As is fair in a gentlemen’s game, there are a few wins and there are a few loses. It’s not about how well the game is largely played, it’s about how well it was played when it mattered the most. Some move up the ladder and a few, go home with memories.
The IPL 2016, which is almost drawing to a close, has turned out to be nothing short of a spectacular entertainment season for all the cricket fans. Played like a religion in our country, the season had eye-popping matches and disappointments to its credit; and now we have the teams which have stormed into the top four. But let’s not talk about them!
Let’s talk about the ones who didn’t make it into the top four; who were at some point expected to seal their places near the close, but could not do it. The first ones on this list, as you must have guessed are the home favorite Mumbai Indians. Having begun with a rough start, there came a phase when they picked up their game and it seemed that they were on a road to victory. With truckloads of expectations riding on them right from the start, the cheers and prayers of their loyal fans was working. Then as suddenly as suddenly as the up-trend had started, begun their downfall. Overall it can be said that the team composition somehow didn’t work. With the biggest purse amongst all franchises, they could not have afforded to lose all the matches that they did. The selections were muddled, they stuck around with players who were not performing their best and they lost out on a couple of situations which could have been a win-win for them. Overall, it was a season which the Mumbai Indians would want to forget at the earliest.
With Delhi Daredevils, it was the other way around. Having started off with a great in-team chemistry and a good spirit too, the team only buckled under pressure from the ferocious Gujarat Lions in the last game. With eight out of fourteen victories to their credit, the Daredevils nonetheless played extremely competitive matches in the series. Some replacements here and there and some calculated decisions would have endured that they fared well; but alas!
Talking about the third best team, the Rising Pune Supergiants had the blue-eyed boy of cricket, M.S.Dhoni leading them. Also they were a new team, they did have experience on their side. Having said this, the Supergiants were a let-down in the pace department. To add to this, in most their matches, the players were good but the combinations were not too great. This paved the way for more and more unforced errors as each matched progressed. The team lacked constancy as there were periods of semblance of stability immediately followed by concaves of dipping performance. This was the major reason which took the Rising Pune Supergiants down under.
The Kinds XI Punjab were a confused lot in this season of the IPL. If batting fires bowling fails, if bowling fires batting fails and if both fire miss catches backfire. The opening pair was somehow always unsettled, and their trump card Maxwell, was not on his usually fiery mode.
Nonetheless, every team goes through such ups and downs in their game. Today it was there, tomorrow it will be some team else. What matters the most that they made for a spine-tingling and a gripping season of cricket. What remains to be seen is how the top four perform now. So, tune in!
