Kolkata almost assured of playoff spot, Mumbai’s near impossible calculations against Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings’ third consecutive loss ahead of qualifiers
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00:00Hi guys, welcome to Straight Bad with Gulf News. I'm Mr. Cricket QA, that is Anish Sarjan.
00:05We are here to discuss Calcutta Nitro is thumping victory over Rajasthan.
00:19Which turned out to be an anti-climax because it was a must-win game for KKR.
00:24And we expected Rajasthan to go out in a flurry, but that didn't happen.
00:28Anish Sarjan, please take us through the game today.
00:31Thank you, Shyam. Hello, Satish. Hello, disappointed Romit.
00:35Calcutta's fate was in their own hands and they ensured that they delivered.
00:41And what a knockout punch they have given, not to one team, but to three teams.
00:45First, they gave a knockout punch to RR.
00:48Then, their nemesis Mumbai Indians.
00:51I believe they have given because anything can happen in the game,
00:54but Mumbai needs to win 170 runs to go ahead of KKR.
00:58And third, Punjab. So, KKR truly deserved to be into the playoffs.
01:06Satish, I think you can't dispute that.
01:11Absolutely, Shyam. I think over the last week or so, we have been talking about who will be the fourth team.
01:17I think we have been all kind of accepting that KKR will be there
01:22because they have been proving very consistent performances.
01:25They have been putting in performances slowly but steadily.
01:29They were gaining the confidence and they were taking it step by step.
01:33And that was a pretty good one.
01:36But I also want to talk about Rajasthan, but I don't know if you want to wait for that.
01:44I will come back to that because we have a Rajasthan man here.
01:47So, Romit, tell us what went wrong with Rajasthan?
01:51This is completely out of character.
01:56I think so. Rajasthan has been pretty consistent, you know.
02:02And the fans have learned that how can you be consistently happy even when you lose.
02:11And the third best thing that happened to Rajasthan is they are still in the playoffs.
02:15They are still in the playoffs for the Fair Play Award.
02:17Please, don't write that off.
02:19But I want to quote something.
02:21One of the hilarious comments that I can hear from a captain
02:25after the post-match talks when he had with Sanjay Samson.
02:28And he says, this time the wicket was better than the previous one.
02:32But then we could only match 6-5.
02:35What kind of captain says that?
02:40What went wrong is the leadership.
02:44It's an absolutely hilarious leadership that he has.
02:48And who plays such a stupid shot when you come and you want to hold on your wickets?
02:52You are not here to try your shot.
02:54You are here to try and win the game.
02:56At least for pride.
02:58Or maybe Sanjay Samson thought, let's not Mumbai Indians go forward.
03:02He had a different game plan. I don't know.
03:06Everything went in Rajasthan Royals.
03:08Everything that happened went wrong.
03:10And like I said in my tweets,
03:12Tevatiya wanted a few more balls to hit.
03:14Maybe to get the selectors to watch again.
03:16But it failed everything.
03:18We couldn't even cross the previous lowest score we had.
03:20So hats off to their consistency.
03:22And hats off to KKR.
03:24The way they played.
03:26Our commiserations, Rohit.
03:28I know you can keep going on.
03:32Let's come back to
03:34Anish with KKR.
03:36Since our KKR man is there,
03:38I would want you to wear the hat.
03:40What went right for KKR?
03:42Because they have been a completely transformed side
03:44since they came to the UAE.
03:46In India, they were struggling and fearing.
03:48They come to UAE and they do everything right.
03:54The first thing they did right,
03:56the combination of McCullum and Owen Morgan.
03:58Even though Owen Morgan did not fire with the bat.
04:00But they played that fearless brand of cricket.
04:04From the first game when they beat RCD,
04:06they bowled them out for under 90.
04:08And they chased it down in 10 overs.
04:10Then they restricted Mumbai Indians for 150.
04:13They chased in 15 overs.
04:15So they were playing that England brand of cricket
04:17which Owen Morgan is used to.
04:19And Owen Morgan has got inspired by
04:21McCullum in the 2015 World Cup.
04:23So they brought here back.
04:25They had a couple of hiccups.
04:27But mind you, because of playing that fearless brand of cricket,
04:29their run rate was always high.
