With the sixth edition of the Indian Premier league churning out results at a breakneck pace, one could be forgiven for having lost track of the Australians involved.
After two fixtures overnight, IPL 2013 is at the halfway mark, making it an ideal time to take stock of the efforts of the various Australians in the league.
Chennai Super Kings, first: 9 points, 7 wins, 2 losses
The impressive Chennai went top overnight, and owe their spot on the ladder largely to the brilliance of Michael Hussey, who is second on the run aggregates in this edition of the IPL, with 445 runs at an average of 74.
T20 specialists Dirk Nannes and Ben Laughlin have been somewhat more incidental to CSK’s form, playing five and one games respectively, with Nannes averaging over 30 and Laughlin 25.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, second: P10, W6 L4
Australia’s troika of all-rounders in Bangalore – Moises Henriques, Andrew McDonald and Dan Christian – have all been victims of RCB’s success this season.
The team, now second on the ladder, auditioned the three towards the start of the season with mixed results.
Both McDonald and Christian faired poorly, but Henriques, who returned to the team in the overnight loss against Rajasthan, has averaged 36.5 with the bat and 12 with the ball (five wickets) from four games.
Rajasthan Royals, third: P9, W6 L3
The Royals sit third on the table at the halfway point, with a mixture of Australia’s future, present and past all contributing heavily. Ashes bolter James Faulkner sits top of the IPL wicket takers this season, with an impressive 16 wickets at 10 apiece. Going at six an over and averaging a strike every 10 balls, Faulkner also took the season’s first five wicket haul in the Royal’s win against Hyderabad.
Shane Watson, too, has impressed recently, posting the first hundred of the season, before backing it up with an unbeaten 98 and a match-winning 41, leaving him with 314 runs at 52 to go with four wickets at under 20 apiece.
Meanwhile, the underrated Brad Hodge has accumulated 169 runs at 42, including four unbeaten innings, playing the role of finisher effectively. Shaun Tait hasn’t featured recently, having taken a solitary wicket in two games.
No appearances: Brad Hogg
No appearances: Aiden Blizzard, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Phil Hughes, Glen Maxwell
Mumbai Indians, fourth: 8, w 5, l 3
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has endured a torrid opening half of the season, struggling to 52 runs at an average of 10 before dropping himself for Mumbai’s most recent fixture, a trend followed by fellow underperforming captains in Angelo Matthews, Kumar Sangakarra, and more recently, Adam Gilchrist.
Mitchell Johnson has faired better for Mumbai, taking 11 wickets at 22 to sit second among Australians on the wicket tally.
No appearances: Aiden Blizzard, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Phil Hughes, Glen Maxwell
Sunrisers Hyderabad, fifth: 9, w 5, l 4
Cameron White has been the only Australian to feature for Sunrisers this season, playing all but one game for the franchise from Hyderabad.
His place in the may be under threat however, with the Victorian making only 123 runs at an average of 15 so far this season.
No appearances: Chris Lynn, Clint McKay
Kings XI Punjab, 6th: P9, W4 L5
Captain Adam Gilchrist has followed in a similarly unimpressive vein to Ponting for Kings XI, with 94 runs from 8 games at barely 11 runs per innings, and has since dropped himself. David Hussey has made 199 runs from 8 innings at the slightly more respectable 29.50, while Luke Pomersbach has played a solitary game for 18 runs.
In the bowling stocks, Ryan Harris played three games early in the season, picking up just a single wicket, before aggravating an ankle injury and ruling himself out of the rest of the season in order to be fit for the Ashes in July, while Shaun Marsh played his first game overnight, making 10.
Kolkata Knight Riders, seventh: 9, w 3, l 6
Only two Australians are on the books at underperforming Kolkata. The lone Australian to have appeared, Brett Lee, has taken three wickets at 20 from two games for last season’s champions.
No appearances: Brad Haddin
Delhi Daredevils, 8th: P9, W2 L7
The hapless Daredevils had won just a single game before an overnight win against fellow strugglers Pune, due largely to an unbeaten 51 from David Warner, coming in at the unfamiliar position of fourth.
Warner has now posted 273 runs at 39, including a top score of 77 to sit 8th in the list of runscorers. Ben Rohrer was given a look-in against Bangalore, posting 14 before falling, and returned to the team last night, scoring 13.
Pune Warriors, 9th: P9, W2 L7
Pune find themselves languishing in bottom spot, having won just two games this season, despite the best efforts of Australian batsmen Steve Smith and Aaron Finch.
Both have performed well so far, with Smith scoring 120 runs from five innings at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 134, with Finch making three half-centuries from seven innings, with 266 runs at 38 and a strike rate of 131.
Mitch Marsh has scraped 100 runs at an average of 16, and taken 5 wickets – though they’ve come at the cost of 35 runs each, with the young all-rounder proving one of the more expensive bowlers of the competition, going at above ten an over.
Kane Richardson, who set Pune back $700,000 at the 2013 auction, made an uninspiring debut against Delhi, going for 39 runs from four overs without taking a wicket.
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