IPL 6: Disappointments so far

‘Pondulkar’ have not set the tournament on fire

Well, this year’s IPL has been one of the most competitive IPL yet, with the occurrence of 2 super overs within 25 matches. While many Indian youngsters and international players alike have managed to make an impact in this edition, there are some who have disappointed the fans with their below-par performances. Here is my take on some of the major disappointments in IPL 2013 so far.

Delhi Daredevils: The whole team has been a major disappointment. Mahela has failed to inspire his team,who are terribly missing the services of KP. Warner has been inconsistent, whereas Sehwag is still out of form. The bowlers lack confidence, failing when the team required them to perform. Morkel has been impressive, but he has been a lone silver lining for the Delhi team. The uncapped players haven’t been in any good form either. They have to pull up their socks to avoid a wooden spoon.

Sachin-Ponting opening combo: When the cricketing world found out that Mumbai Indians bought Ricky Ponting, a long-cherished dream of many cricket fans was fulfilled – to see Sachin and Ponting, two of the greatest batsmen in cricket, to play together. Yet, they have not been able to set the pitch on fire. Ponting could not carry over his form in Australian domestic cricket to IPL,whereas Sachin’s miserable lean patch continues. Only time will tell whether they can overcome their lean patch and be an asset to the team.

Angelo Mathews: The captain of the Pune Warriors India has ironically been the burden of his own team. His performances in the tournament so far have been uninspiring, having failed with both bat and ball. Also, his captaincy has been heavily criticised after persisting with Ross Taylor inspite of repeated failures. He needs to lead the team from the front for PWI to have any chance of making it to the top 4.

Suresh Raina: Though CSK have been in a pretty good form, Suresh Raina’s failure has gone unnoticed thanks to Mike Hussey and MS Dhoni. The first player in IPL to feature in 100 matches, Suresh Raina has played a minimal role in CSK’s victories this season. This is quite surprising considering the form he was just before the start of the Australian Test series. One has to wait and watch whether Raina fires when the team requires him to.

Along with the above mentioned players, some other players who have failed to live upto the crowd’s expectations are Adam Gilchrist, Unmukt Chand etc. Whether they can overcome their bad form, only time will tell.