After starting on a hiccup, RCB have gone on to win all the rest of their games, and in handsome manner most of them. Kallis and Kumble, much criticized during the first season of IPL, have been at the forefront of this revival, showing everyone that class will shine in any situation or format.
Delhi, on the other hand, have been slipping. After winning the first 2 games, they’ve lost the next 3, and the defeat to Deccan in the last game really signals what they’ve been missing, someone to see them through.
Form Guide
RCB: L-W-W-W-W
DD: W-W-L-L-L
Bowl-O-Meter
DD: 2.5/5
Opened with Mishra with great success in the last game. Nannes was ripped apart by Gibbs and he needs to perk up his form. Nagar was good too, but Yadav and Henriques need to be a little more consistent. Without Nehra still available, I suspect that this is the best option that DD have.
No Changes
RCB: 4/5
Their on-field brilliance continues. They squeezed Chennai out like Lime on the field, making them earn every single run. Praveen’s late swing perfectly compliments Steyn’s blistering pace at the top. Vinay kumar has quietly taken a bagful of wickets with his line-and-length stuff, wonderfully supporting his captain Kumble. Their fielders do the best to support the bowling, and with such planning , commitment and execution, it is quite easy to see why they have been so successful.
Bat-O-Meter
DD: 2.5/5
DD really needs Gambhir’s stability and consistency in the line up. Warner , as expected, as been a great addition, but Gambhir was someone who one can count on to bat through the innings if he gets in, which a volatile Warner or Viru have not been able to provide just yet. Karthik has been in good touch, but disappointed by losing his wicket at a crucial juncture. Manhas and Henriques have a role to play, and they need to play it well to overcome this line up. If Gambhir is fit, he replaces Manhas, and should come 1 down. AB might just retain his place over Dilshan.
Gambhir for Manhas.
RCB: 3/5
CSk finally managed to squeak through the defenses of Kallis and open up the RCB middle order to the world. Dravid and Morgan did very little in their brief stay, and Kohli too failed after a great start. Fortunately for them , Uthappa was at his lethal best. Generously helped by some backyard bowling and CSK’s butterfingered fielding, Uthappa put the game beyond reach. However, it was a good and much needed wake up call for Dravid, Kohli and Morgan to shake off the dust and get into the groove.
Match ups
For the Delhi Win:
Gambhir’s presence may be crucial. Karthik’s captaincy was alright, but there simply wasn’t a batsman of the quality of Gambhir present as a replacement. DD should hope that Gambhir is around and he should come 1-down. Warner and Viru should be allowed to exploit the PP. AB to retain his place and come lower down the order. While bowling, the wicket of Kallis is crucial. DD need to use the similar strategy of slow bowlers and Nannes to attempt to fish Kallis out.
For the Bangalore win:
Just don’t let the momentum go. Dravid, Morgan and Kohli have gotten a solid taste of things in the middle, and will be keen to make amends this time. However, that will depend on Kallis, who finally has a number against his Average , and would not be too happy at getting dismissed. Accounting for the Warner / Viru duo is imperative for Delhi, and I would open with Vinay Kumar and Steyn. One has the subtle variation and discipline, and the other has the raw pace. If RCB dismiss both of them within the first 5-6 overs, the rest of the DD batsmen have to do something phenomenal to get to a score of 150+ , which is something RCB should be extremely comfortable with.
DD Batting vs RCB bowling: ADvantage RCB
DD Bowling vs RCB Batting: Slight Advantage RCB
Predictions
DD will be looking to make a statement and stop their skid. However, they are running into the wrong team at the wrong time. RCB is in tremendous form. I know that doesn’t count for much in this format of the game, but remember, they beat CSK without the best of performances.
RCB wins this.
Oh yeah,
here it begins! Warner has already made viru run quite a bit.
Launched out of the ground by warner, and retains strike. Warner looks POed.
Steyn time, not the best looking shot, but 4 none the less.
I’d have opened with Vinay kumar instead of Praveen, as mentioned before in the preview.
Steyn to Viru….should be good. Will Viru get beaten for pace?
Strayed down leg, and whipped away easily. Expensive opening overs so far.
And warner lifts Steyn out of the ground…. hmmmmm!!!! 150k? Not a problem .
Whack! another 4 from warner. Uthappa having a nightmare on the field. Terrible by most standards. “Robbie”??! Give us a break man!
