountered troubles in negotiating left-arm pacers and left-arm spinners. With Jaydev Unadkat and Shahbaz Nadeem having had decent outings, if there is any threat to anyone making it big it should to be McCullum. However, this is more of a stretch, and, to be frank, there is no top-drawer between the two. Pick one and hope for the best.

Ravindra Jadeja fails to create an impact against half-decent batting line-ups, and hence he is not considered for selection here. Ashwin concentrates on restricting the batsmen more than picking up wickets, which rules him out, too.

Uncapped player pick:

As I already have Ishwar Pandey for this match, I bring in Yuzvendra Chahal keeping in mind the next fixture at Mumbai.