THE MEGA-FINALS - Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Superkings

The two best teams in the inaugural DLF IPL will be going head-to-head in what promises to be a mouth-watering, heart-stopping climax. Don't go by the one-sided matches in the semi-finals ! Just think back to the last time these two great teams met in Chennai to remember what a superb game of cricket it was. Here's to a repeat of such a game - with one key difference - the end result !!!

Not only are these the two best teams - they are also the two best-led teams. Warne and Dhoni are the two magicians who will conduct the show. It's one of India's most charismatic and successful limited-overs captain against arguably the greatest captain the World never had !

Teams
Rajasthan have truly been a great team - a worthy opponent to face in the finals - unlike say, Punjab, who were more pretenders than anything else. They have given us some wonderful cricket, some delightful memories - the way Shane Warne has led this team has been simply inspiring.

Strengths - Batting order with well-defined roles, Tanvir, Warne, Watson - the best all-rounder
Weaknesses - Will miss Smith, Perhaps the seamers to backup Tanvir and Watson ?

Chennai - we have displayed the one great trait of a champion side - the ability to lift our game when it matters most. We peaked at the start of the tournament, went through a bit of a lean patch but are just beginning to bring our best at the climax. You can rely on the captaincy of Dhoni to handle situations like these.

Strengths - Raina striking some serious form, Dhoni, Morkel - an all-rounder not quite as good as Watson, but a fair competitor, Ntini striking form, Gony
Weaknesses - Opening - remains the Achille's heel of our team, back-up bowling.

League Record 2-0 in favor of the Royals
First game we were blown off by the Sohail-storm, but in the home game we gave a memorable fight. However, Watson did not play that game. But the main backbone of the batting in that game Graeme Smith is out injured, so that could be a huge bonus

Royal Contests
Akmal v Ntini
Asnodkar v Gony
Watson v Morkel
Yusuf v Murali
Raina v Tanvir
Dhoni v Warne

So let's get the party started ! Bring out your drinks, put out your tents and start pouring in your rants and opinions on this mega-blockbuster !

Semifinals - King's X1 Punjab v Chennai Superkings - Review

We have done it guys ! We have inflicted a humiliating defeat upon our favorite opposition and romped through to the finals in style ! What a momentous and glorious win this is for everyone associated with the Chennai Superkings !

So unfairly written off and labeled as the weakest of the four semifinalists, and then, branded as underdogs we have shown the World that they can take us lightly only at their own peril.

Analysis
Punjab: Shaun Marsh, Sangakarra both failed, as they were due a failure anyway. No one else stood up, weak middle order, Yuvraj couldn't stand up, as expected. Bowling showed no teeth

Chennai: Ntini who was a bit of a worry, came to the party just at the right time. Gony, as predicted, was superb. Parthiv did a decent job. Raina of course was brilliant.

Was this the PERFECT performance ? Does this leave scope for another perfect performance tomorrow ?

The expressions on Yuvraj's face were precious.

We have shown that rather than putting up a false bravado just keeping calm and going about the job quietly works wonders. Just one more step away from justifying our name "Super" Kings !

Second Semifinal - King's X1 Punjab v Chennai Superkings - Preview

Today it is. Do or die day. No more second chances, no more bothering about tables and run-rates and the like. On the opposite side is our favorite opponent - King's X1 Punjab - a team that we like to beat and hold some grudge against. Also a team that is on the up, and supremely confident, a bit too confident if you like. At stake, is a chance to contest in the finals of the inaugural DLF IPL Final !

Favorites ?
What a question !

League Record: 2-0 in favor of Super Kings
In the first game, we totally annihilated them - but those were different days as we had Mike Hussey with us. But more encouragingly we had a very good win in the return game also, despite Shaun Marsh batting well. It seemed Dhoni Raina and Badrinath relished taking on the all Indian bowling attack and then Balaji sealed it off with a super-spell !

Teams
Punjab
Strengths - Shaun Marsh, Sangakarra
Weaknesses - Yuvraj, dicey lower-middle order, part of the bowling can be tonked around

Chennai
Strengths - Key players are beginning to show form (Raina, Morkel, Dhoni, Gony, Murali)
Weaknesses - Opening combination, Backup bowling, below par performances by Ntini and Murali

Royal Contests
Marsh v Gony
Sangakarra v Murali
Raina v Chawla
Dhoni v Irfan

First Semifinal - Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils - Review

Result:
A complete royal demolition job ! The devils could not dare !

