Half-way report card of ipl teams

Chennai Super Kings

Matthew Hayden muscles the ball, Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers, IPL, 16th match, Durban, April 27, 2009
Retirement seems to have worked wonders for Matthew Hayden, who has 289 runs at 41.28 for the Chennai Super Kings © AFP

Things have begun to perk up after a slow start. Their bowlers were struggling and, by the end of the fifth game, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided it was time for experiments. The bowling line-up started to change: Sudeep Tyagi and Albie Morkel opened and Shadab Jakati, the left-arm spinner, was drafted in. L Balaji was given the task to bowl with the old ball while Joginder Sharma and Manpreet Gony were dropped. And in the batting, M Vijay was drafted in for Parthiv Patel. The changes worked and Chennai won their next three games to storm to the top of the table.

Defining moment: It came after the loss to Deccan Chargers in Durban. "We are running out of ideas, we don't know where to bowl and what to bowl," was Dhoni's frank assessment. "This is our best bowling line-up in paper. But it's not working and now it's time to change and experiment."

Best player: Matthew Hayden, with 289 runs at 41.28.

Biggest let-down: Andrew Flintoff. He struggled with the bat and the ball and Chennai's form actually started to turn around after his exit.

Ins and outs: Flintoff left for England within a week of the tournament after suffering a knee injury. He was anyway slated to leave on May 1 for the West Indies series.

Kings XI Punjab

The most disciplined team. They were badly hit by injuries but have gelled as a unit to keep turning in regular wins. Only Yuvraj Singh has scored over 200 runs but four others have scored more than 100, the most in any side. The bowling looked weak on paper but Irfan Pathan has starred with the ball, often taking early wickets to unsettle the opposition. The spinners Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar have done well and Yusuf Abdulla too has turned in a couple of good cameos. And Yuvraj, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, along with the coach Tom Moody, have led the side well.

Defining moment: When the team sat together after the first two losses and charted the way forward. They then won a close game against Bangalore - with Ravi Bopara and Yuvraj taking them home - which set off their revival.

Best player: Irfan Pathan with ten wickets and Yusuf Abdullah with 14. They have worked brilliantly as a pair. Irfan has often struck crucial blows with the new ball and Yusuf has kept his nerve in the end overs.

Biggest let-down: No one actually. If anything, they would like Yuvraj to be more consistent. He is their main power player but has accumulated only 208 runs at 29.71.

Ins and outs: Bopara, the only Englishman to perform in the IPL, has left but Brett Lee, James Hopes and Sreesanth will be more than handy additions.

Delhi Daredevils

They have lived up to their pre-tournament billing of being favourites and have the best win-loss ratio, winning five of their seven games. And the best news is that their stars are yet to fire. Only Tillakaratne Dilshan has accumulated more than 200 runs and only Ashish Nehra has taken ten wickets but they have kept winning.

Defining moment: No single moment but they have won all the tight games they've been involved in and each time someone has put his hand up - whether it's Nehra with the ball or Dilshan with the bat.

Best player: Dilshan. One of the more under-rated players on the international circuit has expertly steered the middle-order out of several mini-crises. Last year, Delhi suffered because of middle-order problems and this time they were really tested by the failure of the top order but Dilshan has stood up to the challenge.

Biggest let-down: The hyped opening pair of Virender Sehwag (avg of 21.75) and Gautam Gambhir (avg of 28.00)

Ins and outs: Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah have left for the home series against West Indies but that won't make much of a difference because they never got to play a game. The biggest news so far is that Glenn McGrath hasn't got a game either.

Deccan Chargers

Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs added 63 in quick time, Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians, IPL, 12th Match, Durban, April 25, 2009
Is the Deccan Chargers batting too dependent on Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs? © AFP

They proved to be the tournament's dark horses, winning their first four games. But they lost the next three, possibly because their batting is top-heavy, depending too much on Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs.

Defining moment: Their fifth game. It was a close finish against Delhi with Fidel Edwards, their strike bowler, going up against Dilshan. As the match hurtled towards its climax, Edwards lost his cool, argued with the umpires over wide calls, got into a sledging game with Dilshan and generally lost the plot. Dilshan plundered 17 runs in the 19th over, bowled by Edwards, to win the game. It was Deccan's first loss and they are yet to win after that.

Best player: RP Singh with 13 wickets at 13.23. He has bowled with the new ball but has really surprised with his accurate death bowling.

