IPL 6: SRH vs KXIP - The Quick Flicks

When KXIP took on SRH at Mohali, the question on everyone’s lips was which of the two teams has the wherewithal to step up to the plate, and deliver the goods under immense pressure. It was SRH who chalked out an impressive performance, as they cantered to a well deserved victory, and kept their hopes of qualifying for the play-offs very much alive.

Snap-shots from today’s game:

Parthiv Patel shores up SRH’s batting

It is crystal clear that SRH’s batting is their weak-link. Even today, the top-order fell like proverbial nine pins. When SRH was tottering at 52 for 5, Parthiv Patel and K. Sharma though, pulled their team out of the woods with a robust stand of 42. Those sledgehammer strokes from Perera’s bat took them to a challenging score.

Another new kid on the block

IPL is a great platform for youngsters to show their wares, and make a name for themselves. The 19-year-old, Sandeep Sharma, certainly grabbed his chance with both hands through a fine opening spell by snaring three crucial wickets. On a track that offered considerable assistance for the pacers, the youngster bowled with good control and was nippy too. To throw in a word of caution here, we have to remember the younger lot, who have shown plenty of promise in the IPL, have to prove their mettle in the Ranji Trophy.

Those same old mistakes

It is hard to fathom why bowlers from most teams don’t try to experiment by bowling from around the wicket. It doesn’t take rocket science to understand that if bowlers bowl from around the wicket to left-handers, one can tuck up the left-handed batsman for room.

Revolving door policy

In this IPL, most of the teams aren’t sure of who will captain the side in the next game. After being dropped for a few matches, White was back in the saddle as the captain of SRH. By scoring just ten runs, he didn’t exactly set the Mohali ground on fire, but the low diving catch he took to send Mandeep Singh packing to the pavilion set the tone for what turned out to be an impressive performance by SRH.

Sammy – The bowler with a golden arm

Sammy seems to have that uncanny ability to make crucial breakthroughs with his dibbly-dobblers. By taking the wickets of Miller, Gilchrist and Marsh, he wiped the smile off Preity Zinta’s face. SRH’s attack packs plenty of fire-power, but it was Sammy’s friendly medium pace that came to the fore today. Once Sammy ripped-open Punjab’s batting line-up, they never seemed to be in the hunt.

What are the stumps made up of?

In recent times, we have seen pacers bowling at full-tilt and hitting the stumps, yet those stumps doesn’t seem to budge one bit. It feels like Fevicol is being used to keep the stumps from somersaulting in the air. Even the mettlesome, Steyn, bowling at the speed of wind couldn’t disturb the furniture.

On a side note, it was also a game where both sides couldn’t catch a cold, as plethora of catches were dropped. It has to be always remembered that ‘catches win you matches.’