IPL 2020 week 1 review - The Stoinis miracle, MS Dhoni’s woes, 'Injured' Premier League and Ring of Fire catching issues

The first week of IPL 2020 is done. Amidst all the tensions whether the tournament will go on amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the BCCI and the franchisees have managed to finish one week of the Indian Premier League without any hassles. This week, we saw a major tournament being played in the ‘new normal’ of empty stadiums and no fans due to COVID19. Synchronised sounds, electronic fans and cheerleaders cheering their sides was all part of the new normal in sports.

When the action began, there was relief. There was satisfaction that people who were bogged down by the lockdown and starved of sporting action for months could finally have something to look forward to for the next two months. From September 19 to September 26, there has been plenty of action on the field. Here are some of the memorable moments from Week 1 of IPL

Injured Premier League?

Indian players are playing their first major cricketing tournament after six months. No cricketing activity or fitness activity was possible from March to July due to the lockdown imposed by the central government due to the coronavirus pandemic. When the players came out to the middle, there were some whose waistline was the subject of Twitter trolls. Rohit Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary were singled out. In the tournament, Ravichandran Ashwin injured his shoulder while Mitchell Marsh was ruled out due to an ankle injury. Ambati Rayudu pulled his hamstring. This is only the first week and with many more weeks in the sapping UAE heat to go, the fitness of the players will come under a cloud

No catching in the Ring of Fire

Dubai International Cricket Stadium is called the Ring of Fire because the floodlights circle the entire stadium and are not on top as is the case in many grounds. Thus, catches have been dropped frequently in Dubai. Be it Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer and Virat Kohli, they have not been able to catch at the Ring of Fire. Kohli’s drops saw Rahul getting the highest individual score by an Indian in IPL. Iyer’s drop almost cost Delhi Capitals the game against Kings XI Punjab while Hetmyer was just lucky.

Coming back from the dead twice

How does one come back from the dead not once but twice? You may have seen the Undertaker do that in the WWE. But, in IPL 2020, Marcus Stoinis helped Delhi Capitals from the Brink not once but twice. His 20-ball fifty helped Delhi Capitals reach a competitive score. With the ball, he had to fill in Ravichandran Ashwin’s quota and he bowled three overs. In the final over, he was hit for a six and a four. But, he picked up two wickets and got the match into the Super Over. Delhi Capitals won that game thanks to the genius of Stoinis.

MS Dhoni’s woes

So far, teams batting second have won only once in the IPL 2020 in the first week. That was MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians. However, since then, it has only been about batting first and putting pressure. This has impacted Dhoni’s finishing. In the game against Rajasthan Royals, after Sanju Samson’s blitz and brilliant knocks from Steve Smith and Jofra Archer, Dhoni needed to promote himself up the order in a big chase. But, he came in at No.7! The damage was already done. He hit three sixes to signal the Dhoni of old, but there would be no miracle. Against Delhi Capitals, he was totally outplayed. Dhoni must realise that he must come up the order at No.4 and be an accumulator as his finishing days seem behind him.