IPL 10 IS HERE.......

                   IPL 10 IS HERE....

Indian Premier League is into its 10th year and every team has got one game under their belt as we arrive at Day 5.So what we have seen in these past four days is nothing different from the past 9 editions,if not better.It started off with the two finalists from 2016.With the big guns like De Villiers and Kohli missing,Sunrisers  started as favourites and ended up victorious.Lack of firepower at the top of the order meant that any score above 200 was going to be difficult for RCB to chase.On the other hand, Afghanistan and Rashid Khan announced themselves in the IPL as the leggie made a decent debut for Sunrisers.

    The 2nd match was played in Pune between Rising Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians.Mumbai Indians reached 184 thanks to a last over bash by Hardik Pandya but again it was Steve Smith with a brilliant 84 off 54 taking his team over the line.I think there was some mistake on Rohit Sharma's part as he was left with only Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard as the contenders to bowl the last over.But Steven Smith's brilliance with the bat seems to be unstoppable.I think someone should check his Passport or Licence ,his address might read as New South Wales, Australia, but it has to be somewhere far away from the planet Earth.

    On day 3,KKR just demolished Gujrat lions who went in with 4 overseas batsmen and as a result, fell short of somebody like Dwayne Bravo or James Faulkner.I don't think it would have made much of a difference though as Chris Lynn was in no mood to stop swinging his bat.

    First Double header of the IPL 10 saw two good,hard fought contests.First, it was RPS vs Kings XI.Supergiants clearly fell at least 20 runs short as 163 was never going to be enough against a batting side comprising of Amla-Maxwell-Miller-Stoinis.The last thing Steven Smith wanted was a Partnership between Maxwell and Miller, and Maxwell was firing all cylinders.

    The second match though, was a lot interesting.De Villiers and Kohli less Bangalore fell to put runs on he board despite Kedar Jadhav's blistering 69 of 37 balls.Everyone felt that they were 30-35 runs short taking into consideration the track record of this ground.But Royal challenges managed to turn the whole thing on its head and emerge victorious.But Rishabh Pant's heroics were truly unbelievable as he kept the match undecided untill the first ball of the last over was bowled.Having lost his father a couple of days ago, to come in and play an innings like this was just an example of the mental strength of the man or should I say Boy?

     As we kick off Day 5, it would be absolutely foolish to draw any conclusions about the teams but KKR and Delhi look to be having a brighter future looking at the balance of the respective teams......