Phew, it’s over: Thoughts on Sunrisers awful IPL 2021
When IPL 2020 ended, our orange army was knocked out in the qualifiers 2 by the mighty Delhi Capitals yet I had a strong belief in our team that we would reach one step higher than the next team. ‘Cause the team and players were so good. With the Warstow opening, Kane Mawa in the middle, exciting young talents like Garg, Abishek Sharma, and Samad and an impeccable bowling lineup lead by King Rashid Khan, I couldn’t have been more positive.
But, the IPL 2021 was a disaster for the Orange Army. Match after match, the sufferings continued as the team looked more of a mess than what it was 6 months back. Warner couldn’t find form, Kane was left out due to foreign combinations and above all Manish Pandey continued to be Manish Pandey irrespective of the team’s position. I could remember at least 7-8 games which we should have won but lost due to poor cricket.
To rub salt on the wounds, Warner had a rift with the team management and was made to step down in the middle of the tournament. It was very unfortunate to see my champion who made us lift our first title being treated like a rookie player. Adding to the pain, these jobless mofos from other fanbases like CSK, MI, and RCB started rallying against the team management and asking “justice” for warner. We all know your deal bruh, shut it. Every time I saw another fanbase foul mouth about our team and say “Warner deserves a better team”, it made my blood boil. Yes, the team think tank was awry this season and it could have handled the situation better but that’s something within the team and we don’t want you fuckers spitting your opinion when no one asked for it.
Moving on, when the break happened, I expected a turnaround when they come back and try to win some games and at least escape the wooden spoon. Alas, it was the same story yet again. The weak middle order, no proper opening, toothless bowling attack, and all these following to the deserved defeat. The season couldn’t have been more awful.
However, the 2 wins against Rajasthan and an in-form Bangalore did give me momentary joy. The RCB match was amazing. On the player's front, Samad, Rashid Khan were the only performers who kept fighting. Kane had a dip in form. Saha tried his best with Garg and Abishek Sharma disappointed us in every opportunity they got. Bowling as well as poor and it pained me watching the “Best Bowling lineup” in tatters, Holder was the lone star with Bhuvi being so unpredictable whether he will leak runs or bowl tight, the former dominated more often than not. Umran Malik who played in the latter stage of the league impressed me with steaming pace. I do hope he has a breakthrough season next year with whichever franchise he gets sold to(hopefully SRH). I don’t want to talk about the deadweights Manish, Jadhav and Vijay Shankar, hopefully, we are done with them for good.
Orange Army has been one of the kind since its inception. Not so big names, underdogs most of the games, youngster dominated team yet 3rd most successful team after CSK and MI with one title, one final and 6 playoffs in 8 seasons. Sadly, it wasn’t our year to be. I do hope we don’t turn into another PBKS or RR next year and bounce back in style like we are known for. Hoping for an incredible season next year.
Orange Army Forever!
