Q/ Let’s talk about the biggest rivalry of the IPL – Chennai vs Mumbai. Now this almost felt a result we all knew before the match began. Mumbai have not won the first match of the IPL since 2012, and Chennai have assembled a team to essentially win everything at home and pick up a few wins outside. With Ashwin, Jadeja and Noor Ahmad, do we just pencil in CSK for the playoffs?
A/ They got off to a good start and like you said, Mumbai haven't won their first match in many seasons. But remember, Mumbai were without Hardik Pandya, their captain, and Jasprit Bumrah, unarguably the world's premier bowler in whichever format you want to consider. So, that was the handicap that they started with. Even so, I thought they made a really good match of it, thanks largely to a young left-arm spinner, Vignesh Puthur, who nobody had heard of previously. He was playing his first match and in many ways it's a trademark IPL story, isn't it? The kind of talent that comes in from the remotest parts in the country, from the most diverse backgrounds. His father is an autorickshaw driver. He comes in, makes an impact in the middle overs, picks up three wickets and Mumbai are almost jostling with CSK for the points. Yes, CSK got through because I think Mumbai's total was very modest, but 15-20 runs more could have made it even closer.
In Sunday's matches, you see the contrast—in the first match, SRH versus RR, 528 runs were scored, which is exciting in its own way, but in the second match, CSK versus MI, it was more taut, more compelling because it involved players displaying more skills and better temperament. Just 313 runs were scored in that match. So, I think it was a very good Sunday for the IPL with all these different dimensions coming in from the different kinds of players. Noor Ahmad, for instance. Everybody talks about Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi as the Afghan spinners to reckon with, but here is Noor, who has been around for a while but is coming to his own. So, yeah, terrific Sunday.
Q/ Vignesh Puthur was one of the bright spots for Mumbai, but he was picked because this was essentially a spin-friendly track at the Chepauk. We know Mumbai have a really good scouting system and they seemed to have earned their keep once more. Vignesh also got a pat from the back from Dhoni himself after the match, which was a great moment for the young boy. But, do you think he will get more game time because he will only come in when the pitches are spin-friendly and a lot of them aren't. They'll probably go with Mitchell Santner as their spin option because he also gives you a bit with the bat. So, do you see this young kid getting a lot more opportunities?
A/ That’s the question, but you can't ask for better mentorship or nurturing at this stage of your career than going to one of these two franchises that are renowned for nurturing young players and sometimes even veterans. I think Ajinkya Rahane will tell you what happened to him when he went to CSK. And so, I think Puthur has got off to a very good start. The thing about the IPL is if you do well and especially against a marquee team, it just immediately ramps up your profile and you're in the public consciousness. Now, two things can happen from here—either you don't know how to traverse your path or you grow rapidly. I hope for Puthur’s case that his development is rapid, but that can only happen if he gets more game time. So, as you mentioned rightly, Santner is actually their frontline left-arm spinner and everywhere they might not be able to play three or four spinners. So, Puthur might be an impact substitute who comes in every now and then, but that in itself is a great learning curve.
Q/ We spoke about how CSK have a strategy of squeezing the opposition in the middle overs. SRH have a different kind of strategy, one of just bashing everything out of the park. They will break 300 soon enough; they have started with 286 this season. And now they have got Ishan Kishan, a redemption story of the IPL, who was let go from Mumbai, lost his central contract and who has now come back with a century on debut for the Sunrisers. They have also got someone like Harshal Patel who picks up wickets during big chases. What did you make of the first sighting of SRH? More of the same?
A/ SRH is the team to reckon with. Last season, they finished runners-up and I think they look better now with Ishan Kishan being there. Kishan, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head are three devastating left-handers on par with, if not a little ahead of, LSG’s three – Rishabh Pant, David Miller and Nicholas Pooran. So, this is going to be a very heady IPL because the format itself is action-packed but there seems to be now this [new level of] batting fearlessly. I think 300 is going to crumble this season and not just by SRH; LSG could be one of those teams if the top order clicks. So, for the bowlers, I think there's a lot of hard times ahead.
Q/ Lastly, RCB took on the defending champions KKR and they won quite easily at the end with Virat Kohli staying not out. Now the whole narrative of this season, this being the 18th one and Kohli’s number being 18, is that—could this finally be the time he lifts the title? Shah Rukh Khan spoke about it in the opening ceremony. From what you saw of RCB in that first match, do you think that could happen? Or do you think there are far stronger teams who are doing it more consistently?
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A/ On paper, I didn't think RCB was such a strong team. They let go of people like Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj and Faf Du Plessis, who were with them for a while. They didn't win the title even when they had Chris Gayle or ABD (AB de Villiers).
But, I thought the performance they put up at the Eden Gardens was very impressive. If Josh Hazlewood is fit and bowling in the manner he did, and then they have got Krunal Pandya, who I think is an ace in the IPL, then they have got the bowling [sorted]. And with Virat Kohli in the kind of form that he has shown, and with Phil Salt [you never know]. It’s premature to talk about whether they will win or not, but I think that they will put up a good show. Last year, they finished in the playoffs, and this year they will want to make it to the playoffs again. That’s what every team is aspiring for at this stage. I thought they were very impressive beating KKR; it’s not easy to beat KKR at the Eden Gardens, certainly given the head-to-head record of these two teams. I thought this was, in many ways, the first upset of this season.