Biggest let-down: VVS Laxman with 19 runs at 3.80. He has been repeatedly getting out to soft dismissals and is going through a horror run.

Ins and outs: Edwards has left after a fine tournament. Andrew Symonds is expected to make an impact when he joins the team after their ninth game.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

It's been a fascinating ride for Bangalore. They upset the defending champions in the first game but returned to last year's form for the next few. Rare occurrences like five first-ball dismissals and two second-ball dismissals left the team wondering what had hit them. However, they kept working hard in practice and the coach was willing to try different combinations. The appointment of Anil Kumble as captain after Kevin Pietersen's departure seems to have changed the team's fortunes; they have won three in a row now to move to fifth in the points table.

Defining moment: Mark Boucher held his nerve to win a close game against Kolkata Knight Riders to fetch Bangalore their second win. It was a game that should have been won without much sweat but Bangalore threatened to fold under pressure. Lucikly for them, their opponents were simply worse than they were and that win provided the momentum. Kumble became captain in the next game and they have gone from strength to strength.

Best player: Kumble, with ten wickets at an economy rate of 5.82. The man refuses to fade away without a fight. And then there's his captaincy.

Big let-down: Pietersen and Jesse Ryder. Pietersen averaged around 15 and Ryder 8. The two biggest picks of the year were expected to be part of the team's revival but they have failed.

Ins and outs: A struggling Pietersen left and the in-form Rahul Dravid, who had returned to India mid-tournament for the birth of his second child, has rejoined the squad. Nathan Bracken will bolster their bowling if he joins them this week.

Mumbai Indians

Lasith Malinga gets a high-five from Zaheer Khan after dismissing Wilkin Mota, Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians, IPL, 20th match, Durban, April 29, 2009
Lasith Malinga is using the IPL brilliantly to show his skills after a long injury lay-off © Associated Press

The Tendulkar syndrome has hit the team. They are yet to get out of the shadow of Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya and have lost quite a few close games. Tendulkar has scored over 200 runs but when he has failed, so has the team.

Defining moment: It will come the day they win a game without a contribution from the two big stars. They have talent in JP Duminy, Dwayne Bravo, Abhishek Nayar and Shikhar Dhawan, who have the potential to turn things around. But will they?

Best player: Lasith Malinga with 11 wickets at a staggering economy rate of 4.83. He is back from a long injury lay-off and is using the IPL brilliantly to show his skills. The slinger has rarely been collared.

Biggest let-down: Harbhajan Singh. Just three wickets so far.

Ins and outs: No disruptions for them.

Rajasthan Royals

The top-order batting had been the chief worry but Graeme Smith's return to form and Naman Ojha's successful stint as opener would have eased concerns. Yusuf Pathan has lorded around the park and the entry of Lee Carseldine at the top has added further stability to the top order. They won three tight games, a sign that the captain Shane Warne is still weaving his magic with his band of young men.

Defining moment: The Super Over game against Kolkata. It highlighted two of their biggest strengths - Warne as captain and Pathan the batsman. Like Delhi, they have rarely lost a close game. But unlike Delhi, they have lost easily in a few games.

Best player: Yusuf Pathan with 181 runs at a strike rate of 161.60. He has played a hand in all their wins.

Biggest let-down: Graeme Smith who, till his revival against Punjab on Tuesday, had 65 runs at an average of 13.

Ins and outs: Kamran Khan has been asked to undergo rehab for his action but he was already doubtful with a knee injury. Shane Watson will bolster their batting when he joins them this week.

Kumar Sangakkara is ecstatic after latching on to an edge from Brendon McCullum, Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, 6th game, Durban, April 21, 2009
Losing front: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Brendon McCullum has just 85 runs at 10.62 © AFP

Kolkata Knight Riders

A team drowned by controversies - the multiple-captaincy theory, an under-pressure coach, a struggling captain and even a fake blogger - have been hit even worse by poor on-field performances. There hasn't been a single moment that sticks in the mind, nor a passage of play that has convinced observers that they are turning the tide.

Defining moment: With two runs required from two balls against Rajasthan, Sourav Ganguly, who had guided the chase brilliantly, fell going for a big shot. Had they won that, they might have found the momentum they were desperately seeking.

Ins and outs: Chris Gayle has left for England and Sourabh Sarkar has come in for the injured Harmeet Singh. David Hussey's all-round skills will be available after Australia's Twenty20 game against Pakistan in the UAE this week.

