Brace yourselves for this! Some actual sporting debate just broke out in the comments section of a Scorum blog. Hallelujah!

In amongst the many reviews and spun news stories (some of which are so out of date that I'm not even sure they can qualify as "news") there are a few writers that are trying to add that magical ingredient that is a necessity to anything that could possibly resemble a blog - an opinion!

Having an opinion is what it is all about! Scorum gives you, the sports fan, a platform for your voice and ultimately the success of the blogging platform in its purest sense will be determined by the quality of interaction as opposed to the volume of blogs being created. A single blog that stimulates discussion and debate should be worth far more than 5 x 1000 word descriptions of what happened in a match which everyone who wanted to watch will already know about anyway!

I remember @broncofan99, one of the platforms best bloggers, saying that he approaches a blog in the same way that he would a discussion with his colleagues around the water cooler at work. I'm pretty sure that such a discussion will include opinions, feelings and a degree of his own personality as opposed to just a lengthy description of what he saw on his TV screen that weekend.........

Anyway here is my response to some of the opinions given in the comments section of that blog. From my point of view, it is really easy to get motivated to write when a discussion has already begun!

Playoff places decided - Who is going to win the IPL?

As I've mentioned in a previous blog, I think that this IPL has been one of if not the best yet in terms of competitive matches and excitement. We have never had an 8 team tournament where 12 points has been enough to qualify for the playoffs but SRH have managed it this year which further demonstrates just how closely fought the contests have been and why anyone of the 4 teams left in the playoffs could win! Here's my analysis on the strengths & weaknesses of each side in the final 4.

Their victory over KKR means they won the group stage of the tournament and they travel to Chennai to play CSK with a chance of automatically reaching the final. Despite CSKs dominance on their home ground in recent years, Mumbai go there knowing that they were the only team to win at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium this season. However, @dhiraj3218 made a good point with his comment that CSK were without their inspirational captain and one of the best finishers ever in white ball cricket MS Dhoni. Will that be a defining factor in this match?

Strengths

  • Fast Bowling options - MI have had the luxury of being able to rest and rotate most of their bowlers during the group stage with Bumrah the only out and out quick to have played in all their games. Old man Malinga may have gone for a few runs at times but he still possesses great wicket taking abilities especially towards the end of the innings. 
  • Lower order hitting - Most teams have a player who can smash it around in the final 5 overs but Mumbai are lucky enough to have both Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard both of whom are in the top 10 strikers of the tournament so far

Weaknesses

  • The top order has failed to shine - De Kock, Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav have all had steady tournaments but bearing in mind that they've played every single game you would have thought that they'd have managed more than 7 half centuries between them in 42 innings. I was expecting big things from Rohit Sharma this year given that he moved up to open the batting. We all know what he's capable of if he gets going & perhaps he's saving his best until last ......
  • Lack of match-winning spinner - Rahul Chahar has had a solid performance in his debut season but compared to the likes of Tahir and Rashid Khan he is yet to develop into the match-winning bowler that MI need. I've been really disappointed not to see more of Mayank Markande this year, he looked like a real prospect but for whatever reason isn't performing at present

I have a theory that CSK lost their last match against KXIP just so that RCB would finish bottom of the league. OK, so it's probably a coincidence but it's also great to see that in a franchise system which is still relatively new, there are already the kind of rivalries developing that are commonplace in the best leagues of any sport around the world. CSK have proved many commentators (including myself) wrong by dismissing suggestions they were too old to succeed.

Strengths

Spin, spin and more spin - Particularly on their home pitch Tahir, Jadeja and Harbajhan have been irresistible with 47 wickets between them in the group stage. Beyond the fact that they are naturally gifted bowlers who compliment each other perfectly, they also have a captain in MS Dhoni who knows exactly how to use each of them in any given scenario

Captain Cool - CSK have only looked vulnerable this year when Dhoni has been absent. Assuming that he is fully recovered from the illness that saw him miss out later in the tournament then it's difficult to believe that a side he is captaining will lose 2 games in a row and fail to make the final.

Weaknesses

Batting woes - The strength of their bowling is further underlined by the fact that some of the CSK batsmen have been really poor this season. Watson and Rayudu were excellent in the 2018 tournament but they have managed just 1 x 50 apiece this year. Add to that the fact that Raydu and Kedar Jadhav are both striking at under 100 and it suggests that if a team can dismiss Du Plessis and Raina cheaply then they can put this CSK side under some pressure.

