April 2, 2011—”Dhoni finishes it off in style…India lift the World Cup after 28 years.” Exactly 10 years from the World Cup victory, it is possibly the final time we will see captain MS Dhoni & his eternal partner in crime, Suresh Raina.
After a disappointing 2020 season, do MS Dhoni & Suresh Raina have one final memory for the fans?
7th. 6 wins, 8 losses. Loss of Suresh Raina & Harbhajan Singh before the tournament and never really in contention. The athletic Faf du Plessis & Ruturaj Gaikwad were the only positives.
Injury & COVID-19 News
Josh Hazlewood has pulled out of IPL 2021. The bio-bubble effect is taking a toll on players’.
Complete Chennai Super Kings Squad
Batsman: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, C Hari Nishaanth, Narayan Jagadeesan,
WK: MS Dhoni, Robin Uthappa
All-Rounders: Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravindra Jadeja
Spinners: Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Karn Sharma
Fast Medium: Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Verma
Overseas: Moeen Ali, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner
Shardul Thakur – Since the historic India vs Australia series, Shardul Thakur has been India’s X-factor, taking crucial wickets in the middle overs. The highest wicket-taker in both the England T20Is & ODIs, he is one to watch out for.
Youngsters – Tamil Nadu won the Syed Mushtaq Ali this year with Hari Nishaanth, Jagadeesan, and S Rai Kishore. With Ruturaj’s coming of age in IPL 2020, these bunch will give CSK the much needed age balance.
Where Can Things Go Wrong For the Super Kings?
The lack of out and out pace – Thakur, Chahar, Sam Curran, & Dwayne Bravo are all smart bowlers, but none have pace to send shivers through the opposition batsmen. With 8/14 of CSKs games at historically high scoring venues of Mumbai & Bangalore, I am not sure if they have enough variation in their attack. Tahir, R Sai Kishore, Jadeja, Gowtham, Moeen Ali, Santner, Karn Sharma would be a dream attack in Chennai, but no home advantage in COVID induced era has thrown their plans off.
*Note: There is no home advantage in IPL 2021. Here is how “Home vs Away” is divided.
10 April: CSK vs DC (Mumbai)
16 April: PBKS vs CSK (Mumbai)
19 April: CSK vs RR (Mumbai)
21 April: KKR vs CSK (Mumbai)
25 April: CSK vs RCB (Mumbai)
28 April: CSK vs SRH (Delhi)
1 May: MI vs CSK (Delhi)
5 May: RR vs CSK (Delhi)
7 May: SRH vs CSK (Delhi)
9 May: CSK vs PBKS (Bangalore)
12 May: CSK vs KKR (Bangalore)
16 May: CSK vs MI (Bangalore)
21 May: DC vs CSK (Kolkata)
23 May: RCB vs CSK (Kolkata)
25 May: Qualifier 1 (Ahmedabad)
26 May: Eliminator (Ahmedabad)
28 May: Qualifier 2 (Ahmedabad)
30 May: Final (Ahmedabad)
Prediction
Return of Raina, addition of Uthappa/Pujara, & youngsters might bolster the lineup, but the lack of home advantage would be too much to cope with. If they can win a few of the first 5 matches in Mumbai, they should have a settled lineup in Delhi.
Game Plan: Simple. Win at least 3 out of the first 5. Otherwise out of the reckoning early.
Prediction
6th
Most Runs
Ambati Rayudu
Most Wickets
Shardul Thakur
Emerging Player
R Sai Kishore
Surprise Package
Robin Uthappa
X Factor
Shardul Thakur
Broken Cricket Dream
MS Dhoni, Imran Tahir retire forever?
Chennai Super Kings Preview Predictions
What do you think of the Chennai Super Kings Preview? Your First XI? Will they make the IPL 2021 qualifiers?
This IPL was full of ebbs and flows, highs and lows. It even taught us numerous life lessons.
But, how did it all end? An anti-climax, I would say.
Recap
Last time we checked in, the points table had turned upside down. Over the last weekend, every team except for CSK were still in the running.
Ultimately, net run rate came into play with SRH and RCB edging out KKR and KXIP to make it in the Top 4. The Playoffs ended up being one sided and once again, Mumbai Indians lifted the trophy, who were a class apart.
The Women’s T20 Challenge showcased women’s talent but once again, still no women’s IPL?
Close 2nd – More injuries Garg and Iyer along with a couple of other slips.#SamCurranoftheDay: The Big Bash #MarcusStoinis has finally arrived at the #IPL. Runs, wickets, catch
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) November 8, 2020
Finals — Rohit and Mandhana Stand Up On the Big Stage
Harsha Bhogle: “He was born to play the pull shot or the pull shot was made for Rohit Sharma.”