Awww…isn’t that sweet? RCB boys shown watering potted plants – Mallaya joins in. Bet he’s feeding em plants some good ol KF.
oh what a start for DD…warner in a very bad bad mood…
Praveen attempts a slower bouncer, but Sehwag read it and cut him for 4. 3 overs 39 runs. DD away at sonic speed.
ohh.. well.. hope thats the only watering hole for RCB’s today..
Warner looking kick-ass today. Steyn starts with a wide- and the next ball he bowls is trashed away promptly.
Warner gone, we jinxed him. He might have been dropped if “Robbie” was there.
steyn spraying wide..
Here’s ABDV. Time to get some runs under the kitty man.
oh man.. he hits exactly where the fielder set for him..
Unbelievable number of ads man- between deliveries and what not! I bet Modi uses his own ass as real-estate billboards and tattoos the sponsor names on them.
oh man.. ABD giving his prayer to ground..well well.. hope ABD doesnt twist himself to become BAD
By the way, Kanda- barca fan here too. Liverpool amongst the EPL teams. Long live Messi.
good tight shot from ABD
hahaa, He’s BAD for now, needs to get back to being ABdV, and he starts out with a boundary. Keeps it down well.
ohh.. thats great… oh man..did u watch the second goal against zaragoza.. i had goosebumps.. sheer brilliance..
so far so good…. hope both of them continue like this.. for sometime..
Messi is magical. I loved even the build up to the penalty (4th one). The stunningly quick lob over 1 and then wrong-footing the next. Sheer awesomeness.
I’m a big ARgentina fan too – can’t wait for the WC 🙂
Sehwag gone. Almost another collision there , but Kohli comes up with it. What’s with the out-fielding these days? Doesn’t anybody bother calling out for the catch anymore or is it that loud out there or something!
Karthik out there now. Sehwag and warner gone within the first 6 overs. Now it’s going to be a fight to push the score up to 150+. Need an AB special one today if DD aspire for it.
wat the hell.. why should shewag try this at this time… idiot…
On a side note- Vinay Kumar picked up the wicket . I really should be strategizing for the teams. Ok, I’ll stop the patting-myself-on-the-back now.
thats not a good cricket from VS.. they need to rebuild the momentum now..depends very much on these two..
I think Viru misses Gambhir or something.
vinaymkumar seems to be the kind of bowler, u will lost wicket if you try to take advantage of him.. very very subtle changes and variations
that was a good call from u..in ur post..
Yep, quietly goes about doing his job and sticking to a line and length. Captain’s bowler. DONT TELL ME NOW!!!! DID AB JUST ?!
Phew, he’s in. Lucky for DD.
true.. viru doesnt look like he enjoys playing… even in the field doesnt discuss much with DK.
this phase will be intersting….how the match goes..
Good shot AB….DD need him for an extended period today if they want a big score. No other way, no other player.
rank bad ball from kumble..
DD actually have a decent batting line up (if Gambhir’s in there too that is). They need 1-2 folks to play the long one. Come on man this is T20, you can stay there for 10-12 overs atleast, 1 of you!
dont u think.. RCB is better to test their bench strength now and then…in this format it is always better to have few players ready to start the match.
While that might sound good, here’s a thing or 2 to consider:
1. They are on a roll right now- and if they win 4-5 more matches on the trot, they almost are sure to qualify for the SF , after which they’d still have 3-4 matches to test bench strength.
2. Their own middle order has hardly had a look in yet, so from a batting standpoint there’s not much they can do. From a bowling standpoint there are a couple of folks, but I guess they feel they’d prefer to achieve point 1 right now.
Sweet stuff from Karthik.
consolidation going on..
These 2 guys have to continue till the 17th over for DD, or thereabouts.
i understand they are looking for SF spot first… but atleast they can try one indian bowler and try morgan for keeper and bring in some variation in VanderMerwe
Vinay Kumar is a testy little bowler. From the last 2 matches and this one, batsmen seem to not want to take a chance against his short pitched stuff.
Plus kanda they are going at 9+ an over right now, a healthy run rate at this juncture. The key, dont lose it from htere for a while.
vinay has been a revelation in this year.. i think he will book his place to WI
yeah.. true.. its a pretty good run rate…. but it depends upon the wicket in hand hereafter
With 2 more IPL teams next year, dont you think it will be a little bit of an overdose if they look at a 1-1.5 month kinda thing? I think they need atleast 3 months and spread it out a bit.
they need to find..occasional boundary to..sustain the run rate.
it will be a stretch..certainly.. it has been stated there will be 3 matches in weekend and 2 matches weekdays.. have to see how the spectator interest is sustained..
