We are more than half-way through the 2016 IPL, and predictably, there is a tight scuffle among all the teams for that coveted place in the play-offs. It's been a season of superlative performances and nail-biting finishes, but at the end of the day, all that matters is who makes it to the final four.
A couple of teams have managed to put themselves on the front-foot with a hefty points total, while some others have underperformed, leaving themselves a mountain to climb. Let's take a look at some of the noteworthy team showings up to this point:
Delhi Daredevils
On paper, they are not a talent-stacked team like Gujarat or Kolkata. But they've made smart selections, and that has worked wonders for them.
Everyone had written Delhi off before the tournament started. And yet they have outperformed bigger spending teams like RCB and MI, and are currently in a good position to make the playoffs.
The difference, of course, has been the fact that Delhi have focused on bowling. Zaheer Khan, being the only bowling captain this season, is naturally inclined to favour his bowlers over batsmen, and it helps that the squad is filled with 5-6 good bowlers.
While batting, they aim for a 160-type score, not 200 – they have enough faith in their bowlers to defend anything over 150. I spoke to Rahul Dravid last week, and he said they're backing their bowlers to win them matches. And that, to me, makes them the most unique team this IPL.
Delhi have shown the willingness to sacrifice their batting strength by opting to leave out Carlos Brathwaite at times and bat Chris Morris at No. 6. That is a smart trick by Zaheer and Dravid, and it has made them a tough team to beat.
Rising Pune Supergiants
It's been rather forgettable season for the new team from Pune, and that's putting it mildly. I can't say I blame their players too much though.
MS Dhoni is a good captain, and he's certainly tried his best to motivate his players. But luck has deserted him big time – with as many as four foreign stars having returned home due to injury, the team is sorely lacking in impact players.
To be honest though, the team combination after the auction itself wasn't great. There always seemed to be a shortage of match-winners in the squad, and the bowling in particular looked quite pedestrian.
Ajinkya Rahane has been the lone bright light for Pune, and he has silenced his critics time and again with his solid batting. But even his efforts haven't been enough to rescue the Supergiants, who are almost certainly out of the running for a playoff spot.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
It goes without saying that RCB are a high-profile team, but they continue to remain too dependent on their batting. They've won their last two matches, but they conceded over 170 in both of them, which has got to be a big worry for Virat Kohli.
The fact that they've been making so many changes to their XI suggests that they are not confident of their players. If you have 15 members in the squad, they should all be picked for the value they bring. So why the constant chopping and changing? They made as many as six changes in one of their games, which betrays a lack of faith in their players.
There is also a tendency among cricket watchers to blame RCB's bowlers for their poor displays in the field. But it takes a combination of four different things to restrict the opposition batsmen – talent, bowlers having a good day, fielding support and assertive captaincy. The captain and fielders should take part of the blame for the runs being conceded by RCB too.
Kohli in particular has a lot to learn in how to marshal his troops on the field. I've noticed that he places himself at the boundary line very early into the match, almost immediately after the end of the Powerplay overs. Sure, it's useful for a quick mover like Kohli to stand at long-on and prevent boundaries, but this move can also harm your team a great deal.
As a long-time captain on the domestic circuit, I have learned that it is very important to be positioned close to your bowlers when they are bowling. You have to constantly encourage and advise your bowlers depending on the match situation, and doing that from the boundary rope is quite difficult. It's no wonder that Kohli has been fined for slow over-rate this season; he spends too much time communicating with his bowlers from a distance!
Moreover, placing your best fielders on the fence also indicates to the opposition that you are on the defensive. It suggests that you have no confidence in your bowlers and that you expect them to be hit down the ground. On the other hand, by standing inside the 30-yard circle a good fielder can threaten to run out the batsmen and put pressure on them, signifying an attacking intent. But Kohli is not doing that at all.
The management hasn't been doing a great job either. The bowlers are bowling too short because they are afraid of getting hit down the ground. And while that has worked for Shane Watson, who has been the standout bowler for the team, it clearly hasn't for the others. I'm surprised that nobody has advised them to bowl full; Daniel Vettori is not being proactive enough.
RCB's bowlers always seem to have the mindset of not conceding 200. Their bowlers are not given the freedom to go for wickets; they are just being told to restrict. Somebody should tell them that if they concede 200 in a match or two that's fine, but that it is important to get the opposition all out for 140-150 once in a while too.
Gujarat Lions
They pretty much got a readymade team of match-winners at the auctions, didn't they? All-rounders like Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner and Ravindra Jadeja, a game-changer like Brendon McCullum, an explosive hitter like Aaron Finch, a T20 master in captain Suresh Raina himself, and a clever swing bowler in Praveen Kumar – all the bases seem to be covered.
With a team like that, you don't really require amazing captaincy skills. Raina has been decent with his decision-making, but it's hard to imagine Gujarat losing too many games given the level of competition in the IPL.
What's working especially well for Gujarat is their 'Dwayne duo' - Bravo and Smith. Bravo has been instrumental in more than one victory with his smart bowling, while Smith has been quite impressive at the top of the order.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that the T20 format is tailor-made for West Indian players. Just a month after emerging triumphant in the World T20, they have made a big difference in the IPL too. With their power, skills and experience, the men from the Caribbean are putting up quite a show!
This article was also published on Mohammad Kaif's blog here.
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