Another fabulous week when the matches turn on its head and the game changers in IPL digest
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00:00What do you say about Mumbai when you have eight losses in a row? The writing was clearly on the wall after the last loss that they will not make it to the play-offs.
00:08Hello. Good evening, everybody. We are once again back with the Weekly Digest of Straight Bat with Gulp News and with Mr. Cricket and his sergeant.
00:32Let's talk about today's game first. And here we have Mr. Anish Sajan. Anish bhai, tell us, what do you think about Mumbai?
00:46Thank you, Satish. And hello to all the lovely franchise fans from every franchise team.
00:55Well, what do you say about Mumbai when you have eight losses in a row? The writing was clearly on the wall after the last loss that they will not make it to the play-offs.
01:04But the fact remains, today at least I thought that 160 or 170 would have been chased. They got off to a decent start.
01:12But once again, they lost. Once Rohit Sharma got out, it looked quite bleak for them. And I am afraid this is a team which is not only low on confidence,
01:22but the body language also gives a clear picture that they are just going through the motions of the game.
01:28No, but that's exactly my next question would be. When they were fielding at least, when they were bowling and fielding until maybe the last three or four overs before Rahul went on the rampage and got some runs,
01:41they were actually well within the game and they were showing a lot of their old form, isn't it?
01:46Yeah, you see, that's exactly what I was trying to say is that they restricted Lucknow to, you would say, not something which was an above-par score.
01:57170 on a Wankhede ground could have been got. There was a lot of duelets accepted. But they have been outplayed. 36 runs lost on a Wankhede ground.
02:07That shows that how poor their batting has been. It's been nobody scoring runs, bearing few runs from Tilak, to be very honest, which came.
02:16Otherwise, you name me one player, even Rohit Sharma started out well. I thought today he was going for a big one.
02:23But once he got out, like the pressure of the run rate got to him and not playing straight, trying to play that across the line led to his downfall.
02:32But in the end, it looked like Mumbai Indians are not the same as we've seen. And I'm sure they are paying the price for the auction.
02:42Naresh, I'm back to you with the same question at a different time. Maybe we have been asking this question for far too long.
02:53What do you think? Today, the main difference was, Naresh, because you have been a close fan of Mumbai Indians
03:01and you have been literally analysing their pros and cons and everything. Looks like they have got the team right.
03:08They did a lot of changes right. And at the end of it, still, they were not able to reach that across the line, basically.
03:16Yeah, Satish. I think they focused on their biggest struggle, that is the bowling combination.
03:22Last week, two games. Rather, this and the last game, they played the same team.
03:27They felt they have done well with the ball because they restricted or rather they could drag CSK up to the last ball, defending 155.
03:36Today, 168. Honestly, you can say on a wankhede pitch, chaseable. But I think today was poor batting.
03:45That's as easy as you can put. Very, very poor batting. And it's the same issues coming out on the same batters.
03:58Like Ishan Kishan is struggling right from the first ball. He is facing a lot of balls with hardly any runs coming.
04:04Surya Kumar, you can say, today was looking very different. He himself would be very embarrassed on the way he got out.
04:13Deval Brevis, probably his role is, you are going at number 3 and just try to hit every ball from the first one.
04:21But I think, yeah, he is young. But after couple of innings that we have seen, he hasn't been able to settle down.
04:30Pollard has been, I think, more disappointing than any because, one, he is the senior most member of the franchise.
04:36And the expectation is when Pollard walks in that he needs to finish off games.
04:41Same we see, he is utilising a lot of balls. But probably when he is trying to fasten things, he is struggling.
04:49And ultimately, actually, the game is not finishing in our favour. So today, definitely, batting was poor.
04:54Bowling in patches, you can say, was poor. But KL Rahul and Josh Butler, you can say, batting at a different level in Mumbai conditions.
05:06So we need to give it to that. If you compare these two matches which Mumbai played against Lucknow,
05:10I think this knock of KL was much, much better than the Brabant 100.
05:15That was afternoon, a little more smaller ground.
05:18And he was able to give a free hand to play his shots. But here he was more circumspect in the initial stages before going up after the shots, isn't it?
05:28The rest of the batter struggled, actually. So, halfway through 168, Mumbai should have been confident to apply and chase well.
05:37But I think it was very, very poor display.
05:41Okay. Now, the positive man or the man who must be smiling is Shrestha Arun from Lucknow?
05:48Yes, yes, yes.
05:50Yes. Shrestha, your thoughts? What's happening? You guys seem to be on a roll.
05:57And of course, still batting is an issue, isn't it? If Rahul goes out early, probably there is trouble in Lucknow ranks.
06:11Yes, Shrestha, go on. It's for you.
06:14I think batting is surely an issue for the first.
06:18No, you must be happy with Lucknow's performance. But what is also happening?
06:23Yeah, I'm really happy about today's performance. But I would say that...
06:30Yeah, my question is, isn't it too reliant on KL Rahul as a single batter?
06:38Like, once the day he fails, Lucknow is failing as a team.
06:44Yeah, yeah. I think the team is too much reliant on Rahul.
06:50So, I feel the target could have been even 200 or above.
06:56Other batters could have supported him in between.
07:00I feel, as I said before, I don't know what to say about him.