Hard luck for Karthik, goes to the old “bowler-slips-the-hand-in-on-a-straight-drive” run out.
Yeah that will be a pain- might be an overkill. What do you do at malaysia? A temporary assignment or?
that was unfortunate.. for karthik…now we have to see..how they proceed from here..kumble will come back immediately to the new batsman..
DD really slowing down now. They had a good partnership going on. Karthik just doesn’t seem to have any luck.
im working in a company in commodity trading..imports/exports.been here for a year..
DD losing the plot.. karthik.. is very much unlucky…for the past few matches.
Oh ok man. The good thing about being there is the football craze. NOTHING like following football in those SE Asian countries. I love it!
ABdV – it’s all upto you man. Jadhav just playing a strange tennis return shot back for 4.
any idea about this guy Jhadav? never heard about..
heard in Bangalore political parties are giving IPL tickets to the voters for the coming election..is it true?
He’s sort of a newbie and plays for Maharashtra in the Ranji if I am not wrong. Outside of that, first time exposure to him on TV myself, just read that he’s an ok type player
here they follow football like crazy… every weekend pubs/restaurants will have their TV’s tuned to EPL.. here it is MU and chelsea..rules.. with sprinkling of other teams
Yeah , the problem is that you’ll always find bandwagoner fans.
In IPL, one of the players I have been impressed with a wee bit was this Fazal chap from Royals. Provides energy and has some flamboyance.
DD is certainly derailed by DK’s wicket.. hope they put up atleast 170 to 180 to make match out of this.
hmmm… Jadhav hammered that. Luckily got the distance.
he looks good.. has certainly flair for 2020. did u noticed, there was no big turn up new talent apart from the ICL returnees..
they have to come out of Kumble’s over with wickets intact.. to post healthy total
hehe , Dravid gets the stare from kumble for making a mess of that.
I agree man. The ICL folks looked good – and many people who followed ICL had predicted the same. Lot’s felt that the quality of cricket there was actually a little better.
4 overs remain man, 134/3. What do you think DD will reach?
ICL returnees added a lots of quality into the tournament.. hope some get going and end up in indian team
Gone. ABdV run out i think.
Boy did you see Kumble screaming his lungs out to prevent the overthrow?!?! He’s tuned into the game.
it will either a 180+ if any1 of them goes after the bowling.. otherwise around 160 if wicket goes down
oh shit..again i jinxed them… i will not coment anymore about wickets..
so 160 or thereabouts now i guess. Praveen back, turning the screws.
RCB, like Deccan seem to win all the crucial moments of the game.
oh man.. this is utter shit from DD. they are seriously running out of luck..
The last 2 seasons, Dilshan or AB would just play a couple of blinders and take the opposition out of the game, they just don’t seem to have that going this time. Mcdonald struggling.
yes they look invincible only till the first eleven.. underneath they have empty barrel.. they seriously suck big time
Few more edges like that will surely help up the score. Mcdonald needs to get his eye in real quick.
nice, Jhadav thumps that!
Dude, come on, we had to live through Balachandra AKHIL. beat that!!
for me.. mcdonald going to be game changer in bowling..either way..
Ouch, steyn called for a wide when Jhadav was moving away to the leg side. Tad unlucky there.
152 /4 with 2 overs remaining.
oh.. B.akhil… goodness gracious.. ..do u know is Gautam in the sqaud?
Jadhav doing great job for DD..he needs to be there to take the score to 180
Mcdonald sends Praveen to Orbit!
You mean Gambhir? He’s still not fit for the game today i think?
well.. McD takes aerial route
169 /5 and 1 ball to go in the 19th! dude, your 180 might happen! Great spunk shown by these 2 guys.
no im asking abt karnataka wk..M Gautam..i heard he is good..
Oh no. He’s not there. the other w/k batsman is sreevats goswami.
this is a pretty good over for DD.. hope they will cross 185.. that will be crucial to the contest..
Nicely done by the little man Jhadav , didn’t get it right the first time, went for it in the 2nd!
yeah.. that i know..
6 ! Jhadav gets his 50 in style! AWESOME innings , great stuff. Straight over the bowler’s head!
oh man vinay is bowling a very good over here..
no no, he got trashed bro! your streaming is slow! good news awaits for you 😉
oh man… he screwed vinay’s figures.. pretty good hand from jadhav
oh..man.. that was a very good golf shot.
ok a competitive score from DD.. but still me thinks they are short by 10 to 20 runs.. from the way they started.. Let us see.. how RCB responds to this..I would say…a very slight advantage from DD..
wats ur prediction?
