Is there a calm artist in the Indian Premier League? Spraying the ball into the galleries with brute power — a combination of helpful willow and an aggressive mind — the batsmen have come to redefine the very essence of batting. They call the shots against some of the best bowlers in the business.
What about the bowlers? Empathy is all they get but no solution to their misery.
There are brute belters of the ball everywhere. The boundaries get shorter and encourage mayhem in the middle. The spectators love it.
This is different cricket. Yusuf Pathan is a hit with the audience as he sends the ball soaring into the sky. But it does not help him reclaim a spot in the national squad. There lies the paradox.
David Warner, Yusuf, Andre Russell (if he recovers from injury) are known to hit sixes at will. It is the trusted scoring shot in the IPL.
Wait and swing. And swing hard. Sometimes, even mishits land beyond the fence. Astonishing stuff that mocks at the coaching manual.
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders trade blows in the Eliminator that is expected to generate much heat at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Wednesday.
After all, at stake is the opportunity to have a go at the title. Holder Mumbai Indians has been packed off and Sunrisers can back themselves to tame the marauding KKR.
Monotony factorA league which is promoted by the administrators, players present and former, as a stepping stone to international cricket, is in its ninth edition, looking at tackling the monotony factor.
Injury to key players has cost some teams, notably Ashish Nehra missing action at this stage for Sunrisers.
There are issues related to the next edition — the Board has hinted it may move overseas. Not everything is good and acceptable in IPL but the players are hardly complaining.
SRH has demonstrated the significance of good bowling. It is feasible to place your faith in bowlers in this batsman-dominated tournament but the leader of this campaign, Nehra, will watch the action from England where he recovers from a hamstring injury.
It can be a daunting task for Sunrisers to stop the KKR run-machine where Gautam Gambhir brings quality at the top.
KKR has a formidable batting strength with the likes of Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey capable of dictating the result of the match with their innovative style. Off-spinner Sunil Narine may have lost some of his guile but continues to command respect with his accuracy. Russell’s injury can hurt KKR even as it relies on Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round skills.
There is a calm artist in this league — the gifted Kane Williamson — but he has hardly got going. In the same camp, the wily Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the seamer with a Buddha-like composure, brings old world charm to the art of bowling — he swings, seams and varies the pace cleverly.
With Mustafizur Rahman as partner, Bhuvneshwar forms an ideal opening pair. Their success against the attacking KKR shall decide the course of the contest.
