5 interesting takeaways from the first week of IPL 2018

#2 Surprising opening combinations

The ploy to move Saha at the top has not worked for SRH so far

The importance of the top order is vital in cricket, especially in the shortest format of the game. A steady opening partnership is essential for the middle order to really express themselves, as well as make maximum utilisation of the powerplay overs.

Multiple sides have experimented with new opening combinations in this edition of the IPL so far; Chennai Super Kings have deployed Ambati Rayudu to face the new ball, while Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians have done the same thing with Wriddhiman Saha and Rohit Sharma, respectively.

Rayudu has done very well at the top of the order for the men in yellow as the former Mumbai Indians batsman has provided good starts alongside Watson.

But the same can't be said for some others like Saha and Rohit Sharma. Saha was given the push to the very top to fill the deep void created by the absence of David Warner.

While Rohit Sharma generally bats in the middle order for the Mumbai franchise, he decided to open alongside Evin Lewis, pushing Ishan Kishan to number three. The opening combination is yet to reap results, but things could change if the batsman finds his rhythm.