07:08Even if he goes too down and starts hitting from the very first word and then he got out from the third word.
07:16Overall, the ball performance was really good today.
07:20Especially Mohsin Khan, Samir Khan, all the bowlers were brilliant.
07:28Top class help. Even Jason Holder, he handled the pressure. That was really good.
07:34Suleyman Pakha, of course, in the last over, taking three hits.
07:42Plus, without their key bowler, Abhishek Khan, he was not playing good.
07:48Even though they managed the bowling well.
07:54Bowling was not perfect, but the batting was good.
07:58So, still, you know, join in, punish, join in.
08:04Find the form and help the team.
08:10Anish Bhai, I am coming to your favourite topic.
08:20Rahul, if he pushes his number 4 or 2 down, but subsequently he doesn't give him bowling.
08:30One match he gives him bowling, one match he doesn't give him bowling.
08:32One match he gives him batting, one match he doesn't give him batting.
08:34What's happening?
08:36To be very honest, I will be very flattering to say that today his captainship was spot on.
08:46His bowling changes were spot on.
08:48Whether when he had to get the pass bowlers, he got the pass bowlers.
08:50When he got the spinners, he got the spinners.
08:52Okay, he is not required to give Stoinis today because he had in Krunal Pandey the 6th bowler.
08:57But yes, one or two overs could have been tried.
09:00In a close game, I don't want Stoinis to come and bowl without any match practice.
09:05But today, let's give it to him.
09:07He first did it with the bat.
09:09And on the field, he was spot on.
09:11Very good.
09:13Okay, now…
09:15Satish, can I add a point, please?
09:17Yes, please.
09:19Two years he was sitting on the bench in Mumbai Indians.
09:23And I second…
09:25He comes to bite you, guys.
09:28What happened at the auction?
09:30If he was with you for two years, why didn't you buy him back?
09:33Those points do raise questions.
09:36Because domestic, he has done very very well.
09:40Who are you talking about?
09:42Mohsin Khan.
09:44Mohsin Khan, the left-arm pacer who made his debut today.
09:49Mr. Kargil, can I ask you something?
09:54Who is that? Arjan, you want to ask whom?
09:57Yeah, go ahead.
09:59Is Kir Rahul up to your expectations now with the century today?
10:04I have never had any doubts about his batting.
10:07Exactly.
10:08He has always been a flamboyant batsman.
10:10But let's not judge about a team captain on the basis of one game.
10:14We will have to give him a chance.
10:16Again, I will be very spot on.
10:18Today, he did everything right.
10:20Batting has always done well.
10:22But when it comes to his captainship, I am not so convinced.
10:24But today, he was spot on.
10:26Yeah, thank you.
10:28Okay, now let's go back to Sanjay.
10:32Of course, Sanjay was quite upset yesterday.
10:36After the RCB loss, abject surrender to the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
10:45Sanjay, your thoughts have been that they need to play well next game.
10:49And it's going to be a big test.
10:52What exactly do you think they need to do for them to get better?
10:59Because they have been losing a lot of early wickets.
11:02Yeah, there is always a problem with RCB this year.
11:06Because our top order is consistent.
11:08I can tell.
11:09This is the 8th consecutive time our top order has been failed to contribute to the team.
11:13In the 2-3 matches, Faf has contributed 96, 89 and 35.
11:17Anuj Rawat has contributed just one match.
11:20That too while chasing.
11:21So, at the time when you are setting targets, you need some firing backspins.
11:24So, Virat Kohli has been failed for the 8th time this time.
11:27After the Rajasthan match, where he got out on 48.
11:30After that decision, I think, in that decision, as you mentioned yesterday,
11:34another 10-12 runs, 58-60 runs.
11:37He would have got his confidence back that somewhere, yeah, I am contributing some 60-70 runs towards the team.
11:42But again, seeing him getting two consecutive golden ducks, which is very hurting, being a Virat Kohli fan.
11:47But when you come to RCB, yes, it's a good thing to take away from yesterday's matches.
11:53We got a proper test for our top order batsmen.
11:57Where Virat Kohli, for every time, I think, even if he carries from the international wicket,
12:01just it's very, every bowler hits him so perfectly.
12:04Bowler, out-swing, ball and get him out.
12:06Bowler, out-swing, ball, get him out with a second slip or with the covers.
12:09Place a fielder proper.
12:10Coming forward to the next match, as we have the overseas captain, it might be a major drawback.
12:15Because when you see Indian players, we don't have Anuj Rawat.
12:19There is no replacement for Anuj Rawat as opener.
12:21So, for just two matches, I would like someone like Finn Allen to come in for Asaranga
12:26and just try Karan Sharma in the place of Asaranga.
12:28So, just we can check how good Finn Allen is at opening.
12:31Because he has been playing with us since one year and he has been benched.
12:34So, just give a try for two matches.
12:36For Rajasthan and Gujarat, we can try.
12:39Though our NRR is very low, from plus we have just gone, we just went down to minus four.
12:44Just try this combination for two matches and just see how it tests.
12:48So, hopefully, Kohli, I think, as far as I know, as of yesterday, I told it out of frustration.
12:54But yes, bench him for two, three matches.
12:56So, we might see him get more practice or we might see him come back in the good way.