With the end of IPL 2020, fans and experts chipped in with their choices of the Dream Teams. Recently, social media went ablaze with Virender Sehwag’s highly debated IPL XI. Virat Kohli and David Warner at 4 and 5—it is easy to see why that was the case.
I will build two IPL Dreams today—the Obvious XI and the Non-Obvious XI. The goal is to see if my team could beat the Obvious Team of the Tournament. Here are the rules:
Have at least one uncapped player in each team
The IPL rules apply – 4 foreign players maximum
A wicketkeeper and 5 bowling options are necessary
In IPL 2020, the foreign fast bowlers were on fire—Jofra Archer, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, but how many can you fit in? Additionally, the Indian squad have prolific wicketkeeper batsmen, but will all of them make it?
Tough choices to make…
IPL XI – The Dream Teams
The Non-Obvious XI
Here is my choice — the not-so-obvious Dream Team.
*Note: Bolded players represent the foreign players
Mayank Agarwal
Wriddhiman Saha (WK)
David Warner (C)
Suryakumar Yadav (U)
Kane Williamson
Sam Curran
Rahul Tewatia (U)
Anrich Nortje
Thangarasu Natarajan (U)
Varun Chakravarthy (U)
Mohammad Shami
*WK – Wicketkeeper, C – Captain, U – Uncapped
In the batting front, this team has sparkling openers, the experience of Warner and Williamson, Suryakumar Yadav’s flamboyance, and Sam Curran/Tewatia as floaters.
With Sam Curran and Shami as the opening swing bowlers, Nortje as the pace spearhead, Natarajan as the designated death bowler, the mystery of Varun, and the leg-spin of Tewatia, the bowling line-up is balanced. If necessary, even cool Kane Williamson can role over his arm.
The Obvious XI
Shikhar Dhawan
KL Rahul (WK)
Devdutt Padikkal (U)
AB De Villiers(C)
Ishan Kishan
Hardik Pandya
Rashid Khan
Jofra Archer
Kagiso Rabada
Jasprit Bumrah
Yuzvendra Chahal
*Orange Cap (Most Runs),Purple Caps (Most Wickets),Most Valuable Player (MVP)
With left-right hand combination (overrated but still) till No. 6 and bowling line-up of the decade, this is a pretty strong team. So, you decide, can my team defeat the Obvious XI?
Jofra Archer vs. David Warner, anybody? COMMENT BELOW AND LET US KNOW! Let us know of your IPL XI as well!
Honorable Mentions:
Quinton De Kock, Trent Boult, Jason Holder, Ben Stokes, Marcus Stoinis, Fafdu Plessis, Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Abdul Samad, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi
I had a tough time leaving QDK and Boult out. Both were magnificent, but the 4-foreign player quota came into the equation.
Notice something? None of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, or Shreyas Iyer (captains of 3 of the top 4 teams) make it into either of my XIs or the honorable mentions.
Would love to hear your thoughts on this…COMMENT BELOW AND LET US KNOW! Also share ahead and subscribe to our email list below:
This was a peculiar tournament in terms of player performance. While the foreign players and the Indian uncapped players impressed, the current and former Indian players disappointed.
Although Dhawan, Kohli, and Iyer were among the runs, none of them looked consistently convincing. Similarly, former IPL stars like Robin Uthappa and 2019 World Cup squad members — Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, and Kuldeep Yadav — all had a sub-par season.
On the other hand, a 15-member squad could be created out of the impressive uncapped youngsters themselves:
IPL 2020 was the beginning of the end of the 2007 T20 World Cup and IPL 2008 era. The early stars are slowly fading away in the background, while the newer generation are storming to the forefront.
Well, well, well – the IPL 2020 festivities have finally come to a close and yet again, the Mumbai Indians emerged as the winner—wait for it—for the 5th time!
Their ability to win consistently is remarkable. The way they were playing, Mumbai Indians winning might be the only predictable event that has occurred in 2020.
The Predictions
Speaking of predictions, we asked our Twitter followers to predict the IPL result and award winners with #IPLPredictions at the start of IPL 2020. Here were the categories:
#Champions
#OrangeCap
#PurpleCap
#FairPlay
#EmergingPlayer
#SurprisePackage
We will reveal who was the closest in their IPL Predictions. Read till the end for poll results conducted at the end of the tournament and surprises.
The Actual Results
The way it turned out, Mumbai Indians swept the awards, even winning the Fairplay Award! Interestingly, they won without winning the Orange Cap, Purple Cap, and the MVP.
