549 runs scored in the match - an IPL record, with an average of 13.72 an over over the two innings. Madness..
Some of the shots were brilliant, but it got boring after a while. When one of the captains at the toss says 240 will be par, you know something is broken. Bengaluru has been known for such kind of wickets. Plus it's a small ground. At least here in Mumbai, we have swing. The other aspect that has raised these total is the impact sub rule. Karthik, who by the way played an amazing innings, talked about this on the Sky podcast the other day. Because of the impact subs, teams can go in with 7-8 genuine batters. I enjoyed Rajasthan/Punjab game where RR chased down 140+ more enjoyable than this.
Me and my brother used to play cricket in the back garden when we were kids and our kid would often say 'And here comes Underwood from the Maisonettes end' when he was (trying) to bowl spin. Just reading up on that game against Australia when he took four wickets in 2o odd balls to draw the series in a rain affected game where the fans helped mop the wet outfield. Great player..
Brilliant innings from Buttler, who clearly is still recovering from his sickness & injury. Was only good enough to be the impact player, was slow in the middle & ran out of partners (barring Powell) but he closed it out. Imagine being Narine. Great century & took wickets as well, but ended up on the losing side.
Jake Fraser-McGurk is one of the find of this season. Looks like a typical Aussie with his mullet. Been impressive with his hitting. I would like to see him feature in the T20WC, though that Aussie team seems stacked. Warner though might be on his way out. He is strangely well liked here, especially in the state of his former Team Hyderabad. But the new kid Fraser-McGurk took his place. Warner got a chance in the last game, after sitting out few games, but he didn't make it count. I doubt if Warner will get any buyers in the next auction. They are always around the top, despite being new to the IPL. Very balanced team filled with hitters.
Warner is not a liked man, even in his own country. Those plastic tears he cried after Smudger and Bancroft had already apologised didn’t go down well, it all seemed (was) an afterthought. Bloke’s a ****..
Lucknow Super Giants pull it out of the bag needed 17 of the last over they do it in 3 balls! Marcus Stoinis with 124 off 63.
I saw him score 154 in a T20 game at the MCG, no mean feat when you consider the boundaries are a taxi ride away. Some player..
good grief, "Rocky" Flintoff. Hope he makes more of any talent he has than his father, may have impressed and wowed but often too short in beating edges and only 5 Test hundreds and 3x 5wi with no 10wm and modest averages was a bit below his ability. Didn't know before just looking but in any calendar year he only averaged under 30 twice with the ball. His efforts however he, among others, was instrumental in a couple of noteworthy series - vs SAF 04/05 : 227 runs @ 28.38 & 23 wkts @ 24.96 vs AUS 2005 : 402 runs @ 40.20 & 24 wkts @ 27.29 Jones taking 15 @ 26.67 and 18 @ 21.00 in said series being another key factor, his injury which I reckon may have been avoided had Yawn not enforced the follow on instead of resting his bowlers, pretty much saw England have to limp home with 3 wicket win in the 4th Test then batted a draw in his absence Andrew Flintoff's son Rocky hits first Lancashire 2nd XI century - BBC Sport
therein lies a problem trying to make pitches flat, ideal for record scores, focusing too heavily on hitting sixes instead of making a contest between bat and ball some of the best Test matches have been low(er) scorers, one personal favourite the 1991 Test at Headingley Gooch scored 34 1st innings in a battle to post 198, England 64/4 at one stage and Smith with 54 and gRamps with 27 helping put on a decent total, windies were 102/3 in reply with Sir Viv making 73, the 2nd highest individual score of the match, before England batted again and Gooch carried for 154no, the rest managing 71 runs (extras 21) with gramps repeating his 1st innings score and Pringle same score in a 98 run partnership with Gooch windies 'only' needed 278 to win, lost Simmons first ball duck, never really recovered with Richie Richardson posting 3rd highest score of the match with 68 and partnerships of 61 (2nd wicket) and 48 (6th) making up 109 runs of the 162 total it was nay picnic, that no batsman was ever truly in was what made it fascinating and whilst the margin of victory didn't make it look close looking back, it was never in the bag even when Gooch was going strong - windies line up led by weakest link Simmons but Haynes, Richardson, Hooper, Richards, Logie and Dujon with more than handy Marshall, and Ambrose there, and of course Marshall, Ambrose, Walsh and Patterson the pace quartet the England batsmen had to face, was a right old tussle all the way
Watching KKR batting in their innings against PBKS in The IPL was enjoyable as they scored 261-6 which is the highest score at Eden Gardens.
Shashank Sharma's story continues. Came in & helped win the game. Excellent innings from Bairstow. Another bad day for the bowlers. Bad pitches & impact sub rule is causing this. I won't mind if the latter is taken back next season, though I doubt it.
No game for Glamorgan this week, so we've had two inter squad T20's to see who will be in the first few squads for the blast.
As Zydus implies, who’d be a bowler in the IPL? Another great knock from the old Shashank and Jonny finally having some fun after a terrible run. I think we’re getting close to a score of 300 if they keep producing these bat friendly pitches.
Jacks gets his season in the sun (see what I did there). Impressive 100 not out off 41 balls in what ended up being a very easy run chase getting 206 with four overs to spare..
Our team will be announced tomorrow. Three teams annouced so far for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Most teams look strong, though I belive Australia will be the team to beat. Will be interesting to see if they include Fraser-Mcgurk. A Head & Fraser-Mcgurk opening partnership will be devastating. EDIT: Even our squad has been annouced. Fairly happy with the chocies, except for Hardik's inclusion, who doesn't deserve a call up. Delighted to see Pant back, though Samson will most probably be the first choice WK .
