IPL 2020-Cricketing Extravaganza Amidst Crisis (Part II)

Dipak Kumar Mohanty October 05, 2020


Image Credit: Adobe stock


Hello Friends,

I am back with the second week review of weekly series 'IPL 2020-Cricketing Extravaganza Amidst Crisis'. As expected the past week was even more exciting than the first week.As the tournament progresses more nail biting finishes will be on offering.Let's quickly run through the major highlights of the past week before we get into the details of featured teams & performers of the week.

Image Credit:Daljit8

  • The week started with a nail biting super over finish which saw Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) getting the better of the defending champions Mumbai Indians(MI).
  • Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH) getting back to the winning ways with two big wins over Delhi Capitals(DC) & Chennai Super Kings(CSK).
  • After a promising start in the first week, Rajasthan Royals(RR) stumbling upon back to back losses.
  • Indian younger players continue to shine.
  • Five 200+ scores.
  • There couldn't have been a better weekend which saw Chennai Super Kings' dominant win over Kings XI Punjab(KXIP) to end the formers' three match losing streak.
We have completed first two weeks of the league & there are no clear favorites as yet.Every team has lost at least a single match which again indicates how competitive the tournament is going to be even this year. Good to see the Indian younger bunch continues to give dominant performances. Where the first week saw talents like Devdutt Padikkal(RCB), Sanju Samson(RR), Ravi Bishnoi(KXIP),Shubhman Gill(KKR) the second week witnessed brilliant performances from Prithvi Shaw(DC),Ishan Kishan(MI),Priyam Garg & Abhishek Sharma(SRH),Kamlesh Nagarkoti & Shivam Mavi(KKR).Most of the captains trying to lead from the front with their own performances was a common feature throughout the week. Faulty decision making at the crucial moments & not following the basics correctly resulted in disappointing performances from some of the teams whereas backing team strength without doing much of the experimentation saw strong performances from teams like Mumbai Indians & Chennai Super Kings. It was exciting to see five 200+ scores during the week including three at the comparatively smaller ground in Sharjah.Let's now have a look on which all the teams or the individual performers have shone bright & taught a lesson or two on leadership.

Take a risk: SRH Vs DC

Lot of times in life we hesitate to take risks mostly due to the fear of a negative outcome.But sometimes taking a calculated risk may lead us to some of the excellent opportunities or results which we couldn't have experienced without taking that risk. Match between Sunrisers Hyderabad & Delhi Capitals was a prime example of the same.Couple of losses at the beginning of the tournament pushed the Hyderabad franchisee to do whatever it takes to get those first two points on board. Getting the right team combination has been their challenge this season so far. Injury to allrounder Mitchell Marsh has even worsened the situation . Left with no other option they had to include Kane Williamson to strengthen their batting which eventually meant they have to get at least four overs of bowling from the part timers like Abhishek Sharma & Abdul Samad. It was a real big risk to go with four specialist bowlers against a strong batting line up of Delhi Capitals.But the risk paid off. Inclusion of a batsman of Williamson's stature helped them to get a defendable total whereas even after using four overs of part time spin they were able to contain the opponents & win the match. Some excellent bowling from the frontline bowlers did not put much pressure on the part timer. It was a brave decision from the Sunrisers team management which paid off. They continued to play with the same combination in the next match & ended up with another victory. Whether they continue the same tactics for the rest of the tournament or not is yet to be seen, but this opportunity landed only when they could think of taking this risk even when the chips were down. This is probably an example from cricketing world. But this is true even in our lives too.Most of the times we miss out on potential opportunities just by holding ourselves back.So the next time if an opportunity knocks our door where we need to take a risk to fetch fruitful results,we must remind ourselves of the example of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team.


Commitment towards your profession: CSK Vs SRH

Image Credit:Bollywood Hungama
We talk about leadership or example setting performances & do not talk about MS Dhoni, probably seems difficult. Isn't it??All of us are engaged in some profession to earn our living.We find some excel in their respective professions whereas few others merely survive in the same profession.It's the commitment of an individual towards his or her work that makes the difference. We can choose either to give our best everyday to the work we do or to be just an excuse monger. Leaders like Dhoni have come so far because of their sheer dedication to the work they do. He is the same Dhoni who decided to stay with the team during the ICC Cricket world cup 2015 rather than coming back home to be with his family for his daughter's birth. End of the day it's a choice of an individual whether he wants to be an achiever or a mere surviver. Isn't it?? After yet another top order collapse Dhoni had to take the responsibility of getting his team through. The hot & humid weather out there was not favourable for batting for long duration. While focussing on innings building initially he guided Jadeja to a well made half century.Even after Jadeja's dismissal he tried his best to get his team over the line amidst his own health concerns for some time. Though his team lost the game ,his efforts were good enough to show how a leader continues to try harder even when the conditions are not favourable or the teammates are not able to perform as per the expectations.Dhoni's mantra of following the process without thinking much about the outcome is something that comes to our mind when we see him or his team putting in consistent efforts to get even the smallest of the things right.
                                                                                          

Back your people: CSK Vs KXIP
Image Credit:Wikedit109
Dhoni Again.Every time his excellent leadership abilities come to the fore in some form or the other. A leader can not be successful if his team does not perform upto the desired level.At the same time it is to be considered that every individual will go through ups & downs in their respective professions. It is the empathy of a leader holds the entire team or any individual in good stead especially when the going gets tougher.Dhoni has always been a supporter of minimal changes in team selection. Consistency while selecting a team & giving them confidence when the performance is down is one of the trademarks of successful leaders. Dhoni is no different to that. His backing of players is a well known fact in the cricketing circle. After three consecutive losses for a team which sets high standards over the years ,it was imperative that there could be some big changes while selecting the team. But Dhoni & team management did not want to create panic among the players by making drastic changes. That strategy brings in desired results too. Shane Watson who has been a top performer over the years for CSK was struggling for runs this year. Lack of cricket or match practice was not helping his cause either. But dropping him was never an option for captain cool. After four disappointing performances he finally came good with a match winning performance which not only boosted his confidence but also gave the fans a sigh of relief.It was not just about Watson. All the players who were struggling to perform at their best in the previous matches were able to raise their performances which resulted in a complete team performance .Hopefully this is just the beginning of yet another successful season for one of the most successful teams of the league.It seems that Dhoni has been able to successfully inculcate the habit of following the process in his teammates too.

That's it for this week.will be back next week with few more interesting stories. Till then stay safe & take good care of yourself.
 
Click here for Part-I of this series.