IPL 2023: Shepherd's Heroics, Thakur's Five-Wicket Haul, and More
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IPL 2023: A Detailed Analysis
Monday, April 8
Just what was that Romario Shepherd?!
39 off 10 balls. 3 fours and 4 sixes. Single-handedly taking MI from a par score of 200 to 234 through his assault in the 20th over. His innings at a strike-rate of 390 was the highest for anyone who's played minimum 10 balls in an IPL innings and ushered MI to their first victory of the season, which was also their 150th in T20s and 50th at the Wankhede.
More about that 20th over...
It was bowled by Anrich Nortje, who else. That's the kind of season the fast bowler has been been having, having returned figures of 1/48, 0/43, 3/59 and 2/65 (in this game). This latest over to Shepherd went like 4 6 6 6 4 6 and it meant MI scored 96 runs in the last five overs, something that Rishabh Pant acknowledged was a game-changer but didn't feel lost DC the game. "Yes, we had a few bad overs (with the ball), but it does happen at times," the captain said. "Definitely we were in contention, but we didn't have enough runs in the batting powerplay, especially when you're chasing such a big score."
Hardik not booed at Wankhede!
It wasn't an encore of the last time. The 18K kids who attended the MI-DC match at Wankhede as part of ESA Day came without baggage and saw the game for what it was. Hardik, who was booed when MI played their first home game this season, went around the ground in a lap of honour after the victory and thanked the kids for being behind him and the team. More kids at cricket venues please.
Yash Thakur steps up for LSG
It was supposed to be another Mayank Yadav show but it was Yash Thakur who turned out to be the showstopper with his first IPL five-wicket haul. Thanks to him and Krunal Pandya's three-wicket haul, LSG were able to defend only 163 and beat GT for the first time ever. It was also the 15th time they won batting won in 18 attempts, which is such an outlier in this era of chasing.
Coming to Mayank Yadav...
The speedster, who came into the game with two PoTM awards in two games, only bolwed an over and barely touched speeds of even 140 during the course. Was he injured? "I don't know what is happening but I did have a brief couple of seconds' chat . He seemed okay, which was quite a relief for us," Krunal said in a sideline interview after the match in Lucknow.
GT missing Miller?
Gujarat Titans had a horror day with the bat and found fielders regularly with their attempted shots. Their captain Shubman Gill felt that it was a total they backed themselves to chase even without Miller and minced no words in describing it as a "poor batting performance".
Pic of the day
What's next?
KKR, after winning three in three, turn their focus on conquering CSK at Chepauk. It won't be easy, for CSK have lost only 8 out of 34 games played in Chepauk since 2013. There's truly a lot to look forward to in the game, including MS Dhoni's entry, KKR's batting, Rachin Ravindra's form now that he's back at home and Ruturaj Gaikwad's intent, the CSK captain having looked weighed down up top in the season so far.
Sunday, April 7
Two contrasting hundreds, one obvious result
Virat Kohli scored his 8th IPL hundred and Jos Buttler his 6th, but RCB's 183/3 after being put in to bat didn't even come close to stretching RR, who completed a six-wicket win. The conditions admittedly got easier for batting in the second innings with the arrival of dew, but RCB left "10-15 runs" out there in the "last two overs" according to Faf du Plessis himself.
A century that divided the internet
It's an innings that's divided the internet. It was the joint-slowest hundred of IPL, and third by Kohli in a losing cause, but also was the lone effort by a batter from RCB. Could Kohli have taken more risks through his innings or could Faf/Green contributed more? Perhaps a bit of both. Recent trends suggest that that top-scorer has been contributing a smaller fraction of 200+ totals. It's all part of maximizing risk-taking and output per delivery, which means shorter and sharper cameos work best.
Flower wants RCB's 'level of aggression above a certain threshold'
"We do discuss strike rates and aggression, it's part of the understanding of the T20 game," said Flower at the post-match press conference. "The level of aggression has to be above a certain threshold and you have to always be putting the opposition under pressure. Certainly taking the aggressive option, especially on pitches like today. It's just a fact that at the moment that our top five aren't in sparkling form except Virat. It's a tough place to be. It's not from lack of effort, they're working hard, they're giving everything they've got. Just not firing at the moment. If we've got to turn this around, we need them firing."
Some numbers from yesterday for you
- It was Kohli's third IPL hundred in a losing cause, the most by any player
- Buttler scored a hundred in his 100th IPL game. KL Rahul is the only other player to do that
Ian Bishop, the true professional
Someone on X pointed out how Bishop mentioned Kohli getting to a half-century off "just 39 balls." Bishop had this to say in reply: "I take an 'L' on that one. I am very aware of what T20 batting entails, and my insertion of that word was inaccurate. My choice of words and language in keeping with the format of the game needs to be more accurate and it will be going forward. Apologies."
Just how good is he?
Quote of the day: "I knew I couldn't get over aggressive, just that I had to keep the bowlers guessing. It's just experience and maturity of playing the conditions. Even if there's dew, the surface is rough and dry, won't be easy for the batters" - Kohli during the innings break