[Bane214]

Originally Posted by PPS

And now we're seeing him bat at no.9 at the age of 43.

Probably at no. 10 at the age of 46 and no. 11 at the age of 50 "Mission Accomplished'

[Revvatron]

Lots of empty seats today. It is weekday but still that's a lot of empty seats for KKR.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by Revvatron

Lots of empty seats today. It is weekday but still that's a lot of empty seats for KKR.

Even I was surprised to see the attendance, or the lack of. Specially considering they are the defending champions and it's a repeat of last year's final.

The broadcaster, of course, was shameless in asking if a packed Eden Garden was a sight to behold!

[harry10]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Even I was surprised to see the attendance, or the lack of. Specially considering they are the defending champions and it's a repeat of last year's final.

The broadcaster, of course, was shameless in asking if a packed Eden Garden was a sight to behold!

As per people on kkr subreditt this was primarily as tickets were sold in black. Too any scalpers resulted in fans avoiding the match altogether. Plus there was a Football match going on and Kolkata people prefer football over cricket.

[Eddy]

CSK has problems. Big ones. Obvious ones.

MSD is a liability as a batter. Kiwis are not firing and neither is the Indian middle order. Ashwin looks to be a pale shadow of himself. The bench strength does not look formidable, either.

Today's game was a disgrace! They need to course correct asap or they are looking at a bottom 2 finish to the season.

[searacer932]

This is what happens as CSK didn't treat cricket as cricket but as some kind of entertainment and tried to build an aura around MS Dhoni and it was a total shame that there are fans who happily clap for Dhoni taking 1s and 2s. This is total idiocrasy.

[SJD@NewDelhi]

Today was both a disgusting and shameless show from MSD where he completely surrendered and didnt show any interest in hitting the ball when the asking rate was 14RPO as he came in to bat. What is he even trying? Was he reluctant to play anymore but Management forced him to play this IPL? Today it seemed like he is trying the force the owners to fire him in a passive manner. Such a shame - a MSD fan!

Originally Posted by Eddy

...
Today's game was a disgrace! They need to course correct asap or they are looking at a bottom 2 finish to the season.

What are u predicting today for PBKS? Waiting for Shreyas to explode today

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by SJD@NewDelhi

Today was both a disgusting and shameless show from MSD where he completely surrendered and didnt show any interest in hitting the ball when the asking rate was 14RPO as he came in to bat. What is he even trying? Was he reluctant to play anymore but Management forced him to play this IPL? Today it seemed like he is trying the force the owners to fire him in a passive manner. Such a shame - a MSD fan!

Lisa Sthalekar said that MSD's mind knows what to do and how to hit. But the body is not responding to it. Because the body is not used to doing that for 10 months in a year. IPL to IPL only does not work in this day and age.

I agree with her. I think MSD is under pressure to carry on and he has agreed reluctantly. But the body has given up.

What are u predicting today for PBKS? Waiting for Shreyas to explode today

I think Punjab and Shreyas are due for a failure. I forsee them losing big today.

[BullettuPaandi]

Originally Posted by Eddy

I agree with her.

I would too, if only he can be bothered to try and hit the ball.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Lisa Sthalekar said that MSD's mind knows what to do and how to hit. But the body is not responding to it. Because the body is not used to doing that for 10 months in a year. IPL to IPL only does not work in this day and age.

I agree with her. I think MSD is under pressure to carry on and he has agreed reluctantly. But the body has given up.

I think Punjab and Shreyas are due for a failure. I forsee them losing big today.

So, you too watch the Cricbuzz post match show

She is right. Citing my own example. I am of same age as MSD and I play club cricket whole year. However, no matter how much i want to time the ball as I used to few years back, sometimes I just can't. In my mind I visualize the shot perfectly but the execution isn't perfect always as reflexes have become slow and even judging the line and length takes a little extra time.