Analysis:
Terrible as the Devils were, one has to compliment the Royals for a superb performance. Asnodkar was brilliant against McGrath, Smith showed great commitment in playing through the injury, and Watson and Pathan simply dictated the course of the game by their superb play.

With the ball again Watson was just magnificent.

Daredevils have been so reliant on luck and their top-order in this series that they were bound to come apart against a worthy opponent especially considering their main batsman Gambhir is a bit of a hoicker and a flasher.

What It Means For Us
a) This is a good wicket. Good bounce, good carry. So good batsmen as well as good bowlers should do well here. There is very little scope for ordinary players so might as well focus on the specialists

b) Opening partnership is critical. Even if the first 3 overs are quiet it is fine. It is overs 4-6 that need to be capitalized upon.

c) We need to be at our very best to challenge both teams.

Lasting Memories
Warnie exhorting a team having fun with McGrath when the latter was batting, McGrath telling Munaf how to bowl the bouncer even as he was batting.

Gambhir getting frustrated with his inability to strike the boundaries.

Royal Contest Results
Smith v McGrath - Smith has the last laugh
Yusuf v Mishra - Yusuf wins
Gambhir v Tanvir - Tanvir restrics Gambhir
Sehwag v Warne - no contest, but Watson destroys Sehwag

Team Categorization

1. Rajasthan Royals - Undoubtedly the best team. 3 defeats - one right at the start, when they were yet to find their feet, one right at the end in a game they took lightly and one in the middle which they are entitled to.

2. King's X1 Punjab - Very strong team. 4 defeats - one against the top team, 2 against the No. 3 team (against whom they seem to have a mental block).

3. Chennai Super Kings - The most unpredictable team. 6 defeats - 2 against Rajasthan, but 0 against Punjab and then they have lost to almost every other team once (except Kolkata)

4. Delhi Daredevils - Typical middle of the table team. Did a good job of minnow-bashing, decent against top and other middle of the table teams.

5. Mumbai Indians - Another unpredictable team. 2 losses to Punjab against 2 wins versus Kolkata but against every other team has a 1-1 record, minnows and toppers and middlers alike.

6. Kolkata Knight Riders - Excellent minnow-bashers, pulled off the odd upset against a top team too.

7. Bangalore Royal Challengers - Minnows that caused an upset and a half

8. Deccan Chargers - Minnows that caused an upset and a half.

First Semifinal - Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils Preview

It's the first knockout. No more second chances. No more opportunities for revenge or comebacks. One of the Royals and the Daredevils will be going home disappointed tonight and the other will be readying for the mega-finals on Saturday.

Favorites ?
I would like to see Rajasthan in the finals - because I believe they are by some distance the better team, although possibly Delhi might be the preferable opponent for us if we go through tomorrow. I do think Rajasthan have the edge despite their loss in the last league game.

League Record 1-1
Delhi had beaten Rajasthan on the second day of the championship at home when Warne's men were yet to get things in order and were written off by all as minnows. However, Warnie returned with interest in the home game - a comprehensive win for the Royals.

Teams
Delhi
Strengths - Top order, McGrath, Fielding
Weaknesses - Middle order, Backup bowling (esp. fifth bowler)

Rajasthan
Strengths - Versatile, well-oiled batting, Warne - bowler and captain, Tanvir - best bowler of the series, Watson
Weaknesses - Some of the players rely a lot on Warne's captaincy, these could be individually targeted.

Royal Contests
Smith v McGrath
Yusuf v Mishra
Gambhir v Tanvir
Sehwag v Warne

The Semifinalists

So who is the strongest of them all ?

If you just look at the records of the semifinalists against each other here is how they stand:

Rajasthan 4-2
Punjab 3-3
Chennai 3-3
Delhi 2-4

Which is the exact order in which they line up.

However that does not tell the whole story. For a lot of the teams have evolved since when they played each other.

So who are the favorites ?

I know that in a lot of forums I visit Chennai is described as the weakest of the semifinalists and Punjab is expected to run over them. I do not subscribe to this view however; for the simple fact that Chennai have beaten Punjab twice.

Indeed given a choice between facing Punjab and Rajasthan in the semis I would prefer to face Punjab any day.

Also for some reason people are beginning to look upon Delhi as very strong contenders. I wonder why. I believe luck (and some self-destruction on the part of Mumbai) played a huge role in Delhi getting to this stage. If they continue to rely on luck they might be in for a huge shock.

All in all I still believe Rajasthan is by far the strongest team and the one to beat.

And you ?

King's X1 Punjab v Rajasthan Royals - Review

A thumping performance by Punjab but clearly, Rajasthan were taking this game lightly, weren't they ?

