Anis Sajan, Mr Cricket UAE, joins our readers and editors to look back at an absorbing day at the IPL and predict winners in the play-offs.
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00:00Hello, a very good evening to you. This is Gautam Bhattacharya from Gulf News. Here we
00:14are to present to you our show of Straight Back with Anish Sarjan, Mr. Cricket UAE. With
00:20me this evening is my colleague, a.k.a. Satish and the two strong supporters who never let
00:25the flag down even in times of crisis. I've got Sai Prasad of Mumbai, the Invincible Mumbai
00:33and of course, Shah Inayat of Hyderabad. Hi, good evening. My first question to Anish obviously,
00:43it will be a pity that this group will not be there when they reassemble after the mega
00:49auction. So how was their journey? How have they achieved? I mean, we were hoping and
00:55strove that if something happens, that didn't happen ultimately. So what's your take on
01:00that?
01:01Thank you, Gautam. Hi, Satish. Hi, Sai. Hello to the other fan who is also there with us,
01:09Inayat, if I'm not wrong. Anyway, you know what, since you asked me about Mumbai game
01:14and the moment they won the toss, I had a gut feeling that they will go for it. They
01:19will have the intent. And the way Ishan Kishan started, it was like the old Ishan Kishan
01:24we wanted to see, the big bash Ishan Kishan and then the splendid innings by Surya Kumar
01:29Yadav. They played innings which was jaw-dropping. I had no words and I always believed that
01:37Mumbai had it in them. And trust me, had they made that backdoor entry, and as all of us
01:42we are saying, if they make that backdoor entry, Mumbai would have been hard to stop.
01:45But you can't take it away from KKR. They were the deserved team to go into the next
01:50round. Mumbai might feel that they were robbed off by RR, but the better team went into the
01:55next round. But full marks to Mumbai for showing intent and giving it the fight.
01:59I'll just quickly come to Satish before moving on to our two fans for the show. Satish, the
02:09two innings of Ishan Kishan and Surya, they were both scored in their 80s, but still they
02:16were slightly different in their approach. I mean, Ishan was as if he was a kind of a
02:22video game replay in motion. And Surya was finding all the angles, his pick-up shots,
02:30straight down the ground. So how do you assess these two innings coming before the world
02:34capacities?
02:35Gautam, they played true to their potential. Ishan Kishan is known to hit those big hits
02:42and then he used to play those daring shots. And Surya Kumar was an accumulator. He finds
02:48these spaces and he's a kind of a traditional Test match cricket, one-day cricket T20 player.
02:56So he's a very traditional player. So this is exactly the approach they generally would
03:02do. And they've done it in the past. Unfortunately, it's coming in a bit too late. Maybe this
03:07is the way they should have played a few games earlier. Even if 50% of this, if they had
03:12done something, they would have at least got one more win under the belt, which would have
03:17given them that extra two points, would have helped them to go further. And yeah, as Anil
03:27Bhai said, this was a mind-boggling knocks from Mumbai and the way they approached. That's
03:33for no reason. They are four-time defending champions. This showed it. They had it in
03:38them. That's attitude five. Sorry, five. They had it in them. And then maybe that's what,
03:45somewhere it didn't click in the UAE leg especially, which I'm sure they would draw their drawbacks
03:54as they go by.
03:57Yeah. Sai, I'll just come to you. Talking about Mumbai, I mean, you see, that aura of invincibility,
04:06which they had built over the years, that seemed to have been lacking even in the India
04:11leg. The middle order was failing to click. Then the bowlers, in fact, I remember
04:17Chahar was very good during that leg. So they managed to defend those targets. Anyway, in the end,
04:22it didn't happen. So how do you assess the performance? I mean, two back-to-back titles,
04:30only two teams have done so far, MI and Chennai. And that is for some reason, they're quite the
04:36most consistent teams out there. So overall, what's your assessment as a fan and how do you look
04:41forward to 2022? See, first of all, I think they need to go back to the dressing room and
04:47look at the combination, what they need to do, because sometimes they get mixed up with the
04:51combinations and either it goes with Kunal Pandya and they're giving too much reliance on
04:56Kunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya. Though they are the stars, young stars, but they are giving too
04:59much reliance on that. And they must try for some revisiting the combinations. And also they must
05:05see, I mean, as before we were talking about the intent from day one, there should be from
05:10the day one, there should be an intent in the game. And I mean, from the first game itself,
05:14they lost the first three legs of, first three matches of the UAE. I mean, I think they lost it
05:19there, but they came back very well. And I'm very happy for Ishaan Krishnan and Surya Kumar Yadav.
05:24They were a wee bit out of form in the first two matches, but once they've come back, it was
05:28fantastic. And again, now the auction is coming up, it'll be a difficult choice for them whom
05:33they need to retain, and whom they may need to give up. So it's going to be a challenge for them.
