The rustiness of the first few days made way for some high-octane action as the second week of IPL 2020 came to a close. There’s still no clear leader so far, with the points table wearing different looks with each game. This week’s action was peppered with several brilliant individual showings, and a few talking points to ponder over.

Youngsters continue to shine bright

If Devdutt Padikkal and Prithvi Shaw lit up the first week, the next few days saw the youth brigade shine further in the IPL.

In a game where the match aggregate totalled 402 runs, off-spinner Washington Sundar’s measly figures of 1-12 in four overs stood out. Shubman Gill continued his classy showing up top for KKR, and Ishan Kishan walked right off the Mumbai Indians bench to smack an incredible 58-ball 99.

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If this wasn’t enough, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, who set the U19 World Cup alight two years ago, came good for KKR, the Royals found an unlikely hero in 27-year-old Rahul Tewatia, and Priyam Garg, India’s U-19 captain, justified his place in the SRH middle order with a masterful knock against CSK.

From stunners to dropped sitters – fielding ranges in the extreme

Nicholas Pooran’s wonder save at the boundary line will be replayed for months, while Glenn Maxwell and Jimmy Neesham’s relay effort at the ropes is likely to be repeated again as the level of fielding gets pushed to new extremes.

On the other end of the spectrum, however, Virat Kohli dropped a couple of sitters, Manish Pandey let one through, and Ravindra Jadeja put an easy one down – names you wouldn’t associate with poor fielding efforts.

The Dubai stadium, with its unique ring-of-fire floodlights and awkwardly placed lit-up hoardings, has come under special focus, with players admitting to having troubles adjusting to the unique challenges at the venue.

Is batting first the way to go?

Teams are less likely to opt to bowl first after winning the toss, having observed an obvious pattern over the last two weeks. So far, only two out of the 14 games have been won by the team batting second. Coincidence? We think not.

Chasing isn’t turning out to be easy on UAE tracks, where the surfaces slow down considerably in the second innings, sometimes becoming two-paced. The second innings has seen considerable lateral movement for the seamers, and the slowness of the pitches, along with the longer boundaries in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has made it a happy hunting ground for spinners in the sapping heat. Batting first could well become the norm as pitches wear down further in the tournament.

KXIP’s bowling woes need fixing

The points table, perhaps, doesn’t tell the story of KXIP’s swinging fortunes this year. An inexplicable super over defeat followed by a run-splash against Rajasthan Royals (they lost the game after scoring 223), must have hurt them badly. Their problems at the death with the ball seem to have become their biggest cause of concern.

Against Royals, and specifically Rahul Tewatia, Sheldon Cottrell got whacked for five sixes in the 18th over – days later, their death bowling was found wanting again, this time against Mumbai Indians, who took 89 runs off their last five. Their team combination needs changing too – they might be playing the wrong XI by persisting with Neesham and keeping Mujeeb Ur Rahman, CPL 2020’s second-highest wicket-taker, out.

CSK’s floundering season needs a dramatic turnaround

It’s a season that has gone from bad to worse for the Super Kings so far, who have now lost three games in a row after their win on the opening night. The batting line-up looks jaded and rattled, the bowlers have been good only in patches, and Faf du Plessis seems to be the only one fully doing his fielding duties.

While there’s a long time to go, making it to the playoffs and continuing their proud run will require a dramatic turnaround. The top order needs to fire and fire soon, with coach Stephen Fleming admitting that the pressure is increasing on the duo of Shane Watson and Kedar Jadhav with each failure. A huffing and puffing MS Dhoni during a failed attempt at closing out a chase, was sadly, Chennai’s image of the week.

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