Definitely a great show of strength for Yuvraj's side and it will be a mammoth challenge facing them in the semifinals.

Marsh was sublime. Hopefully he has exhausted his quota of runs for the tournament. Great to see the second string Rajasthan team take the fight to the opposition though - the innings of Neeraj, Akmal and Yusuf were very heartening.

Punjab beat Rajasthan but still finish at #2.

The league stage is over - Onward to the semifinal !

Revenge Battle Results
Watson v Yuvraj - Yuvraj wins again !
Salunkhe v Yuvraj - Minor win for Yuvi
Pankaj v Yuvraj - Thumping win for Yuvi again
Yusuf v Yuvraj - Draw
Kaif v Sreesanth - Thumping win for Sree again
Chawla v Watson - Close battle Chawla has last laugh, part revenge

Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Mumbai Indians - Match Review

An inconsequential game.

Consolation win for Mumbai.

Only interesting phase of the game was when Steyn was bowling an impressive spell against Jayasuriya.

The campaign ends for the powerhouse of Indian cricket.

Gavaskar, Shastri etal. keep licking your wounds.

Revenge Battle Results
Uthappa v Akhil - Uthappa
Dravid v Pollock - Draw

Young Turks - 8 - Ravindu Jadeja

IPL Team - Rajasthan Royals

Ranji Trophy Team - Saurashtra

IPL Performance - Has been most impressive as a lower order batsman and brilliant fielder.

Features - Confident striker of the ball who has shown he can bat to the situation as well. Excellent fielder and in fact he started off as a left-arm spinner

Concerns - His bowling seems to have taken a back-seat

Suggestions - Can make a great finisher in the future - batting at 6,7 in ODIs. May not find a place immediately but should be part of the plan in 3-4 years' time.

Young Turks - 7 - Pragyan Ojha

IPL Team - Deccan Chargers

Ranji Trophy Team - Hyderabad

IPL Performance - One of the rare positives in the bowling for Deccan Chargers. The way he held Dhoni was very impressive. Can fire the ball in well into the blockhole too. Gets good turn (remember the Kallis dismissal ?) and can stick to a plan. Can vary his line.

Strengths - Smooth Action, Good Turn, Temperament.

Concerns - Hasnt shown ability to flight the ball or the arm ball. But it could just be that he was not wanting to experiment here. Fielding could be an issue.

Suggestions - He could possibly make his debut now that Harbhajan is out with a ban. If not, he should still be in the selector's long term plans. Since he is a left-arm spinner that is good as he will complement the leg-spin of Chawla and off-spin of Harbhajan once Kumble retires.

King's X1 Punjab v Rajasthan Royals - Preview

A dress rehearsal for the finals ? Hopefully not, as a Chennai supporter, but that is how this match is being touted elsewhere. Regardless, this is bound to be a compelling game between two of the best teams in the Championship.

Royals won the battle last time around when both teams were going in having lost their first games and under severe pressure. That was the time when the Royals were already being written off for having such a "weak" team while the captaincy abilities of Yuvraj Singh were being severely questioned.

As we come to the last league game of the inaugural DLF IPL how these self-proclaimed pundits have been left embarrassed. Well, expect a high-voltage clash to round off.

Teams
Rajasthan - Smith missed the last game - is he fit enough to be back ? If he is will Akmal miss out or will the unbelievable Tanvir be rested ?

Punjab - It is important to get Sangakkara firing on all cylinders. So also Yuvraj, but I seriously doubt if he can turn it all around at this stage.

Revenge Battles
Hopes v Warne
Trivedi v Sangakkara
Sangakkara v Warne
Jayawardene v Salunkhe
Watson v Yuvraj
Yuvraj v Warne
Salunkhe v Yuvraj
Pankaj v Yuvraj
Yusuf v Yuvraj
Irfan v Trivedi
Warne v Irfan
Watson v Chawla
Kaif v Sreesanth
Akmal v Hopes
Sreesanth v Watson
Hopes v Watson
Chawla v Watson
Sreesanth v Jadeja
Chawla v Jadeja

Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians - Preview

A completely meaningless match thanks to Chennai taking control of their own destiny yesterday. Mumbai have nothing to play for now, perhaps not even pride. I would say Bangalore have the edge in today's game and I hope they put it past Mumbai.

I have no sympathies for Mumbai. Twice they messed up their chances. First they could have beaten Delhi and got into the semifinals themselves while putting us also in. They didn't do that. Then they could have beaten Rajasthan to ensure that they remained in control of their destiny. They didn't do that either in the bargain they prayed for us to lose - and so they do not deserve any sympathy whatsoever.