13:02I expect Kohli to bounce back against Rajasthan because he loves playing against Rajasthan.
13:06We have seen last year also, he scored some 80-odd runs.
13:09So, I am still rooting for Kohli to play Tuesday against Rajasthan so that we get that vintage Kohli ka maza back.
13:17One thing about RCB is that isn't 23rd April their unlucky day?
13:29I mean, a few years ago, they got all out at like 14.
13:34Yeah. It's 23rd April, 2017, 49 all out. 23rd April, 2020, 68 all out.
13:42And 23rd April, 2013, it is 263 for 5. So, it is all on the same day.
13:48The highest and the lowest.
13:51Yeah. So, next year, if RCB has 23rd on their schedule, every single team is going to be fighting to play RCB on that match.
14:01This is an easy win.
14:02Don't forget, they also scored 268.
14:05So, maybe the next game can be the highest.
14:09Okay. Coming to Anisbhai. Anisbhai, what do you think is going through Kohli's mind right now?
14:21Well, the world has changed around him in the last 7 or 8 months.
14:26You know, a guy who has been ruling India in all formats, whether it is T20, ODI, Test.
14:33And suddenly, you are not a captain. Okay, I know he did let his T20 captainship go on his own.
14:39And he was removed as an ODI captain. Then he let go in frustration the Test captainship.
14:44We were all talking about when his next 100 is going to come.
14:47Now, the problem is, the question on every fan's mind is when is his next run going to come?
14:52Things have not been going on. He is not in a state of mind.
14:55Like Ravi Shastri said that he has been overcooked. Yes, there is a case of that.
15:00And a break would definitely help him. And now the problem is, RCB is in such a dilemma.
15:04I don't know who do they have to back up as a player. At least he is doing his fielding right.
15:09And you need somebody like Virat Kohli who knows when he will come into form.
15:13So, maybe, like he said, maybe he can take a break for a couple of games.
15:17And take that Finn Allen guy who might score as a surprise element.
15:21We will have to wait and watch. But Kohli, we all hope for Indian's sake that he comes back to form.
15:27Because he and Rohit Sharma are the key for India to do well in the World Cup.
15:31Correct.
15:32I read it online somewhere that this is just the climax scene of Virat Kohli's Bollywood movie.
15:37So, the king will come back soon. Hopefully.
15:40I hope so. I hope so.
15:42Okay. Now, Varun must be really eager to talk about his team.
15:47Like, I think, five wins on the trot?
15:50Yes.
15:51Yeah, five wins.
15:52And the bowling looks like it's a team to face.
15:56And I am actually… I am thinking it would be a wonderful contest between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers.
16:02The butler is in the same form that he is in when they reach that stage.
16:09Okay. Talk about Sunrisers. What was the transformation? How did it happen?
16:16I mean, it's just getting the proper line-up, getting the proper game time.
16:20And, you know, just the confidence which builds in the dugout.
16:23And, you know, once you come onto the field, we got a good dugout as well.
16:26We got some good coaches, you know, to inspire the players as well.
16:30We got Brian Lara who has been doing excellent.
16:32I can say because, you know, even if you see Nicholas Puran last year, he didn't really have a great season.
16:37You all know that, right?
16:38So, you know, once he came into this camp, looks like, you know, the bond between Puran and Brian Lara,
16:43you know, both the Trinidad boys, you know.
16:45You know, they have some sort of connection going on.
16:47They know what language they speak. They know, you know, what comfort food they can eat.
16:50So, you know, these both will have a good relationship.
16:53So, you know, that's also a good thing going on.
16:55And you have some South African mix in there.
16:57You have some, you know, Kiwi mix.
16:59So, you know, you have all these combinations, you know, which can also bring up the emotions,
17:03the love, the confidence in the, you know, in the franchise.
17:06Again, Dale Stein, he's been doing good as a bowling coach as well.
17:10Especially, you know, that expression when Umran Malik bowled at Yorker, right?
17:14His expression was everything.
17:15That just tells, you know, how hard he's been working on, you know, like a player like Umran Malik
17:20to really improve on his skill set.
17:22No, it's not Umran Malik, isn't it?
17:24You have a base battery of Dhuvaneshwar, Umran Malik, Natarajan and Marco Jansen.
17:29Four people coming at you non-stop in a T20 game.
17:33I think that's too much to ask.
17:36I mean, first of all, you know, when we saw the pitches, it was really helpful for the spinners.
17:41But it looks like our pace attack is doing well.
17:43And people said, you know, with the absence of Washington Sundar, right, we might struggle a bit.
17:48But Suchit, you know, he's really taken the control of it.
17:50It looks like we got a solid bowling attack.
17:53And going to the middle order as well and the opening, they look to be solid as well.
17:57Abhishek Sharma is finding some form in this IPL.
18:00Because, you know, in the previous seasons as well, he hasn't been impressive.
18:03But once that 6.5 crores has been put on him, we also had some doubts on him.
18:07But surely he's proved it by now.
18:09He had some match-winning knocks as well.
18:10Two or three match-winning knocks right there.
18:12So that's good.
18:13Kane Williamson, he's doing really good.
18:16First of all, winning tosses.
18:17That's enough from him.
18:18He's doing well enough right there.
