Welcome to the fourth game of R1 of IPL draft between @The Red Viper and @Moby Games here are during the players' IPL prime alone. Prime here refers to performances over at least a whole season and not single one off performances in different IPL games. IPL 2017 performances are however not considered
Pitch is a good t20 pitch. A batting pitch with short boundaries.
Kieron Pollard, Manoj Tiwary, Andre Russell and Harbhajan Singh form the middle-order and lower middle-order. Pollard is one of the best finishers in the IPL history and is extremely clutch. With him, we have a batsman who can accelerate the run-rate by hitting big shots at will. Manoj Tiwary is a very batsman of spin bowling. He can attack the spinners and look to rotate and give strike to the likes of Pollard, Russell and co during the later part of the innings to post/chase big scores. Andre Russell has the highest batting strike-rate amongst all batsmen with at least 20 innings. Like Pollard, he can score boundaries and sixes at will and is a massive weapon during the death overs as he can annihilate any bowler. Bhajji also has been a very nifty batsmen in IPL. He can get those quickfire 10 balls 20 odd runs knocks that would aid us when we are either posting a big total or looking to chase.
All in all, the batting unit is extremely good, is very balanced and is deep. It has batsmen like Gambhir, Rayudu, Tiwary and co who are some of the best batsmen against spin bowling and has batsmen who could take the game to the fast bowlers and score big against them in Uthappa, Finch, Pollard and Russell etc. So, pace or spin, the batting unit won't be fazed by it as it has adequate batsmen against either spin or pace. It has top-order batsmen who have a history of scoring plenty of runs and laying the foundation for the team, as both Gambhir and Uthappa are in Top-10 Highest Run Scorers in IPL history. It then has batsmen like Pollard, Finch, Russell and Rayudu who can build upon the partnership by the top-order and capitalize it with their ability to hit big shots and score runs quickly.
THE BOWLING
Lasith Malinga and Lakshmipathy Balaji would open the bowling with the new ball for us. IPL's highest wicket-taker, Malinga, with his pace, and Balaji, with his line and length would look to fully take advantage of new ball, which would offer some early movement and get an early wicket or two. Malinga would bowl an over or two at max during the start of innings. Immediately, we would shift to Andre Russell as the first change option. He along with Balaji would look to complete the powerplay overs.
Once the powerplay is over, we would immediately introduce both the spinners, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha. Bhajji along with being the 3rd highest wicket-taker in IPL history is also one of the most economical bowlers. He would look to stop the flow of runs at one end. Meanwhile, at the other end Ojha would look to get wickets. The 2010 IPL Purple Cap winner, Ojha is an attacking bowler who looks to take wickets. With Bhajji on the other end looking to choke up the runs and create pressure, Ojha would look to bank on that and take wickets. Both the spinners would work extremely well in tandem, especially with their right-arm off-spin and left-arm off-spin bowling. If needed, Pollard can chip in with a couple of overs as well in case a bowler isn't bowling well. The greatest death overs bowler ever, Malinga along with Russell, another good death-overs bowler and Balaji would bowl at the depth. All three bowlers are genuine wicket-takers, who can consistently bowl yorkers and also have good slower balls in their armour to deceive the batsmen.
Overall, there is no weakness in the team and with it being filled with some of the most consistent players in IPL history who aren't just one or two season wonders and have the longevity to back-up their performances in the IPL. It has match-winners, both with the bat as well as the ball, and are clutch performers. Multiple IPL winners, players who have won IPL awards like Orange Cap, Purple Cap and Man Of The Series etc. And, in Gautam Gambhir, we have the ideal captain to lead the side!
Team Moby
01. Matthew Hayden
02. Parthiv Patel (wk)
03. Rohit Sharma (c)
04. Manish Pandey
05. Glenn Maxwell
06. Naman Ojha
07. D J Bravo
08. Axar Patel
09. Zaheer Khan
10. Ashish Nehra
11. Muttiah Muralitharan
BATTING:
Matthew Hayden and Parthiv Patel made a fantastic opening partnership for CSK at the start of the IPL, Hayden won the orange cap in the second season and was one of the most feared and devastating opening batsmen.
At 3, is the third highest run scorer in the history of IPL, winning 3 of them and 2 as captain (not counting his latest few days back) in Rohit Sharma, he'd the key batsman of the team, can blast big or stay till the end.
Pandey has been one of the stars of IPL over the years, with that memorable century and also the 94 in the 2014 final to hand KKR the title. Again someone who can go big with ease.
At 5 is THE BIG SHOW. Few had an IPL peak like Maxwell, player of the season in 2014. The cleanest striker of the ball in the game, he'll be coming in and clearing the boundary for us.
Ojha, Bravo, Axar and Zaheer complete the lower middle order. In Bravo there's a great finisher and another player who will be providing a big punch at the end. The rest are all capable of quick 20s or so that would be highly valuable.
BOWLING:
Dwayne Bravo is the only bowler to win the purple cap twice (not counting Bhuvi's 2017 one) and he's been one of the greatest T20 bowlers at the death in this format. 5th highest wicket taker in IPL and the second overseas player behind Malinga, likewise unplayable at the most crucial stage of the game.
Nehra is the 7th highest wicket taker in IPL, someone who can absolutely squeeze the runs and has been right up there in terms of T20 pace bowlers over the last few seasons, priceless in this format.
Similarly Zaheer who is the 9th highest wicket taker in IPL, is one of the most intelligent and hard play seemers in the format, who will keep the flow of the runs down at a premium.
The spinner in the team is none other than the smiling assassin, Murali! His experience and tremendous accuracy proved vital in the IPL, and he was excellent for CSK.
Supporting the spin from the other end will be Axar Patel, a very clever bowler himself who will reap the rewards here with the pressure created by the others.
