Welcome to our special segment DRS or the Daily Review System. In this, InsideSport will provide you with the top stories of IPL from a day before that you might have missed in the hustle and bustle of your busy life.
The first set of doubleheaders is over Within three days of start in IPL 2024, five matches are already over. But it was a blockbuster Sunday in Ahmedabad with GT vs MI clash. In the DRS (Daily Review System) of March 25, your daily dose will include a Sanju Samson classic. But it was a homecoming trauma in Ahmedabad for Hardik Pandya while Sanju Samson has pipped KL Rahul in the battle for T20 World Cup spot Round 1.
To sum up the matches, in Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals beat Lucknow Super Giants by 20 runs. A few hundred kilometres away in Ahmedabad, Gujarat Titans trumped Mumbai Indians by 6 runs.
Homeless Hardik Pandya
What could have been a night to remember for Hardik Pandya turned out to be a nightmare. He is now the most disliked cricketer in India after his switch from GT to MI. Despite leading Gujarat Titans to the title in the maiden season, GT fans jeered Hardik throughout. And despite returning ‘home’ to Mumbai, MI fans booed him until the last over. The all-rounder failed to win over any fan base after replacing fan favourite Rohit Sharma as the Mumbai Indians captain.
He may not be the selectors’ favourite but Sanju Samson is not leaving any stone unturned. He always shines in the first match of IPL and it wasn’t any different on Sunday. Sanju Samson began IPL 2024 with an exquisite 52-ball 82 against Lucknow Super Giants. While the Rajasthan Royals skipper did not bat at the middle-order to impress selectors, three fours and six sixes would definitely send a reminder to selectors of his quality as a player ahead of the T20 World Cup selection. He has definitely pipped KL Rahul in the first round after the LSG skipper scored 44-ball 58.
Hey KL Rahul, lift the anchor!
Once KL Rahul said even T20s need an anchor role. And he has still stuck to that idea. In a 194-run chase, KL Rahul scored 58 on his return from injury. But nobody celebrated as it came off 44 deliveries. At one point, KL Rahul was batting on 25 off 25 deliveries. And as LSG ended up losing by 20 runs, it goes without saying, the captain must take the blame for his knock that is adventurous by today’s T20 standards.
But he did keep wickets and he did that well. However, will that be enough to impress selectors for a spot in the T20 World Cup? Maybe not. Had he scored runs at No 5 or 6, he could have gone out of his comfort zone and tried out something for the sake of T20 World Cup combination. But since that was out of the question, he did not really help his case.
Sanju Samson in the first match of IPL since 2020:
With the first round of IPL matches over, Sanju emerged as the best keeper-batter in the race with an 82-run knock. With none of the keeper-batters yet to seal the spot in the T20 WC squad, Sanju has kept his hopes alive.
Now, all he has to do is be consistent. He was made to play T20s in an ODI World Cup and ODIs in a T20 World Cup year. Hence, every opportunity for him is his last. At least, that’s how he has to play.
However, his teammate Dhruv Jurel has continued to impress. At No 6 — exactly what India need — Jurel hammered 12-ball 20 to take RR to 193/4.
How did others fare?
Rishabh Pant: 18 off 13 vs PBKS
Jitesh Sharma: 9 off 9 vs DC
KL Rahul: 58 off 44 vs RR
Ishan Kishan: 0 off 4 vs GT
Dhruv Jurel: 20 off 12 vs LSG
Spider & dog halt gameson Sunday
A spider and a dog could pause two matches on Sunday. No, not the actual spider, rather it was spider-cam. It malfunctioned in the RR vs LSG match within five minutes of the start and the match was on halt for 10 minutes in Jaipur. In Ahmedabad, it was time for a dog to take a run in the middle of a match. Hardik did try to stop the dog. But of course, the dog outran Pandya to bring the GT vs MI match to a halt.
All his preparations for IPL 2024 ended in a 4-ball duck for Ishan Kishan. To make things worse, he did that in front of BCCI secretary Jay Shah. After ignoring BCCI’s diktat to play the Ranji Trophy instead of focusing on IPL, Ishan Kishan lost his central contract. But he could not avoid Jay Shah. The BCCI secretary had a long chat after the GT vs MI match on Sunday.
Six express deliveries
Virat Kohli aims to return to form
On his return to cricket after two months, Virat Kohli looked rusty against Chennai Super Kings. Hence, he returned to practice in M Chinnaswamy Stadium ahead of the RCB vs PBKS match on Monday.
Even Mumbai Indians could laugh about the fact that despite winning five IPL titles, the team has not won the opening match in 11 years. The last win came in 2012. Since then, they have lost all of their opening games. Even Rohit Sharma replacing Hardik Pandya as MI captain could not change that fact.
Iceman in T20 World Cup?
Sunil Gavaskar has urged fellow Mumbaikar Ajit Agarkar and his team of selectors to keep an eye on Rahul Tewatia. He has been the best finisher after Rinku Singh in the last two years. With the T20 World Cup around, can Tewatia land a spot in Team India? To make a case, Tewatia smashed 15-ball 22 against MI on Sunday.
Trent Boult has a knack for claiming wickets in his first over. And Sunday was no different. The RR speedster dismissed Quinton De Kock to bag 24 wickets in the first over of IPL — the most by any bowler in the league.
Virat Kohli most searched cricketer
Virat Kohli is the most talked about cricketer in the world. While Rohit Sharma fans might disagree, Google has data to back the claim. As per Google search data, Kohli was the most searched player on the platform in the last week. And he did not even play a match. Rohit Sharma was second.
Just Bumrah Things 🤷♂️@Jaspritbumrah93 on target in his first over 👏#GT reach 47/1 after 6 overs
Jasprit Bumrah and the yorker: a match made in heaven. GT vs MI clash in IPL 2024 had that too. Jasprit Bumrah cleaned up Wriddhiman Saha with a toe-crushing yorker. And MI bowling coach Lasith Malinga, the yorker specialist, could not help but applaud.