18:20But, you know, again, he should show up with the bat.
18:23He's going a bit slow.
18:24But, you know, you never know when a player like Williamson rises up, right.
18:27And then, you know, Tripathi, he's been performing exceptional.
18:31You know, I think he's like the main character.
18:34Just flowing with runs in the mid-line and then Aiden Markram.
18:38Whenever Kane gets out, he plays that kind of anchor role and then starts to accelerate.
18:42And then Puran, as I said, the bonding between Lara and Puran really changed him.
18:47So it's going great for Sunrisers.
18:49And especially that 68 all out, the boost of the NRA, right.
18:53It's going to build up a lot of confidence.
18:55And if a team is tied up, you know, with the exact number of points, the NRA is going to lead.
19:00Yeah, I think four teams are in 10 points, isn't it?
19:02Yeah.
19:03Right now.
19:04Okay.
19:05Now, we are talking about Sunrisers.
19:08But still, there is one team that is not doing anything wrong at this point of time.
19:12With six wins, I think, from eight games.
19:15None of us expected them to even be in the top five.
19:19Gujarat Titans.
19:22Akash, your thoughts.
19:24Did you expect your team to do so well?
19:27And aren't you guys, of course, the victory against KKR was brilliant.
19:31And aren't you guys still banking too much on Hardik, isn't it?
19:39Akash, I think you are muted.
19:41Yeah, you are muted.
19:42Yeah.
19:43Yeah.
19:44So Hardik was fantastic in the last game, you know.
19:47And yeah, we are dependent on, you know, few players.
19:51Out of the entire team, we are very much dependent on few players.
19:54And our top order is still not performing that good.
19:57But what Hardik did as a captain was very good.
20:00He promoted himself to the top.
20:02He came one down.
20:04So that is the smart move that he made.
20:06And he scored 67.
20:08So that was a fantastic performance from his side.
20:10And although we had a very low score of 156, but our bowling was very good.
20:17From day one, our team's bowling attack has been fantastic.
20:21With Rashid Khan and Shami going with an economy rate of below 5.
20:26And even Alzari Joseph and Ferguson are giving a very good support to Rashid and Shami.
20:33And Yash Dayal, which is a new addition to this team.
20:39Even he has given a very good performance in the last 2-3 games.
20:43So overall, as a team, you know, the team is performing very good.
20:48Despite giving a low total, the bowling attack is so strong that we are able to defend that total.
20:55And talking about the new guys in the team like Abhinav, Manohar, Yash Dayal.
21:01Even they are giving their bits very good.
21:06So overall, we think that the team is going good.
21:10We are going to perform good going ahead.
21:13And the next match with SRH.
21:15As you said, even their bowling attack is very strong.
21:18Even our bowling attack is very strong.
21:20It will be a very interesting game to see how both these teams counter each other in the next game.
21:25Very good. Very good. Nice.
21:28Maaz must be itching to talk about his favourite team.
21:33I think four consecutive losses.
21:36I think at least two of them, even the last game against Gujarat, you could have won it.
21:41Because the target was not big.
21:43And against Rajasthan Royals, you guys were actually winning.
21:47But for that indistinction from Shreyas Iyer who had to shout at Venkatesh Iyer for missing a single.
21:55And then the subsequent over turned out to be a four-wicket over.
21:58What do you think, Maaz?
22:02I am sure you are one straight, sharp shooter who will hit the nail on the head straight.
22:08You don't pull back your punches.
22:11Yeah, definitely.
22:12It's been disappointing because of the promising start that we had.
22:16It's like the opposite of a side-edge.
22:18We go into good matches and then we are losing.
22:20Side-edge is on the other track.
22:22So it's been really disappointing with that.
22:24And one thing that I don't like about the Brendan McCullum coaching tenure is that the change of batting order.
22:31That's been a lot.
22:32Except Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana, I think everyone has batted at different positions in different matches.
22:37That's one stability that's not there in the batting order.
22:40We have seen 3-4 different opening pairs in the last 3-4 matches.
22:44So that's something that we should be working on.
22:49Maaz, sorry to interrupt.
22:51But don't you think it's a very good opening combination at last finally, in my opinion.
22:55Because Sunil Narayan is not going to get you too many runs coming later in the order.
23:01He is going to throw his batter on.
23:02At least if you use him, which he has done in the past as a pinch hitter opener.
23:06If he gets going.
23:08Don't you think it's a good move?
23:10And of course, Finch was not performing so Sam Billings came in and filled his role.
23:15Aren't you guys settling down into a good combination now?
23:18I mean, we definitely are settling into a good combination.
23:23But I think it's a bit too late for that now.
23:25I mean, after trying 3-4 positions, it's like we lost 4 matches now.
23:29I mean, we did make a comeback last year after having a very bad first half.
23:33We are in a much better position from last year.
23:35So we definitely can make a comeback.
23:37But, you know, this year the tournament is very, very close.
23:41Like the margin of error is very less.
23:43So, I mean, if we did have some similar problem last year, I think we should have had a better resolution to it.
23:50But I hope this opening pair makes a good opening for us in the batting.
23:57And later on, Andrew Russell and Venkatesh Iyer also find this form.
24:02The bowling has been good.
