The second edition of IPL ends today. We assess the highs and lows of the tournament.
After 36 days, 58 matches, thousands of runs and hundreds of wickets, the Indian Premier League 2.0 is all set for the grand finale. When the tournament kicked off, it had several critics. The tournament was panned for its lack of atmosphere, apathetic crowds and absence of spice.
The spice normally comes from controversies. Unlike the first edition, there were no major controversies — on or off the field — this time around. No Slapgate. No leaked text messages. No celebrity owners being told not to be in the dugout. There was just a teeny-weeny issue about a blogger writing about the teams while claiming to be a fake player himself. After the initial hype, people lost interest and although the blog continues, it failed to become a major talking point.
All this has resulted in people focussing on the cricket and not the shenanigans that one has begun to associate with IPL. So, how did the cricketers fare? Who were the biggest losers and the biggest winners? Here is the lowdown on who we think were the hits and misses of IPL 2.0.
OLD IS GOLD
Several experts believe that the T20 format suits a young man’s game. But that myth was shattered this time. Look at the top performers and it’s clear that the older players did far better than their younger counterparts. At 37, Matthew Hayden wielded his willow superbly. In 11 matches, Hayden piled up 546 runs which included 21 hits over the fence. The credit for the Chennai Super Kings charge into the finals must go to the explosive hitting by Hayden.
His former Australian teammate, Adam Gilchrist, led from the front for the Deccan Chargers. Gilchrist, 37, captained a side which had won only one game in the first season and turned them into one of the most feared team this time. Along the way, he chipped in with 410 runs as well, which made him the fourth highest run-getter of the tournament.
Among the bowlers, it was Anil Kumble who showed that age is just a mere number when it comes to cricket. The former Indian captain took 17 wickets in 14 games and was one of the most consistent performers for the Royal Challengers. Mutthiah Muralitharan, at 36, showed his guile with the ball and took 13 wickets and was one of the most economical bowlers in the tournament. Jacques Kallis, another veteran, had a great tournament with the bat and scored over 300 runs. He also contributed with the ball and picked up crucial wickets.
YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE
The big names in the second season failed to deliver. Topping that list is the most expensive cricketer of the season — Kevin Pietersen. The English batsman, who captained the Royal Challengers team for its first six games, came in with a larger-than-life reputation. But sadly, he went back with his tail between his legs. Pietersen managed to score only 93 runs in six innings and never really looked worth the big bucks that were paid to acquire him. Pietersen’s captaincy too came in for quite a bit of flak.
The entire Kolkata Knight Riders team could make it to this list but special mention must be made of Ishant Sharma, Sourav Ganguly, Brendon Mccullum, Chris Gayle, and Ajantha Mendis. Sharma looked nothing like the bowler who has made huge strides in his short international career. He was ineffective and ended with 11 wickets. Being removed unceremoniously as the captain seemed to have taken a toll on Ganguly as well. He started on a promising note but, performed poorly in the majority of matches and ended up with 193 runs in the tournament. Mccullum too failed, to live up to expectations and barring one match, never really got going. Mendis came in with a huge reputation as well but couldn’t work his magic with the ball. In a tournament where spinners have done exceptionally well, Mendis’ failure stands out.
Virendra Sehwag too, had a miserable tournament and couldn’t manage any big scores. Robin Uthappa, Kumara Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasurya are some other big names who failed to perform in this year’s IPL.
THE INDIA NON-STORY
Barring a few names, the Indian contingent on the whole had a disappointing tournament. Suresh Raina is conspicuous as the most consistent performer and is leading the table for the Purple Cap, an award for the most valuable player of the tournament. Rohit Sharma is another player who has had a good tournament with both the bat and the ball. With over 300 runs and 11 wickets in his kitty, Sharma chipped in with crucial performances when Deccan Chargers needed it the most. Even though Mumbai Indians had a poor run, Sachin Tendulkar managed to sparkle in some of the games. He ended with a respectable 364 runs scored at a quick rate.
Someone like R P Singh has had a brilliant tournament and claimed 20 wickets. Even Ashish Nehra, who has been unlucky with injuries, gave a good account of himself with 17 wickets. Pradeep Sangwan is another name which could be in the reckoning for the national team selection with his good performances with the ball. Piyush Chawla staked his claim as a long-term replacement for Anil Kumble in the national team with 14 wickets.
Unlike last year, when players like Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan were revelations, no young Indian player really stood out. Rajat Bhatia from Delhi seemed promising but did not perform consistently. Shadab Jakati of team Chennai did pretty well for a débutante.
The others were either mediocre or did poorly. M S Dhoni started off weakly but improved in the latter stages of the competition. Gautam Gambhir didn’t repeat his heroics of the first season and scored a mere 204 runs, which by his standards is below average. Virat Kohli, the U-19 World Cup winning team captain, had a disappointing tournament as well and managed only 215 runs. Big things were expected out of Abhishek Nayar of Mumbai as well. Apart from a few matches, Nayar had a poor tournament and ended up with 193 runs from 13 matches.
THINK GLOBAL, ACT GLOBAL
Going by the performances of the foreign players this time, most franchisees could adopt the above mantra. Apart from Hayden and Gilchrist, J P Duminy of Mumbai Indians and A B De Villers of Delhi Daredevils among the batsmen performed brilliantly. De Villiers scored more than 400 runs and was pretty good in the field as well. Duminy was one of the bright spots in the Mumbai Indians team and scored over 350 runs. Ravi Bopara in his short stint of six matches was excellent for Kings XI Punjab. New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor is another name which we might hear more of in the future. Taylor saved his Bangalore team on more than a couple of occasions and seems to have a bright future ahead.
Among the bowlers, Lasith Malinga did a splendid job for the Mumbai Indians and claimed 18 wickets. Australian quickie Dirk Nannes for Delhi was a revelation and looks likely to be a star. Yusuf Abdulla too was picked up for South Africa on the basis of his performances.
THE MYSTERY CONTINUES
There were a few players who were supposed to be an integral part of their team but didn’t get much of a chance. Even at 38, you would expect Glenn McGrath to get one match at least. Yet, surprisingly, he didn’t even feature once for the Delhi team. The four-player foreign rule was the official reason but even then you would have expected the legendary fast bowler to play one match.
Mashrafe Mortaza, who was signed by Knight Riders after a bidding tussle with a few other franchisees, was another mystery man. He played only one match in the entire tournament, and that too the third last game for his team. And he performed poorly in that match and ensured that his team was defeated. Tyron Henderson of Rajasthan Royals was picked by Shane Warne as the man to watch out for. But after two games, he wasn’t to be seen anywhere!
The T20 format is not a fair yardstick to judge a player’s ability. The pressure is immense — both on bowlers and batsmen — to deliver immediate results. But since this format is here to stay, and in these times of instant gratification, players need to learn to handle pressure better. For instance, someone like S Badrinath, who might have a good Test future, could find himself out of the reckoning due to a mediocre IPL. The statistics don’t tell the true picture and they might not show a player’s true worth.
The purists will question the quality of cricket at IPL, but the tournament did provide entertainment to the audiences. For the franchisees, the second season taught them a valuable lesson: Paying too much for a player doesn’t guarantee a win.
