Yet again , the Elephant in the Room
A demoralising loss. What went wrong ? Nearly everything. We lost due to our team not wanting to win.
THE NEGATIVES
- THE MIRAGE OF OVERACHIEVEMENT -
We went berserk last season. Everytime ( barring the final ) we batted , we cracked fireworks in the stadiums. This season , the team seems to be chasing the mirage of doing the same, which is costing us very , very much.
After every IPL season , every team creates new strategies to counter other teams , to win the IPL . They analyze the previous games , what went wrong with them , to play better in the future. Sadly, our team seems to have done neither of the things mentioned. Trying to recreate last season by mindless slogging when the opponent teams are carefully scheming to counter out batsmen is , frankly , nothing but a beggar's dream of being a millionaire.
As a team , we need to adapt and overcome our mistakes , not make them again and again.
- THE IMPORTANCE OF POSITION NUMBER 3 AND 4
In previous season , we had a problem in the number 3 position, as no one clicked there. But we didn't feel it very much because our opening pair was great , and whenever we had a crisis, NK Reddy carried us .
So , what happens to be the problem this season? We need understand the importance of 3 and 4 position, which is , in a nutshell , way too much. If your openers get out early , the number 3 and 4 need to stabilize the innings , so that the lower order can finish the innings later. Even if one of them fails , then the other one needs to take more responsibility. Because when both of them fail , the lower middle order ( who are mainly good at hitting and taking risks and finishing ) has to take the responsibility of rebuilding the innings , which is the contrary of their roles. And that's where we are not clicking.
We have Kishan and NKR at number 3 and 4. Kishan has always been a ' hit or miss ' batsman ( no disrespect to him ) , so I won't be criticising him much. But NKR seems to be trying too hard , which is affecting his natural playstyle . When you're 3 down in powerplay , your first thought would be to stabilize the batting first , not slogging mindlessly . That's just bad mindset , nothing else.
- ABHISHEK SHARMA
Abhishek has had a unfocused attitude from the start of the season. His body language seems so lazy. He didn't even try to run today. Yesterday he got out in a ball he would have smoked for a 80m six if he was focused enough. He's not checking the fielding positions, he's not trying to find the gap , he's just mindlessly trying to hit from ball one , and giving his wicket too easily in the process.
- LACKLUSTER BOWLING
And yet again, the elephant in the room - our below par bowling. Last two matches , both opponent sides bowled way better than our sides. They restricted arguably the best batting side in the tournament easily, where as our bowlers leaked runs like a hosepipe in a fire emergency.
Shami is not having a good season- partially because he returned from an injury , partially because he's become old. Cummins was never a powerplay bowler. Simarjeet is hit and miss. Zampa has not been good enough.
190 was a defendable score , and we lost that match one-sided. 163 was not very defendable , bur our bowlers still did not fight. This needs to change.
THE POSITIVES
Aniket Verma , the guy who performs under pressure. A big hitter , a good spin basher, and above all - not a mindless slogger. He can slog and stabilize the innings , that too in middle order. Seriously, a great find.
While our bowling unit has been miserable at best, Harshal Patel has been doing his best from match one. Today , Zeesan Ansari also bowled like we needed him to , counter-attacking and not trying to cower and defend. So , he also got the results - 3 wickets.
3.Klassen seems to be in good touch. These three matches , he did really well , and just needs a big inning to stabilize himself perfectly.
WHAT TO IMPROVE
The mentality of trying too hard needs to be driven away. Yes , try to hit , and hit hard , but assess the situation first . Mindless hitting is nothing but a lazy strategy, and something that cannot be used to win the cup .
The bowlers need to be more aggressive and tight with their lengths, especially Cummins and Shami. They are being too defensive, which is costing our team.
Our team's body language says that they're giving up way too fast, which is honestly pitiful. Why would you give up in a game where amything can happen? Try harder , don't lose hope . That's where you lose the match.
Last but not the least -- please don't lost hope , y'all. We win as a team , we lose as a team. Analyze, find out the faults , talk and discuss about them; but please don't do something that can demoralize the team or the players.
Hope for the best , prepare for the worst .