Midseason review of the IPL 2023

Half of the games are completed in the IPL, with Rajasthan Royals leading the way. There were some close games but overall, this has been a tournament for the batsmen as usual. Just that this season, the batsmen have dominated the season even more than in the previous seasons. The number of 200+ scores is incredible and those scores being chased down are even more mindboggling. These games are driving home the point that bowlers are becoming irrelevant in the game. I will leave that for another day. For now, midseason review of the IPL 2023.

Delhi Capitals

Contrary to expectations, Delhi has completely gone off the boil. They have flamboyant batsmen from the top in Warner, Shaw, Marsh and a good finisher in Axar Patel. For some reason, they have not prospered as they were expected to. Prithvi Shaw, it is increasingly becoming clearer that he is not international material. He refuses to work hard and is adamant not to change his game. Ofcourse, he will go back to Ranji Trophy and thrash all those hapless bowlers to all parts of the ground but even in the alright standard of IPL bowling, he is found wanting.

Ponting by now must have lost his patience with Shaw. Before the start of the tournament, Ponting expected a refreshed Shaw but what transpired was the same old one. Warner’s struggle at the top and Marsh’s inability to score had added to their woes. They are not in a position to qualify for playoffs; at the halfway stage, their tournament is over.

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians

As for SRH, nothing seems to go right for them. For 3 seasons in a row. The unceremonious sacking of Warner a couple of seasons ago, from then on, it has been slide. The top order is not scoring runs as well as the middle-order. Bowlers are not able to restrict the opposition. Kumar, usually a dependable bowler for SRH, has been out of sorts. The multi-million dollar signing of Harry Brook bore fruit in one game. Spectacularly at that but has generally found the pitches tough for his strokeplay. To make matters worse, he even commented against the Indians which was not in good taste. Sundar, I have always said he is a good batsman than a bowler. Ofcourse, he may have been a misfit in T20 but if he is in the squad, he must bat in the top order.

Mumbai Indians have gone off the rails. With so much firepower missing in their ranks, like the Pandya brothers, it is not surprising to see them languishing at the bottom. Bumrah’s absence is telling but he could not have done anything to improve the scoring.

Royal Challengers Bangalore, Lucknow Supergiants

RCB’s batting is exceptionally brittle. The stalwarts Faf Plessis, Kohli and Maxwell are amongst the runs but they are incapable of chasing tall scores. They need support in the middle order and at the moment, it is not forthcoming. Rajat Patidar’s injury is a big blow but the management must utilise the existing resources properly. Shahbaz Ahmed does not know what his role in the team is. It is time to look beyond Harshal Patel as a death bowler. Perhaps, Karthik can open the innings with either of Faf or Kohli going down the order to bolster the middle-order. With the existing batting and flawed thinking, I do not see RCB proceeding to the playoffs.

Rahul is at it again. He is a complete misfit in T20. It is clear as day. Opponents are happy to let Rahul bat as long as he can because they know pretty well that he will make the chase difficult or setting a high score difficult. I have often said this. Rahul in white-ball cricket is a good middle-order batsman but a complete novice as an opener. The Indian selectors finally realised that have dropped Rahul from T20. The Lucknow management may not drop him but atleast must remove him from captaincy and make him play at number 5.

The table toppers

Hardik Pandya has not done his chances of leading the Indian white-ball teams in the near future any harm. Placed 2^nd with 5 wins in 7 games is an impressive record. Sai Sudharshan has been a revelation this season. In a team of explosive hitters, he has left his own imprint.

For some reason, CSK always performs. There was one season during which they finished at the bottom from mostly, CSK has been a consistent side. They are the Germans of IPL. Always finishing in the top 4. Moreover, discards from other squads, perform well when they are in CSK colours. Rahane who hardly played while in other side, has unveiled his aggressive side. Same with Shivam Dube who literally could not lay a bat on the ball and is now scoring 50s at will. Moeen Ali, though not as successful this season, was the mainstay in 2022. Something really clicks in that franchise. Ben Stokes hasn’t played in a majority of the games yet, CSK find ways to win.

Rajasthan Royals are the team to defeat. Buttler is in blazing form and so is Samson but the find must be Dhruv Jovel. Having spent the entire season on the bench in 2022, he has shown his skills with the bat.