Friday, May 01, 2009The First Trimester Report Cards: Part 2Part 1 of this article evaluated the performances of three of the eight franchises in the IPL 2009. We now take a deeper look at the rest of the teams- what’s worked, what’s not, and what they can do to get better. Deccan Chargers Current Castrol Index Rank: 4 Batting Grade: A Bowling Grade: A Final Grade: A What’s Hot: They have started well- with bat and ball. Deccan ranks number one in the Quick Start Bat (performance in the first 6 overs) thanks to Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs, while Fidel Edwards and RP Singh have looked sharp with the ball. Pragyan Ojha has been the X-factor in the middle. What’s Not: Their lower order hasn’t come through yet and as a result Deccan aren’t making best use of their final overs while batting. Quick Fix: If it ain’t broke don’t fix it! Deccan though needs their lower order to contribute more. Playing the likes of Chaminda Vaas or Ryan Harris for Edwards will mean more depth in batting, but it’s up to the rest of the team to step up with their opening bowler away on international duty. Likely Final Position: Top three finish. Bangalore Royal Challengers Current Castrol Index Rank: 7 Batting Grade: D Bowling Grade: C+ Final Grade: D What’s Hot: Anil Kumble has been miserly with the ball and Rahul Dravid has looked in good nick. What’s Not: Bangalore has not had great starts with bat or ball with low Quick Start scores. The loss of KP and Dravid makes things worse. Quick Fix: Bangalore needs a stable opening pair (give Jesse Ryder a consistent run at the top) and needs to use their spinners (Appanna and van der Merwe) more regularly, even in the power play. Plus they need a captain- Kumble seems like the best choice. Likely Final Position: Same as last year- 7th. Delhi Daredevils Current Castrol Index Rank: 3 Batting Grade: A Bowling Grade: B+ Final Grade: A What’s Hot: Delhi looks a more complete side than last year, with AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan firing and Daniel Vettori coming good with the ball. What’s Not: The batting beyond the top four looks weak, and the lower order seems especially brittle. They have a very long tail with Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangawan, Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra; and that places a huge burden on the top four. Quick Fix: The combination has worked so far, but they might need to play an all-rounder like Andrew McDonald, in place of a bowler. Particularly if the batting fails, like it did against Rajasthan. Likely Final Position: This team is playing well together and should finish at the top. Mumbai and Deccan will run them close. Kings XI Punjab Current Castrol Index Rank: 5 Batting Grade: C+ Bowling Grade: C- Final Grade: C What’s Hot: Punjab has been doing well in patches. While opener Ravi Bopara stole the headlines against Bangalore, it has been their batting in the last five overs of the innings that’s been the second best among all teams. What’s Not: Punjab rank towards the bottom in Bowling Efficiency. Yusuf Abdulla and the others are starting to get better as seen in their last two outings, but the team lacks depth in the bowling department- the same problem they had last year. Quick Fix: Without a genuine all-rounder like James Hopes from last year, Yuvraj Singh needs to play a major role with the ball. There isn’t too much bench strength for them to call upon. Likely Final Position: Will fight it out with Rajasthan and Chennai for the final semi-final spot, but will miss out. Chennai Super Kings Current Castrol Index Rank: 2 Batting Grade: B Bowling Grade: D Final Grade: C What’s Hot: Matthew Hayden in an orange cap! And Muttiah Muralitharan has been outstanding with the ball. What’s Not: Their play at the death. The Super Kings were the best finishers last year, but this time they have lost close matches- to Mumbai, Deccan and Delhi. Quick Fix: The talent and ratings suggest Chennai are too good a side to remain in the bottom half- but their bad start makes things difficult. They need to fix their batting order- Subramaniam Badrinath is wasted at 7 while MS Dhoni should save himself for the finish. Trying big hitting Albie Morkel at the top of the order might not be a bad idea. Playing an extra spinner with R Ashwin supporting Muralitharan might help too. Likely Final Position: A poor start but a strong finish will help the Super Kings sneak into the semis. (1) Comments
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