Although other teams like RR, KXIP, RCB, and DC had match winners who won awards here, only MI could find consistent performances from most of their members throughout the competition.
In any case, here are the results:
Champions
Mumbai Indians
Most Valuable Player
Jofra Archer (RR)
Orange Cap
KL Rahul (KXIP)
Purple Cap
Kagiso Rabada (DC)
Emerging Player
Devdutt Padikkal (RCB)
Fairplay Award
Mumbai Indians
Super Striker
Kieron Pollard (MI)
Let’s Crack It (Most Sixes)
Ishan Kishan (MI)
Power Player
Trent Boult (MI)
IPL 2020 Awards
And The Winner Is…
The time has come to announce the winners. (*Drumroll*)
*Note: Sam Curran was the deemed to the winner from the Surprise Package guesses
And the winner was Vandit with 4/6 guesses correct! From Twitter, Sourabh Sanyal, JustCricket, Crazy Anand, and Aviral Rai – all got 2/6. Congratulations!
There were some close guesses with CSK ending #2 in the FairPlay and DC/SRH coming 2nd/3rd in the overall competition respectively.
Great work everybody!
*The Cricket Scholar was right – RCB did not make it while Dan Cricket‘s “Delhi Daredevils” also almost made it. Only if they had changed their name back…
Twitter Polls
We decided to spice things up with some polls at the end of the tournament. Some interesting questions and responses! Let us know what you think in the comments below and wait till you get to #5.
1. Emerging Players and Surprise Package
Although Padikkal was by far the most consistent, the likes of Ravi Bishnoi and Riyan Parag, the trios of Abdul Samad-Priyam Garg-Abhishek Sharma from SRH, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti-Shivam Mavi-Prasidh Krishna from KKR caught the eye.
In terms of surprise packages, Tewatia, Anrich Nortje, and Natarajan unexpectedly came to the party apart from Sam Curran.
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) November 5, 2020
2. The one that Bamboozled and the Wow Factor
There were some things that completely bamboozled us. The reality finally caught up with CSK’s Dad Army, while the fielding ranged from mind boggling acrobatics to utterly poor drops.
The most discussed topic that perplexed everybody?
Why has Suryakumar Yadav (SKY) not made the Indian squad yet?
In addition, there were some WOW moments as well—Tewatia’s cracker of an innings, Saha turning around SRH’s campaign, Stokes with that century as an opener, and Stoinis finally coming to the IPL party. What was your moment of the IPL?
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) November 5, 2020
3. The Benchwarmers and Saddest sight of IPL 2020
Now to the broken cricket dreams of IPL 2020. Although the likes of Rahane, Gayle, Tahir, and Ferguson got to showcase their skills at the end of the tournament, some never got a chance to play. David Miller (run out without facing a ball) and Chris Lynn startled me the most.
On the other hand, there were some sad sights as well. Once feared, a smiling Dale Steyn without venom was very hard to watch this time. It might be the end of his career, Maxwell’s IPL journey—and the end of CSK as we know it.
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) November 5, 2020
4. Sam Curran
And we are back to Sam Curran. He could do everything. Opened the batting, finished the innings, opened the bowling, bowled at the death, and even took some great catches.
Which Sam Curran did you like the best?
The day is not too far when Sam Curran takes the wicketkeeping gloves as well.
Cricket is unpredictable, and predicting the unpredictable even more so. So do not be disheartened if your predictions did not match the final outcome. IPL 2021 is around the corner, so you always have another chance!
The beauty in cricket is the uncertainty. You never know when a struggling Tewatia can hit it out the park for five sixes, or if you miss a World Cup trophy by the barest of margins.
What is in our control though is to sit back, relax, and appreciate the fickle nature of this game.
Cricket is unpredictable. 2020 might have been unpredictable. Life is definitely unpredictable. Let us be grateful and enjoy each moment.
COVID has turned the world upside down. This pandemic has impacted almost everybody and has given us nothing but grief, despair, and uncertainty. The fact that IPL 2020 was completed without much external noise and disruptions is a tremendous effort from the organizers, the UAE, and the BCCI. Kudos to all the players, commentators, support staff, and everybody else that made this happen.
The 4 hours of joy and entertainment provided every day is exactly what the fans around the world needed in midst of a pandemic.
When life gives you 50 reasons to cry, it also provides 64 matches to smile about.
In the first week of IPL 2020, we witnessed several close games, Tewatia’s magic, and the Indian youngsters on the show. Some said this is the closest IPL ever?
