It was music, a little bit of rock, a little bit of jazz, a little bit of sufi; but it was music nonetheless.
Rishabh Pant played one of the best T20 innings of all time last night to lead the Delhi Daredevils to yet another home win.
So much was said about Pant’s brilliance at the start of this IPL, and it almost felt like this would be the year he takes his game to the next level, but DD’s tactics of using him as a lower order player diminished the kind of influence he could have on a game. His role was limited to that of a finisher, when he could actually have been the flag bearer right since the start.
Also Read: Twitter goes crazy as Pant plays one of the best T20 innings ever!
The swivel, the back lift, the straight bat; you could revel in Pant’s brilliance all day. The secret to his success? The ability to pick length as soon as the ball leaves the bowler’s hand, always a hallmark of a brilliant batsman. This player is special, he needs to stick around for a long, long time.
Gujarat Lions would feel hard done by Pant’s innings, as a score in excess of 200 was always going to be a little tough to chase down on the Kotla track. Samson and Pant though took a liking for the GL attack, dismantling them completely and reaching the target with 15 balls to spare.
Also Read: Sachin Tendulkar praises Rishab Pant for his superlative innings
Delhi have now gotten their batting line up sorted and look like a very threatening side with Samson and Pant striking the ball as they have been. With another three games at home, Delhi seem to be favourites to leave the mid table rut behind and occupy that 4th playoff spot.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab
T20 has always been tipped to be batsman’s game. The boundaries are being pulled in, the bats are getting bigger and the pitches refuse to offer any assistance to the bowlers. Following this trend, both Kings XI and RCB have gone in for batting heavy teams all through, something that has led to their downfall over the seasons.
With so much batting firepower on display today, it just feels that the game would be won by the team that plays their ‘weaker’ card better. The strengths should cancel out the strengths.
Let’s get to business now!
IPL Fantasy Tips on the next page:
IPL Fantasy League
Transfer out: Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Nadeem
Transfer in: ABD, Martin Guptill, Aniket Chaudhary/KC Cariappa
Now, I already have Virat Kohli and Yuzvendra Chahal in my team for this game.
With RCB playing two home games in 4 days, the first player that I’ll be bringing in is ABD. In the reverse fixture ABD struck a blistering 87, playing the lone hand in a losing cause for RCB. He has developed a liking for the Kings XI bowling attack, with Axar Patel being his only nemesis, as AB doesn’t quite favour left handed spinners.
But nonetheless, whatever be the pitch, whoever be the point and whatever be the circumstances, you just can’t afford to leave out ABD, especially at this crucial juncture in the tournament. Get him in!
With all bases covered from the RCB side, I won’t be getting in any more players from their team.
For the second transfer, I’ll be bringing in one from Amla, Maxwell or Guptill.
At this stage of the tournament, in order to make that final push towards that top 100 mark, you need to get in impact players, rather than the ‘safe picks’, hence out of these , I’ll be ruling out Hashim Amla, as I feel that Guptill and Maxi would prove to be more impactful, if they get going. Yes, it’s a risk, as Amla is sure to get at least 30 runs, but then when did a Fantasy Manager ever become great without taking any risks?
While there is no possible explanation for who amongst Guptill and Maxi would fire, you could probably use the ‘Top 3’ theory to rule out Maxwell, as he would come in at number 4 or 5. But if you really want to go in with Maxwell, do so only if Kings XI bat first. If kings XI bat second, get Guptill in, as with RCB you never really know what sort of total they would put up on the board.
For the uncapped player, I’ll be getting in one from Aniket Chaudhary and KC Cariappa, depending on whoever bowls first.
Captain: Virat Kohli(if RCB bat second)/ ABD(if RCB bat first)
Fandromeda Fantasy Tips on the next page:
Fandromeda
Transfer out: Steve Smith, Manish Pandey, Kagiso Rabada, Suresh Raina
Transfer in: Virat, ABD, Yuzi Chahal, Glenn Maxwell
Now, I don’t have any player from this game in my side. So, I’ll have to go a little shopping tonight.
Virat Kohli and ABD need to be drafted in keeping in mind that RCB play twice in 4 games. And also the fact that they will be batting without much at stake for and thus should be able to rediscover their free flowing selves.
The third player that I get in for this game is Yuzi Chahal, again keeping in mind RCB’s schedule and the fact that the Chinnaswamy has aided spin bowling a tad bit more than it has in the past 9 seasons.
Now, my team combination does not allow me to get in either of Amla or Guptill, so I’ll not discuss much about them. If you want to know whom to get in from Amla, Guptill or maxi, refer to the IPL Fantasy League section.
With the team combination constraint causing issues, I’ll only be able to get in Maxi. Now, for that to happen, I’ll need to transfer out one from the three overseas RPS players that’ll be featuring in tomorrow’s game. I am having to do all of this to draft ABD in, and it seems worth it with two home games lined up for RCB.
I’ll be transferring out Smith and getting in Maxi, as that is the only possible option for me.
Batting Star: Virat Kohli(if RCB bat second)/ABD(if RCB bat first)
Bowling Star: Yuzi Chahal
