IPL 2018: Five players who disappointed in the third week (21st April-27th April)

The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has successfully completed its third week. Unlike the first two weeks, there was much more drama surrounding the third week. Right from controversial umpiring calls to defending the lowest scores of the season, the third week has seen it all. But, one thing about the third week that will be etched in the minds of fans for a long time is Gautam Gambhir deciding to step down from the role of captain.

The Chennai Super Kings end at the top of the table this week. They are followed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders. This week has seen a trend where the teams at the top are getting stronger and teams at the bottom are further sinking down the ship.

There were some great batting and bowling skills on display during the third week. 33 sixes were hit in the match between RCB and CSK, which is a record till date. Also, Mumbai Indians were bowled out for just 87 against SRH which is the lowest ever. Amidst so many wonderful performances, some players succumbed to the pressure. They failed to reach the expectations and ended up as five disappointments of the week.

Five players who couldn’t get going in the third week of IPL:

1. Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bangalore

This is the second time Virat Kohli has found a spot on this embarrassing list in 3 weeks. This week was just a nightmare for Virat and he will wish to forget it as quickly as possible. He hasn’t created the fireworks with the bat and his captaincy skill has been under the question. Virat has this capability of injecting the team with positive energy when the team is doing well. But when things go the other way, he is often perplexed. He hasn’t really shown this skill of bouncing back from the odds in the IPL thus far. There were a lot of questions about his team selection, bowling changes and field settings.

With the bat, he has been taking too much pressure and that shows off in the results. He and AB de Villiers are the mainstays of RCB‘s batting. However, this added pressure hasn’t got the best out of him this week. In the two games this week, he has scores of 30 and 18 at an average of 24 and strike rate of 117 which is far below to his standards. He will want to lead his team to a few victories from here on though.

2. Rohit Sharma | Mumbai Indians

The first two men featuring on this list incidentally are the two pillars of Indian teams’ batting line up. This season has been a one to forget for Rohit Sharma and MI. While their batting lets them down one time, their bowling does it the other. Although they’ve made some miraculous comebacks earlier, it looks far from possible this time. None of their batsmen or bowlers is in the best of their forms. They’ve failed to identify a player who can win them matches single-handedly.

Skipper Rohit Sharma who is crucial in the Mumbai lineup is in his worst of forms in the recent times. This week, in the two games that he played, he scored 0 and 2. Rohit will have to take some tough calls in the upcoming games. He will have to decide on the future of Kieron Pollard and also will have to up his batting game. A player of his quality doesn’t deserve to be on this list for these many times.

3. Ajinkya Rahane | Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals are battling hard to make their way into the top four. They are currently placed fifth on the points table. Ajinkya Rahane has been quite a positive leader for the team. He just about found the right combinations and will hope for his players to fire. However, his batting was a real disappointment this week. Rahane somewhat changed his style of play and is attacking the bowlers in the powerplay. He is helping his team get good and quick starts at the top.

But, what’s been disappointing is the way in which he’s thrown his wicket away. After doing all the hard work and getting those starts, he was just too careless trying to be aggressive. In the only game played by RR this week, he tried to over-correct this problem and thus completely failed. He made 14 off 17 in a crucial run chase putting the team in troubles although they managed to win that game. It is important for Rahane to find the right balance between being aggressive and defensive. He will have to put the big scores on the board for RR to do well.

4. Aaron Finch | Kings XI Punjab

Aaron Finch was expected to play the main fiddle in the Punjab middle order. Finch who is an aggressive batsman, dons the finishers’ role in the KXIP lineup. He was supposed to produce fireworks towards the end of the innings. Furthermore, he is picked in the squad ahead of the likes of David Miller and Marcus Stoinis. But, he hasn’t been as effective as expected. Although skipper Ashwin backed him and provided him with a plethora of opportunities, he wasn’t able to pay back the faith.

Finch got an opportunity to open the innings for KXIP against DD in the absence of Chris Gayle. However, he failed in that math as he walked back to the pavilion after scoring just two runs. He was dismissed by young Avesh Khan in that game. In the game against SRH, he had this wonderful opportunity to finish the game for his side. He hit a six early in the innings and looked to go for it again off the next ball.

However, he failed to do so, potentially losing the game for his team. He should work in a way quickly to pile up the runs before he is axed from the playing XI.

5. Corey Anderson | Royal Challengers Bangalore

Two players from the same the team featuring on this list in the same week show the plight of RCB. RCB has had the best chance of creating an impact this IPL. Their squad never looked so balanced in the last four to five years of the IPL. But, somehow, they failed to get things together and lost a majority of their matches. Corey Anderson has created a dreadful impact on the minds of RCB fans both with his bowling and batting.

He was as careless as one could ever be with the bat. In the game against DD, instead of supporting ABD from the other end, he threw his wicket away with a poor shot. Similar was the case with CSK where he played out a maiden over at a crucial juncture and gave almost gave some catching practice to the slip fielder as he got out. And, the lesser we speak about his bowling, that would be that much better.

He bowled only one over against DD conceding 10 runs. The Chennai match will be one of the worst nightmares of his life. He was entrusted to bowl at the death with CSK requiring a lot of runs. But, he conceded over 50 runs in his four overs as CSK won the game with two balls to spare. He couldn’t stop them from scoring 16 runs off the last over.