DC and KXIP managed to stand out in the opening week, while CSK and RCB did not live up to the hype
At the end of the first week (Sept 19 to 26) of IPL 2020, here’s how the players and the eight teams fared
Sunrisers Hyderabad are yet to win
- Delhi Capitals (DC) were the only team, who won both their opening matches
- King XI Punjab (KXIP), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and Mumbai Indians (MI) managed to win one out of their two fixtures
- Rajasthan Royals (RR) played one and won that match
- Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were the only side to play three matches in the very first week of IPL 2020: out of the three fixtures, Dhoni’s team managed to win just one, which was their five-wicket win over MI in the opener game.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who also played two matches, failed to get off the mark in the first week
Umpire howler
The second match of IPL 2020, which was between DC and KXIP, was struck with a major umpire controversy. During the 19th over of KXIP’s chase, when Mayank Agarwal completed two runs, the on-field umpire adjudged it one run short, stating the non-striker Chris Jordan had not touched the bat behind the line. However, it was clearly seen in the replays that Jordan had legitly completed the second run. The howler from umpire clearly influenced because a Super Over – IPL 2020’s first – was forced in the game that ended in DC’s favour.
KL Rahul scores highest IPL score by an Indian
KXIP skipper KL Rahul smashed an unbeaten 132 off 69 balls during their match against RCB. During the knock, Rahul broke various records. With that knock, Rahul reached 2,000 runs in the IPL and became the fastest Indian to do so. Rahul (60 innings) overtook Tendulkar, who had scored his first 2,000 IPL runs in 63 innings.
In a very rare sight, the first week of IPL 2020 belonged majorly to Indian batsmen. Out of the top seven highest scores, six have been scored by Indians. With 132 not out, KXIP’s Rahul tops the list ahead of his KXIP teammate Mayank Agarwal (89), MI captain Rohit Sharma (80), RR’s Sanju Samson (74), CSK’s duo of Faf du Plessis (72), and Ambati Rayudu (71).
Dhoni attracts criticism
Dhoni, who has returned after a very long break, has chosen to bat lower down the order – either at No. 6 or 7 and that has affected CSK’s results so far, attracting massive criticism. He was expected to come at his usual middle-order position, especially when CSK are without their key batsman Suresh Raina and Ambatti Rayudu suffered an injury after IPL 2020’s opening game. From three innings, Dhoni has managed to score only 44 runs.
What’s next in the IPL tournament
The likes of MI and CSK have a history of slow starts in the tournament and one can expect to watch them accelerate in the coming days. MI and CSK are two of the most successful teams in the IPL, having won four and three trophies respectively. In the second week of IPL 2020, when MI return to action, their skipper Rohit Sharma will look to enter an elite club of IPL. Only two batsmen – Virat Kohli and Raina – have scored 5,000 or more runs in the IPL so far and Rohit is just 10 runs away from joining his fellow Indians in the club.
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David Warner, who led SRH to the IPL title in 2016, will be desperate to earn SRH their first points of IPL 2020. SRH’s next fixture is against DC, the team that is yet to lose a match this season. SRH will also take on struggling CSK before the end of Week 2 of IPL 2020.
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