IPL 08: The Rising Stars
View(s):As AB De Villiers departs for 57 after a needless run-out to thedisbelief of the Bangalore fans, in walks 17-year old Sarfaraz Khan. An upper cut 
for four off James Faulkner of Rajasthan, followed by a reverse sweep and a shot to the third man boundary -Bangalore is excited. Two fours off the Watson over, a boundary sweep and a six over long-off of Praveen Amre, followed by an inside out shot to the fence– the IPL world is excited.
With social media going abuzz, and complimentary tweets from international stars pouring in, Sarfaraz Khan finishes with 45 runs off 21 balls, taking Bangalore to 200. That the rest of the game got washed out only served to keep the spotlight on the young talent, who is greeted on his walk back with a playful bow by his captain, Virat Kohli.
Unknown. Uncrowned. Young. Fearless. Sarfaraz Khan. Sanju Samson. Deepak Hooda. ShreyasIyer. The new breed of batsmen are here. With skills honed to the shorter format, T20 is their playground, and IPL, their showcase.
Be it Samson’s 46-ball 76 against Mumbai for Rajasthan Royals, taking on the best-in-business, Lasith Malinga with apparent ease, or Hooda’s 25-ball 54 or even a four-ball 13, adding to the aura of the Royals. Or ShreyasIyer’s 56-ball 83 against Mumbai for the DelhiDaredevils, followed by a 60 against Hyderabad. The young guns are giving the seasoned stars a good run, both on the IPL popularity charts and performance ratings. And that is not all. Samson keeps wickets, Hooda bowls his off-breaks economically, while Sarfaraz Khan has been a successful leggie for the India Under 19’s.ShreyasIyer is already the highest paid uncapped player, bought for $430,000 by Delhi Daredevils this year. From the raw talent and street-smart effectiveness of Sarfaraz, to the class and elegance of Samson, the power and big-hitting of Hooda and the calm yet busy style of Shreyas, the second half of IPL promises much from these rising stars.
More than half-way into the tournament, the points table still looks open. Chennai and Rajasthan maintain their top spots, though Rajasthan have hada couple ofrained-out games andsuffered a loss. As Kolkatta and Delhi jostle for the next two spots, the BangaloreChallengers are finally beginning to find form, withHyderabad close on the heels. Mumbai enjoyed a good win against Rajasthan on Friday, keeping themin the hunt, with Kings XI Punjab left at the bottom of the table.
The Kings XI have struggled with their top order, and lost to both Hyderabad and Delhi this week. Changing the team around was perhaps needed, dropping Maxwell not so. He is a game changer, and remains their big hope for any possibility of making the cut to the top four.Bangalore had a great game against Delhi, bowling them out for 95, and chasing it down easily. Their good form continued against Rajasthan, but was unlucky to have the match rained out after scoring 200. Chennai and Kolkatta proved to be rather selfish hosts, denying each other a win in their respective home grounds.Chennai successfully defended 134 at home, but were unable to defend 165 at Kolkatta, clearly missing Ashwin, who was injured in the home game.
The target is to achieve eight wins, which should ensure the teams a spot in the top four.With the tournamentstill wide open, there is much to look forward to in the coming weeks, where the conversation is now as much about the rising stars as it is about the established masters of the game.