The best dramas usually take a break. Most top-notch American television shows disappear for a couple of months before coming back with aplomb, few Shakespearean productions run without an intermission, and no parliament on the planet continues unabated with its political intrigue. In the arena of sports, a gap is just as common, if not more necessary. Formula One switches off for at least a fortnight every mid-season while the UEFA Champions League, modern football’s ultimate theatre, hibernates every winter. But not the IPL. Not until this year. For almost a-decade-and-a-half, the IPL has been characterised by its inexorable pace, its insistence on proceeding relentlessly, without putting on the brakes. Once an IPL season begins, the next two months or so are an inevitably chock-a-block with cricketainment. So much so that sometimes the action relapses into its own background noise. The smashing sixes, the scattered stumps, and the blaring music morph into a desensitised loop. The spectacle becomes mechanical.
None of that, though, has been allowed to happen this year. As a result of the second wave of Covid-19 that swept through India, the IPL was indefinitely suspended on May 4, 2021, roughly at the midway point of the campaign. It seemed for some time that the rest of the season may never play out, and certainly not in India. Eventually, a compromise was struck. The latest edition of the IPL would reach its conclusion, but it would be shifted to its now familiar refuge of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
For the second year running, India’s summer extravaganza would enhance the autumnal aura in the desert. And so we go again, all set to embrace the familiar thrills, spills, and chills, but within the unfamiliar setting of part two. Here’s all you need to know about the eight teams before the first ball of the IPL’s second coming is bowled.
DELHI CAPITALS
Present position: 1st
(L-R) Prithvi Shaw , Shikhar Dhawan
What’s worked: The gunslingers with bat in hand — Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and new captain Rishabh Pant — have all hit their stride. Shreyas Iyer’s recovery from injury for the UAE leg should boost DC’s batting further. In the bowling department, just about everyone has chipped in. A rejuvenated Amit Mishra has given Pant a pleasant selection headache.
What hasn’t worked: Very little. Some of the star names, such as Kagiso Rabada, have not come full steam ahead, but that should not be much of a concern for a team that has coasted through the tournament till now.
Avesh Khan
Key player: At 24, Avesh Khan is enjoying his first big break in the game and has been exceptional this season. Fourteen wickets at an economy of 7.70 and a strike rate of just under 13 runs per wicket has quickly turned him from a squad player into Mr Indispensable for the Capitals.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Present position: 2nd
Faf du Plessis
What’s worked: The trademark CSK formula of not messing around with the starting 11 has lent consistency to a team that lost its identity last year. Faf du Plessis has been impeccable, Suresh Raina has regained his batting mojo, and Deepak Chahar has come up trumps with the new ball.
What hasn’t worked: The lower-middle order, including a misfiring Mahendra Singh Dhoni, have largely gone missing, leading to Ravindra Jadeja doing too much of the heavy lifting in the slog overs.
Moeen Ali
Key player: The promotion of Moeen Ali to number three has turned out to be a masterstroke, with the English all-rounder coming good with some punchy cameos, besides remaining his efficient self with the ball.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Present position: 7th
(L-R) Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi and Prasidh Krishna
What’s worked: The decision to let Nitish Rana face the new ball has definitely paid dividends, as has the persistence with Rahul Tripathi and Prasidh Krishna. Varun Chakravarthy has not mesmerised yet, but has been miserly with the ball.
What hasn’t worked: The elegance of Shubman Gill has been rather elusive, while the finishing firepower of Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik has not been on frequent display. Captain Eoin Morgan has been unable to close out games for KKR with the same strategical composure that he habitually shows for England.
Key player: With nine wickets and a couple of valiant outings with the bat, Pat Cummins was the undoubted Knight in shining armour in the first half of IPL 2021. Unfortunately for those rooting in the City of Joy, the Australian will not be available in the UAE, as he is due to become a father soon.
MUMBAI INDIANS
Present position: 4th
Rohit Sharma
What’s worked: Rohit Sharma has been imperious at the top after a number of quiet seasons with the bat in the IPL. Suryakumar Yadav has looked steady in the middle order and the MI bowling, without hitting the high notes of yesteryears, has been tight enough to squeeze out some crucial victories following another slow start out of the blocks.
Jasprit Bumrah
What hasn’t worked: The Pandya brothers have failed to strike form and last season’s boy wonder, Ishan Kishan, has also been short of runs. Jasprit Bumrah, seemingly playing within himself in April and May, must improve, as should Trent Boult when bowling his second spells.
Key player: Few would have thought that Rahul Chahar, who now finds himself in India’s roster for the T20 World Cup, would have been MI’s go-to man in the first half of the IPL. The leg-spinner, who plays his domestic cricket for Rajasthan, has claimed 11 wickets in 2021 and single-handedly dismantled the KKR batting line-up when the two rivals met in the middle of April.
