Aaron Finch, David Warner and the foolproof decision to chase: IPL week 2 in review — part 2

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Aishwaryaa H is a writer for Wisden India and is providing the best and worst from the last few days in the Indian Premier League in The National’s latest IPL review.

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OFF THE MARK:

All eight teams opened their account in the second week of the tournament. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who lost their first two matches, were the final team to do so after Barinder Sran and David Warner took them to a comfortable seven-wicket win against reigning champions Mumbai Indians. After Mumbai’s big win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 20, Kolkata Knight Riders are top of the table with three wins from four games, while Gujarat Lions are second with three wins in as many games. Delhi Daredevils have had an exceptional turnaround with back-to-back wins after their huge loss in the first match. Rising Pune Supergiants and Bangalore, on the other hand, have lost some momentum, losing their last two games after winning their firsts.

THE TALE OF OPENERS AND SLOWER ONES:

This edition of the IPL has so far been a bowling friendly one with not many high scoring games, but the opening batsmen have carved a niche for themselves with 11 Man of the Match awards in 14 matches so far. The trend started with Ajinkya Rahane claiming the honour in the opening game, and since then Aaron Finch has claimed three trophies with three half-centuries in three successful chases. In fact, seven of the top 10 run-getters so far are regular openers, and Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma too have opened in a few games. Even as openers have taken advantage of the power play overs, the bowlers have reaped rewards in the middle and death overs by effectively using the slower deliveries. It is not surprising that among the top 10 wicket-takers, four are spinners and four are seamers known for their cutters and yorkers.

CHOOSE TO CHASE, CHOOSE TO WIN:

Captains opting to chase to win games is not a new ploy in Twenty20 cricket, but this IPL season has established a trend that cannot be overlooked. The team batting second has won 13 of 14 matches so far, and barring one game that went to the last ball, all others have been quite easy affairs. To put things in perspective, at a similar stage last year five teams had won defending a score. The game that captures the mood of the season is the one between Bangalore and Delhi at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium where Quinton de Kock’s 51-ball 108 helped the visitors chase down 192. What this trend suggests is that no target is big enough in the game’s shortest format.

Star performance: Still searching for their first win, Hyderabad kept Mumbai to 143 in a home game, but lost Shikhar Dhawan in the first over of the chase. The onus was on David Warner to get the job done with not a particularly strong middle order for company. He batted sensibly to construct three substantial partnerships and remained unbeaten on 90 off 59 balls, which included seven fours and four sixes, as Hyderabad reached home in 17.3 overs.

Worst display: M Vijay showed intent to start Kings XI Punjab's innings against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mohali, but Kolkata choked the batsmen with some intelligent field placement once the slower bowlers were introduced. With no easy boundaries on offer and strike rotation a challenge, none of the batsmen supported Shaun Marsh during his unbeaten 41-ball 56. They played out 45 dot balls and managed a modest 138-8, which Kolkata chased down in 17.1 overs.

Best catch: Not quite spectacular like the combined show of Shane Watson and David Wiese, but Glenn Maxwell covering a lot of ground before lunging forward to pouch a difficult catch at midwicket off Gautam Gambhir's bat in Kolkata's innings against Punjab is up there.

Best quote: "Death bowling is his art; he is as good as Mitchell Starc." – David Warner on Mustafizur Rahman's skills.

Key game: The game between Rising Pune Supergiants and Royal Challengers Bangalore is a marquee clash with MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli facing off against each other for the first time this season. It is a crucial encounter for both the sides as they have lost their last two games after starting the tournament with convincing wins in their respective opening encounters. A win for either team in Pune on April 22 will help them regain some lost ground.

Key statistic: While Virat Kohli made his 125th appearance for Royal Challengers Bangalore — the highest for any player in IPL, Rohit Sharma became the second batsman after Suresh Raina to cross the 3,500-run mark in the league's history.