Too much for Kochi

Well despite coming so close to the target of 152, the Kochi Tuskers Kerala eventually lost their plot towards the end when they fell 11 runs short of a tie and 12 runs short of a victory. Whatever, victory and losses happen in the game of cricket. But, looking at the Kochi Tuskers Kerala, the way they batted was too pathetic. There have been many instances where a total of 151 has been defended and many instances where the same total of 151 has been chased with little effort. Yesterday, Kochi had enough wickets in hand to overcome the total.

But, all that they needed was some quick timing of the ball which never seemed to be the case whatsoever. They never got the scoreboard ticking, meaning neither did the Kochi Tuskers lose wickets at regular intervals nor did they put up a big partnership enough for them to taste a victory. Looking at these, one can confirm that the pitch was a tough one for batsmen of the mindset of a T20 game. Runs never came loosely and batsmen had to work hard to score even in singles and doubles. Only batsmen with enormous can be expected to do miracles.

But, this was no international match where the best players are picked from the lot to represent their nation. Notable scores from the Chennai Superkings include Mike Hussey who scored 32 runs no matter the number of balls he took in scoring those runs. And then there was Wriddhiman Saha who was instrumental in setting up a total for his team that eventually went on to become a winning total. It was strange to see that Muttiah Muralitharan went wicketless in this game and was the only bowler to do so from the Kochi team. Likewise, there was more juice from the batsmen of Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

There was a batsman in Brad Hodge who score the only half century of the match and that too he did it quickly by not consuming too many deliveries. However, if not for Brendon McCullum, no other batting performances in the Kochi team can be of a highlight. One has to applaud Brad Hodge for fighting for the Kochi Tuskers till the end when they ran out of overs. Hodge remained unbeaten till the end of the innings. One mistake that can be realized from the Kochi Tuskers was that Vinay Kumar should should have been sent in before Jadhav who was a better batsman.

Has Chennai taken over Kolkata

Well in this edition of the tournament, the Chennai Super Kings are showing a down to earth performance with them losing the plot in the matches they played. They had a lucky run against the Kolkata Knight Riders where they secured a 2 run victory over the trouble torn team lacking in confidence but are seem to be coming up in this edition. That was followed by a win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and a loss to Kings XI Punjab. The Chennai Super Kings could not defend a total of 188 against the Punjab team. This time it was Kochi who tamed Chennai.

Though the match was trimmed to just 17 overs, a total of 131 by the Chennai Super Kings was below par compared to what was expected off them. The run-rate of the Chennai Super Kings happened to be just over 7.0 runs an over when something less than 9 runs an over is just unacceptable. But, this should have been a winning total keeping in mind the winning record of the Chennai Super Kings in the three editions they have played so far. At the end of the day, the Chennai Super Kings had another loss to their kitty which was a mess.

On the other hand, the Kochi Tuskers Kerala maintained a run-rate of exactly 9.0 runs an over aided by a series of double figure scores starting from 47 by Brendon McCullum and ending with Ravindra Jadeja remaining unbeaten on 16 from six balls with two sixes. As a rarity, the team work of both Chennai and Kochi stands undisputed for, regarding both the teams out there, it was not a one man show like it happens in most games. There was only one lucky player in Suresh Raina who scored a half century. But, as a suggestion, it would have been wise for Chennai to go for big ones.

As it goes in a T20 game, if the match is viewed from the number of sixes scored perspective, then still the Chennai Super Kings lose it all with their batsmen being able to make it only on three occasions. Instead, the Kochi Tuskers had more than twice of what the Chennai team could manage when they had 7 hits out of the ground. But, needless to be said, it is the target which needs to be defended or chased that would a decide who the winner of the match is. Towards the end of the post, one thing that needs to be asked after Chennai's 2^nd loss is whether Chennai have taken over from Kolkata?