Category: IPL 2023

2023: Cricket Travelled Far and Wide – Top Moments From The Year Gone By

So much happened in 2023 – across Indian cricket, Women’s cricket, World Cricket, and across all of us fans overall. Cricket traveled far and wide. A year with a Cricket World Cup, a World Test Championship Final, a few other multi-nation tournaments, franchise cricket leagues, and numerous bilateral series, 2023 was arguably one of the richest cricketing years of recent times. But here we are, with one of the most difficult year-ending assignments – the Top Moments from this year gone by. 

Rohit, Virat, and one Terrific Indian World Cup campaign:

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were at the top of their game, this 2023 World Cup

Three months in, India is still recovering from a shock defeat against Australia in the finals.  Australia outplayed the hosts and deserved to win the World Cup, but no one can take away from the fact that this was one of, if not the, most dominant India’s ever been in the Cricket World Cup. The mix of experience with the exuberance of youth, combined with consistency and the responsibility between the team makes it even more special. I also thought both, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli drove India’s success in their own ways – one going bonkers at the top, the other building one innings after another in the middle. And while everyone else revolved around the two maestros, few of world cricket’s most exemplary knocks were played during this World Cup. Virat’s 50th century against New Zealand in the World Cup semifinals on the exact same date and the same venue where Sachin Tendulkar played his last game, and in front of the legend himself, will remain the most special. One win away from what would be an absolute dream campaign!

Maxwell, and everything about that one knock:

Glenn Maxwell after his knock for ages to remember

Adversities are a common occurrence in sports, and often the character of the player is defined by how they tackle them. Glenn Maxwell against Afghanistan in the World Cup showed us what grit, determination, and belief can do in world cricket. He tackled everything that was thrown his way in a way of his own – 144 off his 200* coming in boundaries while also overcoming cramps and pain from every possible muscle in the body in the latter half. And all of it when the team struggled at 90/7 chasing a mammoth 290-run total. Kapil Dev’s 183* against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup is the only other such great knock one would imagine getting close to what Maxwell managed. One of the best ODI knocks ever played. 

Test Cricket, and The Push it Needs:

Pat Cummins’ Australian cricket team emerged Champions at the WTC 2023 Finals

2023 hosted the World Test Championship Finals witnessing Pat Cummins-led Australia lift the title. But the story did not end there. The last couple of months in 2023 hosted plenty of Test cricket played across the world – reminding people about the little nuances within cricket’s longest, but most traditional, format. The early morning swing and carry, on Day 1 Down Under, the spin in the subcontinent, or even the bounce in the African nations, lost amidst the popularity of the shorter formats, Test cricket seemed to slowly find its path to resurrection. It was also good to see the crowd gracing the occasion in large numbers.

These upcoming years, two or possibly three of them, will determine the future of Test cricket – I hope ICC, as well as the players, cater well to the needs and demands of the cricketing traditions. Having said that, 2024 has surely gotten off on a strong foot – also note, India plays 12 Tests this year.  

IPL – Auction, Transfers, and the Unforeseen Drama:

Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as captain of Mumbai Indians in a dramatic transfer

Mini-auctions and transfers have been mundane in franchise cricket, especially IPL,  in recent times. However, this year was a little different. From CSK winning the IPL 2023 (for the legend, MS Dhoni) and the nostalgic emotion attached to Hardik Pandya’s return to the Mumbai Indians following an intense wave of speculations, the Indian Premier League was surrounded by controversies and drama. The latter incident was also accompanied by the clause of Hardik Pandya being made captain of the Mumbai Indians – sending mixed waves across the cricketing fraternity.

It was surely an event mishandled by BCCI and the franchises themselves. One only hopes these developments do not hinder Team India’s decision-making ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA. 

Uprising in Women’s Cricket:

Test Cricket returned to the Indian sub-continent towards the end of 2023

Women’s cricket has been on a sharp rise this decade and 2023 was another pivotal step in that direction. The year started with the inaugural Women’s U19 World Cup being played in South Africa and ended with the coming back of Test cricket to the Indian subcontinent. WPL, WCPL, and WBBL too, had their own pockets of fame and charm during the year, but more than anything, it was the coming to the fore of many young girls from around the world that made it truly special. Many small-town cricketers, fighting their way through multiple struggles and riding on their immense hard work not only made it to the big stage but also left a significant mark in world cricket. 2023, in my opinion, set up the stage for bigger and grander things to follow in Women’s cricket – both domestically and internationally.

These are the select five of the many glorious moments that we witnessed in this year gone by. Do let us know your top cricketing moments from 2023 in the comments.  

MS Dhoni, CSK, and an IPL Final – At it once again

He’s done it again. MS Dhoni has taken an IPL team to the Final, once again. 11 times out of 16.

