IPL’s best batsman and bowler – Aloke’s weekly round up April 12

Writing in from Singapore today - had to keep a short meeting schedule to get this entry in (of course it was also to watch the Indians v Daredevils game at that fabulous little ground, Brabourne). Another superb week of cricket provided by the IPL - I've heard all the stories about the commercialization of the game by the IPL...but cant understand whats wrong in getting to see the world's top cricketers play hard, intense and committed cricket??

Batting

This week saw the Orange cap change hands, before last week's leader took it back to head the list for the 4th consecutive time. However, the manner in which Kallis regained the cap was almost bewildering to watch - 27 off 37 last night. I spoke about the Kallis conundrum and now it seems it is dawning on his captain (see cricinfo) as Bangalore are teetering a bit at a decisive stage.

As i speak the Maestro has taken it back once again...but that is for next week.
This is how they stacked up last week: Kallis, Sachin, Ojha, Vijay, Yusuf, Dada, Hayden, Sehwag, Rohit, S Tiwary
Runs
#1 Kallis 528
#2 Sachin 512
#3 Dada 366

#4 N Ojha 352
#5 Symonds 346
#6 Vijay 337
#7 Jayawardene 325
#8 Sehwag 324
#9 Rohit Sharma 323
#10 Raina 322

The movers this week were unsurprisingly batsmen (Symonds & Jayawardene) who led a resurgence for their respective teams - the teams of the week really, the Deccan Chargers and Kings XI, who have now won 3 in a row. It is too late for the Kings, but the Deccan surge is happening at the right time and the league is headed for a fantastic finale next week!

My thoughts on the week -
1. The Symonds Charge. Andrew Symonds came to the party (critically) for Deccan (alongside Suman). Deccan are putting together an impressive late run that could yet make the semis. If they do, they may be hard to stop (Chennai found that year after being decimated by Gilchrist in the semi). His could be a top 10 position that makes a material difference - we shall see.

2. An honourable mention. Robin Uthappa is ranked #11 on runs and #1 on strike rates. He has played a strong hand in the IPL so far and to grab the no 4 slot and be informally appointed 'destroyer in chief' in a team that also has Taylor, KP, the current purple cap holder, White and the young Virat Kohli is a job well done! Many would have written Robin off amongst this lot. To add to that he is joint 1st with Yusuf on sixes! A world T20 spot, anyone??

3. The Big Fight. The league is wide open (some clarity may emerge by tonight or it might get murkier). The individual batting stakes mirror the league with 4 runs between #7 and #10. #4 - #6 are also very close. Over the next 10 days, some fortunes will certainly dip and others will soar.

Who will be next week's Vijay or Symonds, and surge through the ranks??

For the strike rate hungry (batsmen >180 runs): #1 Uthappa (takes it from Gilchrist, deservedly), #2 Yusuf, #3 Gilchrist, #4 Sehwag #5 Vijay (the top 5 remain unchanged and Uthappa, Yusuf and Vijay have made a difference to their sides unlike Gilchrist and Sehwag so far), #6 Gayle #7 Rayudu #8 Kohli #9 I Pathan and #10 Lumb. The Gayle force makes his first appearance and i think is a good punt for the amongst top 10 amongst run scorers next week. Sachin is now 17th in this list and Kallis 28th.

Batsman of the IPL (so far): Sachin Tendulkar (Now i really wanted to do that!)

Bowling
The battle of the spinners continues - and finally Piyush Chawla announced himself. There is also something in the wicket taking knack of Vinay Kumar, though he doesnt look it and is very expensive. This is how last week looked:
Wickets: Mishra, Ojha, Murli, Malinga, Zaheer, Bhajan, Vinay, Warne, Tait, RP
Eco rate: Kumble, Nannes, Kartik, Malinga, Murli, Vaas, Yuvi, Bhajan, Mishra, Trivedi
Pragyan Ojha took the Purple cap this week and is the other reason in the sharp revival of Deccan's fortunes.
Wickets
#1 Ojha 18 (7.66)

#2 Mishra 15 (6.97)
#3 Vinay 15 (8.31)

#4 Irfan 14 (8.74)

#5 Zaheer 13 (7.42)
#6 Malinga 11 (6.62)

#7 Murli 12 (6.91)

#8 Bhajji 12 (6.69)
#9 RP Singh 12 (8.41)
#10 Kumble (6.16)
Interesting that Indians take the top 5 slots. This is partly because the overseas players dont always play - Nannes, Vaas, Harris all havent played all through the tournament, and even poor Murli lost his place ranked 3rd! On a positive note, the never flagging Anil Kumble makes an appearance in the top 10 - he has bowled well (as the list below will depict adequately!)

Eco Rates
#1 Kumble 6.16 (12)
#2 Nannes 6.51 (6)
#3 Kartik 6.51 (6)
#4 Bhajji 6.69 (12)
#5 Yusuf 6.90 (5)
#6 Murli 6.91 (12)
#7 Ashwin 6.96 (7)

#8 Malinga 7.00 (13)

#9 Trivedi 7.10 (9)

#10 Mishra 7.15 (15)
Anil Kumble retains his spot, as do #2 & #3 Nannes and Kartik, without playing at all! Highlights what i mentioned last week on the joys of not playing ;). Not many changes in this list, except Ashwin of Chennai (who just about met my no of overs bowled criteria).
Observations:
1. Its funny. i commented last week on both Warne and Yuvraj ("The Legend & The Brat"). The former had slipped in on the wickets list, the latter on eco rates. They are both out this week underlying the old 'funny' game moniker. Lets see what happens next week 
2. Spinners, Pacers. Its interesting to see the spinners dominate the economy rates (7/10). On the wickets front they slip to 5/10 which is also very creditable. The pacers are affected by bowling upfront and at the death (a good case can be made for spinners having bowled better upfront). Despite the statistics - the fact simply is that some of the bowlers have done really well and bowled some super spells (i enjoyed Zaheer bowling to the Royals and then Steyn against Deccan tremendously).
Bowler of the week (so far): Pragyan Ojha. Lifted his team's fortunes, bowling beautifully, if he keeps it up for another week, Deccan will make the semis.

till next week...