24:05As we saw in the last match, the last 5 overs, we gave hardly 29-30 runs.
24:09But Varun Chakravorty's bowling has not been up to the mark.
24:12Because he has been leaking a lot of runs.
24:14As I mentioned in the last match, we have to look ahead of Varun Chakravorty.
24:18I think hopefully in the next match against Delhi, we do have a replacement for him.
24:23Because he has not been performing and leaking runs.
24:26Even if the economy rate would have been less and he would not have been taking wickets,
24:30that would still be fine.
24:31But no wickets and high economy rate is just not working for us.
24:34You know, all the good efforts from the other bowlers are just going into vain
24:37because of the 3-4 overs that Varun Chakravorty has been bowling.
24:41But apart from him, the bowling has been quite good.
24:44Andrew Russell, as we saw in the last match, 4 wickets in the 1 over.
24:47So, we have a good 6th bowling option.
24:49And we haven't tried Venkatesh Iyer yet as bowling.
24:53But I think he will also be a good part-time bowler for us.
25:00Then maybe a batter instead of Varun Chakravorty.
25:04A good batter would help, isn't it?
25:06Because batting has been the problem areas where you have 6 bowlers at this point in time.
25:11Where the other two can fill in the role of the 5th bowler with 2 overs each.
25:15Russell and Venkatesh Iyer.
25:19The addition of Rinku Singh was a good one.
25:21As we saw, he is a gun fielder.
25:234 catches in that match and a very decent contribution with the bat as well.
25:28So, yeah, maybe an all-rounder.
25:30Maybe an Aman Khan that played one match can hit some shots and balls as well.
25:35So, maybe him in place of Varun Chakravorty will be a good addition.
25:40And captaincy has been good.
25:42The use of bowlers by Shreyas Iyer has been impressive.
25:45So, satisfied with that.
25:47Which is the settlement of the batting order would help us and we can still make a comeback to the top.
26:00Actually, they were not chasing a pretty high target yesterday, isn't it? KKR.
26:04What do you think went wrong there?
26:08Well, you have to give credit to Gujarat Titans.
26:11The fast bowlers were totally on all the batsmen.
26:16They did not give them any leverage till Russell came and got loose.
26:20To be very honest, we felt that KKR in the chase.
26:23But till Russell came, they were never in the chase.
26:25They had lost half their side for nothing.
26:27But for nothing, they went into a shell, isn't it? Initially to start with.
26:31No, but you have to give credit sometime to the opposition.
26:33The Gujarat bowlers are the best out of all.
26:36So, no bowler was giving them any leverage.
26:39And when you have Rashid Khan coming on top of it, let's give it to them.
26:42Let's give it to them. And KKR, as Maaz mentioned, they are playing a musical chair.
26:46Someday one guy is coming, someday another guy is coming.
26:49Now they have nothing. They have to win five games out of six.
26:52Otherwise, they are out of the tournament.
26:54Correct.
26:56And coming to Delhi, Yatharth.
27:01Again, a promising start.
27:03Again, a loss to RR.
27:07They could have actually won.
27:10Either way, it could be…
27:12Even if the 19th over, if they had got maybe even 10 runs, things could have been a lot different.
27:19But 19th over, probably two runs?
27:23Zero.
27:24Maiden wicket over, yeah.
27:26Maiden wicket over.
27:27Yeah.
27:28What's happening, Yatharth, to Delhi?
27:31Are they going literally the wrong side?
27:36Well, I mean, if you look at DC matches closely, they are not doing too many things wrong, Yatharth.
27:41So, it's just one or two mistakes which have costed them probably three games out of…
27:46four games out of now, out of the seven matches that they have played.
27:49So, it's just about all those moments clicking, which the three wins which came,
27:53all of them were quite a dominant game, to be very honest.
27:56In one game, you just blistered the Punjab batting attack.
27:59And the next two, you just dominated the batting.
28:02So, it shows that you have got the right mixture of the team.
28:04And to be honest, it's a team which has all the right boxers.
28:09You have got in set-openers.
28:10You have got in good players in the middle order.
28:12You also have finishers.
28:14And the ball attack is also very stable.
28:16But it's more about how do you complement them on ground.
28:19So, I mean, it's still possible you need to win five matches out of the seven which you need to play.
28:24So, some right decisions with Rishabh Pant need to make.
28:27Because the last time when we started, Joss Puttler didn't have a clue in the first over how to play Khalil Ahmed.
28:33And then Khalil Ahmed was removed from the attack.
28:35So, a few decisions here and there.
28:37Probably, if Khalil Ahmed could have got Anand Do, he could have got Joss Puttler out.
28:41And then you have got a centurion out.
28:43So, probably, he minus or cancels some runs.
28:47And also, that last over, Sagar, when it was probably, it definitely was a no-ball.
28:53If that momentum wouldn't have changed,
28:55probably, Ravan Power could have hit the next three out of the park as well.
28:59You never know. These West Indian guys have so much power in them and so very capable.
29:03But nothing less.
29:05I feel that 19th over when Prasad Krishna bowled a wicket and they made in,
29:09that was a game-changing over, to be honest.
29:11But we need to take some decisions.
29:13Sir Faraz Khan doesn't fit into this level, according to me.
