The second week of IPL is living up to its reputation of being an incredible league. Between Monday and Thursday, there have been four back-to-back last-ball thrillers. Rajasthan Royals produced a stunning performance and breached fortress Chepauk by defeating Chennai for the first time since 2008.
Sandeep Sharma kept his cool in the final over and defended 20 runs to give his team a famous win, preventing MS Dhoni – the finisher – from finishing it off in style. Apart from Sandeep’s display under pressure in the final over, RR’s spin trio of Ashwin-Chahal-Zampa bowled beautifully and Jos Buttler’s gritty half-century took them to a competitive total.
Hailing Jos Buttler – the Orange Cap winner of IPL 2022 – for batting well on a spin-friendly Chepauk track, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh termed the English opener ‘the No. 1 batter in the world’.
Speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Live Show, Harbhajan Singh said Buttler uses the crease to perfection.
“I fell short of words to praise Jos Buttler. He is a proper batter of the cricket ball. He uses the crease to perfection, possesses good technique, and he has good footwork against pace and spin. For me, he’s the No. 1 batter in world cricket at the moment.”
From the nail-biting thriller down South, the focus of IPL shifts to the North on Thursday as Punjab Kings host Gujarat Titans on home turf. Hailing Punjab skipper and batting mainstay Shikhar Dhawan, former India cricketer Mohammed Kaif hailed him as the ‘Khalifa’ of IPL.
“Punjab Kings’ bowling is good. The team that has a good bowling unit has a better chance of finishing in the top four in the TATA IPL. Shikhar Dhawan is the Khalifa of TATA IPL. He is in form and leading his team by example.
These conditions have further boosted the chances of his team going a long way this season, ” said Mohammed Kaif on Star Sports. Hailing Shikhar Dhawan for the way he’s batting, former Australia all-rounder David Hussey termed the senior India cricketer as the best in the business.
“Punjab Kings’ strategy looks simple- to bat around Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan has paced his innings brilliantly in the tournament, he’s a world-class batter,” Hussey said.
Royals star batter Jos Buttler as the best batsman in world cricket at the moment, adding that his ability to use the crease to perfection and his footwork against pace and spin makes him a very difficult batter to bowl to in all three formats, even more so in the shorter version of the game.
“I fell short of words to praise Jos Buttler. He is a proper batter of the cricket ball. He uses the crease to perfection, possesses good technique, and he has good footwork against pace and spin. For me, he’s the No. 1 batter in world cricket at the moment,” said Harbhajan on Star Sports.
Hailing Shikhar Dhawan as the Khalifa of IPL, former India cricketer Mohammed Kaif feels that the Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain is leading by example in the ongoing season and they are likely to finish in the top four, given the kind of bowling resources the team has at their disposal.
“Punjab Kings’ bowling is good. The team that has a good bowling unit has a better chance of finishing in the top four in the TATA IPL. Shikhar Dhawan is the Khalifa of TATA IPL. He is in form and leading his team by example. These conditions have further boosted the chances of his team going a long way this season,” Kaif told Star Sports.
Echoing Kaif’s sentiments, former Australia cricketer David Hussey said that PBKS is following a very simple template in this year’s IPL and that is to bat around Dhawan and credit should be given to the PBKS captain for pacing his innings beautifully this season.