Okay guys, let me walk you through how I messed around today trying to squeeze max points from that SA20 League fantasy cricket match. Totally went down the rabbit hole with Dream11 after seeing all the hype around Tar and Slg. Spoiler: it didn’t go exactly smooth.
Starting Point: Pure Chaos Theory
First thing, honestly felt overwhelmed. Tar? Slg? Teams changing every five minutes? Grabbed my coffee, opened the Dream11 app, and just stared at the players list. Decided I needed a simple approach, screw getting fancy. My goal? Just get a decent score, nothing world-beating. Clicked “Create Team” and jumped straight into the unknown.
My plan felt kinda dumb, but here it was: Look for the dudes who play a ton. Seemed obvious, right? More time on the field, more chances to score points! Started scanning the list. Saw names like “Rabada” – yeah, he bowls a lot. Picked him instantly. Then looked for batters who open the innings. Figured they get the most balls to face. Found one big-name opener, smashed the “Add” button.
Filling the rest got messy. Needed bowlers? Just scrolled and grabbed anyone listed as “Bowler” without looking deeper. Spinners? Flipped the switch and picked one at random. Wicketkeeper? Chose the one playing for the “favorite” team that day. Captain and Vice-Captain? Honestly, just assigned the “C” to the bowler and the “VC” to the batter I picked earlier. Hit save. Boom, team locked in less than 10 minutes. Felt strangely productive.
Watching the Match: Nerves and Facepalms
Sat down for the game, phone buzzing with score alerts. First thing that happened? The bowler I randomly picked as VC got absolutely smashed. Like, his first over went for 15 runs. Felt that familiar fantasy cricket sinking feeling. “Okay,” I thought, “maybe the batter captain saves me.”
He walks out. Looks good for a couple balls… and then gets caught out cheaply. Points stalled. My heart stalled too. Then, crick in the neck time.
- My star fast bowler (Rabada) actually bowled well… but they didn’t let him finish his overs! Manager pulled him early. Point drought.
- The opener I trusted? Got tied down by spin, wasted tons of balls, didn’t score fast enough. Felt like watching paint dry. Where are my boundary points?
- My random spinner pick? Actually turned out okay! Got a wicket. Small win. Probably pure luck.
- The keeper? Did absolutely nothing exciting. Zilch.
Basically watched my simple predictions backfire one by one. Kept refreshing the app. Saw my rank hovering somewhere near the middle of the pack, occasionally dipping scary low.
The Aftermath: Dust & Lessons
Match finished. Final team score landed me firmly in the lower middle of my contest. Not a total disaster, but not lighting any fires either. The spinner pick and Rabada (even with fewer overs) saved me from absolute embarrassment.
So what did I actually learn trying this Tar/Slg “simple predictions” thing?
- Overs Played != Guaranteed Points: Thinking “more time = more points” is lazy. Bowlers get pulled, batters get stuck. The game dynamics matter way more.
- Ignoring Form & Opponent is Suicide: Didn’t check if that cheap bowler was actually getting hit lately. He was. Didn’t check if the batter struggles against left-arm spin. He faced a ton of it. Oops.
- Captain/Vice is EVERYTHING: Wasting the multiplier spots on random choices crushed me. Needed way more thought.
- “Simple” is often just “Ignorant”: Rushing picks without any thought to why this player might score points? Just asking for low scores.
Bottom line? While the idea of super simple picks is tempting, ignoring basics like player form, specific team roles, and matchup details just leaves too much to chance. You might scrape by on luck sometimes, but consistently getting max points? Probably not. Next time, gonna force myself to look deeper, even if it takes 5 extra minutes. Maybe check who’s actually bowling death overs, or which batter loves chasing. This chaotic stab-in-the-dark approach? Yeah, done with that.
