Flaws of the top four IPL teams

MiD DAY picks out chinks in the armour of Indian Premier League's top four teams

Flaws of the top four IPL teams

MiD DAY picks out chinks in the armour of Indian Premier League's top four teams

For the first time in Indian Premier League (IPL) history, the four teams that have qualified for the playoffs were established at least three days before the end of the league stages. Only Kings XI Punjab had a mathematical chance of qualifying until late last week.

The four teams ufffd Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders ufffd have emerged as clear frontrunners but still have a few flaws to iron out.

MiD DAY picks out the chinks in the armour of each of the top four IPL-IV teams.

KKR pacers L Balaji and Brett Lee. While Balaji has just 10 wickets at a
steep rate of 8.35 runs, Lee has four wickets at 7.28.
pic/afp

Unstable opening stand:
AB de Villiers, Saurabh Tiwary and Luke Pomersbach have opened, unsuccessfully with Chris Gayle, in three consecutive games since the departure of Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Skipper Daniel Vettori acknowledged that his side was looking for a fixed opening partnership: "We are searching for the right combination since Dilshan left. We gave AB a chance against Chennai because Virat and Gayle are in top form. We might continue with AB but Pomersbach is another option. We'll wait and see what the wicket is like in Mumbai before taking a call," Vettori said on Sunday.

Dependence on R Ashwin and Doug Bollinger:
Most of Chennai's away wins have been set up by the strong batting order. In recent games, Dwayne Bravo, Shadab Jakati and Albie Morkel have proven too expensive. This season, R Ashwin has 16 wickets from 14 games at an economy rate of 6, while Doug Bollinger has 15 wickets from 11 games at 7.02 runs per over. The rest of the attack has conceded an average of 7.8 runs per over, especially Morkel who's conceded 8.36 runs per over in 13 games.

Misfiring Kieron Pollard, and Andrew Symonds:
Having two of the best strikers of the ball down the order hasn't paid dividends for last year's runners-up. While Pollard, with 140 runs from 14 games, has struck at a mediocre 114, Symonds has 135 runs from 11 games ufffd striking at a below par 97. Add to that, neither Pollard (9 wickets, rpo: 8.38) or Symonds (1 wkt, rpo: 10.25) has made an impact with the ball.u00a0

Seams to be a problem:
On paper, KKR have an impressive pace-attack in Brett Lee, Jacques Kallis, Laxmipathy Balaji and Jaidev Unadkat. But in reality, it is the spin trio of Yusuf Pathan, Iqbal Abdulla and Shakib Al Hasan that has helped them pip the likes of Punjab and Rajasthan into the final four. Lee has just four wickets from 11 games at an economy rate of 7.28. Balaji has 10 wickets but at a steep rate of 8.35. Similarly, Unadkat, Kallis and Ryan ten Doeschate have all gone for plenty without too many wickets.u00a0