MLC WEEK 1
Follow UsIf you are in India and are still watching the Major Cricket League (MLC), we have no option but to salute your commitment. You are either not sleeping through the night or are disciplined enough to wake up once your alarm rings. With matches starting at 2, 3 and 6 AM, it won't be surprising if you have go with the former option.
At the end of the first week of the MLC, the Texas Super Kings (TSK) find themselves at the top of the table having won two of their three matches. Hmmm..A team named Super Kings topping the table. Where have we heard that before? On the opposite end of the table Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) are yet to get off the mark, losing all three games so far. Fancy calling them Los(s) Angeles then? Okay.
Now that the name-calling has ended, let's skip to the good part...(Yes, I'm a reels addict and so are you, admit it!).
What can't Bravo do?
He can sing, he can dance and of course, he can also coach teams to titles. He can bowl important overs and when the chance comes, he does not shy away from playing brilliant knocks. In the match against Washington Freedom, it seemed all over for TSK when Dwayne Bravo walked into bat with his side reeling at 50 for 5 in the ninth over, chasing 164. When Mitchell Santner was dismissed after putting up 38 with Bravo, their side further needed 86 off the last six overs.
The likes of Akeal Hosein, Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen had to bear the brunt as Bravo took the equation down to 56 off 18, 39 off 12 and 27 off 6. Despite an entertaining innings, TSK fell short by just six runs in the end, with Bravo finishing unbeaten on 76 off 39 deliveries, including six sixes and five fours.
Is Narine a worthy captain?
In the last 13 T20 matches (10 in ILT20, 3 in MLC), Sunil Naine-led Knight Riders have tasted victory just once. At the ILT20 earlier this year he led Abu Dhabi, where he saved himself of some embarrassment by winning his side's final match of the tournament, but not good enough to take them off the foot of the table. It has started in similar fashion in the MLC as well, as LAKR have lost all three matches under him so far. Probably time to pass the baton on to someone in the team who has actually led his team to a title - I'm talking about Unmukt Chand of course!
No more coffee for Stoinis?
It's no secret that Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis are best friends. Not just that, both of them are coffee enthusiasts. Zampa carries coffee beans and grinders everywhere he tours and shares them with Stoinis when they return to their hotels. However, the conversation at their next coffee date could be how Stoinis completely owned Zampa in their duel. Stoinis smashed three sixes and a four.
Stoinis looked at his brutal best, as his 18-ball 37 paved way for the San Fransisco Unicorns to put up a mammoth 212 against LAKR, which proved to be good enough in the end.
It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Matthew Wade
Matthew Wade has not played competitive cricket since the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He sat on the bench during the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season, where his side Gujarat Titans (GT) finished second to Chennai Super Kings (CSK). It was time to prove a point. And he did that in the game against LAKR where he got to his fifty inside the powerplay off just 21 deliveries - the fastest in the tournament.
He hit seven fours and five sixes in total, finishing with 78 off just 41 deliveries against LAKR to remind everyone that he is still around and capable of winning matches for his side.
Corey Anderson keeps the US flag flying high
In case you didn't know, the former New Zealand all-rounder, who once held the record for the fastest ODI ton, is now eligible to play for the US. It was baffling not to see him get picked for the recently-concluded World Cup Qualifier, where the US failed to win a single game. However, with scores of 91*, 12 and 39, he is the leading run-scorer in the tournament so far. He was ruthless in the Unicorns' first game of the tournament, scoring an unbeaten 91 off just 52 deliveries. A debut for his adopted country is pretty much inevitable.
With US playing the T20 World Cup next year, expect Anderson to be among the first player on the team sheet.
How is the Indian contingent doing?
While they have all retired from Indian cricket, it would be unfair to mention them here. After all, Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani, right?
Let's start with the 2012 U-19 World Cup winners first - Unmukt Chand, Harmeet Singh and Smit Patel - all of whom incidentally retired from Indian cricket in 2021. Chand (LAKR) in his three matches so far, has not done anything of significance, scoring just 50 runs with a highest score of 26. Left-arm spinner Harmeet, who has played a couple of matches for the Seattle Orcas has picked up three wickets at 13 along with an economy rate of under five, while wicketkeeper Smit Patel (San Fransisco Unicorns) is yet to get a game.
Speaking of the other Indian players, leg-spinner Sarabjeet Ladda made his MLC debut for MI NY against the Unicorns, picking up the wicket of Aaron Finch, who BTW, is now a middle-order batter.
All-rounder Chaitanya Bishnoi is perhaps the most-recently retired player to feature in the MLC. The batting all-rounder has not had the best of starts, having scored just a solitary run and picked up just a wicket in his three matches so far. Milind Kumar, the former Delhi player, has played thrice for TSK, scoring just six runs, Shubham Ranjane has 18 runs from two games for Seattle, while former Rajasthan all-rounder Tajinder Singh Dhillon has 19 runs from three games for San Fransisco.
