IPL 2020 Week 1 Review: Heroes and Zeroes

IPL 2020 has had the best possible start as the fans are treated with some mind-boggling matches straight up, and it has turned out to be a different year all of a sudden. The players are giving everything on the field and the standard of the league hasn’t dropped even one bit as the players have hit the top form right away after such a long break.

After the first week of this edition of IPL where all the teams have played 2 or more matches, it is safe to say that the fans are in for an exciting season with lots of surprises ahead. This season has the potential to be the most tightly contested one of all the IPL seasons so far. Lets us review some important moments that took place in the 1st week of IPL 2020

KL Rahul’s blitzkrieg

The KXIP captain missed out on the first game of the tournament against Delhi Capitals but he made a cracking statement in the 2nd game against Royal Challengers Bangalore where he pummeled the RCB bowlers to all parts of the ground as he smashed a brilliant 69 ball 132 runs which turned out to be the highest individual score by an Indian and the highest score by a captain in the IPL.

He backed that century with a crafty 69 from 54 balls against Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah and is the orange cap holder at the moment.

Yuzvendra Chahal’s game-breaking spell

The first game for RCB against SRH was all but gone as Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey were taking their team home without breaking a sweat chasing 163 runs. SRH needed 43 runs from 5 overs and that is when Virat Kohli decided to make or break the game as he threw the ball to Yuzvendra Chahal for his final over of the spell and oh boy, the canny wrist-spinner responded by picking 2 wickets in the over including the well set Jonny Bairstow.

He finished his spell with 4 overs for 3 wickets and 18 runs and helped RCB to win the game from nowhere.

Scintillating Sanju Samson
The Kerala born wicket-keeping batsman has decided that this is the tournament where he is going to do complete justice to his unbelievable potential. He has been hitting the cricket ball as sweet as anyone in the world and his bat flow has just been on top of the world. The first week of the tournament belongs to him for his 2 awe-striking innings of 74 runs from 32 balls against CSK and 85 from 42 balls against KXIP.

Luckily for him, both his knocks didn’t go in vain as RR have won 2 in 2 to start their campaign on a bright note. They have surely punched above their weight to prove that big names don’t matter but team games do.

The unreal choke from Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab have a completely new set up this time around with extraordinary back-room staffs and an exciting young bunch of players. They played their tournament opener against Delhi Capitals and restricted them to a below-par total until the 19th-over mark in DC’s batting innings. DC were just 127 at the start of their 20th over but Chris Jordan’s last over yielded 30 runs which took DC to 157.

Kings XI Punjab started on a steady note but wickets at regular intervals halted their run chase big time. It was Mayank Agarwal who stood tall and was steering his side home until he was caught at deep covers when 1 run was needed from 3 balls. KXIP couldn’t hit a run in the next 2 balls and Kagiso Rabada was too much for KXIP in the super over as DC started their campaign with a lucky win and it was a heartbreaking moment for KXIP.

Magnificent Mayank Agarwal
Here’s another player who wants to make the most of his terrific form. He is India’s premium opener in the toughest format of the game in tests but he once started his career as a dasher who used to hit the ball without giving any respect whatsoever. He started the season with a fighting 89 runs from 60 balls where he almost took his team over the line with hardly any help from other batsmen.

In the 3rd game, where the boundaries were smaller and the wicket was flat, Mayank Agarwal decided that he is not going to miss out on this golden opportunity and he amassed a stroke-filled century where he scored 106 runs from just 50 balls. He along with KL Rahul are forming a deadly combination for the opposition. Mayank Agarwal is the 2nd leading run-scorer after 3 games with 221 runs as he is just 1 run behind his captain KL Rahul who is sitting at the top of the table.

Shades of 2018 Ambati Rayudu
CSK have played 3 games in the first week of IPL. They have lost 2 and won 1. Their only win came in the tournament opener against the defending champions Mumbai Indians The man of the match for CSK in that game was their highest scorer in the 2018 edition of IPL, Ambati Rayudu. That was the only game Ambati Rayudu played for CSK in this season.

He came in when CSK were stuttering at 6 for 2 chasing 163. A loss here for CSK would have meant 6th straight loss for CSK against MI but Ambati Rayudu took the attack to the opposition as he hit a match-winning 71 from 48 balls. He seemed to be at ease in the crease and looked like he never stopped playing cricket. He was hitting MI’s best bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Chahar for fun which made his innings a standout one. He will be back for CSK against SRH on October 2nd after missing out 2 games.

Young sensation Ravi Bishnoi spinning a web
The U19 sensation in Ravi Bishnoi has made an excellent impression right away at the big stage in IPL. The accurate lines and lengths to go along with his pace variations have been the high-point of the youngster so far.
He has bowled 12 overs so far in the competition and has given away 88 runs for 4 wickets. Not a bad start to his IPL career and will be hoping to continue this for rest of the tournament.

Jofra Archer’s assault
Jofra Archer has come to the party not with the ball but with the bat. He has hit 6 maximums in the tournament so far from the 11 balls he has faced. 4 of those sixes came against Lungi Ngidi  in one over. He surprised everyone with his hitting abilities although it is a known fact that he is a great potential with the bat.

6,6,6,6,0,6: Rahul Tewatia almost hits 6 sixes in an over

Rahul Tewatia was sent in at #4 in a high-pressure chase of 224 runs against KXIP. He hardly put the bat on ball in his first 20 balls where he scored just 8 runs. The whole world was cussing him and then came one of the greatest revenge overs in the history of cricket where he turned the tables on with 5 sixes in one over of the bowling of the West Indian quick, Sheldon Cottrell.

Rahul Tewatia, in the end, scored 53 runs from 31 balls. He managed to hit 32 runs from the last 10 balls he faced and turned from zero to hero within a span of 10 balls. He won’t forget this innings for his lifetime.

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Prithvi Shaw have all started their season with a half-century in their 2nd game of the season after failing in their first match. DC and RR have won 2 out of their 2 games and are at the top of the points table. SRH and RCB are the bottom of the table with SRH yet to register a win in the tournament.

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