With the Arabian sojourn coming to an end, the IPL shifts its base back home in India but not before we saw some big hits, some surprises, great catches and poor performances that were unexpected.
With the Arabian sojourn coming to an end, the IPL shifts its base back home in India but not before we saw some big hits, some surprises, great catches and poor performances that were unexpected. Here are some of the hits and misses from the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League, season 7:
Hits
Glen Maxwell and David Miller
The Aussie-South African pair have taken the IPL 7 season to a whole new level. From their first game, versus Chennai Super Kings where they chased down a mammoth 205 in the allotted 20 overs, the duo has been a revelation for the Punjab side. Glen Maxwell has taken the orange cap (300 runs) while David Miller too has chipped in with some breathtaking performances.
Catches win matches
The Indian Premier League does provide the entertainment as we saw this year with some great catches being held in the UAE leg. Right from that stunner from Christian Lynn to dismiss AB de Villiers to Mitchell Starc’s two brilliant takes; expect more to come your way when the IPL returns back home.
The return of Kevin Pietersen
After being ‘sacked’ by the England Cricket Board, it seems the cricketing career was over for Kevin Pietersen. But the England star made a point by marking a return to cricket with the Delhi Daredevils. The skipper who missed few games at the start due to a finger injury, returned for the final few games that included a win over the Mumbai Indians.
Virender Sehwag is BACK!
If anybody thought that the ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ was in retirement mode, well they may be wrong. Virender Sehwag might not have big scores behind him but the former Delhi skipper played some extravagant strokes evoking those memories of ‘Viru’ of the old.
Misses
Gautam Gambhir’s ‘Duck’ tale
Even though the KKR had a patchy form in the UAE leg of the IPL 7, they might be worried of their skipper Gautam Gambhir who scored a hat-trick of ducks. Though he managed to score some runs with the bat against the Rajasthan Royals, Gambhir though holds the record of most number of ducks as an IPL skipper (8)
Royal Challengers Bangalore disappoint
Many pundits predicted that the RCB were one of the title contenders for the IPL title this year but seeing their poor form in the UAE shores, very few will put money on the Challengers putting up a title bid. Their most acrimonious performance came against the Rajasthan Royals where they were shut out for a paltry 70!
Mumbai Indians’ pathetic run
Played 5 Won 0 and Lost 5 – this is a statistic of defending IPL champions, Mumbai Indians who are yet to register a win. Under Rohit Sharma last season, they went on to do the double with a IPL as well as CLT20 title under their belt but this season, it seems even if the availability of Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting won’t do any good.
It was an eventful tour of the UAE for the IPL enthusiasts and the franchises but now the heads turn to India where turning tracks, flat decks and huge crowds await. Who can be the champion, you decide!