29:16Probably, promoting someone like that…
29:18But even there, after playing a good knock,
29:20Lalit could have actually rotated the strikes instead of trying to go all over and trying to attack.
29:24Isn't it?
29:25Exactly. You need 36 of two overs.
29:27If you could have rotated the strike, Ravan Power, definitely, he can tonk one or two.
29:31And then, you just need 18 of the last six balls, which could have been very handily done.
29:36So, there needs to be some changes across.
29:39I feel that probably, if we get in someone like a Tim Seifert at No. 3,
29:42we are playing with just three foreigners at the moment.
29:44So, if you open at Warner, Shaw, and you have got Tim Seifert at No. 3,
29:49that team certainly has a very good batting lineup in the middle order as well.
29:53So, some probably changes there.
29:55I feel Lalit Yadav is doing a decent job.
29:58It's more about the confidence which he gets.
30:00And just the bowling.
30:02We have a lot of bowling options, to be honest.
30:04We go in with seven bowling options.
30:06But Akshar is a failure, isn't it, so far?
30:08Akshar has not been performing what he was expected of.
30:11Well, the expectations were too very high.
30:14And he actually showed in the game against Punjab,
30:17where he took two wickets and maintained only 10 runs.
30:20But a player like a Josh Butler,
30:22who is batting on a certainly different level to contain him,
30:25I think it's a little too much to ask for.
30:27No, I am not even talking about his bowling alone.
30:29He used to be a decent bat.
30:30He is an all-rounder.
30:31So, his batting has been miserable, isn't it, the entire series this year?
30:36Well, I think to expect Akshar Patel properly as a batsman,
30:40I think it's too much to ask for.
30:42Because you see Akshar Patel more of a four-over bowler rather than a batsman.
30:46Yes, he took the team over the line in the very first match.
30:49But expecting the same kind of performance every now and then,
30:52I think Akshar Patel has not that well-batting development.
30:56With bowling, yes, definitely, he has leaked some runs.
30:59But it's just a matter of time when he clicks into his momentum.
31:02But I think Akshar Patel is more of a supporting role.
31:05If he gets in, if he bats at number 7 or 8
31:09and then adds some 15-20 runs with a decent cameo,
31:12he has done his job more or less.
31:13But every time to back up on him to chase somewhere around 50-60
31:18in the last four-over, that's not done on to a bowler's head-shoulder.
31:22Okay. Alright.
31:24Now, I'm going to keep you waiting, Arjan.
31:29Because we will talk about CSK and of course, we will talk about CSK's tomorrow's match as well.
31:34And before that, before going to Ram Ganesh, Anisbhai,
31:39these bowling changes, sometimes when they are not necessary,
31:44like if a bowler bowls a good over, the captain takes him off as a set pattern.
31:50It looks like DC did the same thing against Rajasthan when Kaleel Ahmed was bowling.
31:57And then the same match, McCoy was brought in when I think another bowler,
32:06some other bowler had not given any runs.
32:08And then McCoy came and gave away some 20-25 runs in that over.
32:12And then the match changed.
32:14What do you think about these moves, Anisbhai?
32:17Well, you are right, Satish.
32:20And rightly mentioned by our Derry fan that it's not required.
32:24But sometimes captains think differently.
32:26They must be having some reason behind it.
32:29But I believe at least when you bowl a first good over, you can always give the second over.
32:33And especially when you are bowling well in the power play.
32:36I know fast bowlers are required to come back in the death and bowl.
32:39But I would rather go for the kill if he picked me wickets and given.
32:42But captains think differently.
32:44And I am afraid I am disappointed with Pong's captainship.
32:46Yeah. Because today if you look at it, Roy Sharma gave three overs to Sams in the first six overs.
32:53So he did a good job in containing them.
32:56So they didn't get enough start of our Lucknow openers, Rahul and all.
33:05He was keeping them under check.
33:07Okay. Ram, what do you think?
33:10My question is, you scored 220 and 210 and win the match probably in the last over or last two balls.
33:18Isn't it talking too much?
33:22Because you have probably one of the best bowling attack in two spinners, Chahal and Ashwin.
33:27Still you are leaking runs so much.
33:29Isn't it putting too much pressure on the entire team or what is going wrong?
33:35Yeah. I think I have said this before as well.
33:37Majorly I think what we are really getting hurt by is that fifth bowler.
33:41So in every match, that fifth bowler, we have tried Nisham before.
33:44We have tried McCoy. We have tried Saini.
33:46We have tried literally everyone.
33:47Kuldeep Sen, the one match he played well.
33:49And then after that, we are trying to fill in the gaps with Riyan Parag.
33:53We are trying to fill the gap with literally everybody.
33:56So Butler is literally beating us out and so is Chahal.
34:00So this is literally the reason why we are there in this tournament because we have got the purple cap.
34:04We have got the orange cap.
34:05Out of nowhere in Kolkata's match, I had given up hope.
34:08This guy comes and takes four wickets.
34:10And the same thing, I mean, even in the match with DC, I thought it was gone.
34:15But Prasit Krishna comes and bowls it over.
34:17So I think the main problem we are having is there is an inconsistency in that fifth bowler.
34:24And that is something we need to plug in.
34:26And I mean, other than that one match at the start of the season,
34:30Bolt also has been taken for runs.