PUNJAB KINGS
Present position: 6th
K.L. Rahul and Mayank Agarwal
What’s worked: The opening duo of K.L. Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have been in fine fettle, with the gamble on Chris Gayle paying off handsomely. Mohammed Shami has largely lived up to his billing with the ball and the Punjab Kings have, as a unit, made far fewer self-destructive moves as compared to the 2020 season.
What hasn’t worked: Big name overseas players like Moises Henriques and Chris Jordan, both of whom are supposed to chip in as all-rounders, have underperformed. Mercurial West-Indian batsman Nicholas Pooran has had a shocker of a tournament, scoring just 28 runs in seven games.
Key player: Perhaps no IPL outfit is as dependent on the exploits of a single player as the Punjab Kings are on K.L. Rahul. While the hat of captain has often wobbled on his head, the batting responsibilities have been fulfilled by Rahul to a tee, making him one of the most watchable batters in the competition.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
Present position: 5th
Chris Morris
What’s worked: Youthful exuberance combined with the wisdom of experience has kept RR there and thereabouts in the IPL this season. Shelling out a record fee for Chris Morris has been vindicated, and true to RR tradition, 23-year-old Chetan Sakariya has broken through as the most recent in a long line of youngsters making their name in the royal blue.
What hasn’t worked: Spin bowling has been an issue, but might be addressed with the acquisition of South African Tabraiz Shamsi. While individual culprits are hard to pick out from RR’s first half of the IPL, the team is staring down the barrel in terms of player withdrawals, with superstars like Ben Stokes, Jos Butler, Jofra Archer and Andrew Tye all opting against showing up in the UAE.
Key player: So often the man to get sparks going without generating an explosion, Sanju Samson has come into his own in IPL 2021. With the added burden of captaincy, the
26-year-old has matured quickly, progressing from decorating games to deciding them.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
Present position: 8th
Jonny Bairstow
What’s worked: Jonny Bairstow has kept the scoreboard ticking in his inimitable style, though he will not be travelling to the UAE. Manish Pandey, the first Indian centurion in IPL history, has shown glimmers of his potential, while David Warner has done what David Warner does best — accumulate runs no matter the levels of the rest of the team.
What hasn’t worked: Pace bowling, generally a strong suit for the Orange Army, has been disappointing, not least due to Bhuvneshwar Kumar enduring an indifferent IPL. Kane Williamson and Jason Holder have been underutilised and none of the talented young guns — Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg, and Abhishek Sharma— have settled in adequately.
Rashid Khan
Key player: For the first half of the IPL, SRH’s bowling has been a one-trick pony, with spin wizard Rashid Khan shouldering all the load. Even though he has not been at the height of his brilliance, Afghanistan’s most famous cricketer has not let his team down. The same cannot be said for his teammates, who have inadvertently assumed Rashid’s role as that of a get-out-of-jail free card.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
Present position: 3rd
Glenn Maxwell and Devdutt Padikkal
What’s worked: The much-vaunted triumvirate of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and AB De Villiers have taken it in turns to come to the party while Devdutt Padikkal has kicked on from his excellent season last time. RCB’s bowling, meme-worthy at its worst, has never looked better, with the fast bowlers in particular stepping up to build the foundation of a potentially champion side.
What hasn’t worked: Yuzvendra Chahal has blown hot and cold by his high standards and globetrotting all-rounder Daniel Christian has hardly added anything of value thus far.
Key player: The biggest wildcard of the first instalment of the IPL, Harshal Patel has been quite the revelation for RCB. Despite being hammered every now and then, most memorably by Ravindra Jadeja, Patel has seldom gone without wickets, as evident from his possession of the Purple Cap and an astonishing bowling strike rate of 9.88.
Pictures: Agencies & TT Archives
THE NUMBERS GAME
Refreshing your memory regarding the most important figures from IPL 2021
3 The number of stadiums that will take over the hosting responsibilities for the IPL in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Apart from the iconic ground at Sharjah, which can accommodate around 16,000, the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium with capacities of 25,000 and 20,000, respectively, will be the venues for the second half of the IPL.
16 The most individual sixes in this edition of the IPL have come from the flashing blade of Punjab Kings captain K.L. Rahul, with 16 of his strikes clearing the fence.
17 The Purple Cap presently sits pretty on the head of RCB paceman Harshal Patel, whose 17 wickets have been the highest of any bowler in the tournament.
31 The number of IPL games still left to be played this season, including the playoffs, which are scheduled to begin on October 10, and the showpiece event of the grand finale, which is supposed to take place on October 15.
380 The amount of runs scored by Shikhar Dhawan of Delhi Capitals, the current holder of the Orange Cap.
