IPL Observes Chocker's Day

IPL saw a day which can aptly be termed as "Chokers Day". First, Mumbai Indians collapsed from a winning position, thereby denting their semi-final chances to some extent, and in the second game, the Chennai Super Kings collapsed from a similar position chasing a modest total against a team that had lost 5 of its previous games.

The loss of Chennai Super Kings would surprise many pundits given the modest total they had to chase, but more surprisingly it is going to surprise even the Bangalore Royal challengers. They hardly did anything extra ordinary, but it was CSK that created a panic situation out of nowhere. Kumble was the main bowler with 3/14 and was ably supported by Styne towards the end. This game has further exposed the frailty of Chennai's batting line up and it is a definite cause of concern for them as their bowling attack is not one of the best when we are talking about the semi finalists. As their captain put things aptly at the end, rash shot selections and perhaps the over confidence was the key to a shameful loss, which seem to have dented their chances for semi final a bit. After all this was a game, they should have won easily.

Mumbai Indians, on the other hand were equally big chokers. After the brilliance of Shaun Marsh and LA Pomersbach saw Punjab put a big total of 189 runs, Tendulkar and Jaysurya provided a perfect start to Mumbai Indians adding 36 runs in the first three overs. DR Smith later joined Tendulkar and continued from where Jaysurya had left and it looked as if the Mumbai were all set for their 7th record consecutive win in IPL. But a tight spell from Chawla changed the things as Mumbai indian's completely panicked and collapsed once Tendulkar was run out in the 17th over. As many as 6 run outs in the Mumbai Indian innings confirms the panic in the Mumbai camp, not to foget the last one of Yeligati outdone by a brilliant Yuvraj.

Chennai would like to remember this loss when they meet another joker in Hyderabad next time. Playing an underdog at times is really tricky because the underdogs have nothing to lose and hence they are under no pressure.

Mumbai Indians on the other hand, still have three games and the confidence of 6 straight wins prior to this game. This should make them positive for the next three games.

Semi Final Gate slightly opened : With two top teams, Chennai and Mumbai, losing their games today, it has slightly opened the semi final gate for Delhi Daredevils. Delhi's only way for a semi final spot remains the same- win both the games, however they would be helped a bit from the panic created in the camps of Chennai and Mumbai after today's loss. As it was seen today, both Mumbai and Chennai failed under pressure and panicked at the time they should have maintained their calm. Delhi Daredevils, would hope CSK and Mumbai Indians continue in the same vein for the games to come.