What followed in the next couple of weeks was a thoroughly one-sided tournament.
It seemed that Delhi Capitals were running away with from the rest of the table, and Mumbai Indians were back at their best. RCB were playing….consistently well and even an underperforming KKR were snatching victories out of jaws of defeat.
Where are we now? Two days to go in the league stague, and the points table look something like this. Mumbai Indians are the only team to seal qualification, while CSK are the only team officially out…barely.
On the other hand, RCB at #2 can still fail to make it and KKR at #7 are still alive.
Did you miss the major moments of the day? Do not worry! Here are the moments of the day from our perspective on Twitter – funny run-outs, unusual hit-wickets, Super Over chaos, and much more.
Here are the hashtags we used for each day.
#BCDoftheDay:Broken Cricket Dream of the Day
#RedemptionoftheDay:Comebacks and Redemptions
#SamCurranoftheDay:All-Rounder or the Game Changer of the Day
#UniverseBossoftheDay:Chris Gayle is back, so a new # was needed just for him
We have several videos linked in the tweets and the headlines, so feel free to watch the highlights of the moments if you missed out!
What were your favorite moments of the past two weeks or the IPL in general? Comment below, subscribe below for more such articles, and follow us on our Twitter and Facebook pages!
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: Day 25 #BCDoftheDay: #CSKvSRH 1) Direct hit to dismiss Manish Pandey 2) Rashid Khan hit-wicket/caught at the same time#SamCurranoftheDay: Sam Curran Can bat, bowl, field, open, finish. When will he take the gloves?#IPL2020#IPL#SRH#CSK
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) October 13, 2020
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) October 18, 2020
Day 31 – Buttler’s Day Out
Day 31#BCDoftheDay: #RRvsCSK#MSDhoni run-out and Archer's poor fielding. In MSD's 200th #IPL match, a broken cricket dream for sure.#SamCurranoftheDay: None. No all-round show. Not even Sam. A bit scratchy today.#Redemption: Buttler proves his worth in the middle order.
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) October 19, 2020
Day 33#BCDoftheDay: #KKRvRCB#KKR fans (including me). Shambolic performance and dreams for #IPL2020 slowing going down the drain#RedemptionoftheDay:#siraj – Tough to be a death bowler at the Chinnaswamy. Came back with a magnificent, double maiden opening spell. #IPL#RCB
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) October 21, 2020
Day 35#BCDoftheDay: #CSKvMI#CSK most likely not qualifying. Going down without a fight yet again.#RedemptionoftheDay: Ishan Kishan. Doubters are never too far around him, but he came good yet again today#SamCurranofTheDay: Sam Curran. Opener, stabilizer, finisher, bowler.
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) October 23, 2020
Day 36 #IPL#BCDoftheDay: Game 1: #KKRvDC Rishabh Pant's fluency? Great to watch when he is on song. #RedemptionoftheDay: Sunil Narine. Action issues last 2 weeks but his bat (and economy rate) did the talking#DreamLivedoftheDay: Varun. 5-12 in 17 balls. Wow. What a story.
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) October 24, 2020
In IPL Week 3, there wasMankading drama, catching brilliance, finally some direct hits, and the brilliance of….none other than AB De Villiers. Oh yeah, and King Kohli is also back.
We recap IPL Week 3 via our Twitter dairy with #BCDoftheDay: Broken Cricket Dream of the Day.
We continue our IPL Diary with #BCDoftheDay – Part II – The Halfway Mark. We have several videos linked in the tweet, so you can watch the replay if you missed out.
STAY TILL THE LAST TWEET AND WAIT TILL YOU GET TO DAY 24. WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER TO THE QUESTION?
Comment below your answer as well as your favorite moments of last week. Let us know what you think!
Enjoy the headlines!
Highlights – Week 3
Day 15 – IPL is where you get entertainment, drama, dancing,…,and even comedy!
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: Day 15
Game 1: #RRvRCB Runout chance misses for Archer and Tewatia.
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) October 3, 2020
Day 16 – Dropped Catches and Redemptions feat Manish Pandey
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: Day 16 #BCDoftheDay: Game 1: #MIvSRH The fielding – 3 dropped catches, even by Manish Pandey.#RedemptionoftheDay: Manish Pandey, Rahul Chahar, and Ishan Kishan taking screamers.
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) October 7, 2020
Day 18 – Pollard’s new look trumps Buttler’s brilliance
Broken Cricket Dream of the Day: Day 18#BCDoftheDay: #MIvsRR Jos Buttler – Was brilliant before Kieron Pollard took one heck of a catch. Unlucky Jos there.