At 144/9 after 18.4, with the game in the bag, Tushar Deshpande bowled a slow, length ball on the stumps. The tailender in Mohammad Shami swung it through to the Square Leg boundary. As irrelevant and dead as it may seem, MS Dhoni was livid at the bowler for not bowling to the plan. It tells you about the man, tells you about how he never compromises with the process. Arguably, the reason why we have seen Chennai (or Pune) be in the finals more often than not. 

Not as flawless a season as we have seen before but Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoni had it all figured out pretty quickly. They were well aware of the things that worked for them, well informed of the injuries they had to take care of and more importantly, they were well-prepared for everything that would possibly come their way. Unlike a few teams, it hasn’t been about 3 or 4 specific players, it has always been about every single individual performer and all the small contributions everyone has had throughout the season. For those who were brought in as mere replacements, for those who were given perhaps a longer rope, for the young, and for the experienced, the CSK approach did not seem to change. It is the dressing room environment that every CSK player from over the years has talked about, after all. Not just from the MSD standpoint but from every member of the support staff. The making of the most successful franchise (arguably, with MI) is more than just one person.

Despite a strong Top 2, the CSK middle order emerged to be the batting engine

Ruturaj and Conway have been sensational at the top throughout, the likes of Rahane, Dube, Rayudu, Jadeja and Moeen have done well in the middle and Dhoni himself has been one of the fiercest strikers of the cricket ball towards the back end. The constant backing and the opportunities given to the players have brought together the Chennai batting order like no other. Interestingly, CSK is the only team to have no uncapped Indian in their batting lineup throughout the last 15 games. The team gained from the experience of every batter in crunch situations and rounded it off with a sound tactic of using the best players at the right time. For example, the use of Jadeja and Moeen in the finisher’s role or at 4, the rotation of Dube and Rayudu as per the opponents, and to top it off the last-over flourishes from MS all, came along quite well. 

The same could be said about the CSK bowling although in a completely opposite setting. The inexperience of the bowlers was seemingly visible right from the start. Apart from Chahar, Jadeja, and (maybe) Teekshana, the bowling lacked depth. The rise of Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, and Akash Singh is an outcome of the team environment, mostly if not wholely. While the former two did their bit throughout the tournament, the latter proved to be a worthy replacement for the injured Chahar. And as it always has been the case, the mindful use of all his resources from MS is a huge cue for Chennai’s success this year. 

Teekshana and Pathirana have been at the helm of CSK’s bowling stability this season

To have the Qualifier 1, in front of the home crowd and to have won it with utmost ease, is also important in MS’s possible farewell to IPL and cricket overall. While the maestro has not quite made up his mind yet, the day does not seem to be much far. For now, it is the final that everyone will keenly look forward to – on whether we get another MI CSK final – only time will tell. 

MS Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings, and the IPL Final – we are all at it, once again.

Is the Over-Rate Fine, fine enough?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been around for over 15 years now. Arguably, the second biggest cricketing event (after the World Cup), IPL is home to a few of cricket’s most exciting and enthralling matches – not to forget, also a stage for the young and the unnoticed to leave a mark. Over the years, the stature of the league has grown leaps and bounds, bringing in more attention and of course, revenue. From some high-scoring battles to some nerve-wracking finishes, some high-octane last-ball thrillers to some outright dominations, IPL has got it all. However, one thing that the league has had massive struggles with of late, is the duration and the length of the game.

A couple of years ago, in an attempt to prevent games from going on till very late in the night, BCCI adopted a 30 mins early start, but that hasn’t seemed to have worked. The number of delays, extensions, and increasingly diminishing over-rates have largely affected the run of play more often than not. Most times, the games are also seen going till midnight – a failure, well reasoned by the drop in viewership and unrest among the spectators.

An average inning this year has neared almost 2 hours – well over the permitted 85 minutes. BCCI in another bid to keep a tap on the speed of the game this year, let go of the monetary fines for even more strict (and seemingly impactful) punishment. The imposed penalty – ‘one less fielder will be allowed in the outfield for the overs that run beyond the time limit,’ however, hasn’t quite forced the teams to take action either. Teams and captains are often seen planning executions around the penalty. Makes one wonder, is the over-rate fine, fine enough? 

But has this been a problem forever? I think not. The additions to the game – strategic timeouts, umpire referrals, team reviews, frequent injuries, and other unnecessary components of the game have only sought more ground in recent times causing hindrance. And the effect has been ubiquitous – right from the franchise and domestic cricket to international games across all formats. ICC’s decision to deduct points as an over-rate penalty at this World Test Championship cycle has been the biggest testament. IPL’s format might not allow the point penalty though. One rather wise fine perhaps could be a harsher time-keeping and imposition of warnings for the captain. As it stands, a captain with three over-rate offenses is suspended for one game, but the rules need a stricter implementation- that might well prove to be the difference.

To conclude, the role of umpires and the match referee remains to be crucial. The margin between necessary vs unnecessary stoppages needs to be monitored and at the same time, the referral decision-making times must be capped well. For how much ever interesting might it become, cricket will somewhere have to draw a line – even if in form of a sterner fine.