Now MSD was always a slow starter. But, he could start smashing after a few balls. Now he can't as lack of competitive cricket and age has caught up.

Anyways I am happy DC won comprehensively and we are now topping the table thanks to Punjab faltering in a match they should have won. Only weak link I can see is JFM and if he fails couple of more times then it will be time to bring in Ferreira who is a fantastic player. I want Karun Nair to get few games as Rizvi doesn't look too promising.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by harry10

So, you too watch the Cricbuzz post match show

It is the best no-nonsense coverage, isn't it? Have been watching it for years and years now.

But enjoy while it lasts. I was lucky to meet and spend some time with Joy Bhattcharjya a few months back. I complained to him about the likes of Murali Karthik & Rohan Gavaskar joining and dragging the show down. He told me that the decision makers in Cricbuzz have changed and are open to bringing in such "experts".

I don't watch when Murali Karthik is there, but Rohan Gavaskar a couple of days back was not so bad. Sayomi Kher also has improved a lot from when she joined a couple of years back.

My fear is that the English show will become as bad as the Hindi show where Sehwag just talks about Sehwag.

She is right. Citing my own example. I am of same age as MSD and I play club cricket whole year. However, no matter how much i want to time the ball as I used to few years back, sometimes I just can't. In my mind I visualize the shot perfectly but the execution isn't perfect always as reflexes have become slow and even judging the line and length takes a little extra time.

Now MSD was always a slow starter. But, he could start smashing after a few balls. Now he can't as lack of competitive cricket and age has caught up.

I am the same age and experiencing something similar, maybe even worse. I got progressive lenses about 2 years back, and my judgment of the velocity and trajectory of a ball or shuttlecock has been tremendously impaired. I fear this is permanent so have given up playing altogether, although I now have many more opportunities to play compared to when I was in India.

Anyways I am happy DC won comprehensively and we are now topping the table thanks to Punjab faltering in a match they should have won. Only weak link I can see is JFM and if he fails couple of more times then it will be time to bring in Ferreira who is a fantastic player. I want Karun Nair to get few games as Rizvi doesn't look too promising.

DC continues to surprise me

[BullettuPaandi]

Originally Posted by BullettuPaandi

I would too, if only he can be bothered to try and hit the ball.

I for one am not convinced. I'm not saying he's perfectly alright and 'hasn't aged at all'; he has trouble picking up spins, bouncers and slower ones- ageing and reduced reflexes can explain all this. But somehow his reflexes are functioning as good as ever when comes to stumping- he has to be able to pick spinners from the arm, to move with the spin and receive the ball well enough to quickly hit the stumps.

But that is not even the reason why I am not convinced. The reason why I am not convinced is he didn't even try! Bowler bowls the ball, Dhoni leans forward and pushes the ball to a single. This is all that was going on as the asking rate climbed from about 12RPO to over 15. No lofts, no flicks, not even cuts; there wasn't a single attempt to hit the ball anywhere near the boundary- when it mattered at least.

If he had tried to hit the ball at all and just couldn't time it well, one can argue that it is perhaps ageing. From what he showed and what I saw, his mind appears to want to just lean forward and push the ball, to which his body is responding perfectly alright.

[Asish_VK]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Rohit Sharma is living the best life in this IPL.
Takes a casual stroll to the crease, faces a couple of deliveries for formality, then spends the next 39 overs enjoying premium dugout seating, all while ₹16+ crores magically appear in his account. Genius!

Thank you Hitman for proving me right. Again and again

[AtheK]

Great game, good to be at the winning side, I am so used to be at losing side in such games, great to see the team holding nerves, the catch by salt was astounding.

Hardik was in a different zone though, what clean hitting.

[mac187]

Originally Posted by AtheK

I am so used to be at losing side in such games,

That sinking feeling when Tilak and Hardik where batting. Seeing the team lose from winning positions has given me PTSD. Those dropped catches ensured our stomach kept churning.

Thankfully, we pulled it off.