04:31And that is one of the crucial reasons
04:33which have made them go ahead in this.
04:35Because if tomorrow Mumbai Indians win,
04:37they will be on the same points.
04:39But playing that fearless brand of attacking cricket
04:41has given them that extra cushion
04:43where their net run rate is higher than the rest of the competitors.
04:47Okay, Satish.
04:49Let me quickly jump to Rajasthan Royals.
04:51Just taking off from what Romi was saying.
04:55Do you think leadership was a problem with Rajasthan?
04:57Of course, Shyam.
04:59Tell me.
05:01How can you pull a batman back
05:03when he has already crossed the boundary line?
05:07This is probably…
05:09This is not even a club cricket.
05:11So that means it's absolutely clueless.
05:15What more can they be exhibiting
05:17than what has happened today?
05:19Or transpired today?
05:23You can't let a batman cross the boundary line
05:25and ask him to come back
05:27and make a mockery of things.
05:29That's the first thing.
05:31Number two, again, I don't want to be too harsh
05:33on just the captain alone.
05:35Because somebody like Morris
05:37who went for probably the highest bid
05:39his total contribution
05:41in the last five games
05:43were probably four runs
05:45which included a three-wicket haul.
05:47And his batting performance is pathetic.
05:49Somebody like Unadkar
05:51time and again he gets picked
05:53for quite a good sum.
05:55And his performance is about
05:57one wicket in the last five matches
05:59that he played, of course.
06:03Yes, Rajasthan is one team
06:06that has suffered the maximum
06:08by the pull-out of the international players
06:10and the injuries and all that. That's fine.
06:12But what happens to these players
06:14who have been paid a very hefty sum of money
06:16who have been picked
06:18hoping that they would do something?
06:20Nothing has happened.
06:22I think they need to look at the…
06:24That's a different conversation.
06:26If we go there, we will not end there.
06:28Because some of the picks and the prices we pay
06:30is completely…
06:32What I'm trying to say is
06:34the problem started from there.
06:36It's not that today we can't blame Sanju Samson.
06:38Yes, it is absolutely…
06:40They need a different captain for sure.
06:42No doubt about it.
06:44Because on the field, it's the captain.
06:46I know there is a huge missionary behind him.
06:48But on the field, it's him.
06:50Yeah, on the field, it is him. Absolutely.
06:52I fully agree with that.
06:54But he can only play with the team…
06:56Of course, what he said…
06:58Romit hit the nail on the head
07:00by saying that the captain…
07:02Last match you played
07:04and you said that the wicket was bad.
07:06Batting second was easier.
07:08And now you got batting second
07:10and you played miserably.
07:12It was a different script.
07:14No, but again…
07:18What I'm trying to say is
07:20you can't keep blaming the pitch for everything
07:22and you can't come up with excuses.
07:24As a captain, you need to
07:26stand up and then try to lead the team
07:28from whatever the situation is.
07:31Which he failed to do.
07:33That is there.
07:35Okay, Romit, coming back to you.
07:37We will not discuss Rajasthan. That's a promise.
07:39So, instead…
07:41I will hit you with Mumbai Indians.
07:43Mumbai Indians…
07:45They have to win
07:47by a margin of 171 runs.
07:49If they are batting second,
07:51they are done for.
07:53It has to be impossible.
07:55Do you think they will make the playoffs?
07:57They can only make
07:59it happen if they have that X-Men type
08:01of a character.
08:03They have, but will they?
08:05It's impossible. It's not doable.
08:07Because the odds are
08:09very, very high.
08:11It's not doable at all. 20 overs
08:13and with that margin.
08:15I don't think so. Even mathematically also
08:17if you are a sensible mathematician, then you won't
08:19even make a calculation on that.
08:21So, I don't think.
08:23But I think KKR would go
08:25forwards. They are going to win the next game as well.
08:27That's the way they are going now.
08:29Okay.
08:31We are in agreement on that.
08:33But what I am asking here is
08:35can Mumbai do the impossible?
08:37Now, since you have said,
08:39I will go back to Anees.
08:41Anees is a huge Mumbai Indian fan.
08:43So, can they pull off a miracle here?
08:45As much as I would
08:47like, Shyam,
08:49it's going to be impossible to win by
08:51170. They have to score 300.
