Steyn turns on the magic

Dale Steyn produced arguably the most testing spell in IPL history against Mumbai Indians on Sunday and picked up two wickets for ten runs. G. Viswanath writes in The Hindu that bowlers like Steyn and Lasith Malinga have always had attention riveted on them and have produced some magic moments in the IPL.

Malinga took 4 for 16 in 3.4 overs in Sunday’s match and played his part in Mumbai Indians fifth win in nine matches, but it was Steyn’s utmost show of human potential as a fast-bowler-cricketer on the field that had the spellbinding effect. No wonder he was declared the man of the match.

In Mint, Sandipan Deb writes that this IPL is different from the rest in terms of fan support. People are watching it not for the sake of following a particular team, rather rooting for certain teams to lose.

In spite of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s immense popularity, especially among the young, there is a small group of people who want Chennai to lose. These are, I have found, people who are very committed followers of the game—guys who live several time zones away from India but can reel off statistics and argue why, say, a Pragyan Ojha should be playing more regularly for India. They accuse Dhoni of playing favourites in the Indian team, preferring a Rohit Sharma over a Manoj Tewary, and getting his way every time because of his IPL Chennai connections—Board President N. Srinivasan and Selection Committee head K. Srikkanth. Above all, they suspect Dhoni of having engineered Sehwag’s dropping from the team for the Asia Cup. So, Dhoni must pay.