Pitch is a good t20 pitch. A batting pitch with short boundaries.
THE TEAM
THE BATTING
Opening the batting for us, are Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa. One of the best opening pairs in IPL history, in Gambhir and Uthappa we have the ideal openers to lead for us at top of the order. Uthappa would play his natural aggressive game and look to attack and exploit the first six overs during the power-play while Gambhir would play as the anchor of the team, looking to bat for majority of the innings. At one down, we have Aaron Finch. Another aggressive attacking batsman to bat alongside Gambhir, allowing him to build the innings. But at the same time, can play the role of the anchor as well if needed. In case, we lose quick wickets, we have Ambati Rayudu coming in at four to build the innings further and ensure we don't lose further wickets quickly.
THE BATTING
Kieron Pollard, Manoj Tiwary, Andre Russell and Harbhajan Singh form the middle-order and lower middle-order. Pollard is one of the best finishers in the IPL history and is extremely clutch. With him, we have a batsman who can accelerate the run-rate by hitting big shots at will. Manoj Tiwary is a very batsman of spin bowling. He can attack the spinners and look to rotate and give strike to the likes of Pollard, Russell and co during the later part of the innings to post/chase big scores. Andre Russell has the highest batting strike-rate amongst all batsmen with at least 20 innings. Like Pollard, he can score boundaries and sixes at will and is a massive weapon during the death overs as he can annihilate any bowler. Bhajji also has been a very nifty batsmen in IPL. He can get those quickfire 10 balls 20 odd runs knocks that would aid us when we are either posting a big total or looking to chase.
All in all, the batting unit is extremely good, is very balanced and is deep. It has batsmen like Gambhir, Rayudu, Tiwary and co who are some of the best batsmen against spin bowling and has batsmen who could take the game to the fast bowlers and score big against them in Uthappa, Finch, Pollard and Russell etc. So, pace or spin, the batting unit won't be fazed by it as it has adequate batsmen against either spin or pace. It has top-order batsmen who have a history of scoring plenty of runs and laying the foundation for the team, as both Gambhir and Uthappa are in Top-10 Highest Run Scorers in IPL history. It then has batsmen like Pollard, Finch, Russell and Rayudu who can build upon the partnership by the top-order and capitalize it with their ability to hit big shots and score runs quickly.
THE BOWLING
Once the powerplay is over, we would immediately introduce both the spinners, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha. Bhajji along with being the 3rd highest wicket-taker in IPL history is also one of the most economical bowlers. He would look to stop the flow of runs at one end. Meanwhile, at the other end Ojha would look to get wickets. The 2010 IPL Purple Cap winner, Ojha is an attacking bowler who looks to take wickets. With Bhajji on the other end looking to choke up the runs and create pressure, Ojha would look to bank on that and take wickets. Both the spinners would work extremely well in tandem, especially with their right-arm off-spin and left-arm off-spin bowling. If needed, Pollard can chip in with a couple of overs as well in case a bowler isn't bowling well. The greatest death overs bowler ever, Malinga along with Russell, another good death-overs bowler and Balaji would bowl at the depth. All three bowlers are genuine wicket-takers, who can consistently bowl yorkers and also have good slower balls in their armour to deceive the batsmen.
Overall, there is no weakness in the team and with it being filled with some of the most consistent players in IPL history who aren't just one or two season wonders and have the longevity to back-up their performances in the IPL. It has match-winners, both with the bat as well as the ball, and are clutch performers. Multiple IPL winners, players who have won IPL awards like Orange Cap, Purple Cap and Man Of The Series etc. And, in Gautam Gambhir, we have the ideal captain to lead the side!
Team Moby
01. Matthew Hayden
02. Parthiv Patel (wk)
03. Rohit Sharma (c)
04. Manish Pandey
05. Glenn Maxwell
06. Naman Ojha
07. D J Bravo
08. Axar Patel
09. Zaheer Khan
10. Ashish Nehra
11. Muttiah Muralitharan
BATTING:
Matthew Hayden and Parthiv Patel made a fantastic opening partnership for CSK at the start of the IPL, Hayden won the orange cap in the second season and was one of the most feared and devastating opening batsmen.
At 3, is the third highest run scorer in the history of IPL, winning 3 of them and 2 as captain (not counting his latest few days back) in Rohit Sharma, he'd the key batsman of the team, can blast big or stay till the end.
Pandey has been one of the stars of IPL over the years, with that memorable century and also the 94 in the 2014 final to hand KKR the title. Again someone who can go big with ease.
At 5 is THE BIG SHOW. Few had an IPL peak like Maxwell, player of the season in 2014. The cleanest striker of the ball in the game, he'll be coming in and clearing the boundary for us.
Ojha, Bravo, Axar and Zaheer complete the lower middle order. In Bravo there's a great finisher and another player who will be providing a big punch at the end. The rest are all capable of quick 20s or so that would be highly valuable.
BOWLING:
Dwayne Bravo is the only bowler to win the purple cap twice (not counting Bhuvi's 2017 one) and he's been one of the greatest T20 bowlers at the death in this format. 5th highest wicket taker in IPL and the second overseas player behind Malinga, likewise unplayable at the most crucial stage of the game.
Nehra is the 7th highest wicket taker in IPL, someone who can absolutely squeeze the runs and has been right up there in terms of T20 pace bowlers over the last few seasons, priceless in this format.
Similarly Zaheer who is the 9th highest wicket taker in IPL, is one of the most intelligent and hard play seemers in the format, who will keep the flow of the runs down at a premium.
The spinner in the team is none other than the smiling assassin, Murali! His experience and tremendous accuracy proved vital in the IPL, and he was excellent for CSK.
Supporting the spin from the other end will be Axar Patel, a very clever bowler himself who will reap the rewards here with the pressure created by the others.