05:38Yes, I'll just quickly ask you that, you know, if you were to retain three Indians, and that is
05:43the talking side, two or three. See, one or two are no brainers, whom would you like to retain?
05:49Rohit, Ishaan and Bumrah, I would go for these three.
05:56Okay, I'll come to Inayat now, a rather disappointing performance from Sunrisers.
06:01I mean, ever since they came in this avatar, they used to be one of the most consistent teams. I
06:06mean, I think five playoffs they did in eight years, seven years, and this is the eighth year,
06:13and one title. So we know that a number of things have gone wrong. So how should the team rebuild
06:20Inayat? I mean, what should they do in the next mega auction? What's your take, Ishaan?
06:25Again, you know, the mega auction, they have to first go for the middle order, because
06:30I think SRH middle order is the weakest in, you know, all teams. First, they should be, you know,
06:36concentrating on buying some Indian players. Again, because we don't have any recognized,
06:43you know, batting, you know, batting player who is playing for India or, you know,
06:49playing in Ranji and playing very good. We have a very young talent. Yes, Samad is playing. Yes,
06:56today he played well. Abhishek, yes, he is playing good. But still, they don't have experience,
07:00you know, wherein, you know, they can put Sunrisers out of, you know, any situation where
07:07they need to go and explode like today Ishaan Kishan and Surya Kumar did. So, they have to
07:13focus first on, you know, middle order. Then again, they have to go for openers too. I think
07:18Warner might not play next season. They have to go for Besto will be there. I think they should
07:23retain Besto and they have to think about Williamson as a captain. I would like to have
07:28an Indian captain so that, you know, they have an option of an overseas player where they can rotate
07:34one more player. You know, they have Rashid. He has to be there in team anyhow because he is
07:39the most consistent bowler who is performing for all the, you know, seasons. Again, the middle
07:46order and the openers might be a concern for the start. These are the slots, yeah. These are the
07:51slots. Okay. I will come back to our cricket, Anisbhai. You see, I mean,
07:58see the mega auction is a subject which, you know, it will lead a separate episode, I think, for us.
08:03But if we look at, you know, the first qualifier and then the eliminator. So, Delhi versus Chennai.
08:11So, there, Delhi have lost today's game, you know, and they have lost, you know, surprisingly
08:16tamely and then you have got RCB versus KKR, I mean, which can be quite an intriguing clash.
08:22So, there is a day's gap in between. But I would like to pick your brains as to,
08:27you know, what do you see in the coming two days, those 10th and 11th. You know, Gautam, I was
08:34debating on the other show and they asked me who is your pick. To be very honest, all four teams have
08:40some weaknesses. If I have to talk about CSK, apart from the openers, the middle order has been
08:45struggling. The bowling has been decent, but the middle order has been badly struggling. Now, Delhi,
08:51the bowling has been their biggest strength. But I'm afraid Ashwin is probably the weak link in the
08:57team because he's so far not come good in this tournament. And even their batting, if you talk
09:01about, generally, it's the Dhawans and the Ayers and if you talk about Prithvi Shaw giving them
09:07the runs, the middle order bearing one knock from Hetmayar, which he was dropped in that game.
09:12Now, we talk about KKR. This is one team which looks dangerous. Apart from Morgan, everybody
09:18seems to be on form. And if Dreyrus comes into the side, I'm not sure he's injury-free or no,
09:24but if he comes into the side, they are the most potent and dangerous side. And when it comes to
09:29RCB, it's been the big show, rather the Maxwell show. And if AB de Villiers fires, I know there
09:35are no ifs and buts, but if AB de Villiers fires, RCB is a threat to watch. But if I have to pick
09:40one team, I would back KKR out of the four. I had said CSK earlier, but now CSK, I believe,
09:46have peaked too early and they look very bad if the openers go early.
09:52That's a very interesting point, Manish Bhai. But before moving on, I'd also like to ask you that
09:58in the RCB batting lineup, in the middle order, people used to call that it was a two-person team.
10:06But the way Maxie has come to the party, I mean, this was the 6th-15th. So, he didn't… He
10:13more than made up for AB's not being in particularly good form. Today, he scored some 26.
10:19But it's a low-stake match. But what do you feel about this new wicketkeeper batsman,
10:25Shikhar Bharat? He's a product of domestic cricket. And he looks, he doesn't have any nerves.
10:30What do you make of it? You know what, Gautam, to be very honest, in, I think, five, six games
10:37ago when he was playing, I had in fact asked one of you guys that why is he in the team?
10:42Does he deserve a place in the team? And he shut my mouth today by playing an innings under pressure
10:48after having lost both Padikkal and Bharat. He took the responsibility on his shoulders.
