With the UAE leg of the 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL 2014) now complete, it is King’s XI Punjab who continue to lead the way with five wins out of five. Meanwhile, at the other end of the table sit defending champions Mumbai Indians, who have lost all five of their matches.
One of the talking points of the second week of action of this year’s IPL has been the incredible standard of catching on show, led of course by the supremely athletic effort from Kolkata Knight Riders’ Chris Lynn against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Australian seemingly defied the laws of physics in catching AB de Villiers on the mid-wicket boundary, more closely resembling a particularly energetic eel than a cricketer, as he plucked the ball from the air as it was just about to cross the boundary and then arched his back in such a way that he was able to land inside the rope.
The start of the week had seen another Aussie impress, with Rajasthan Royals’ Steve Smith catching Brendon McCullum with a diving catch over his shoulder. Mitchell Starc then made it a good week in the field for the boys from Down Under with a brace of catches on the long-leg boundary for RCB against King’s XI. He first managed to stay inside the boundary when catching Wriddhiman Saha and then dispensed with dangerman Glenn Maxwell with a low catch diving forwards.
Match of the Week: Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders
You had to delve into the rule book to find a winner of the 19th match after both the main game and super-over were tied in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. With 16 needed off the final two overs, James Faulkner put the Royals in the driving seat by taking two wickets and conceding only four runs from the penultimate over. However, Shakib Al Hasan held his nerve and scored 11 off the final over from Kane Richardson. The super-over was then also tied - at 11 runs apiece - with Steve Smith apparently fully aware of the rule regarding boundary count and content to take just two runs off the final ball from Sunil Narine rather than risk anything too adventurous. All of which begged the question: just what is wrong with a tied group match?
Player of the Week: Dwayne Smith (Chennai Super Kings)
The West Indian is one of only two men - the other being Sunrisers Hyderabad’s David Warner - to have passed 50 twice in the second week of the tournament. All told, he is the second highest run-scorer, narrowly behind Sunrisers’ Aaron Finch, but his strike rate is far superior at 151 to 131. He began with a knock of 50 off 28 balls in the seven-run win over the Royals; hit four sixes during a knock of 29 to help CSK defeat his former team Mumbai Indians; and then smashed five sixes during a 46-ball 66 that helped defeat Sunrisers in the final over on Sunday.
Innings of the Week: Aaron Finch (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Aaron Finch
The Australian missed out on player of the week, but hit the highest score of the week courtesy of his 88 off 53 balls against Delhi Daredevils. In all, he hit 12 boundaries, including four sixes, and helped his franchise rack up 184 for one from their 20 overs. It proved only just enough to beat a Daredevils line-up that now included their captain Kevin Pietersen. He made just 16 but they fell only four runs short thanks to an opening stand of 99 between the baby-faced Quinton de Kock and the elegant Murali Vijay.
Bowler of the Week: Sandeep Sharma (King’s XI Punjab)
What will impress most Indian fans is the fact that the top four wicket-takers in the second part of the UAE-leg are all from their country - and three of them are seam bowlers. Mohit Sharma out-foxed Mumbai Indians en route to figures of four for 14, while Sandeep Sharma found swing with the new ball to help dispense with both Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Varun Aaron took five wickets from two matches for RCB. All three have conceded their runs at less than a run a ball.
Comeback of the Week: Gautam Gambhir (Kolkata Knight Riders)
The KKR captain’s first four scores of the IPL read more like a computer’s binary code. Three ducks were followed by just a single against King’s XI on Saturday, giving him a record of one runs off 18 balls in the tournament. Fortunately, he was able to find some form on Tuesday by hitting 45 off 44 balls. Unfortunately, his side ultimately lost to the Royals in that game.
Curious Incident of the Week: Seven runs off one ball (Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils)
Lasith Malinga delivered a rare wide to Murali Vijay in the fifth over of the Delhi run chase. However, that was only part of the story. Wicket-keeper CM Gautam fumbled the ball and it hit the helmet resulting in a bye and five penalty runs, along with some frantic arithmetic by the scorers.
Meanwhile, it was a strange first over for KKR’s Morne Morkel against King’s XI. He thought he had Cheteshwar Pujara caught behind first ball, only for replays to show him having over-stepped; then had Pujara caught off the resulting free-hit; before KKR ultimately tasted success as the ball sped away to the boundary for four overthrows. Unfortunately for Pujara, it had first clipped the stumps as he attempted a run and his third life was his last of the day.
Daniel Grummitt
He worked for CricketWorld.com for almost three years, leading their county and domestic cricket coverage and contributing to a book about the 2012 ICC World Twenty20, before joining the hugely ambitious World Cricket Badger early in 2014.
The first Test that he remembers watching was on Channel 4 - back before the ECB marginalised potential future fans by selling the TV rights to Sky Sports - when England beat Pakistan by an innings and nine runs at Lord’s.
Besides a passion for domestic cricket, he also has an unexplainable interest in all things Zimbabwe cricket!
Latest posts by Daniel Grummitt (see all)
- LOGAN CUP: Tuskers crowned champions - March 6, 2015
- LOGAN CUP: Rhinos win keeps pressure on Tuskers - March 5, 2015
- LOGAN CUP: Sibanda hits century, Tuskers take control - March 4, 2015
