The third week of the IPL 2018 was a surprising one. The trend of the IPL in the first two weeks was quite settled, you win the toss and you choose to chase. There was no way to lose from there. But now it happens no more. In the third week of the IPL, it became more prominent. In this week, five out of nine times the team batting first won while in the first week the chasing team won seven out of eight times. In these times, the team captaincy became a prominent aspect. here’s a look at how all the captain performed –
Chennai Super Kings – MS Dhoni – Rating 9/10
The Thala emerged out with all his superpowers intact as he once again looks like the Dhoni we once knew. He was hitting the balls cleanly and ended the chase with his brain working like a supercomputer. With Dhoni in this mood, teams will wary while chasing.
MS Dhoni has been captaining teams for the last 11 years and is perhaps the shrewdest brain in cricket currently. He has utilized his resources well and has been magnificent in chases.
Delhi Daredevils – Gautam Gambhir – Rating 6/10
Well, as we know, Gautam Gambhir is no more the captain Delhi Daredevils. Following the poor performances in the season so far, he along with DD CEO and Coach conducted a press conference. Gambhir decided to step down from captaincy and also gave up his season wages.
Despite the move, it must be said that Gambhir’s captaincy did not have any major flaws. It was the lack of runs from his bat that eventually ended his leadership. The attitude with which Gambhir leads the team has been commendable and he is well respected. How Iyer will take the baton remains to be seen.
Kings XI Punjab – Ravi Ashwin – Rating 9/10
Ashwin has been brilliant in his own rights. With Chris Gayle and KL Rahul in such an amazing form, the batting is taking care of itself and Ashwin has not fiddled with the line-up except the timely removal of Yuvraj Singh.
Tamil off-spinner has been very accurate with his bowling changes. He reserved Mujeeb and Tye for the death overs where they are extremely effective.
Kolkata Knight Riders – Dinesh Karthik – Rating 7/10
Kolkata played only one match in this week so there is hardly anything to go by in Karthik’s case. They played their match against Kings XI Punjab where they faced Chris Gayle and KL Rahul on a rampage. There’s little as captain that can be done with these two in a murderous mood.
The only remaining problem still is the batting position of Shubman Gill. Even in the last match, he was sent at number seven which is very harsh on the youngster who wants to perform.