08:53Well, strange things have happened.
08:56What I know, the highest T20 score is
08:58250-260.
09:00Sunrise Hyderabad must be confident
09:02after the last win.
09:04It's asking for too much.
09:06So, let's leave that for tomorrow.
09:08And let's
09:10hope that we catch up soon for the playoffs
09:12to enjoy. But just before I sign off,
09:14I was sitting with the Punjab Kings
09:16owner. They have been also having the same
09:18thing as RR have been having.
09:20And I was asking that how does he feel. He said he feels
09:22frustrated. But
09:24they are the only three teams who have been there from the beginning.
09:26Which is Punjab, the owners,
09:28the KKR and
09:30the Mumbai Indians. And even the RR,
09:32there is a little bit of change in the owners.
09:34But the fact remains, he says, I am still positive
09:36that next year will come back hard.
09:38So, I wished him good luck. That's what I could say.
09:40Because as an owner, I know you want to
09:42tear your hair off because you come so close.
09:44Because they do all the hard work,
09:46come close, but they are not able to close out the game.
09:48Like today's example, they had Chinna
09:50at 60 for 5. But they couldn't close
09:52the innings out. Had they finished at 80,
09:54you never know, they would have probably got a little more closer.
09:56They wouldn't have qualified. But the fact is,
09:58they are making the same mistake.
10:00They are not able to close out games.
10:02Yeah.
10:04Satish, today I will let you have the last word.
10:06But the last word,
10:08have you seen the last, the first match?
10:10Yeah, Shyam, I did.
10:12I did watch the first match. Of course, Chennai match.
10:14Tell us something about it quickly.
10:16I mean, in less than a minute.
10:18Shyam, if you look at Chennai's strength this year,
10:20Your favourite team lost. That's why I put it to you.
10:22Three in a row.
10:24Yeah, three in a row. And if you look at
10:26all three matches, the two openers
10:28are not fired. If you look at
10:30Faf is in the second place
10:32and Rithu Raj is in the third place
10:34in the standings. So, that says a lot.
10:36That means, they have scored about
10:38close to 1000 runs among themselves.
10:40That means, the
10:42middle order has not been tested.
10:44So, Chennai needs
10:46to ensure that the openers continue
10:49or they should be praying for that.
10:51Or maybe you are saying that Chennai is
10:53making other teams overconfident, isn't it?
10:55Sorry?
10:57Chennai is trying to make the other teams overconfident.
10:59No, no. I wouldn't like to
11:01think that way. You can't lose three games in a row
11:03and say that I am making the other team
11:05overconfident.
11:07Satish, let me just
11:09interrupt you there.
11:11So, with an untested middle order
11:13going into the playoffs
11:15is tricky, isn't it?
11:17Yeah. But I only hope
11:19that Raina
11:21comes back to the side.
11:23Because three games that
11:25Uthappa got, he has failed miserably.
11:27So, I am sure Raina will
11:29be coming back after the brief rest
11:31which he required.
11:33So, Raina is a big match player.
11:35Satish, Raina in IPL
11:372021 had one good knock.
11:39That's all he had.
11:41Yeah, Shyam. But that's what I am saying.
11:43He is a big match player. He has come back
11:45and taken the team
11:47closer to victories.
11:49I think single-handedly he did it in one of the finals
11:51in the past. So, I am confident
11:53that when Raina is there in the team
11:55that gives them extra confidence
11:57to the other batsmen as well,
11:59the opponents as well, maybe.
12:01Anish, your thoughts on Chennai?
12:03Well,
12:05you know, after having
12:07three losses, it won't be easy
12:09to come back. But CSK are
12:11known to play big matches better than
12:14the other opposition. They are going to play Delhi.
12:16Even if they lose, they
12:18still have one more bite at the cherry. But I have a strong
12:20feeling they will beat Delhi.
12:22And they have always done, excepting this previous game,
12:24they have always beaten Delhi. I think
12:26Chennai has been the bogey team of the year.
12:28We will have to wait and watch.
12:30Which means an interesting playoffs ahead
12:32from Sunday onwards. So,
12:34let's wait and watch. Thank you for tuning
12:36in today. It's been a pleasure having you all.
12:38Thank you so much.
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