VIVO IPL 2016
Rising Pune Supergiants
7th in the IPL
M.S. Dhoni's Superigants did not fare well at all this year, failing in one too many aspects.
Overview:
Everybody knows Rising Pune Supergiants had the capacity to win the IPL. Star players like Rahane, Ashwin, Dhoni, Pietersen, and Perera could have easily carried the team forward to the title. But, despite all the hype, the Supergiants could not build on a strong start and became the first team to be eliminated from the Vivo IPL.
In close encounters, the Supergiants faltered away. Although the Supergiants finished so low, their run rate was barely in the negatives, because they could not finish a few close encounters. And, like adding salt on a wound, their injury list grew literally day by day. Some of their strong players such as Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen, and Steven Smith were taken out by injuries. Their replacements, Usman Khawaja and George Bailey couldn't exactly bring the same feeling to the Supergiants.
There were a few silver linings. Steven Smith scored the only century of the season, and him and du Plessis were in fantastic form. Adam Zampa proved himself as possibly the next Shane Warne, and Dinda rediscovered his mojo with fiery pace and pinpoint death bowling. Mitchell Marsh was probably the allrounder they needed, with his beautiful pace and zippy batting. Rahane was probably the only batsmen throughout the season who scored consistently, and M Ashwin was outstandingly good. However, many times Supergiant's bowling and batting didn't click at the same time, which is needed for a consistent team.
Superb Performers:
Ajinkya Rahane: Literally the soul of the Supergiant's opening duo. he scored and scored on like a run machine. Many times, he lifted the batting failures up, and helped them post a good score. If he got a bit of support at the other end, he would have been unstoppable.
Ashok Dinda: Pumped up the bowling with his fiery pace and awesome yorkers. Batsmen who would have creamed him a season ago found it hard to play shots against him. One can safely say he is back in form again.
Low Performers:
Ishant Sharma: Supergiant's third most expensive buy at the auction could not perform well at all. He sometimes took wickets, but his length was random and his lines wayward. He could not trouble the batsmen as much as he used to. He needs to rediscover his mojo, or this could be a hard year for them.
Thisara Perera: He started off well, with 3 wickets and a quick 34(13). However, his wicket taking abilities were overshadowed by his horrible lengths. Batsmen found his lack of pace easily hittable, and Perera struggled against beautiful pinpoint death bowling by teams. He needs to practice better lines and hitting the ball cleaner.
M.S. Dhoni: Barring a few scores, a half century, nice captaincy, and amazing wicketkeeping, M.S. Dhoni could not live up to the fan's expectations. He clearly cannot hit the ball as good as he used to, and is trusting himself too much. His 8 of 20 against Knight Riders highlighted his struggling batting. He needs to think of a plan to deal with superb death bowlers before it is too late.
Suprise Packages:
Adam Zampa: This Australian leggie made a huge explosion into the IPL. With 15 wickets in just 6 matches, he completely terrorized the batsmen with his spin and accuracy. Adam Zampa is definitely a spinner people should watch out for. People have already started calling him "The Next Shane Warne".
M Ashwin: Supergiants second most expensive buy performed well this year. His accuracy, slight spin, and awesome lengths highlighted the success this lad would have in the future. He started faltering, but still kept taking wickets at regular intervals.
Why Didn't They Play?
Ravichandran Ashwin: Although this star spinner played in all of the Supergiants matches, he was rarely bowled out and had little work to do. Dhoni stooped trusting Ashwin because of his flight and okay line, and it showed. He tried batting, where he didn't fare too good either. Made some futile impacts with some good spells at the end, but the question still remains: Why wasn't he bowled out?
Ishwar Pandey: This fast bowler is a really good asset to any team. So why didn't he play? He has troubled the batsmen even when they are in good form. It wouldn't have hurt Dhoni to use him when they were knocked out. He would have probably been a silver lining.
Peter Handscomb: This lad has proved himself as a vital asset to the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League. That being said, he was dropped after one failure with the Supergiants and wasn replaced promptly by George Bailey. While it was a risk to play a lad who is getting used to Indian conditions for the first time, they could have played him in some dead rubbers.
How can they improve next season?
Supergiants have the players. They have the elements needed to win the IPL. But Captain Cool needs to make sure of three things. He needs to make sure the batting and bowling both are good in one match. He also needs to devise a plan to counter this new skill of death bowling, and how his team can finish close matches positively. Lastly, he needs to use his star players more. If he can fulfill all these requirements, Supergiants can prove themselves as a real, big Supergiant in the IPL.
