IPL 2: First Round

April 24, 2009 · carmina · Jump to comments

Unlike the previous year, the first round of IPL 2 has progressed as per the expectations – the robust teams on paper have won their encounters comfortably. The only exception was Team Chennai which stumbled at the first hurdle, despite having a balanced lineup.

Mumbai Indians are in a comfortable position. They have the fiercest pace attack - Bravo, Zaheer and Malinga. Harbhajan and Jayasuriya offer a good turn. Additionally, Tendulkar and Jayasuriya is a dominating opening pair. If there is a need, the team has a long tail. It seems that in this edition of IPL, Mumbai is the team to beat.

The Royal Challengers defeated the defending champions, Rajasthan Royals, effortlessly on Saturday. This proved that they have sufficient depth in batting and venom in bowling. Vijay Mallya would be present to see the game on 27th April 2009. It would be interesting to notice if they would feel his pressure.

Kolkata Knight Riders suffered an opening defeat and must be disappointed due to it. It appears that the team is in disarray and this is not simply due to the different theories. Gayle and McCullum are hard hitting batsman but somehow it seems that they are not prepared for an all out attack. The scenario of bowling is similar. Hodge, Ishant and Ganguly are chipping in their bit, but they should take a close look at Mendis.

Undoubtedly, Kings XI Punjab was let down by Duckworth and Lewis. However, in the absence of Sreesanth and Lee, the team appears weakened. The absence of Shaun Marsh at the top of the order is bothering them. However, as their batting appears strong, it may be gauged that the team would make Preity Zinta happy by surviving through the opening rounds without much damage.

This season, the dark horses are Team Hyderabad. All of a sudden, their bowling has improved vastly. RP Singh and Fidel Edwards have formed a powerful new ball duo.

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