First Week's Impressions

By Gulu Ezekiel

Any impressions of the first week of the IPL will have to necessarily focus on the weather.
With two matches totally washed out and two decided on the Duckworth/Lewis method, the organisers must be looking longingly towards England where the start of the county championship has been largely unaffected by rain.
The absurdity of applying the arcane D/L method in a 20/20 over match was amply illustrated in the Punjab v Delhi match in which the latter had six overs to reach their truncated target and did it in 4.5.
The most heartwarming trends of the first week have been the form of the veteran players as well as the domination of spin bowling.
To watch the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Matthew Hayden, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble in full flow has at least for the time being put a stop the argument that this is a young man’s format.
While Bangalore’s Kumble has the best figures so far of 5 for 5 against reigning champions Rajasthan, it has been the bowling of veteran leggie Warne and young left armer Pragyan Ohja of Deccan Chargers that has been a real eye-opener.
No team has come close to crossing 200 yet but the first century of IPL II was fitting recorded by hometown boy AB De Villiers for Delhi against Chennai. And the first tie in the short history of the IPL has been another talking point.
Warne proved he still has the upper hand over former Australian coach John Buchanan as he single-handedly outsmarted the Kolkata’s brains-trust to win the match in the ‘Super Over.’
The ‘tactical time-out’ after 10 overs has been roundly condemned by all concerned and will surely be shelved next season.
Finally, Chennai and Bangalore must be kicking themselves for sinking a fortune for the services of England’s Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen. They have proved to be the biggest flops of the IPL thus far.
www.sportshero.com (26/4/09)