Bangalore are on a relative high having won their last two games. Hope they finish off on a high.

Teams
Bangalore - Royal Challengers have been missing Zaheer Khan with a slight injury. Interesting to see if he returns. Kallis also suffered an injury in the last game, if he is not fit, Boucher might slot in. I would like to see the youngster Bharat Chipli get a chance in place of Jaffer.

Mumbai - Players like Ashwell Prince and Loots Bosman have not got a single game; Luke Ronchi, Dominic Thornely have got very few. Will Mumbai rest their top players like Pollock to give these guys a go ?

Revenge Battles
Jayasuriya v Kallis
Uthappa v Kallis
Uthappa v Akhil
Pinal v Akhil
Nayyar v Vinay Kumar
Nayyar v Praveen
Pollock v Vinay Kumar
Pollock v Praveen
Pollock v Zaheer
Dravid v Pollock
Kallis v Nehra
Kohli v Jayasuriya

And That’s How It’s Done!

For all those doubting Thomases (or Saurabhs or Narayans), hope the Chennai team has proved you guys wrong by marching into the semifinals with a convincing if not emphatic win. The semifinals are here now and from now on it’s down to which team plays better on the day.

This was a match in which, all said and done, we were always going to be favorites. We did everything right in the first ten overs of our bowling – but let it slip away slightly in the second half. This is a bit worrying. I would have liked to see us bowling the opposition out for 120-odd and the performance of Morkel and Balaji yesterday with the ball left a bit to be desired.

In the batting department, the old habit of the openers of throwing away their wickets when there is absolutely no need continues to be a worry. Raina was really encouraging but what was most relieving was seeing MS Dhoni bat. This is perhaps the best and most free I have seen him bat since his fabulous innings against Bangalore 10 games ago. MS coming into his own can only mean great news for us and ominous signs for the rest of the teams. Also, I do think Morkel took a little long to settle down yesterday which made the finish just a little bit more tense than necessary.

So we take on Punjab a team over which we have major psychological advantage, aided by the fact that we have Dhoni who seems to have some psychological hold over Yuvraj. I fancy our chances to make it through to the finals!

Positives
1) Gony – Fantastic spell first up

2) Murali – Though not at his best bowled much better than earlier

3) Raina – Finally saw the team through

4) Dhoni – Just the way he was striking the ball today was ominous

Negatives

1) Morkel – Disappointing with the ball, adequate with the bat, but we can pass this off as just a bad day, he has been great otherwise

2) Fleming – Yet another waste of a start

3) Parthiv – Just when we thought he had turned a leaf in the last game he is back to his old ways.

Do we have a chance to go all the way now? I believe we do, I definitely believe we can beat Punjab, Rajasthan might be slightly tough provided we don’t get a couple of issues sorted out. One, as Dhoni said, we need the bowling to be potent throughout. In every game it is one of the bowlers who is shining while the others are only restricting. We need all our bowlers to fire away. Two, we need Fleming to fire and fire big time – like say score a hundred.

If this can be done, I think we will be able to finish off the tournament like we started it – as the best team! Good Luck Chennai !

The Last Hurrah

It was my last day in Chennai. Tomorrow I would leave for home, perhaps never to return to this lovely city again. Of course, I would wish to, and dearly want to, but who is to say what the future has in store for us? Chennai had given me so many wonderful memories, taught me so many important lessons and generally, offered me a very pleasant stay. But it was all coming to an end, as all good things must. But not before another visit to the Chepauk.

Today, the Chennai Super Kings took on the Rajasthan Royals, the top team in the championship by a long way, in a crucial game. As an added bonus, Shankar Mahadevan was scheduled to perform before the game. Cricket had been the highlight of my stay in Chennai and there was no way I could have given this a miss.

I made my way in, nice and early, mainly to catch in as much of the Shankar Mahadevan performance as possible. It was a bit of a disappointment as the loud-speakers in our stand were not functioning properly. Also, all said and done, a cricket stadium is not acoustically the best equipped arena for a musical performance.

I was initially a bit disappointed at the crowd response. It seemed like an afternoon game would not attract the large crowds that I had seen a couple of weekends ago for the evening game against Punjab. These fears proved to be unfounded though – as people took their own sweet time to make their entry but by the time the toss was done the stadium was already nearly full.

