EXCLUSIVE
Follow UsOver the years, the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings have given their fans plenty of reasons to cheer in the Indian Premier League. However, two of the most consistent sides in the history of the tournament are struggling in this edition and are yet to get off the mark in the points table, courtesy of four losses to start the campaign.
While things look bleak for the two teams, former player WV Raman shared his throughs on the way ahead for these two sides.
"It is always going to be tough for the sides that have built up such a reputation and have sent such high standards, but they are in a precarious situation, and the tables can be reversed. I remember when I was with KKR, it was not a great start in the first leg in UAE in 2014, and we perhaps lost about six out of the first seven games we played, but we went on to win the title.
"These sides are still in with a chance, and it is still early days, but it is always better to build up on some victories as you get into the tournament."
"It is going to be tough because they do not look like a settled unit as they used to be in the previous years. It is just that the combinations look a bit lacklustre, at least from the way they have played," he said.
After being asked to bat first, Mumbai were jolted by Harshal Patel's opening blow as he scalped the prized wicket of Rohit Sharma to dent the innings.
Sharing insights on the performance of Harshal and the impact he has, he said, "His consistency has been fantastic. For somebody who is not express quick, he mixes it up well, and the slower deliveries that he bowls are very deceptive, which produces a lot of success.
"For somebody like Rohit Sharma, who was deceived today by a slower delivery and has seen Harshal Patel a lot, it is the best testimony to his skills," he further added.
Despite a middle-order collapse, Mumbai were bailed out of a tricky situation by Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed a sublime 68* off 37 delievries studded with five boundaries and six hits over the fence.
"Over the last four to five years, Suryakumar Yadav has evolved into a fantastic cricketer, and the way he has understood his game and the way he has worked on the range of shots in the last two or three years is phenomenal."
"He is starting to make a mark for himself as a 360-degree player. He did not get his recognition very soon and had to churn in year after year for a long period of time. He has realised that and taken in the right spirit that if they do not pick you, score more runs. He has developed the uncanny knack of dealing with situations and overcoming them, and today, when he was batting, it was looking like a different track."
The former India player has seen Suryakumar from close quarters after his stint with the Knight Riders and said, "When we sat down for a meeting a day prior to the auction, it was a unanimous choice of Suryankuar Yadav because Gautam, myself and others who were involved in the auction were of the view that he was extremely talented, and we were going to pick him at any cost."
"He did not have big runs, but he would do what was required of him, and even at that time, he would go out and play a fearless brand of cricket. If he got out, it still did not deter him from wanting to play the role he was assigned, and he was also not worried about himself, which is an important criteria here, "he added.
While Suryakaumar was the star of the show in the first innings, a young 22-year old, Anuj Rawat, produced one of his best knocks to help the Boys in Red record their third win of the competition.
"He is a young man, and he will also have it in the back of his mind that he has not made a permanent place for his stateside, but this was a big opportunity with guys like Ishan Kishan, who have overtaken him in the overall scenario."
But, there he was, leading his side to a fantastic victory, and that would have done his confidence a world of the good. It is also good for RCB because apart from all the heavyweights, the backup players in the XI make the team a lot stronger," Raman said.
On the other hand, the first match of the super Saturday witnessed another youngster showcasing his skills at the biggest stage as Abhishek Sharma smashed 75 off 50 balls to power SRH to their maiden win.
"His talent was never in question, but if he was slotted in the right position was my viewpoint when we spoke about him. I still maintain that he is a very talented cricketer and can be a very good all-rounder and probably can play for the country as well, " he said.
One of the reasons for Chennai's struggle this season has been the lack of run from their premier batter, Ruturaj Gaikwad. Raman shared his thoughts on the changes the youngster can incorporate to score some valuable runs in the upcoming matches.
"It was a similar kind of situation with Gautam Gambhir; the start was very ordinary for him but what is important for somebody to tell him is poor form is part of every sports person's career. It is how quickly somebody gets over it, is what separates better players from the average player."
"Right now, he should be looking to be aggressive and play some shots. Just because he is not getting runs, he should not look to consume time and make it up because that will slow him up in terms of his responses."
"If a player says, I will go and defend the first three-four overs and then go hammer and tongs; it does not work because everything will slow down. It means you're deliberately telling yourself to do something as against your conditioned reflexes, which have been developed over a period of time," he signed off.
