Ahead of its clash against the in-form Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday, Kochi Tuskers Kerala has been somewhat run of the mill in its IPL engagements against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors. It has not been able to rise above the mediocre; lax in the bowling department in particular.
Disjointed squad
Mahela Jayawardene's assorted collection has looked disjointed, unable to find its bearings and prove worthy of an opposition geared to sustain a contest right through 40 overs.
Flashes of skill and ability, though, were evident when Brendon McCullum and V.V.S. Laxman provided a stirring 80-run start before the first strategic time out against Royal Challengers. Once the openers departed, the team failed to capitalise and eventually went down with eight balls remaining.
Then on Wednesday night at the D.Y. Patil Sports Stadium, Brad Hodge and Ravindra Jadeja's bold shots carried out a repair work efficiently and dominated the Warriors. It appeared they had the full measure of the Warriors' bowling before the heavier of the fifth-wicket pair, Australian Hodge, danced down the pitch and saw his lift-drive converted by Murali Kartik near the line.
This pair actually looked capable of taking the partnership beyond the 88 that lifted the team from a shaky 24 for four well inside the completion of the mandatory Power Play overs.
Far from imposing
The end total of 161 and 148 against the Challengers and Warriors, batting first, was far from imposing on surfaces that showed bias to the fast and seam bowlers and also gave leeway for strokeplay.
Nonetheless the likes of McCullum, Laxman, Hodge and Jadeja put some runs on the board for the bowlers to start the proceedings with hope.
It's on the count of the new-ball attack operated by left-arm seamer Rudra Pratap Singh and S. Sreesanth, Kochi has been found short on accuracy and skill; R.P. Singh has conceded 59 in six overs without a wicket and Sreesanth 49 in six overs with the wicket of T. Dilshan. Furthermore Muttiah Muralitharan has not been the force he used to be.
Tuskers skipper Jayawardene, however, does not seem to be anxious by the dismal events that unfolded for his team.
“I think both the games have been close. But it's not enough getting close, we have to finish games off. That's very critical in Twenty20. We batted really well after losing wickets; the guys (Hodge and Jadeja) took their chances and that paid off. We could have been a little more cautious initially in order to try and build the innings. Losing three or four wickets quickly is not ideal in a Twenty20 game.
“The recovery was fantastic though, we were hoping to get 150 plus. Raiphi Gomez handled the situation very well. I thought it (148) was a competitive score,'' Jayawardene summed up about Wednesday's outcome against the Warriors.
T20 is brutal
The Sri Lankan was quite candid saying: “Twenty20 cricket is very brutal; one can go for runs one day and can pick up wickets and change the game for the team the next day. They (R.P. Singh and Sreesanth) are experienced bowlers. You have to give them the confidence and bank on them. You must have faith in the players you have and try and utilise each and everyone. RP bowled well in the training camp; he has not started off well though. There are options for us and we have to think about it (the composition of the team for the match against Mumbai Indians).''
Australian seamer John Hastings's arrival here on Thursday is not likely to mitigate seam attack issues for Jayawardene for the very fact that he can field only four overseas players.
Mumbai Indians has begun the campaign without being stretched, notching up victories against Delhi Daredevils and the Challengers.
In the thick of action
Sachin Tendulkar has been in the thick of action marshalling his resources well and also producing runs with the bat.
A much fitter Rohit Sharma impressed in the opening match against Daredevils and Ambati Rayudu too gave full vent to his talent against the Challengers.
With an incisive Lasith Malinga at his command and an adequate number of smart seamers and spinners in the MI bowling ranks, Tendulkar would hope for another victory at a venue he celebrated India's memorable World Cup win 13 days ago. He has cautioned his team though of the perils of being complacent.
It's imperative for Tuskers to blunt Malinga and stifle Harbhajan Singh. Not long ago McCullum cracked a blazing century against Canada in a World Cup match and Jayawardene displayed classical touch play and literally toyed with the Indian bowling to score an unbeaten 103 in the World Cup final.
The outcome could have been different against Warriors had Hodge or Jadeja stayed till the end of the Tuskers' innings.
Smith to miss out
Meanwhile, Australian all-rounder Steven Smith is set to undergo an ankle surgery and hence he will not be available for Kochi Tuskers in the IPL competition.
