IPL 2017: The good, the bad and the ugly

After 60 games in IPL 2017, it came down to one run. The tournament needed a humdinger and the final delivered more than one had bargained for.

The IPL is a battle of attrition and teams that manage to retain their core through the event have a better shot of holding aloft the famous trophy. Mumbai Indians (MI) had their key players right through the tournament and it paid rich dividends for them.

You do feel for the Pune outfit. The game was theirs for the taking but Steven Smith probably left things a little late. RPS’s inability to change gears in the middle overs ultimately had a massive bearing on the outcome.

I had the good fortune of watching the IPL from close quarters as a television commentator and here’s my take on matters at both ends of the spectrum.

The Good

Close finishes

While close finishes might give die-hard fans a hard time, neutrals love watching a T20 match that goes all the way to the wire. A last ball finish was exactly what the final needed. It kept the fans on the toes and lovers of the game would have savoured the suspense on offer. A third of all the IPL matches played were decided in the final over and more often than not, MI’s matches went the full distance. In a nutshell, the proceedings were bound to have kept the broadcasters and advertisers happy.

Young batsmen sparkle

Pant announced his arrival with some special knocks

India's young talent offered glimpses of things to come in the future. Rishabh Pant overcoming the loss of his father and then going on to score 57 from 36 balls against RCB was commendable. His knock against GL even drew accolades from Suresh Raina. Sanju Samson’s hundred against RPS was a delight to watch.

His aggregate of 386 runs should provide him with all the confidence he seeks to graduate to the next level. Meanwhile, Nitish Rana was a revelation for MI and Rahul Tripathi was the find of the season. If Rana’s strokeplay was eye-catching, Tripathi’s temperament stood out. All these youngsters are future batting stars of team India’s batting.

Fast bowling surge

Bowling at a decent pace and employing variations, India’s young pacers proved that they are no longer easy meat for batsmen.That the Indian seamers remained in the limelight right through the IPL was encouraging and refreshing. Bhuvneshwar Kumar troubled batsmen with his consistency and accuracy. That he walked home with the Purple Cap (26 wickets) was fitting.

Bumrah continues to impress. His variations and pace make him a potent force in world cricket. Umesh Yadav ran in with aggression and his 17 wicket aggregate in IPL 2017 was well deserved. Likewise, Sandeep Sharma and Jaydev Unadkat rose to the occasion on several instances.

But it wasn’t just the prominent names that shone, several youngsters got heads turnings as well. Basil Thampi, Mohammad Siraj, Siddharth Kaul, Ankit Choudhary and Shardul Thakur came in like a breath of fresh air. All these talents only augur well for Indian cricket.

The Bad

Despite a star-studded batting lineup, RCB managed just three wins

RCB’s Nightmare

Perhaps nobody expected last year’s finalists, RCB to finish at the bottom of the table with just three wins. A Virat Kohli led side featuring AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle was always going to be a crowd favourite. But that didn’t quite translate into on-field success.

KL Rahul was ruled out of the tournament even before a ball was bowled. Kohli himself didn’t play the first few games. The side lacked a leader, drive and a whole lot more. A case in point that stars don’t quite win you games but a balanced team does. RCB will have to field a combination of youth and experience next year if the are to get anywhere close to the elusive trophy.

Delayed finish and unavailable players

The Eliminator between KKR and SRH was disrupted by heavy rains and a 1.27 am finish caused heartache to fans and players alike. Coulter-Nile, in fact, went to the extent of saying “you can’t play cricket at 2 am in the morning.”

Player unavailability towards the fag end of the tournament always upsets team plans. Ben Stokes was worth every penny of his 14.5 crores for RPS this season. And just when they needed him the most, England hauled him back - all in the name of a conditioning camp.

The Ugly

Umpiring decisions weren’t up to the standards expected

Poor umpiring standards

Several bad decisions by umpires lent a bad taste to the IPL this year. If LBW decisions that looked plumb were ruled in favour of the batsmen, bowlers got lucky on other instances when bad calls went in their favour.

In the MI-SRH encounter, the umpires lost count of the number of balls in an over. “Mr Cool” MS Dhoni was even fined for gesturing his displeasure over a bad umpiring call. IPL is a breakthrough opportunity for the cricketers with Indian selectors watching them closely. Hence, substandard umpiring can cost a player his future.