Back. POWER CUT!!!ARGH!!
RCB has started well. If DD gets Kallis out in the next 2 overs OR restrict RCB to 70 within 10- game on.
what’s your take?
Ouch Yadav starts with a no ball. Pandey running without grounding his bat – basics boy , come on.
Is it me or does every indian bowler slow down after the first 3-4 games of public viewing? This yadav guy was bowling in the 140s and seems slower now.
terrible effort from Yadav in the field. I’m a little disappointed with Sangwan. He has shown little improvement in the 3 seasons he has been in with DD.
Mishra coming in now. He bowls googlies well, but still has to out-work batsmen.
domestic duty….RCB started well..sangwan was really crap.. have to get salvi in the team.. yadav is good..needs to be persisted with..
a wicket or two will set the game really well.. we can see how the RCB middle order cope up with..
Pandey has taken a liking for McDs. He likes ’em burgers big.
pandey is in good touch….
DD needs to break this partnership- pronto.
they are really pacing the innings well..DD’s has no good sixth bowler to speak off.. thats going hurt them in this match.
well.. here goes the big fish..
Kallis gone! Mishra does him in! Googly- his most dangerous delivery.
uthappa need to be taken before he makes 10.. otherwise DD can forget about the match.
is DD signing any player for Parnell?? i hope they sign a good bowler.
uthappa going berserk .
Pandey gone!
McD strikes back..uthappa the key
Ma’man Dravid in now. Come on old man! One for the oldies!
DAMN! Run out!! 😦
oh oh r v seeing a turn around??
I am jinxing the RCB folks! mouth shut ! zip it vickerman! 😀 DD in with a real chance now , get uthappa and watch RCB fall like a pack of cards.
ideal situation for morgan to make a statement
Uthappa gone, this one is DD’s for the taking!
oh well..u strike again.. uthappa gone
DD’s chance to get into the race again..
boy, did the devils need some ginger power of what?
still rcb has a chance..with this pair and boucher to follow
Kohli and Morgan taking their own sweet time to settle down. They better make this count!
Guys, let me get this straight –
Prafs – you’re a MI fan.
Kanda – DD
Correct?
I have an idea, wanted to know if you guys are game for it.
more than ginger its that red thing on his head
Kumble personally giving Kohli some “advice”. Must be saying , “better stick on the pitch son and win it. If you don’t , don’t bother returning to the dug out”
Kohli gets a move on.
tell me vicky, what’s on your mind?
im RCB..but i dont mind DD winning thiss.how abt that
too much ginger on field
alright morgan gone… one flaming head less now
Well, this has been all nice and good so far, but I was thinking if we could have a “Smack” session for one of the big games. For example:
let’s say RCB and MI play next. I would love it if Prafs sends a 2-3 paragraph entry of his choicest smackdown insults for the RCB, and Kanda does the honours for MI. No personal insults of each other, but a bit of player leg-pulling would be fun!
Know what I’m saying? Want to try?
Morgan run out, it’s going down boys.
wow another run out!!! this is getting very interestin
hey sounds fun to me,…
as long as mi keep winning
that will be interesting..u mean to good bashing for the players?/
BOucher gone, this one’s in the bag for DD.
only for MI vs RCB or any adopted teams??
cant wait for mumbai vs jogi time
boucher pouched by sehwag… atlast we can see a smiling karthik.. at the end of the match..
yes. What i mean is, for example – even the next game if you want – MI vs CSK.
Praf is MI, so he bashes CSK in 2-3 paras
Kanda on the other hand, if he is CSK , tears MI to shreds in his 2-3 paras.
I’d feature it here on the front page prior to the game – it can even be the opener ot the live thread!
Any enthu on that?
Yes, even if you guys are interested in taking it up for your adopted team – that will be great. I am almost done with the preview, so if you guys want, you can even do it for the next game – MI vs CSK. what do you guys think?
a good final over from sangwan…
Run out. AGAIN. just RUN OUT OF THE STADIUM instead.
i think.. we can start with the next game.. ok i will adopt csk..
but unfortunately at this juncture.. it will be great task to sledge MI…with csk as my team.. pity me..
Kohli , isn’t it time already for your parlour appointment? #!$#!
what givin up already?
Alright , thats the way Kanda, get some MI ! Prafs? Game to attack CSK ??
