Written by Pradeep Kalamegam
It was a strange dark night! Chennai
How strange was it? That strange when a driver starts his
race at the end of the first lap and still makes it to the podium!
That strange when a Rockstar play Carnatic music on a live
concert! That strange when you hear a whispering voice on a lonely bus stop at midnight!
Coming to the context, any ‘conscious’ human in
this world would have laughed it off had not for the television footage that is
an evident that Kolkata Knight Riders have indeed defeated Chennai Super Kings -
without Jacques Kallis, Shakib Al Hasan, Robin Uthappa and Morne Morkel.
The most powerful batting line up of the Kings could
not even score at 8 runs an over on a so called ‘beautiful’ batting surface. Now,
I seriously doubt how beautiful the track was. The ‘Men in Yellow’ losing a match from their pockets is nothing
new and only evoked some default disappointing statements in the social media. Things
might soon come back to normal once the team starts winning.
However, the problems though, should not be overlooked. Had Yusuf Pathan was able to react a split second earlier, Pat Cummins would have wrecked havoc and ended CSK's innings even before it began. Such was the impact he created in his first few overs. Almost half of his deliveries were either edged or beaten. Again, when the opposition (or luck or whatever) gifts you these moments, you should be aware and make sure to cash in. Chennai 'magnificently' failed in that regard. Brendon McCullum's unfortunate leg-before dismissal should not be a lame excuse.
True, it is not a sin to lose a cricket match after all, particularly with a modest 157 on board over a stroke-friendly strip against the reigning IPL champions who were on a 9-match winning streak. Still,
what were the odds for an uncultured slogger (if AB de Villers was the cultured
type) scoring a match-turning half century after the top order was sent back
with 50 odd on the scoreboard?
Any team that concedes 58 runs to a No.7 don’t deserve to
win: Off just 25 balls is another humiliating story. And most ironically, any team that sees their leading all-rounder
score 1 off 9 deliveries at the death should not even think of a win – Dwayne John Bravo, the most successful T20 all-rounder in the world did exactly that.
Despite all that, MS Dhoni’s men would have ended up victorious had
they were gifted with an off-spinner who bowls with a full sleeve. Unfortunately, they only had
Ravichandran Ashwin, who is no Sunil Narine and a ‘darter’ called Ravindra
Jadeja.
I had been defending Jadeja till his debut and still believes
that he is capable of living up to the expectations of any team he plays for,
but these kind of performances continue to malign the respect one has for the
all-rounder.
The night could never get any stranger when Ashish Nehra bags
4-wickets for 21 runs. Not that he isn’t capable of, but something he himself
would not have expected to happen.
And the team: The only franchise to have made it to the
knockout stages of all editions of IPL. How significant is that achievement?
The fact that they have won only two of the seven IPL tournaments throws some
insight into their consistent struggles against effective teams.
In the last IPL season, CSK had no answers to Glenn Maxwell’s
brutal assaults and was easily crushed by the eventual runner-ups in both the
two encounters. In the previous season, Mumbai Indians were not even made to sweat as the batsmen followed each other to the pavilion in the final.
Even in the last CLT20, Rajasthan Royals got the better of them
with only a decent side in the semi-final. Yes, they have a better CLT20 record than any other team, even better than that of the two-time champions Mumbai Indians, but 11 wins from 20 matches doesn't reflect greatness, or is it?
Whenever we analyse the performance
of the team based on their final standings in the table or their evergreen presence at the business end of a tournament, we fail to notice the
bigger picture.
Given the enormous talent and multitude of flexibility in the
squad, anything less than a title run should be called as a disappointment no
matter what the competition it may be. Hence, one forgets the fact that CSK far too easily dominate average teams and struggle against more competent sides by failing to
lift their game, which they capable of even at their worst periods.
In football terms, isn’t that relate to Chelsea’s (under)achievements
since the turn of the 21st century? They have finished in the top 4
every season, won the league three times, have a couple of European titles too. But, what about making winning a habit? Is the hunger for success burning deep
inside the players such highly to give everything they got for a win season
after season? Blues’ fans please understand that I’m talking about the period neglecting both the innings of Jose Mourinho here.
Do the team strive for the coveted trophy when they are
packs above the majority in the league? They consistently fall short of the target
owing to many different reasons. Numerable justifications can be given: Poor game
for a key player, disappointing showing on the important game from an in-form match-winner,
injury concerns or else simply and effectively: ONE STRANGE NIGHT!
And this past Wednesday was one of those strange nights for
the Super Kings AND Chelsea (you know what I mean)!
0 comments :
Post a Comment