CSK pull themselves out of a rut, MI slip even further into one as IPL 15 hots up

Mumbai Indians’ survival in IPL15 hangs by a slender thread. Beaten by Punjab Kings on Wednesday evening, the five-times former champions remain winless after 5 matches this season which marks an extraordinary slump for the highly fancied side.

It is part of IPL lore that when MI start poorly, they usually recover very strongly and even perhaps finish on the podium. But that is small consolation for everyone associated with the team, so disappointing has been their performance so far.

What’s going wrong for MI? Just about everything, and best exemplified in the harrowing defeat to Punjab. The bowling lacked teeth, allowing the rivals to post 198. This wasn’t impossible to get on a placid pitch, but Mumbai ruined It for themselves with some thoughtless cricket.

The risk to play one batsman less was worth taking to ramp up prospects of winning. But two frontline batsmen, Tilak Varma and especially Kieron Pollard, getting run out highlighted the confused, jittery state in the dug out.  Normally, in such situations, circumstances, MI would have made light of chasing 199. But these are clearly not ordinary times for the former champions.

While there is a mathematical possibility of MI still making it to the play-offs, it would entail an extraordinary turnaround from here which, given the form shown so far, looks far-fetched.

A dip stick analysis highlights MI have suffered primarily because the big guns have not fired. It does take time for new players acquired in the mega auction to settle down in the frenetic and demanding environment of the IPL. But fresh faces have not been the problem.

In fact, the redeeming feature of the campaign so far has been the brilliant batting of young homegrown left-hander Tilak Varma and brawny, 19-year-old South African Dewald Brevis, nicknamed ‘Baby AB’ for his superlative, creative batting in the recent under-19 World Cup.

These two look excellent acquisitions and should play a major role for MI in the future along with Joffra Archer who is unavailable this season because of injury.

It is the failure of seasoned pros to make an impact that has cost the team dear. Rohit Sharma, batsman extraordinaire in white ball cricket, has been way below his best. In 5 matches, he has 108 runs to his name, which is meagre return for a batsman of his quality. Kieron Pollard, who enjoys cult status because of his big-hitting, match-winning prowess, has just 57 runs in from 5 innings.

These figures show that the MI batting hasn’t started or finished well in any match. Ishan Kishan has been reasonably successful, the sole stand-out batsman being Surya Kumar Yadav.  With the top order struggling, MI’s bowlers have come under duress, and not been able to deliver win matches despite the best efforts of Jasprit Bumrah and spinner M Ashwin. Looking at the results so far, perhaps MI could have put more faith in overseas recruits Tim David and Daniel Sams. They rejigged selection strategy after a couple of poor matches for these players. Not that it helped!

Meanwhile Chennai Super Kings, SK, sailing in the same boat as MI till a few days back, pulled themselves out of the rut with a resounding win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. Veteran Robin Uthappa and Shivam Dube, who has also been on the IPL circuit for some years now, went berserk against shockingly ragged bowling, peppering the short boundaries of the D Y Patil stadium with 4s and 6s in a rollicking partnership that virtually quashed RCB’s hopes of moving to the top of the points table.

CSK’s 213 was the highest score of the season. To chase this down, RCB needed substantial knocks from Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glen Maxwell at the top of the order. All three fell cheaply and the die was cast for CSK’s victory, though   Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmad kept the fight going for a fair while.

Whether this result suggests full scale revival for CSK or is just a blip remains to be seen. The defending champions still look below their best, and like MI need more meaningful contributions from stalwarts Ambati Rayudu, Mooen Ali, M S Dhoni and particularly Ravindra Jadeja. This becomes even more important considering that bowling spearhead Deepak Chahar may not be available for some while more.

Sunrisers Hyderabad were the surprise performers last week, winning two matches on the trot. For the first fortnight, SRH looked beleaguered and pretty much the worst side in the tournament. Beating defending champions CSK, then frontrunners Gujarat Titans has not only given SRH a massive boost, but also opened up the tournament to exciting and intriguing possibilities going ahead.

Six teams are currently placed on equal points (6) in the table, separated only by minor differences in Net Run Rat. This shows not only how intense the competition has been, but also how much tougher it will get going ahead.

Of these six teams, Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans look the best endowed in talent, balance and depth. There is a spark and energy to Rajasthan’s cricket which is attractive to watch and also foreboding for opponents. Gujarat, till they stumbled unexpectedly against SRH, had swept all before them, had performed with great with panache and flair.

Thursday’s match between these two teams promises to be a fabulous contest, and could also provide an idea of the direction the tournament will take in the next 7-10 days.   keep an eye out also for KKR, Lucknow Super Giants, Punjab Kings and RCB, all hot on the heels of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Frankly, there is very little to separate these teams. The key factor going ahead is physical and mental stamina, sustaining form, and above all uncompromising ambition.