Best player: Brad Hodge, who with 240 runs at 40 is third on the run-scorers' list. He hasn't found much support from the other batsmen, though.

Biggest let-down: Brendon McCullum has just 85 runs at 10.62. He said he'd quit if the team didn't make semi-finals. While he may have intended it positively, he could be seen as a weak, emotional captain reacting to severe pressure.

Consolation win lifts Australia to No. 2

It may have been a dead rubber at the end of a long summer, but a resolute Australia scrapped hard in the field to secure a consolation win in Johannesburg and move up to No. 2 in the ODI rankings. Both innings in the match followed a similar pattern: significant contributions from the top four before the middle order collapsed. Michael Hussey remained unbeaten to make sure Australia capitalised on the batting Powerplay and shepherded them past 300, but none of the South African batsmen played that role, leaving the tail too much to do.

South Africa appeared to be coasting towards victory when they had reached 186 for 2 after 34 overs, with Jacques Kallis and Man-of-the-Series AB de Villiers looking solid. Nathan Bracken then lured Kallis into a loose away-from-the-body waft which ended in Brad Haddin's gloves. Mitchell Johnson turned up the pressure a notch when he ended JP Duminy's short, shaky stay in the next over. It was still anybody's game when Mark Boucher swatted James Hopes straight to Nathan Hauritz at midwicket.

A stunning piece of fielding swung the match in Australia's favour. Albie Morkel, who has established a reputation as a game-changing big-hitter, had started confidently, crunching the ball powerfully square either side of the wicket. One of his slog-sweeps off Hauritz swirled high in the air and looked headed for a six; Ben Laughlin, at the edge of the boundary, leapt with perfect timing to pluck the ball two-handed, keeping his balance to ensure he remained within the field of play. South Africa had slid to 226 for 6 in the 42nd over, still 78 adrift.

With the wickets tumbling, de Villiers decided to take the Powerplay in the next over, but was bowled by Laughlin off the first ball. The match was effectively over, only the formalities remained.

It hadn't seemed as if South Africa would be bowled out when their top order was firing. Herschelle Gibbs had bludgeoned quick hundreds his two previous ODIs in Johannesburg, and he continued in the same vein on Friday. He got going with an effortless drive through the covers in the first over, which brought the nearly packed stadium to its feet. His cover-driving remained a feature of his innings, and he also routinely charged down the track to loft the bowlers in the arc between long-on and long-off.

Kallis was also in fluent touch, and the pair had collected 104 runs before Gibbs was undone by a flatter one from Hauritz. Kallis marched on to his half-century and Australia's chances were looking bleak before South Africa's middle-order caved in.

Australia had had their own collapse earlier. On a belter of a track, they were haunted by two of their familiar failings over the one-dayers against South Africa this year: their batsmen's inability to make centuries, and their struggles against spin. Their 303 was a competitive score but a lot more looked on the cards after the top order scored almost at will to motor along to 215 for 3 in 36 overs. South Africa's slow bowling was weakened by the absence of Johan Botha, but with Duminy filling the breach with three wickets and Roelof van der Merwe continuing to find international cricket easy, Australia's charge was derailed.

The spin pair choked the runs in a five-over period starting from the 31st over, and the attendant pressure fetched South Africa four quick wickets. Australia slipped to 246 for 7, but Michael Hussey kept his cool and capitalised on some less-than-satisfactory death bowling by South Africa, who allowed 45 runs off the final five overs.

It was a decent total but the onslaught from their openers, Haddin and Michael Clarke, had some thinking of the "438 game". It was Haddin who provided the initial impetus, carving a couple of short balls from Makhaya Ntini for four over the point fielder. Neither batsman was shy of chipping the ball over the infield, and Haddin was particularly keen on backing away and lofting over the covers.

The experiment to use Kallis early was abandoned after he leaked 21 in two overs. Some amateurish fielding from Morne Morkel gave away four runs and let Clarke reach his half-century; nothing was going right for the hosts.

South Africa came back into the game when both Haddin and Clarke gave catches to Duminy in the space of 11 runs. Callum Ferguson kept the momentum going, peppering the off-side boundaries to race to 41 before his dismissal in the 32nd over kicked off the phase where the spinners held sway.

The performance of their spinners has been one of South Africa's big gains over the ten one-dayers against Australia. The series may have ended with a loss, but South Africa can be proud of their ODI showings. They held their own against the world champions both at home and away to pocket the No. 1 ranking, and that after a 4-0 drubbing in their previous series against serious opposition