34:32The last two matches, he has been hit by 46, 47 runs.
34:35So that fifth bowler and the bowling is not coming through.
34:39But I mean, what can you say about Butler?
34:41I mean, literally every game he is coming through, he is bailing us out.
34:44And yeah, I would also say the same thing in terms of captaincy.
34:48I mean, I am not very convinced with Sanju as a captain.
34:51Some of the decisions he has taken, I mean, it is in a bit way.
34:55In a way, we are kind of lucky to be the person we are because of some individual brilliances.
35:00You have two of the best spinners in India right now playing for us.
35:03Which is, they choked the runs in the middle over.
35:06If that wasn't for them, I mean, we would be getting 250 scored against us every day.
35:10So yeah, that is what I think.
35:12Good assessment. Good assessment.
35:15Okay. Arjan has been waiting impatiently.
35:18Arjan, take us through.
35:22How do you feel after winning such a close game?
35:2618 runs of the last over.
35:28And what next for Chennai?
35:30Are Chennai going to come back tomorrow strongly against Punjab?
35:33Yeah, I think so.
35:35I mean, the way the last match went, it was absolutely insane.
35:39It was close, of course.
35:42But we destroyed Mumbai, our archenemies.
35:46Dhoni!
35:47And plus, I think the team could have a few major changes.
35:53Like bringing in Devin Conway.
35:55I think he is a good batsman.
35:57He can maybe open, go one down, go two down.
36:00But to whom will you drop?
36:03It's difficult to drop anybody.
36:05Yeah, yeah, yeah.
36:07I'm going to drop San from there.
36:10He is not that good at batting.
36:15And his bowling is okay. It's average.
36:18And my bowling lineup would be Bravo, Vitorious, and Tikshana, and Jadeja.
36:26Maybe you can take Chris Jordan if you want.
36:28Yeah.
36:29No, no, no.
36:30Not Chris Jordan.
36:32Chris Jordan is a disaster.
36:35But yeah, I think that Santner and Moeen Ali.
36:40That part, I think Jadeja is looking at a spinner, a left-hander who could come and bat in the number three slot.
36:49But yes, Conway could be a good option instead of Santner.
36:55And of course, with Utapa doing well, whom would you replace?
37:01Because Rituraj, in all fairness, we need to give him his due because he was an Orange Cup holder last year.
37:08You can't just push him out.
37:10True.
37:12So I think Devin Conway should go two down.
37:14So then we'll have runs on the board to actually win that.
37:20Because I've seen most of our problems is that we don't have enough runs except for that one outlier match.
37:27We don't have enough runs on the board.
37:29Our bowling is okay-ish.
37:31We just need better batsmen and better timing.
37:35Very good. Nice.
37:37I just have one question for Rajasthan.
37:40What exactly is the role of Riyan Farag?
37:42For me, it feels like Rajasthan is a school team and Riyan Farag is the son of the principal.
37:46I mean, the only performance I've seen is his performance.
37:50I think it's the same thing.
37:52He is our answer to Sarfaraz Khan.
37:54I don't know why he is on the team.
37:57I've asked this question before.
37:59We've got Karun Nair here.
38:01We've got Justice P Jaisal waiting.
38:03For some reason, the Rajasthan team has a lot of faith in him.
38:07The question has been asked again and again.
38:09Riyan Farag has given an interview that he is good enough to finish matches for India and whatnot.
38:14I mean, come on, finish a match for Rajasthan.
38:16My school team will have better players than him.
38:19Absolutely.
38:20Nepotism is the answer.
38:23Okay.
38:27Now, coming to the last one.
38:29Clinton.
38:30Clinton.
38:31Clinton, you've been waiting patiently.
38:33But I'm afraid you'll have a lot of things to say.
38:36Of course, not good things with Punjab.
38:38Because you must have been really disappointed.
38:42You saw a good change in Punjab.
38:44From the tradition, they were doing well.
38:48And they were coming to the top of the table.
38:50And suddenly, they've been only losing.
38:52What's happening?
38:53Yeah, we've been losing this last week.
38:56It's been really bad.
38:58But one thing is that ever since we've rebranded and changed our name from Kings XI to Punjab Kings.
39:05Last year, we won only four tosses in 14 matches.
39:09And this time, we've won only one toss in the first seven games.
39:12So, if you look at our team, batting is clearly our strength.
39:17And the first match which we played against RCB, we were chasing.
39:21And we chased 205 with an over to spare.
39:24So, the problem with Punjab is you live with the sword and you die by the sword as well.
39:30So, they're going all out to attack.
39:33Last match, they played Nathan Ellis and dropped Odin Smith who was the all-rounder.
39:40And when you play with one batsman short, one of the top six needs to go on and score big.
39:46But that's not happening in Punjab.
39:48And Jitesh Sharma said in the post-match press conference that the team will look to change their approach.
39:56And assess how they'll go ahead with their batting in the second half.
40:00Because apart from Liam Livingston, no one has really stepped up.
40:04And our bowling has been quite decent, I would say.
40:08Because we don't look the best on paper.
40:10Our batting is more of our strength.
40:12But, yeah.
40:14Start to win the toss.
40:15Start to win the toss, yes.
