BEYOND THE CRICKET
The first week of IPL was quirky and memorable in more ways than one. © BCCI / IPL
One week after the IPL 2020 and everyone is still getting used to the new normal. Murali Karthik, for example, continues to speak at the launch as if there are 30,000 people on the ground. There are none. Then there are the players who are still not sure how to celebrate wickets: bump their fists, tap their elbows, or play dead? That’s where Imran Tahir is sorely missed. He is the only bowler who runs away from people when he has done something worthwhile.
But that can have its own problems.
However, some things have changed dramatically in a week. MS Dhoni in the opening game wasn’t sure if he could have a fielder in the slip. (Because six feet of social distancing and casual humor at launch and all that.) But now all of a sudden, he doesn’t need a slip. Because their spinners do not offer outer edges, but only four and six.
Spinners weren’t the only problem for Dhoni last week. There’s also his slow and flawed hitting lineup that is made so scorecards are better read backwards. Part of the problem is that MS Dhoni came to bat at number 7 (YES NUMBER SEVEN) and hit six and it makes everyone except Gautam Gambhir wonder why he didn’t leave sooner.
September 25, 2020
However, one thing they got right, even as Sanju Samson took the caster wheels to every corner, was Twitter.
It’s been a very different cricket week for CSK, something that RCB could have done perhaps with. After IPL 2019, no one would have been waiting for a “new normal” more than Virat Kohli. It was an opportunity to start over. Mike Hesson even promised less “cut and switch” this year, but it turns out only Dale Steyn heard him right. And his headband is probably the newest thing on the team this year.
KL Rahul probably had the most varied week of all. A heartbreaking Super Over loss to Delhi Capitals in his first game as captain, and then a scintillating hundred wins against RCB. Never mind that they dropped it twice. Yes, ring of fire reflectors are a problem in Dubai, but they can also be an excuse. And now the excuse is real because Michael Slater asked Dhoni on air.
Pat Cummins came out of his quarantine and turned into a nightmare against the Indians of Mumbai. His 3-0-49-0 bowling figures by no means sat well with his IPL contract, or Burj Khalifa’s welcome for KKR, but his four sixes in a sure over did. No one has done that to Jasprit Bumrah. None.
Referee Nitin Menon caused a storm early in the tournament after he mistakenly declared a short run. KXIP lost in the Super Over, Preity Zinta confessed to being hit hard, former mentors joined the chorus, and the franchise even filed an official complaint with match referee Javagal Srinath. It’s only fair that more of Karnataka is associated with KXIP.
Controversy or not, cricket took center stage in India as more than 20 million people watched the opening match. But what else is India looking at in September? A bit of News at 9 o’clock but nothing more.
© Cricbuzz
