IPL 2020: Week 1 Teams Review and Potential Players for Week 2

Delhi Capitals, the stand-out team of week 1 as we look at the teams’ review and the potential player picks for week 2 of IPL 2020. 

Week 1: Sep 19 to Sep 25, 2020 

After a tough six months of worldwide lockdown, the razzmatazz and glitters returned to the cricket field in UAE as the 13^th edition of Indian Premier League kicked off last week. All 8 teams have begun their campaigns striving for the coveted Championship having played at least a match. Still, early days in the competition but this provides us with an opportunity to review the performances of all the teams in the first week as well as some inputs on fan leagues.

Chennai Super Kings || Team Rank: 5

After starting the season with a win against the odds over Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings have struggled since then. They lost the next two matches against Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals respectively. Lack of power-hitting options in the batting is hurting them, and an injury to Ambati Rayudu hasn’t helped them either.

Faf du Plessis has been their top performer, but Shane Watson hasn’t shown signs of form. He will have to take more responsibility this time in the absence of Suresh Raina. Sam Curran has been excellent, and CSK could also use his batting at the top given they lack a left-hander at the top.

Their main concern this year has been their spin cartel, which has been their strength until the last year. They may ring some changes from next match to accommodate Imran Tahir in the XI since Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla have failed to make any impact. 

Top Performers: Faf du Plessis (258), Sam Curran (199)

Potential Picks for Week 2: Avoid CSK players as their next match is on Friday and if you already have them in the squad, try to replace them at the first opportunity. If you don’t do so, your spots will get wasted for almost a week.

Delhi Capitals || Team Rank: 1

The youngest team in the competition with the youngest captain is making all the right noises so far.  The only team to win both their matches first up as they beat Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings in the first week. The Indian core of Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant is as strong as they get, while overseas options have also proved their values.

Marcus Stoinis was ‘Player of the Match’ in the first match, while Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje provided immense wicket-taking potential at any stage. Ravichandran Ashwin would miss the next week as well with Amit Mishra replacing him on the back all the experience.

Top Performers: Kagiso Rabada (149), Marcus Stoinis (136)

Potential Picks for Week 2: Kagiso Rabada & Rishabh Pant. You shouldn’t go searching for Marcus Stoinis as his game time is expected to remain limited if he is not bowling regularly while you get value for money with Anrich Nortje.

Kings XI Punjab || Team Rank: 2

After their heart-wrenching defeat to Delhi Capitals in the first match, KL Rahul led Kings XI Punjab to their first win this season against RCB. KL Rahul has already played an innings of the season with his 132*, which displayed sheer class of the man. His opening partner Mayank Agarwal also almost took his team home single-handedly in the first match, before they threw it away in the last over.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell are yet to make any contributions, while Krishnappa Gowtham will be used as per the match-ups. Mohammad Shami and Ravi Bishnoi have emerged as their game-changers in bowling scheme of things along with Sheldon Cottrell. 

Top Performers: KL Rahul (229), Mayank Agarwal (166)

Potential Picks for Week 2: KL Rahul, Mohammad Shami & Ravi Bishnoi (Squad facilitator). Also keep an eye on Chris Gayle as he is likely to feature in the XI, especially at Sharjah due to flat pitch and small boundaries.

Kolkata Knight Riders || Team Rank: 7

Kolkata Knight Riders have not had a pleasant start to their campaign as they were outplayed by Mumbai Indians in the first match. Sunil Narine may not last long as an opener if he continues to play short-pitch bowling like he is doing currently. He will not get any balls in his half and he needs to find out a method to tackle this.

It’s not fair to judge the middle order on the basis of just one game, but they need to fine-tune their form very quickly. The case is almost the same with the bowling department as well. Pat Cummins and Kuldeep Yadav are their marquee international players, and thus they need to take more responsibility.

Top Performers: Shivam Mavi (72), Pat Cummins (56)

Potential Picks for Week 2: Andre Russell & Shubman Gill. Russell is currently bowling in the death overs, which is a good option to take more wickets. Gill, looked rusty in the first game, but is expected to make a good comeback. 

Mumbai Indians || Team Rank: 4

The defending champions had a mixed start to the season. They lost the first match against Chennai Super Kings, but made a strong comeback in the next match against Kolkata Knight Riders. Rohit Sharma has consolidated his form in the match against KKR with a brilliant 80. Suryakumar Yadav has come good while they may look to give an opportunity to Ishan Kishan in place of Saurabh Tiwary in the next couple of matches.

In bowling, Trent Boult and James Pattinson have earned their stripes in the powerplay overs but Jasprit Bumrah will have to do the bulk of their work in the death overs like he did in the second match. Their only concern remains in the spin bowling department due to the lack of penetration apart from Rahul Chahar.

Top Performers: Rohit Sharma (125), James Pattinson (104)

Potential Picks for Week 2: Jasprit Bumrah & Quinton de Kock. Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard may be left with less game time to make an impact if they are not bowling.

Rajasthan Royals || Team Rank: 3

Rajasthan Royals had a day-out against Chennai Super Kings to kick off their season this year. Sanju Samson and Steve Smith feasted on the poor bowling along with favourable batting conditions at Sharjah to put on a six-hitting masterclass.

Jofra Archer and Shreyas Gopal are world-class operators at this level, but team management needs to fit Ankit Rajpoot somehow in the playing XI to have decent support in the middle and death Overs as Unadkat has been rather dull. 

Top Performers: Sanju Samson (145), Steve Smith (93)

Potential Picks for Week 2: Jos Buttler & Rahul Tewatia (Squad facilitator)

Royal Challengers Bangalore || Team Rank: 6

Similar fears going around the RCB camp this year as well to begin with. Although they had a winning start against SRH, but they came crashing down in the next one against Kings XI Punjab. Devdutt Padikkal impressed everyone with a cracking debut while AB de Villiers also found his form in the very first game.

Their resources look thin in the lower middle order if they don’t play Moeen Ali or Chris Morris. But the main issue lies in their bowling as every year. Yuzvendra Chahal is their only game-breaker with Chris Morris nursing an injury at the moment.

Top Performers: Shivam Dube (127), AB de Villiers (117)

Potential Picks for Week 2: Yuzvendra Chahal, Virat Kohli, and Devdutt Padikkal (Squad facilitator). Don’t go overboard with RCB players this week as they will play only one match.

Sunrisers Hyderabad || Team Rank: 8

The orange army have played only one game in the first week of the season. They had to face a defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore while chasing a modest total. David Warner and Jonny Bairstow will remain important to their fortunes this year as well. They have a glaring issue once you go past the top order and it was evident in their solitary outing.

Mohammad Nabi / Jason Holder or Kane Williamson is likely to replace Mitch Marsh in the XI. In the bowling department, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sandeep Sharma will have to do better than their performance against RCB to allow Rashid Khan bowl at the middle-order.

Top Performers: Jonny Bairstow (99), Manish Pandey (51)

Potential Picks for Week 2: David Warner, Manish Pandey, and Rashid Khan. If Abdul Samad gets an opportunity to play, he can be a more than just a facilitator in your team along with Abhishek Sharma who brings some value with the ball as well. SRH will play 3 games this week.

Thanks for reading! Which team performed the best after seeing the teams review for week 1 of IPL 2020? Please, let’s know in the comments. 

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