40:17So, again, do you have to change the name of the team to win the toss again?
40:23Try the numerology.
40:24Just call it Kate Williamson.
40:27Yeah, he's just really lucky.
40:30I don't know. Punjab doesn't have the required luck, I would say.
40:35Because being a fan for the last 14 years, I can point out instances wherein we've been so unlucky.
40:40And almost there to qualification and just taken away.
40:44And Punjab has been a team which gifts two points to the opposition.
40:48Just like that.
40:50You look at the match against Gujarat. 13 from 3.
40:53It was a dot ball. Odin Smith throws it.
40:56Tevatia comes on strike. He bashes two balls for six in two balls.
40:59So, yeah. Common sense and luck has been lacking.
41:04How about captaincy? Mayank Agarwal's captaincy?
41:08I think he's a really, really good captain.
41:10It's too early to judge him.
41:11But, you know, a few instances.
41:13The first game when Raj Bawa got out for zero.
41:16He went and he appreciated him.
41:18Even when Odin Smith got hit for two sixes in two balls.
41:22He went up to him and hugged him.
41:24And, you know, the next match against Mumbai Indians.
41:26Odin Smith was the one who actually ran out Kieran Pollard.
41:30And bowled a decent last over which won us the game.
41:33So, he's someone who has backed his players.
41:35I know Odin Smith was dropped for the last match.
41:38But I don't think it was his decision.
41:40It was a decision of the coaching staff and the management.
41:43I think he's going to come back tomorrow.
41:45And it's about time Bairstow fires.
41:48Because we have Raja Paksa waiting, you know, who was unjustly dropped, I would say.
41:53He did nothing wrong to be dropped.
41:55He's playing tomorrow.
41:58He's playing tomorrow, yeah.
42:00So, after him playing, what do you think between Punjab and Chennai?
42:04Who's your pick?
42:08Tomorrow, I say Punjab.
42:09Punjab is due for a win.
42:11And we're going to have a CSK tomorrow.
42:13Okay, Arjun, your response?
42:16One thing about that.
42:18I am a Punjabi, okay?
42:21I support CSK.
42:23Punjab kings out there.
42:26Please say that for one match.
42:29I am a Punjabi myself.
42:31Please say that for one match.
42:33We're so low on the table.
42:35I know that you guys are also only one level higher than us.
42:41But we have a reputation.
42:43Please.
42:46Okay.
42:47Okay.
42:48And that's why, two questions I'm going to ask you before we wrap up this long weekly digest.
42:54One is, Kane Williamson has given a nice…
42:59He's actually showed everybody that you don't need to be hater to win T20 matches.
43:05You can plan it and execute a different kind of an approach.
43:09Don't you think that the other captains, other teams need to also take a leaf out of it?
43:14Well, at the moment, you can justify what Kane Williamson is saying.
43:18Because his bowlers are doing the job.
43:19Because I remember after the first two games, we were thinking that they were playing the old school game.
43:24The average score which they have given while defending, or rather bowling first, is 140-150.
43:31Which has been easy to chase.
43:32So once they are put up to bat first, I want to see how they are going to change again.
43:38Because this will not work against bigger teams.
43:40Without taking anything away from SRH.
43:44Okay. And who is your pick for tomorrow? Chennai or Punjab?
43:49Very difficult, but I'll go with Punjab.
43:52Okay. Everybody, starting with Naresh. Your pick.
43:58For tomorrow's game?
43:59Yeah, quickly.
44:01Tomorrow's game, Punjab.
44:03Why?
44:04Okay. Yatharth?
44:09He's gone. Yatharth is gone.
44:11Okay. Ram, your pick.
44:15I would say, I think I've seen some brilliance coming back from Chennai, so I'm going to say Chennai for tomorrow.
44:20Very good. Okay. Sanjay?
44:22I would say Punjab. What Anish sir told, if Rajapaksha is coming in, then it's Punjab. Or else, it is CSK.
44:30Okay. Maaz?
44:32I'll go with CSK because of the previous match, they have good momentum.
44:36Okay. Akash?
44:37I would like to go with Punjab. I guess Punjab could go at this time.
44:41Okay. Shresth?
44:43I would like to go with Punjab.
44:45Oh, very good. Punjab, overwhelming favourite tomorrow. Okay.
44:50Varun, the last one. SRH, fine.
44:53I see. If Punjab openers fire, they might win. But looking at CSK, I think they're going to win. They have some good momentum going into next game.
45:00You're good. At least, you're showing some brotherly relations with Chennai, the MRC team.
45:08Okay. On that very happy note, thank you everybody. Thanks for joining. And please do log in to our websites.
45:16And Anish bhai, please talk about your competition also, before we wrap up the show.
45:20Guys, thank you for all your patience. It's been a long show, I know. But the fact is that we all get to meet up once a week.
45:26Yes, the competition is to predict the winner. Log on to your favourite page, predict the winner. Every day, there is a winner.
45:33It's difficult to predict the winner. But if you predict, you walk away with the lovely t-shirts which you guys are wearing.
45:38A t-shirt, a track and a cap, and a one-year digital subscription of Gulf News.
45:43Thank you, everybody. Thanks for watching. And please keep following gulfnews.com. Take care. Good night. Bye-bye.
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