DC are the only team that I didn't predict would make it this far but it's great news for them and Indian cricket that they have given the number of talented young players they have in their squad. They are also the form team coming into these playoffs and so while they are by no means favourites to win the final they certainly can't be ignored!

Strengths

Run-scoring - Shikar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer have both been consistent with the bat this tournament with Dhawan in particular becoming better as the tournament progressed. Rishabh Pant has taken a fair amount of criticism of late but the 21-year-old has still scored over 400 runs so far this year and only Hardik Pandya has a better strike-rate than him when considering batsmen left in the competition.

Weaknesses

The loss of Kagiso Rabada - The leading wicket-taker has left DC following a slight niggle which he has been advised to rest ahead of the World Cup which starts later this month. It is a massive blow to Dehli's chances and particularly weakens their death bowling which up until now has been a real strength of theirs

Lower order not performing - While the above-mentioned batsmen have had good years, DC have struggled to find players who can come in and do a job at 5, 6 & 7. Colin Ingram has been the most used player in those positions but has added just 184 runs at a paltry S/R of 119. DC are reliant on one of their top 4 batting the overs. Put them under pressure early on and it seems unlikely they will turn the game around

They lost 4 out of their last 5 matches and have somewhat limped into the playoffs after a decent start to the tournament. We know they have a couple of world class performers in their ranks but are they just here to make up the numbers?

Strengths

Home Advantage - Both the eliminators and the final (assuming they get there) will be played in familiar surroundings for SRH. Pitch conditions play such an important part in cricket that while SRH have had a decidely average year they can't be written off in their own back garden

Buvi Kumar coming on strong - If they are to win from this position they will need their big names to stand up and be counted for. Buvi has been struggling with form and fitness for the best part of a year but his recent performances suggest that he is coming back to somewhere near his best which is great news for SRH and India.

Weaknesses

International players have left - Warner and Bairstow had formed a destructive opening partnership for SRH that was the envy of the league. Both are now back home preparing for the World Cup and it's no big surprise that SRH's fortunes have diminished now that they are no longer there.

Middle order still not contributing - This was a problem last year as well when SRH reached the final. The likes of Pathan and Shankar just haven't been able to give SRH the momentum at the back of their innings and without the aforementioned openers that has left their batting very exposed.

My Predictions

So here's how I see the final 4 matches unfolding

Qualifier 1 - Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings

I think that CSK will have enough on their home ground to win this one and progress directly to the final. As I mentioned above, MI are probably a spinning option short and may have to rely on young Ankul Roy to come in and bowl some overs on what will be a slow-turning pitch in Chennai. CSK may be struggling to score big runs but as we've seen throughout this tournament they don't need to when the conditions are in the favour of their bowlers.

Eliminator - Dehli Capitals v Sunrisers Hyderabad

Despite home advantage, I think that DC will have enough to win this one. They are the form team and in fact, they have looked a better outfit playing away from home on quicker, batsmen friendly pitches which is what they are likely to get here. SRH will be relying on their bowling line-up to find a bit of late-season form to keep them in the hunt. We know that they can do it but on recent evidence, it doesn't look likely that they will.

Qualifier 2 - Mumbai Indians v Dehli Capitals

Assuming that my first 2 predictions are correct, I can see this one being a really good match with so many exciting players involved. Of course, the added thrill will be that this is a knockout situation and so it is where you really separate the wheat from the chaff. I have a feeling in general (whether it's this match or one of the others) that we will see something special from the likes of Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant. The Hitman needs to prove his form before the World Cup while Pant will be keen to show the selectors just what they are missing. However, I think that in the end MI will have the quality and experience to edge this one.

Final - Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians

On balance, these are the best 2 sides in the competition and therefore they would be worthy teams to contest the final. The challenge for CSK will be to contain MI to a score that they can chase/defend. We saw on a relatively flat deck in Mohali yesterday that CSK were probably 15-20 runs short of a competitive total and KXIP ultimately cruised to victory. Both these teams are chock full of experience on the biggest stage so even where players like Watson and Rohit have struggled throughout the year, don't write them off when it comes to the crunch! For me, I think Mumbai have what it takes to win it this year and besides everyone knows that they always win in odd-numbered years!