We never really got into the game while we were bowling. From the first over when Makhaya Ntini conceded a free hit that was efficiently put in the stands by Asnodkar, it was just not our day with the ball. Dhoni fielding in the deep did get the crowds going and added spark to the game but in the end we ended up conceding a mammoth 211.

It was only when Fleming deposited Yusuf Pathan into the stands did the match really come alive for us – though he departed soon after with a silly run out. When Raina joined Parthiv we still had no clue that we were about to see something special. In no time Raina had launched a spectacular thrilling attack on Munaf and the whole stadium reverberated to the strokes of Raina’s bat. That ignited spark soon raged into a fire – one that burnt long after Raina departed throwing his wicket away through the Parthiv-Morkel partnership and up until Dhoni was fooled by Tanvir at which point the fairytale finally came to an end.

It would have been a perfect way to sign off had we been able to cross the line. Of course, life is not perfect, but I left the stadium once again with no regrets, as I left Chennai the day after. I shall continue to support Chennai through the rest of the tournament and hopefully, be back again for another season at some point in the future.

Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings - Preview

It has all boiled down to this. Match 54 of DLF IPL 2008 which could decide the fate of Chennai Super Kings, our Chennai Super Kings once and for all - a win here would straightaway put us in the semifinals that too at the No. 3 spot. Defeat would still not mean the end of the road but we would have to rely on a resurgent Bangalore team beating a messy Mumbai the day after.

If we are to hold our destiny in our own hands the task definition is simple - beat Deccan Chargers the team guaranteed to end up at the bottom of the table. When we met them at home earlier, we came up with one of our most disappointing batting shows to concede the advantage and that has kind of put us in the situation we are in today. That win was one of the few high points for the Deccan Chargers. They haven't managed another win in 6 games after that, but Chennai has also been very inconsistent, winning 3 and losing the other 3.

As the table stands Chennai are still in the 4th position with 14 points but face the only challenge from Mumbai who are sixth with 12 and have a game in hand as also a much superior run-rate. The presence of Gilchrist and the law of averages, as also memories of last time's defeat makes tomorrow's game tricky for the Super Kings. Dhoni really needs to be on top of his game to pull it off here.

Teams
Super Kings - The batting looks fairly well-settled - possibly Viduyt could come back in place of Abhinav Mukund, the bowling as per Dhoni is also well settled, but problematically completely fell apart in the last game. So the question is whether to stick to this attack or bring in someone out of the blue - Palani Amarnath might not be a bad choice in the situation.

For the Chargers, expect to see Chamara Silva make way for the return of either Afridi or Styris. Ojha, who had tied up Dhoni so well last time is also likely to make a return.

In all seriousness I feel the only man who can stand between Chennai and a semifinals slot is Adam Gilchrist. Get him quick and romp into the semifinals ! Good Luck Chennai !

Revenge Battles
Patel v Vijay (Vijay)
Fleming v Styris (Styris)
Raina v Afridi (Raina)
Raina v Bangar (Bangar)
Badri v Afridi (Afridi)
Dhoni v Ojha (Ojha)
Morkel v Ojha (Morkel)
Gilchrist v Ntini (Gilchrist)
Gilchrist v Morkel (Morkel)
Gibbs v Gony (Gony)

Mumbai Mess It Up - YET AGAIN

For the third time in a row, Mumbai has managed to pull off defeat from the jaws of victory and in the process granting free passage to the semifinals for the Daredevils !

Just how the bowlers and fielders could mess up sufficiently for the two little lefties to take the game away is beyond imagination !

Full credit to the Royals though - esp the miniature Niraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja !

Initially the much awaited Tendulkar v Warne contest didn't really materialize. While Tendulkar looked like he wanted to wait before launching himself on a difficult pitch he surrendered his wicket just at the wrong time. It was only the heroics of Takawale that took Mumbai to 145 in the first place.

So now Mumbai's destiny is out of their own hands. They will have to hope for a poor performance from Chennai tomorrow. Of course, we are not going to talk about that, are we ?

Revenge Battle Results
Watson v Jayasuriya - Draw
Kaif v Raje - Draw
Uthappa v Warne - REVENGE for Warne

Battle-e-Royale

It will be after 4 years that the great magician Shane Warne will be taking on the player he ranks the best he has ever faced in a battle of any format. This has to be the star attraction in a game that is nevertheless critical for the survival of 3 teams in the IPL !

Shane Warne's Royals are not one of them - they are safely through and most likely assured of the No. 1 spot. But Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai cannot afford to put a foot wrong from here on - defeat here would not mean the end of the World but it would mean that they would have to rely on last placed Deccan to put it past Dhoni's men in the game tomorrow.

