–Atreyo Mukhopadhyay
Open and shut? Prabhshimran?
This match was settled by the Punjab Kings openers. A little unheard of but highly rated, Prabhshimran Singh was possibly the man of the day. There were a few other fabulous batting contributions, but this 22-year-old made a massive difference. He struck the ball with deadly effect and made things rather difficult for the Rajasthan Royals bowlers. It was one-way traffic in the first few overs of the game. He was innovative, adventurous and fearsome. One can say a 34-ball 60 is not perhaps a most telling performance in an IPL game, but this effort set the tone for the match. And made it game, set and match. This was game-defining.
Dhawan at it, always
Now came into play the Punjab team’s overall batting effort. It’s quite common for a side to lose the initiative after a massive start. This has happened a few times. This Punjab team did not let that happen. Yes, they lost wickets at times and still kept going. It was a relentless effort masterminded by Shikhar Dhawan. Out of India reckoning at the moment, he is making a strong case for himself to come back into the scheme of things. You cannot rule him out. Practical, down to earth and there all the time, Dhawan is very much around. He was pivotal in that Punjab total and made sure they did not lose the early momentum. Super effort.
Ashwin, opener???
There is no doubt that Ravichandran Ashwin is a very, very handy batter. He is innovative, intelligent. But is he an opener? Well, let the question be answered by cricket fans. Had someone else been sent up to that position in a team which has someone called Jos Buttler, the result might have been different. Yes, in T20 games you do make strange calls at times to catch the opposition off guard. But still, this was a bit too far. There was Devdutt Padikkal in your ranks, a proven opener. Why not use him in that position? Sometimes, you take such calls to your massive disadvantage.
Jurel the jewel
We all know that Shimron Hetmyer can hit the ball far and long. That’s what he did to telling effect. But Dhruv Jurel? Where did that come from? An impact player in the true sense of the term. A seemingly lost cause for Rajasthan Royals started looking like a possibility! This was bizarre, and told us in no uncertain terms why the IPL is such an unpredictable stage. Anything can happen. You do not say it is over until it is over. Jurel’s unexpected late assault made the game look so close. Rather, it took the game so close. Remember Dhawan’s resigned reactions? He had probably started thinking that a match in his team’s grip was slipping away. Give credit to Jurel, and also to Sam Curran for different reasons. He pulled it back with some aplomb.
Who on Earth is Ellis?
Now, come to Nathan Ellis. What was that? On a pitch tailor-made for batters, he made such a massive impact as a bowler. Arshdeep Singh and Curran also delivered those crucial dot balls, but this Australian took wickets. And that is what you associate with the word ‘impact’. Look at the batters he accounted for, and that’s where it becomes clear who was the player of the match and why. Stellar, stellar show it was in a game generally remembered for batting performances. A first-ever IPL game in Guwahati will always remain special for Ellis. Could this man from New South Wales help lead Punjab to glory, much like Doug Bollinger did for Chennai in 2010?