GL vs KXIP: Talking Points

GL vs KXIP:  Gujarat Lions wins their opening match and that too swiftly against KXIP in the third match of VIVO IPL 2016. Finally a kind of good game what we actuallly want in IPL. Few good Innings, Some great bowling and a fine finish.

Punjab started well but lost the flow of innings midway. So, We at Essentially sports takes you through the Talking Points of the match.

5) The VIJAY-VOHRA Show

KXIP started the innings with a bang. Both the openers Vijay and Vohra got off to a great start. Their strokeplay was exquisite and a treat to watch. Vijay made batting look so easy. He was fluent and played the role of the aggressor. Vohra complemented him well. Later on he also started firing. At the end of 8 overs they were 78/0 and were looking set for a huge score.

4) LIONS ROAR BACK

When all things were looking set for Punjab. Sir Jadeja was introduced and boy did he get the breakthrough. After that Gujarat maintained pressure and took wickets at regular intervals and Bravo played a big role. This man took his 300th T20 wicket in this match and bowled smartly. He deceived Maxwell first by bowling a fast ball and Miller with slow ball with both getting bowled.

The “Champion” bowler was economical as well. KXIP were reduced to 102/4 from 78/1. After that Saha and Stoinis, who was playing his first IPL match for KXIP, rebuilt the innings. But at the end they both fell to Bravo. KXIP made 161/6 and eventually fell short by 20-30 runs. DJ Bravo finished the match with 4 wickets and looked a class apart.

3) Return of Leg Spinners and Lethals

I say so because in these 3 IPL matches so far, we got to see a lot of leg spinners. The art of leg spin was getting lost in modern cricket and it’s good to see it  making a comeback. S Ladda and P Sahu played today and bowled decently. The more they bowl the better they’ll get.

By the return of Lethals I meant McCullum and Johnson.  All eyes were on them but both failed to perform. McCullum got out on a duck and was stumped. Johnson was not at his best as well. It will be interesting to see how they play ahead.

2) The FINCH SHOW

Gujarat got off to a flier depite losing McCullum early. Finch was in great nick today. He took on the bowlers in Powerplay and smashed them all around the park. At the end of 6 overs Gujarat were 57/2. In the middle overs he was ably supported by Karthik and hit the boundaries at regular intervals. By the time he got out Gujarat needed to score at a run a ball. Finch made 74 off 47 balls and smashed 12 boundaries. At the end Jadeja and Kishan got out but Karthik 41*(26) batted with a calm head and finished it off perfectly.

1) LOW ATTENDANCE

Another IPL match, another match with low attendance and this is not good for IPL. It shows a slight fall in the brand. But we can only hope that in the next few matches IPL gets it MOJO back.