Chennai and Delhi will also be keenly watching the result of this game.

Teams
Graeme Smith's absence would be a huge plus for the Indians, but Watson might be back to make a difference with bat and ball. Akmal is striking great form for the Royals too, and the little dynamite Asnodkar is as dangerous as ever. Of course you cannot forget Sohail Tanvir the most dangerous bowler in the IPL so far, alongwith Warne himself.

For Mumbai their success against the Royals in their last game came largely on the basis of their good bowling launched on the performance of the great Shaun Pollock. But he has been a bit off the boil lately and suffering from some niggles. Mumbai must hope that he comes good. As also that Warne's presence in the opposition inspires the Little Master to come back with something special. Otherwise an in-form Jayasuriya might just not be enough given that the team is packed with lazy baby elephants like Uthappa.

Revenge Battles
Asnodkar v Raje (Raje)
Yusuf v Nehra (Nehra)
Watson v Jayasuriya (Tie)
Kaif v Raje (Raje)
Uthappa v Watson (Uthappa)
Uthappa v Warne (Uthappa)

Un-freakin-believable !

I left the Kolkata-Punjab match midway through as I believed it was a match of no-consequence and expected Punjab to romp home ! I hadn't reckoned on the old man turning the clock back again TWICE in the same tournament !

Wow ! What an innings that must have been ! So pissed to have missed it ! Will catch on the highlights soon, though any of you guys who have seen it are welcome to describe it too !

And sends out a strong message to one fat baby elephant who has been shooting off his mouth and making a mess in the field lately. First Dravid has come up with some consistent performances, now Ganguly with two smashing innings ! I think it is time failures like Utthappa and Yuvraj get worried about their limited over spots, let alone think of usurping the ones in test cricket.

Special mention for Man of the Match Gul and a fine effort by Sangakkara.

Revenge Battle Results
Marsh v Dinda - Draw
Marsh v Hussey - Marsh ! Revenge !
Sangakara v Gul - Gul has the last laugh - AGAIN
Jayawardene v Gul - Draw
Ganguly v Sreesanth - Draw
Das v Sreesanth - Sreesanth AGAIN
Shukla v VRV - VRV AGAIN
Saha v Chawla - Revenge for Chawla

Deccan Maintain Stronghold Over Basement

... with another stunning performance. From 101/0 they managed to first be bowled out for 165 and amass a massive 1 run of their last 11 balls. Then when it seemed that things were getting out of hand with the BRC needing over 11 per over, their part-timers like Bangar and Chamara Silva came to the party and sealed what was a well-deserved last spot in the table.

Wasim Jaffer needs to be commended for making full efforts to deny Deccan the coveted spot as he not only ran himself out but was involved in a spectacular effort to run out Jacques Kallis, but his efforts were to no avail. Also, Gilchrist needs to be rebuked for what was obviously a mistake in calling Jaffer out to run for Kallis after the former was dismissed, a mistake that nearly cost Deccan the wooden spoon.

From the BRC side, players like Kallis, Misbah, Dravid threatened to spoil the party for the Chargers also, but just when they looked like sealing the deal, they had unfortunately done enough damage.

In the end a close game but well-deserved reward for the Chargers.

Revenge Battle Results
Dravid v RP Singh - Draw
Kumble v Rohit - Rohit wins AGAIN

Young Turks - 6 - Vijay Kumar Yomahesh

IPL Team - Delhi Daredevils

Ranji Trophy Team - Chennai

IPL Performance - Has been consistently picking up wickets, most importantly BIG wickets although his economy rate could vary from game to game

Features - seems to have a very good yorker, can get bounce, can move the ball off the seam and decent pace.

Concerns - None, really, except he could perhaps add a yard of pace and work harder to be the finished product

Suggestions - Not quite there yet especially given India's plentiful fast bowling resources at the moment, but should be nurtuted well, so that in 2-3 years he could break into Team India - not only in limited overs cricket but also in Test cricket and play for a long time

Young Turks - 5 - Swapnil Asnodkar

IPL Team - Rajasthan Royals

Ranji Trophy Team - Goa

IPL Performance - Stunned everybody by appearing out of nowhere to thrash all bowlers all around the park. Before the IPL he had a strike rate of about 40-odd in limited overs cricket !

Features - Is unafraid to thrash every ball and has a more than fair range of strokes

Concerns - Has not shown yet a defensive technique, could be vulnerable under seaming conditions.

Suggestions - Keep him in the fray, probably won't quite find a place in India squad for a while at least, but his name should be at the back of the mind of selectors while considering limited overs team

A Meaningless Match ?

