What's ailing the IPL teams in Champions League T20?
Seven matches down in the Champions League T20 and the IPL teams are yet to come out all guns blazing. Except for the Delhi Daredevils, the current IPL champ, the defending champs of this tournament and the most successful franchise in the IPL have failed to register a win. We look at what has hit the IPL superstars yet again.
Seven matches down in the Champions League T20 and the IPL teams are yet to come out all guns blazing. Except for the Delhi Daredevils, the current IPL champ, the defending champs of this tournament and the most successful franchise in the IPL have failed to register a win. We look at what has hit the IPL superstars yet again.
Two time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings still haven't won a match.
Neither have reigning IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Mumbai Indians too have failed to open their account.
In fact the only team that has managed a win in the ongoing Champions League T20 are the Delhi Daredevils but that was against a familiar opposition, KKR.
So, what's ailing the IPL teams?
Chennai's Faf du Plessis has said, "You've got to get used to the conditions quickly and most IPL teams are starting off slowly because these are very different conditions for them. And the teams who are used to these conditions - the Australian and South African teams are doing well."
It's no secret that Indian batsmen struggle in bouncy conditions. No wonder then the Delhi pacers Irfan Pathan, Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav took apart the KKR batting line-up.
But the curious thing is that it was in these very conditions that the Super Kings won the Champions League T20 title in 2010. This time around the Men in yellow have suffered two defeats. And the strategies have backfired while both batting and bowling first.
Strategic errors have hurt the other IPL teams too but the biggest problem that the IPL teams are facing is the failure of most of their key players, both with the bat and the ball.
In fact in the top 20 run getters of the tournament so far, there are only 2 IPL players - Suresh Raina and Faf du Plessis while Sunil Narine is the only IPL bowler in the top 10 wicket takers so far.
Both Indian and South African supporters have been turning up in large numbers for the matches but with 2 of the 4 IPL teams on the verge of elimination, the crowd turn out for the knock out stages might just take a hit.