Foreign players rule the roost in UAE

Hyderabad: The first leg of the seventh edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) is done and over with. Even as the pundits were apprehensive about the decision to shift the extravaganza to the Middle East, it can easily be ascertained that the sport remains high in the popularity stakes in United Arab Emirates (UAE) despite the absence of Pakistan players.

Like it goes with the unpredictable nature of the shortest format of the game, there have been some stunning reversals, thanks to scintillating individual performances that turned the tables and virtually threw open the tournament. None would have imagined on the day the championship began that title holder Mumbai Indians (MI) would be dishing out its worst performance since the time IPL began six summers ago. In hindsight, the MI line-up appears to have taken off from the Men in Blue, whose showing on foreign spoil could be consistently horrendous, to say the least.

It could also be th­at their otherwise star performer during his playing days makes for a poor mentor now that he has become obsessed with football and Indian Super League (ISL). The addition of Ricky Ponting as an advisor has also failed to ‘motivate’ or ‘inspire’ the embattled team, which will hope to rise Phoenix-like on Indian soil.

By all accounts, the only ‘genuine’ effort worth a mention from the champion’s point of view came in its very last match, albeit for a losing cause. Kieron Pollard’s blitzkrieg (78 from 48 balls) almost snatched an improbable victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to eventually finish with a deplorable five losses from as many engagements.

Even more disappointing must have been the management’s decision to ignore the credentials of the previous edition millionaire, Glenn Maxwell, during the auctions. The swashbuckling batsman was in his elements while clobbering three phenomenal fifties that helped his team to come home as the only unbeaten outfit. Bless the small mercies because he was not at his rollicking best against MI. In a way, if the unheralded Kings XI Punjab is at the top of the charts then they owe a great deal of it to the exploits of Maxwell and of course the desi recruit, Sandeep Sharma, whose bowling came in handy and proved decisive in two crucial matches.

What becomes glaringly evident is that the first phase was dominated by the overseas players while only a few Indians delivered at the big stage, although consistency was sadly absent from any of them. Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, David Miller, JP Duminy, James Faulkner, Dwayne Smith and Pollard stole the limelight. The Indians who rendered a good job from among the packed crowd, apart from Sandeep, were Ravindra Jadeja, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Pravin Tambe and Mohit Sharma with each of them showing flashes of brilliance Not surprisingly the biggest letdowns were the players with proven track-records-Chris Gayle, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Dale Steyn and Lasith Malinga, who all flattered to deceive.

Giving due credit to Maxwell, one should not forget the unforgettable showing by Chris Lynn, whose 45-run contribution paled into insignificance by the acrobatic stunner at the ropes that helped the fifth edition titlist, Kolkata Knight Riders, cap-off of an astonishing win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. The only other catch that can draw parallel was the fantastic effort by Ponting in an earlier edition.

Now that the IPL is back in India, there is hope even among the prophets of doom that the big guns will set ablaze every ground that is to host the remaining matches. Although, Kings XI Punjab is placed atop for the moment, even they know that the T20 championship is not even half-way through and there is enough time for other contenders to catch up with them.

After all, each team boasts of battle-scarred veterans, who have been there and done that. Moreover, most teams will be playing in their backyard, which is reason enough to bolster the dressing room brain-storming sessions. In spite of the advantage enjoyed by Kings XI Punjab, the championship remains wide open and that is the most exciting news for fans back home.