The last time these two teams met both had all to play for - Kolkata wanted to arrest a run of 3 consecutive defeats, while King's X1 were only just beginning their ascent. As Buchanan has said, their goal today is to make sure the King's X1 have some worries going into the semifinals and that says it all.

Teams
Punjab - Sangakarra was back with a bang in the last game and would want to continue, Yuvraj's form is still a worry and I'd like to see Tanmay being given a chance.

Kolkata - Will Shoaib play this meaningless game ? Will Taibu finally get his chance ? I guess it doesn't matter in any which way.

Revenge Battles
Marsh v Dinda (Marsh)
Marsh v Hussey (Hussey)
Hopes v Agarkar (Hopes)
Sangakkara v Gul (Sanga thrashed Gul but Gul got him out)
Yuvraj v Hafeez (Tie)
Jayawardene v Gul (Gul)
Chawla v Ishant (Chawla)
Hafeez v Irfan (Irfan)
Ganguly v Sreesanth (Sreesanth)
Das v Sreesanth (Sreesanth)
Hussey v Gagandeep (Hussey)
Hussey v Hopes (Hussey)
Shukla v VRV (VRV)
Saha v Gagandeep, Hopes, Chawla (Saha)

ANOTHER Battle For The Basement

I see no reason to come up with a different title than I did for this post. As Rajasthan and Punjab look to the semifinals, and Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai fight it out to get there, Bangalore and Hyderabad will once again fight for supremacy at the bottom of the table.

Teams
Bangalore are relying ... oh my God .. would you believe it ? Entirely on Dravid and Kumble to get them through !

Hyderabad - After losing 10 games they continue to remain dangerous purely because of the potential of Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma.

Revenge Battles
Kohli v RP Singh (RP Singh)
Kohli v Ojha (Kohli)
Kallis v Ojha (Ojha)
Misbah v Afridi (Afridi)
Dravid v RP Singh (Dravid)
Dravid v Styris (Dravid)
Boucher v RP Singh (RP Singh)
Praveen v RP Singh (Praveen)
Zaheer v Gilchrist (Zaheer)
Praveen v Gibbs (Praveen)
Rohit v Kumble (Rohit)
Rohit v Kallis (Tie !)
Praveen v Afridi (Praveen)
Zaheer v Styris (Zaheer)

Alive And Kicking !

Delhi have made sure they have kept both Mumbai and Chennai anxious and the innaugural IPL alive and kicking by winning their lost match, albeit things from here on, are out of their control. This was a match that Mumbai had their chances in several times over, yet blew them away. What a fine knock by young Karthik under pressure. He seems such a fine player, yet one wonders why he hasn't been able to cement his place in the Indian team yet.

Meanwhile Mumbai's fielding was so pathetic it would have been a travesty had they managed to win despite that. Uthappa in particular was utterly shocking, terrible and rubbish. He has grown fat and portly and slow and he is shooting off his mouth about fitness to senior players ! Bah !

Revenge Battle Results
Jayasuriya v Yomahesh - Jaysuriya gets REVENGE
Nehra v Gambhir - DRAW
Pollock v Sehwag - Sehwag WINS again !
Nehra v Dhawan - DRAW

A Spirited Fight - But Just Not Enough !

Hmm .. I suppose if you can contrive to throw away a match like this, then sometimes luck can hit you hard in all the wrong places despite coming up with a most spirited and laudable effort like today. The other night against Bangalore, the bowlers came up with a superlative performance that the batsmen wasted and today, when the batsmen finally stood up to the challenge, the bowlers had done just so badly that it proved a mile too far in the end.

So with the sixth loss, and with Mumbai refusing to do us a favor by eliminating Delhi we are locked in a tight battle with the other two for two semifinal slots - a battle that is likely to go down to the wire.

As a game of cricket, today was fantastic. Rajasthan Royals batsmen played really well - Smith, Asnodkar and Akmal in particular, although you have to admit that our bowling was lacklustre. With the reply we gave them it does seem like it was a very true batting wicket. In the end, that man Sohail Tanvir proved the difference yet again with two very miserly spells, most crucially the last one in which he got the wicket of Dhoni.


But before that Raina, Parthiv and Morkel really took the fight to the Royals. Raina's early assault on Mumaf was particularly breath-taking. Mind you, today was a full stadium and it reverberated with every stroke Raina lashed. In the end, one has to say, that yet again, he threw his wicket when there was no need to. Warnie's spell when he got Parthiv also proved to be critical.

