By IANS,
New Delhi : Who says Twenty20 is tailor-made for youngsters? Hold it, a peep into the Indian Premier League (IPL) reveals that old hats like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist are giving the juniors a run for their money in the shortest version of the game.
Among the top-five scorers, David Hussey and Glchirst are in their 30, but are setting Benchmarks for the juniors in the IPL. Among the bowlers, Warne and his one time teammate McGrath, playing competitive cricket a year áfter retirement, have raised the eyebrows.
As the IPL crossed its half-way stage the verdict is clearly out as the shortest version of the game has nothing to do with age.
The circle starts with Warne, the coach cum captain of Rajasthan Royals, who has been leading his team from the front. The Royals unlike other teams didn’t have the big names but Warne with his all-round abilities has been successful in transforming a pack of amateurs into a winning squad.
The Royals have won six out of the eight matches they have played and Warne is up there among the leaders in the bowler’s list. The legendry leg-spinner has picked up 11 wickets from nine matches and has also scored runs in crunch situations. Against the Deccan Chargers, the Royals were staring defeat in the face, as they needed 17 runs in the last over. Warne hit a 4, 6, 6 in the last three balls to script one of the best chases in the IPL.
Similarly his former team mate McGrath has been a silent performer and he hasn’t lost the knack of irritating batsmen with his nagging line and length. Though his pace has slowed down but the hunger is still there.
At an interactive session with some spastic children, a kid asked him: “You were a fast bowler?” McGrath said: “I used to bowl fast, but now I bowl pretty slow. Now other guys bowl faster than me.” An honest confession from the champion bowler, who according to Daredevils’ cricket adviser T.A. Sekhar, is still inspiring the young bowlers in his team.
With an economy rate of just 5.71 this 38-year-old paceman from New South Wales has picked up seven wickets from eight matches so far.
At the age of 36, Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan is spinning the ball more energetically than any other youngsters. Playing for Chennai Super Kings, the city of of his in-laws, hasn’t been a luxury for him. He has been a miser in the shortest version of the game, where other spinners have gone for a toss, and also picked up six wickets.
While bowlers are performing in the IPL irrespective of their age, the batsmen are also not left behind.
David, Gilchrist and also Sehwag, who at 29 can’t be young, are letting their bat do the talking.
The 30-year-old David, like his elder brother Michael, is yet to debut for the Australian team but he has been the most consistent performer for Kolkata Knight Riders. He has averaged 44 in the ongoing tournament and has scored 263 runs from eight matches.
Glichrist has been unlucky as despite his brilliant performance his team Deccan Chargers can’t make into the semi-finals any more. He is also one of the four cricketers to score a century in the league but now he has reconciled to his fate and wants his fellow players to play for pride.
20 or 30, it shows that age has nothing to do with the game of cricket. Cricketers who excelled in all version of the game are performing well in the IPL as well.