It is just the second week of the IPL and the cricket is already giving competition to mercury levels across India. Four last ball finishes over the past week mean that we are all running out of fingernails and adjectives. It also means that for all its trials and tweaks, the IPL remains endlessly entertaining. In an effort to extend that entertainment off the pitch, we bring to you the Wrong ’Uns, My Kolkata’s weekly awards that promises to honour the brilliant and the bizarre (often one and the same) during the IPL season.
For our second instalment of 2023, we introduce two new categories, bring back a regular fixture from 2022 and pass on the White Cap to someone who is known for donning quite a few hats these days.
The Socrates Award for Best On-Field Dialogue
Keeping up the spirit of last week’s award-winning chat between Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal is another wholesome conversation, this time between Umran Malik and Rahul Tripathi from the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). In the aftermath of SRH’s victory against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Sunday, Malik quizzed Tripathi about making up for a slow start while Tripathi asked Malik to explain the secret behind breaking bails, something the pacer admitted to learning first with a tennis ball.
Cheekiest Social Media Shot of the Week
Until their first win of the season on Tuesday, the Mumbai Indians (MI) were faring better on social media than on the field. But thanks to Rohit Sharma’s record-extending 19th man of the match performance in the IPL, MI were able to see off the Delhi Capitals (DC) and collect their first points of 2023. MI’s social media team duly pounced on the opportunity to show off their own effortless shots, with a clever dig at DC fans waiting for justice as well as a celebration of the Hitman himself.
Most Startling Statistic of the Week
Rashid Khan’s hat-trick was not enough to prevent KKR from spoiling GT’s party in Ahmedabad TT archives
Rashid Khan’s hat-trick against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was the first treble of IPL 2023, and the 22nd overall in the competition. Interestingly, four of these hat-tricks have come against KKR, the most against a single IPL franchise. Before Rashid, Yuzvendra Chahal bagged three successive dismissals against KKR last year. Prior to that, Pravin Tambe in 2014 and Makhaya Ntini in 2008 had also secured hat-tricks against the Knights.
Best Expert Suggestion to Fall on Deaf Ears
In a brand new category for this week, we give Tom Moody his due for putting his thinking cap on, now that he has finally left the SRH dugout. Moody’s suggestion, based no doubt on his own batting credentials from back in the day, is to factor in a batter’s strike rate while awarding the Orange Cap in the IPL. Sounds interesting until you try to do the maths, something Moody would rather leave to the experts.
The Easter Award for Remarkable Resurrection
Even in the explosive world of T20 cricket, most teams are dead and buried if they need 29 runs off the last over. That too at the home of the Gujarat Titans (GT), the reigning IPL champions. But not if you have Rinku Singh. In the mother of all IPL resurrections (that too on Easter Sunday), Rinku smashed five consecutive sixes off the hapless Yash Dayal to give KKR the unlikeliest win in the franchise’s history. What followed were scenes of delirium not seen among the purple and gold ranks since they won their last title in 2014. Could this resurrection point towards greater glories ahead?
Best Almost Drop
With a single run required off two balls to give the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) a memorable victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Jaydev Unadkat decided to needlessly hoik the ball for a boundary. All he could end up doing was produce a leading edge straight to long on. But the drama was not done there, for RCB skipper Faf du Plessis almost made a meal of a regulation catch in the deep. Using the reverse cup technique, du Plessis just about caught the ball before his momentum forced him to juggle it on his way down. Eventually, a grateful du Plessis let out a sheepish smile after holding on, forcing another last-ball finish in the IPL.
Back with a Bang
Ajinkya Rahane stepped up at the Wankhede Stadium to guide CSK to victory against MI TT archives
Coming into bat at three for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) against MI last Saturday, Ajinkya Rahane had only scored 254 runs in 16 innings over the last three years of IPL cricket. At a forgettable strike rate of just above run a ball. However, intent to make full use of the golden opportunity handed to him by his new franchise, Rahane went hammer and tongs from the get-go, ending up with a blistering 61 off 27 balls that ensured CSK never loosened their stranglehold over MI and the game.
The White Cap
Suryakumar Yadav hands over the White Cap to Dinesh Karthik after the latter effectively cost RCB a win (or at least a super over) against LSG thanks to his butter fingers (or gloves or both) on Monday. Unable to collect the ball cleanly after Avesh Khan had missed the last delivery of the LSG innings, Karthik fumbled twice before releasing a weak throw at the bowler’s end that could not run Avesh out in time. As a result, LSG won by one wicket, with Karthik the scapegoat at the conclusion of a pulsating contest. Here is hoping the White Cap slips just as fast off Karthik’s head as the ball did off his hands.