IPL 2014: Fantasy Guru - Don't lose your plot; reserve transfers

Before going into the next match or, rather, the day, I need to make this clear:

The mess that Shane Watson, Chris Gayle and Jacques Kallis, Kieron Pollard turn your team into:

I wanted to have all of them in my team, as I see good scoring opportunities for them. When I looked for ways to get them in, my transfers came down from 60 to 50 after the Kolkata Knight Riders vs. KXIP game. It would be foolish to go all out this early into the season.

This is the probability of them succeeding:

Kallis > Pollard > Watson > Gayle

I decided to go for Pollard alone, as he is both the cheapest and the fastest to play the second match. While he might fail against the CSK spinners in his first fixture, the second against Daredevils promises so much.

Looking at the other individuals,

To a Shane Watson coming in at No. 4, Yuzvendra Chahal is the only real threat against RCB. Remember, I have only had him in my team when he has fired (and that includes the T20 World Cup 2014, as well): against KXIP. I see an opportunity for him again in an Abu Dhabi pitch that doesn’t do much in the afternoon games.

Now that I can’t afford, let’s hope Chahal nails him.

Chris Gayle, should he play, will bring in a lot of complexity, as he is totally worthy of a spot, too, again considering it is an afternoon game. Had he played the last match, as mentioned in my previous article, I would have got him in straightaway. Now, with RCB scheduled to play their second match only after a span of four matches, it is not that obvious.

Now that I can’t afford him, let’s hope he doesn’t get fit or the variety in Rajasthan Royals attack proves to be too much for him.

Jacques Kallis against KXIP is the most certain pick. Against a weak bowling attack, he should be assured of a half-century and backed to pick up a couple of wickets with the kind of pressure that Narine sends down from the other end.

Now that I can’t afford him, let’s hope Mitchell Johnson catches him off-guard early in the innings, and Glenn Maxwell and David Miller go berserk on his bowling.

I may add one of the them depending upon the proceedings. If I do, I will update here after the toss. However, to keep them away and use the transfer when points will be more easy to come without disturbing the team too much appears to be the way to go.

Rajasthan Royals vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Guru’s team for the RR vs. RCB match

Transfer made – 1; Transfer available – 57

Captain – Virat Kohli

Sunil Narine in – Brendon McCullum out (Tactical substitution to accomodate Manish Pandey for the next match)Akshar Patel in – Ishwar Pandey out

With Virat Kohli, Sanju Samson and Chahal in the team, I don’t see the need for any other player from this match, given the problems that Watson and Gayle pose to the team combination and budget. AB de Villiers playing at 5 is great for us fantasy players, as we can keep him out every single time without worrying about how many points he can bring for us.

Ajinkya Rahane is a shrewd Schedule Mantra pick, but he doesn’t merit a spot when RR play a single match. Even in his best days, he can only give 100 points.

Uncapped player pick:

Tambe and Bhatia would be bowling against Kohli and De Villiers. Even Gayle and Yuvraj Singh won’t have any problem with them. Dhawal Kulkarni without swing isn’t worthy of a spot. Yogesh Takawale is not good enough to score on a consistent basis in T20s. Therefore, Chahal looks the best bet. Since I have Chahal already, I bring in Akshar Patel into the team.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Kings 11 Punjab:

Guru’s team for the KKR vs. KXIP match

Transfer made – 0; Transfer available – 57

Manish Pandey in – Sanju Samson out

Sunil Narine would be the first player to walk into my team for this fixture. Maxwell, finally, would have a torrid time against the West Indian spinner, although he would find out a way to tackle him someday down the line. However, having not played him as much as he would have liked to till now, there should be no way on earth he can tackle Narine’s mystery this time around. Miller is no exception either.

Chris Lynn appears to be a decent option. This is the same Lynn who struggled to put bat to ball in the Champions League T20 2013 matches, though. Batting in Sharjah is different from batting in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, more so when they are the night matches. We need to wait to gauge if he has grown some brains in trying to see through the difficult phases, which he didn’t last year. Also, will he always be sent in at number 4 ahead of Robin Uthappa? This is one question that puts both of them out of contention for now.

Gautam Gambhir will be determined to show what he is made of after the shocking performances in the first three matches…No, I am just kidding. Mitchell Johnson is likely to get him for the fourth consecutive duck.

Uncapped player: Bring in Manish Pandey. If he survives Mitchell Johnson, we are in for some real points in this match.

Fantasy League:

As per the demand, an official IPL fantasy league has been created. Come, join, and have fun while I plan for ways to make our league more interactive.

League name – FantasyMattersLeague code – 59270