Write in what you like and send it to me at the.vickerman@gmail dot com
AB takes a STUNNER!!!
a better fielding by DD today…nice to see for a change
AB- HATS OFF ! Beauty!
no.. not giving up…let start the music.. i will send it..as soon as possible by tonite..
AB has done what he is capable of… ohoh… DD it seems trying to start their campaign officially..today..
ok , waiting for your entries guys! you got 48 mins! don’t worry about the number of words, just have fun with it, and send it in, lets just see if it gets started well! 🙂
oh man no, 48 mins??… i hate deadlines…
is ginger head is going to bowl last over?? hope no more.. twist and turns
No more twists and turns man, DD with a well deserved win. They can’t screw up the last 2-3 deliveries.
yep… happy to see DD register a win after sometime.. this will make RCB to make some adjustments..
Great victory for DD, well deserved.
well.. DD have done well in the field…for a change.. that should give them a good confidence booster for the remaining matches. Jadhav MoM for today, turned around the match for DD
Hi, my gmail account is acting funny, can i post it here itself??
Sure go for it here man, I’ll take it from ehre and post it on the main thread!
Mumbai Indians.. oh man!!! The team name itself sucks big time. I have not seen a worser name than this, even my team super kings(yuck) is far better than Indians. I don’t know what’s so Indian about Mumbai. I hope they change the name as soon as possible.
The costliest team of oldies got fucked for the last two years and to kicked out again they spent a huge fortune for a WestIndian and it seems they will not see the return they were looking for this year also.
Once the oldie ST who is standing after put together with various bandages and stitches gets out they don’t have anyone to stand up for them. Today Murali with big eyes going to terrorize the hell out of the kids who are playing with the grandpa in MI. The agriculturist, butter finger and Dhawan are going to feel the heat from him.
Oh man Hayden and mongoose are waiting for the slinger and dart thrower. Once he takes care of them raina is waiting to make mince meat of the west Indians who strutting their stuff here.
Come on Super Kings take MI to the gutter of Dharavi.. Hail… Chennai!!!!!
Praf’s Entry against CSK:
alright whistle podus, are you game for the Mumbai Indians today?
must be overjoyed with the skipper’s return, eh?
so that he can carry the rest of the batting order piggyback.
you’ll need him to save face for your test middle order
hayden ought to keep the mongoose in the dug out today, wont be much help against zak n malinga
does raina even know there are another parts of the ground apart from midwicket?
can albie even hit a beach ball?
do i even need to tell you how much pain we gonna bring with the batting?
apart from murali, the rest is just buffet bowling.. that’s saying it lightly.
the fieliding is a piece of joke, does anyone even want to be on the field?
looks like you guys gonna stay on the wrong half of the table
Guys, I’m so sorry man, wordpress seems to have failed me.Not allowing any new posts. Waiting for it to get fixed.
Nice stuff from both of you- Praf – Poetic, Kanda – poignant! :-))
Live thread contiunes here.
Predictably slow start by CSK….. Just waiting for Parthiv to lose his wicket 🙂
hayden is wiping the floor with zaheer
well well it seems.. hayden has come to demolish..MI
bye bye hayden
oh man even mini patel is hitting 4s
it clearly shows…mongoose will find it difficult against spin..and quality fast bowling.. even last match he struggled against kumble and steyn.
Interesting point , Never thought about the mongoose against quality spin!
he wasn’t using the mongoose when he got out,
but as a personal opinion, i believe the mongoose should be fine when the ball is pitched up at a good pace,
having to adjust the bat swing with spinners operating can be an issue.
heck i wouldn’t know really, haven’t got my hands around one yet
ahahhahhaha…. was parthiv’s wicket funny or what?
These are the days for CSK when they have to choose between Parthiv and Murali Vijay ! sheesh!
heard Napier is the best bowler in 2020, why he has not yet tried by MI?
what the hell kinda shot wast that from raina for six?
by the way:
@ Kanda- Slinger and Dart thrower….
@ Prafs – can albie even hit a beach ball?
Funny stuff guys :))
haha.. wat the hell has parthiv done?? is it called somersault wicket??? shit man..
by the way guys:
@ Kanda – slinger and dart thrower…
@ Prafs – Can Albie even hit a beach ball?
That’s some funny-assed stuff right here folks!
mi might have picked up wickts, but they are leaking runs here
thanks vicky…
u tried putting up the nes post
Alright guys, wordpress worked and Trash Talk post worked! Live thread can continue there! Thanks for your inputs guys!
that was good drive for 4 from raina..hmm.. hope he does often that