IPL 2026: Head vs Kohli, the tournament trends and best Aussies
5/25/202636 min
The IPL can be brutal to follow in the Australian time zone so we figured you might need a primer as the tournament comes to a close. Matt Roller from ESPN Cricinfo has been there for every game and joins Corbin to chat through the trends of the tournament, which Australian players and coaches performed best and what's with Virat Kohli and Travis Head beefing again.
The IPL generally shapes T20 cricket globally so Corbin & Matt dissect recurring themes like turbo powerplays, spin vs pace, the best season to chase, Sooryavanshi madness, Bumrah's woes and the almighty collapse of Ricky Ponting's Punjab.
To get in touch, email Corbin & Ed at abccricketpodcast@abc.net.au
ABC Grandstand cricket commentator Corbin Middlemas is joined by Ed Cowan to bring you all the highlights and match analysis to keep you up to speed. The pair discuss the key players and big issues that are dominating the cricket agenda, the latest in live fixtures with a hit of cricket banter.
Catch every episode of ‘The ABC Cricket Podcast,’ hosted by Corbin Middlemas on ABC listen or wherever you get your podcasts, and get in touch with them on social media via @abc_sport This podcast was formerly known as ‘The Grandstand Cricket Podcast’
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsCorbin Middlemas· Host0:00
ABC Listen: podcasts, radio, news, music, and more. [upbeat music] ABC Cricket Podcast still on with one of your boys, Corbett Middlemass with you. There is no Ed Cowan today, but as always, when Ed's not here, I always have a very suitable replacement. And one man who, um, I'm particularly fond of his work, you'll hear me reference him off- often I'm sure on, uh, on this podcast. He's a writer, an analyst, a senior correspondent with ESPN Cricinfo, and he's over in India at the moment in Mumbai covering the IPL, which is unusual for someone from a senior nation that's born in, uh, another part of the world to be so heavily into the IPL, and yet he's a, uh, T20 specialist. He knows all about the tactics and everything that's going on in, uh, in the T20 game. So we thought who better to come on and be able to break it all down for us for an Australian audience that might be dipping in and out of the IPL. His name is Matt Roller from ESPN Cricinfo. Matt, appreciate your time.
Matt Roller· Guest0:59
Not at all. Uh, hope to do my best at Cowan impression. I've got I think about 10,000 fewer first class runs, but- [laughs] ... uh, hopefully be able to offer the listeners something.
Corbin Middlemas· Host1:07
Just a little bit on yourself firstly. So you're a, you're a young man, but you've already done so much in the, the journalism game. It, it feels like a lot of, as I said in the, the intro, you know, from the senior nations, so South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia, it feels like a lot of people almost have this hostility towards T20 cricket. So you buck the trend a little bit that, uh, that you c- you're particularly fond of it and, and, uh, are great in your analysis, uh, of the, the