A day when we witnessed batting performances that belong to two ends of the spectrum. Delhi Daredevils emulated RCB’s shambolic batting performance, to be bundled out for 67. But David Warner compensated for the batting dose that we should have received in the afternoon game by dishing out one of the best T20 innings in recent memory.
Delhi don’t have the most trustworthy batting line up, as a lot of onus and responsibility is on the next generation Indian batting stars, who as of now haven’t really come off age. Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, Rishab Pant and Sanju Samson as your top 4 aren’t going to win you the IPL, not because they don’t have the talent, but because they don’t quite have that international experience to stay consistent for an entire season.
Also Read: Twitter goes mad as David Warner scores a 43 ball hundred!
Kings XI obliged the fact that the Delhi batsmen made no real effort to apply themselves on a track which didn’t quite have a lot of demons. The KXIP openers then knocked off the meagre Delhi total with utter disdain.
The Warner show then took over in the evening game. KKR were then left to chase a mammoth total against one of the best bowling units of the tournament. A healthy opening stand was a must, but Siraj and Kaul struck early to almost hand SRH the match within the first 3 overs. Uthappa and Pandey got together to muster a healthy partnership but as soon as both of them fell, KKR were always facing an uphill task.
KKR’s middle order hasn’t contributed much this season, and when it was put to test last night, it failed miserably. Gambhir would be looking to address that issue and maybe Chris Woakes would be replaced by Shakib Al Hasan to strengthen the middle order a wee bit more.
Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Two heavy weight sides take on each other in the Mecca of Indian Cricket. While Mumbai is enjoying its best start to an IPL season, RCB have been forced to do some soul searching.
RCB’s famed batting line up has dished out some horrendous batting performances this year. None of the batsmen(barring maybe Virat Kohli) have tried to assess conditions and play accordingly. Either they have been at it too soon, or they have held back a little too much, only to be shoved into their own shell.
Also Read: Preview and Match Result Predictions for MI vs RCB
Mumbai on the other hand have had a near perfect start to the season, almost finding the right team combination, and getting different sets of individuals to step up in dire situations. Almost all their players have won them games until now. One change that I have been crying out for is for Rohit Sharma to be pushed up the order, and Rayudu to slot in for Parthiv. This would help not only Mumbai Indians but also the national team, as Rohit will be taking up the openers slot for the Champions Trophy, and is in need for some match practice at that spot.
Let’s get to business now!
IPL Fantasy Tips on the next page
IPL Fantasy League
Transfer out: Bipul Sharma
Transfer in: Krunal Pandya
Now, I already have Virat Kohli, Nitish Rana, ABD, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzi Chahal and Jos Buttler in my team for this game.
With almost all bases covered for this game, I don’t think it would be wise to waste any transfer for this game.
ABD has looked a shade of himself, but on a traditonally high scoring ground, you can never rule out the best in the business. If you don’t already have him, I would advise you to draft him in, he could set the Wankhede on fire tonight.
All the other players select themselves and I don’t think I need to justify any of them.
The Rohit Sharma conundrum needs to be addressed though. Now, if Mumbai make the change, drop Parthiv and get in Rayudu, you can expect Rohit to play at his favoured opening slot. With RCB not having a very sound bowling attack, you can expect the top 3 to pile on the runs, leaving Rohit with very less time to make an impact, hence I’ll advise you to leave him out. If you really want to bring him in, do so only if Mumbai bat first, because with the way RCB are batting these days, Mumbai’s openers would be enough to knock off the total.
For the uncapped player, I’ll be bringing in Krunal Pandya. He has a very healthy record against ABD and is in great form with both bat and ball, leading Mumbai to victory in the last game. If you want to get in one from Rana and Pandya, I would suggest drafting in Pandya, as he gives you more assurance with his ‘double scoring’ ability.
Captain: Virat Kohli(if RCB bat second)/ABD(if RCB bat first)
Fandromeda Fantasy Tips on the next page:
Fandromeda
Transfer out: Robin Uthappa, Sunil Narine
Transfer in: Virat Kohli, ABD
Now, I already have Jos Buttler, Rohit Sharma, Nitish Rana, Krunal Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in my side for this game. By the looks of it, I have all bases covered from the Mumbai side.
The Virat-ABD duo would be the first two picks for this game. ABD hasn’t quite fired this game and has had a weakness against left arm spin(Krunal Pandya), but at this stage of the tournament I wouldn’t want to take a chance with the genius of ABD. If he comes good, he could easily give me 200 points, and if I leave him out, those 200 points could cause a lot of damage. So, in order to be safe, get him in!
While Badree did cause Mumbai a lot of damage the last time these two teams played each other, I can’t draft him in as all my overseas players play either today or tomorrow.
Yuzi Chahal could be a good pick for this game, but I’ll get him in only if RCB bowl first.
Batting Star: Virat(if RCB bat second)/ABD(if RCB bat first)
Bowling Star: Jasprit Bumrah