10:54And like you mentioned, AB de Villiers is still not finding his rhythm with the bat. And with
10:58Maxwell putting on 100 runs. And that 6th which he scored reminded me of the 6th which Javed
11:03Mehar had scored of the last ball of Chetan Sharma. It was a full toss. The only difference
11:07that went over the mid-wicket is that this went straight over the bowler's head. But having said
11:12that, I'm happy today AB de Villiers came on to bat because that crucial 26, more than the 26 runs,
11:19he batted 26 balls or 25 balls, whatever balls. That was, batting time was required. And that
11:24will give him some confidence because time spent on the crease helps you when you go on. And of
11:29course, Maxwell's show is amazing. And if Bharat comes to the party, it's going to be fun for
11:35RCB. And I hope they sign off with a win just because it will give them confidence for Team
11:40India because he's going to sign off with Team India in the World Cup. Well, Satish, your
11:48dispassionate thoughts on Chennai, Delhi and RCB KKR?
11:55Sorry, Gautam, the advantage with all these three teams which you have said,
12:00there is openers who are firing. There is one person in the middle order and there is one
12:04person later in the middle order. If you look at Chennai, the openers are firing. In between, there
12:09is, say, Jadeja or somebody who comes in at that number three, number four slot, number four slot
12:18comes in and then chips it in advance. And then comes in later on as Jadeja comes and finishes it.
12:24Similarly, KKR has these three sets of players who are on form, I'm talking about. And RCB also.
12:30So these three teams are quite good. And at last, finally, it is on that day, how you handle the
12:37pressure is what makes it the difference. And there, I would go with CSK because they have
12:44done this, of all the teams apart from Mumbai, it's CSK who has handled the pressure much better
12:50than anybody else. So I would go with CSK for the first game because today under pressure,
12:58Delhi didn't know how to handle it. So that shows that there is a weak link there as well,
13:03apart from the bowling or batting or whatever you can call it on the field. But there is a
13:08mental approach which makes it that go the extra yard to the finish line. I would say CSK has got
13:14that advantage over the rest. Of course, with teams like Kohli and AB and Maxwell, I would also
13:23keep RCB, my other favorite as another potent team that can win their match against KKR.
13:31Right. Okay. I'll come to Sai. Yes. Your prediction for the playoff,
13:38the qualifier and the eliminator? My heart says RCB, my head says KKR. RCB because
13:46RCB is Virat Kohli and it's his last IPL tournament as a captain. So probably the
13:51playing is 200 plus matches for RCB. All the players may gang up again with the
13:56Josh to give him a send-off. KKR because they've got the best three strikers, they've got the best
14:02three strikers and the best three bowlers also. I mean, Kitesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi and all
14:07coming to the party and also Mavi and Chakravarthy and also doing very well. And what about DC and
14:17Chennai? That's the qualifier. I mean, so you win that and you get into the final.
14:22It will be Chennai, definitely. It will be Chennai. So Chennai will take over DC because DC is coming down.
14:30Right. Inayat, a quick word from you on the prediction for these two games?
14:38Both teams I'm supporting actually playing against each other, RCB and KKR.
14:44Anyone who wins, no matter what, I will be disheartened because I just want Kohli to win
14:50and I also want KKR to win. Don't say let cricket be the winner.
14:57I want predictions from you. The two predictions. Thank God he didn't say Hyderabad should win.
15:05Next season. KKR, KKR, KKR. I want to go with KKR.
15:10For first match and for second, I think Delhi will definitely, they will try their best.
15:16But Chennai is more experienced than them. Gautam, we want your answer now and why?
15:21Yeah, correct. I think for the Chennai-Delhi match, I would by and large go with the same
15:29reasons which Satish has offered. I mean, if Delhi can cross this hurdle, see there is no Bombay in
15:34front of them. I mean, if they can cross this hurdle, they've got a very good chance of ending their
15:39title draw because for three years they've done quite well. But still, I would give Chennai that
15:45big-match temperament, a bit of edge. And for the RCB-KKR match, well, the heart and head both
15:52says KKR. So, let us see how it goes. Very good comeback. Who will win the cup?
16:01Cup? Yes. See, KKR's journey once again in 2014 started from the UAE.
16:09So, it acted as a lucky charm. That's why they've gone and staying in Abu Dhabi once again.
16:15So, let's see how it goes. I will leave it hanging at that. Thank you so much,
16:21Anishbhai, for your time. Thank you, Satish. Thank you, Nayyarth and Sai for staying up late.
16:27We are almost there. Thanks once again for your time.
16:32Excellent day. Very entertaining day for cricket.
16:37So, the final day produced lots of runs.
16:40I mean, it's a pity that you couldn't watch both simultaneously, but they had their reason
16:45to do that. So, thank you so much. Thank you, guys. Good night.