In a cricket frenzy nation, making it to the Indian squad demands a lot of consistency. When more than a billion aspire to wear that Indian jersey, you can’t really rely on talent to pull you through. Every 5km radius area has one talented player, good enough to make it till the top(provided he is exposed to the right kind of training). And as Harsha Bhogle rightly said, talent can open the first door, maybe even the second one, but it won’t open the last door for you. So, at the highest level it all comes down to consistency and perseverance because almost everyone equally talented. And this consistency is where Robin Uthappa misses out on.
Every year you switch on your TV to follow the KKR side you see this elegant batsmen, pulling fast bolwers in front of square, flicking them for a six over mid mid wicket, smothering spinners over long on, and then you start wondering why isn’t he part of the celebrated Indian limited overs side? It’s because as soon as he sheds those KKR colours, he loses shape, uncertainty creeps in, and the flamboyant stroke maker goes into hibernation.
For the past few seasons Uthappa has been drafted into the Indian limited overs side after brilliant performances in the IPL, but not once has he been able to cement his spot, owing to his poor run of form. Even the domestic circuit hasn’t been witness to Uthappa’s brilliance in the past few seasons, with him being ultimately dropped from Karnataka’s Ranji team this time round.
The talent is there for all to see, but the consistency still seems missing and thus Uthappa hasn’t really broken into the ‘Virat Kohli’ despite being as talented.
Uthappa’s brilliant stroke making helped KKR chase a rather meek total of 160 in good batting conditions. Gambhir played the role of the anchor once again and KKR romped to a successful chase at the Eden Gardens for the umpteenth time.
In the evening game, Sunrisers crossed the 200 mark, thanks to a brilliant batting performance from their top 3. And even though Shaun Marsh fought tooth and nail with the SRH bowling unit, lack of support from other players rendered his effort useless.
Rising Pune Supergiant vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Every time these two sides take on each other from now on the first focus would be on the Kohli-Smith relationship(battle). In the reverse fixture, the duo was all smiles before the toss and there seemed to be no animosity in this strained relationship.
Things have gone down hill for Kohli since, as RCB have looked a shade of themselves, with their batting line up unable to get any clarity going with regard to their roles in the side. Either they have been too tentative or have gone too hard a little too early. You could expect a few shake ups in their line up for today’s game.
Rising Pune Supergiant have recovered wonderfully well from their initial slump, piling on the wins and making a strong case for the playoff spot. Ben Stokes should be making his way into the team for this game. The top 3 have time and again provided them with a solid start, with Tripathi playing the aggressor and Rahane and Smith keeping one end tight. A lot would depend upon how Tahir is dealt with in this game, his 4 overs could determine the outcome of this game.
Let’s get to business now!
IPL Fantasy League Fantasy Tips on the next page
IPL Fantasy League
Transfer out: David Warner, Ankit Soni
Transfer in: Steve Smith, Rahul Tripathi
Now, I already have Virat Kohli, ABD and Yuzi Chahal in my side for this game.
The first player that I get into my side for this game is Steve Smith. Three of the best batsmen of this generation will be on display today and I expect all of them to come to the party, because you can’t keep such class acts quite for long. None of the three have really set the IPL on fire as of now, and it is high time they prove their worth. Against a rather meek RCB bowling lineup, Smith should help himself to an easy 50 today. Let’s see if he can kick on and make that 100.
Ben Stokes did not feature in the last game and though he should be fit for this one, I don’t see the point of getting him in against a strong RCB batting lineup. I know RCB hasn’t batted the way they should have until now, but that has primarily been because of the pitch and the conditions. The ball was moving around in Kolkata, the pitch was sluggish in Bangalore, but on a batting paradise in Pune, against a not so threatening Pune attack, the RCB batting unit should get the job done.
Now, Ben Stokes coming in at 3 and bowling 4 overs against a good batting line up isn’t worth the transfer, especially when I can get in just one overseas player for this game. Imran Tahir too stays out. Ajinkya Rahane could be a decent enough transfer but the fact that he doesn’t score too quickly makes me not draft him in. If you have transfers in excess of 30, you could probably draft him in.
For the uncapped player I get in Rahul Tripathi. He is your best bet from the ones on offer.
Captain: Virat Kohli(if RCB bat second)/ABD(if RCB bat first)
Fandromeda Fantasy Tips on the next page
Fandromeda
Transfer out: David Warner, Robin Uthappa
Transfer in: Ben Stokes, Ajinkya Rahane
Now, I already have Virat Kohli, ABD, Yuzi Chahal and Steve Smith in my side for this game.
With Fandromeda giving us more leeway with transfers we can afford to get in some half-picks for this game.
I can transfer out just one overseas player as all other feature either today or tomorrow. Now, I can bring in one from Tahir, Badree and Ben Stokes.
The only issue I have with Badree is that he finishes most of his overs during the powerplay, and with RPSG having a solid top 3, I don’t see him running through them in the inital stages, hence I leave him out.
Tahir operates in the death overs, which makes him a far better prospect even though he is facing a more explosive batting unit. But the fact that Stokes will also operate during the death and will also get the opportunity to bat, tilts it a little bit in favour of Stokes. It’s the double scoring opportunity that entices me and thus I’ll be going in with Stokes!
I’ll be making one more transfer for this game and it’ll be one from Tripathi, Rahane and Kedar. The fact that Kedar bats at number 4 and might not get a lot of overs to bat, if the top 3 click, makes me opt out of him.
Now, when it is a straight toss up between Rahane and Tripathi, I am tempted to go for the more secure option. Thus, I’ll be getting in Rahane.
Batting Star: Virat(if RCB bat second)/ABD(if RCB bat first)
Bowling Star: Yuzi Chahal/Ben Stokes(whoever bowls first)
Happy team picking 🙂