Positives
1) Fight - I feared that the team might collapse under the sheer pressure of the volume of the runs. To their credit this didn't happen and the challenge brought out the best in the batsmen
2) Raina, Parthiv Morkel striking form - superb batting !

Negatives
1) Bowling - Though it was a batting track the bowling never looked to have any incision, or worse, even purpose. I would say the likes of Ntini should take major blame for this
2) Fleming - What a meaningless waste of a wicket !
3) Dhoni - I worry that increasingly bowlers are figuring out how to keep him quiet and he is also getting out in the process

Fortunately, we still have our destiny in our own hands, unlike Delhi. We have to beat bottom-placed Deccan Chargers in our last game and we are through. Maybe after we brought shame upon ourselves against Bangalore, and Lady Luck punished us against Rajasthan for that, hoepfully all things should fall into place for this crucial game. In the last two games we have shown that our bowlers and batsmen can do it - they just need to put it together.


Revenge Battle Results
Tanvir v Parthiv - Draw
Tanvir v Fleming - Draw
Munaf v Raina - REVENGE for Raina
Tanvir v Morkel - Tanvir wins !
Warne v Morkel - Morkel wins again !
Asnodkar v Gony - Asnodkar wins AGAIN
Yusuf v Murali - Draw

Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians - Preview

Do-or-die - Yet Again !
For Delhi that is. Lose and they are out. Win, and there is a fair chance they could still be out. Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why ... theirs but to ... - as Lord Tennyson would have happily said. Other than that the main attraction of this game is going to be the resumption of battle between the two greats - Glenn McGrath and Sachin Tendulkar !

Teams
Delhi - The middle order has to fire. Will it be Tiwari ? Who wil support McGrath this time ? Mishra could be a key bowler.

Mumbai - Crucial to get back to their winning ways after 1-run defeat to Punjab. Will they continue to show the faith in Uthappa ? Will Kulkarni be back ?

Revenge Battles
Jayasuriya v Yomahesh
Thornely v Bhatia
Uthappa v Sangwan
Nayyar v Sehwag
Pollock v McGrath
Pollock v Yomahesh
Nehra v Gambhir
Pollock v Sehwag
Jayasuriya v Sehwag
Thornely v Sehwag
Nehra v Dhawan
Nehra v Bhatia

Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals - Preview

Cross-posted on Chennai Super Kings

On May 4, in the sands of the Rajasthan desert, a different kind of storm struck. It was in the form of a tiny left-arm fast bowler with a weird action running through the top order of the Chennai Super Kings with a force and guile unmatched. Tomorrow, the battle will resume - the storm will be eager to rebound with a bang - in its path it has destroyed other cities too - and now when it blows down South to Chennai can Dhoni's warriors show the strength to hold their own against it ?

It was around this time that Rajasthan made the leap to the top of the table - and they have managed to hold on to that spot ever since. That was also when Chennai themselves relinquished control over top spot and have been more or less at No. 3 ever since. Rajasthan will be itching to stay on top of course, and continue their momentum. Expect a battle in which fire is fought by fire when these two proud teams take to the field.

Teams
Chennai: Does Parthiv get another chance ? Will Dhoni be fit enough to keep wickets ? Will we get our batting order right ? And more importantly will the batsmen be able to show some sense and cool unlike last time ?

Rajasthan: It seems like everything that Warne touches will turn to gold. If he asks any random player, young or old, Indian or foreign, to do a job for him, the player will do it. What will be interesting is to see how he actually sustains the momentun - and how long can he do it ? After all winning 9 out of your 11 matches should take its toll. It is worth noting that the one match in they failed against Mumbai they did not get a start and lost wickets at regular intervals. We would do well to pick up some hint here. Yusuf Pathan is a major threat. Then of course there is the magician Warne himself - who had completely baffled MSD last time around, and the tiny left-armer Sohail Tanvir.

Revenge Battles
Tanvir v Parthiv
Tanvir v Fleming
Tanvir v Vidyut
Munaf v Raina
Trivedi v Raina
Watson v Badri
Warne v Dhoni
Tanvir v Morkel
Warne v Morkel
Asnodkar v Gony
Asnodkar v VIdyut
Yusuf v Murali
Yusuf v Vidyut
Watson v Vidyut

Note: Tomorrow will be my last day in Chennai. I have had a most memorable stay in Chennai. I shall of course continue to support the Chennai Super Kings after I leave. Today I will be at the stadium for one last time to support my team ! Thanks Chennai ! Go Super Kings !

Further Demoralisation

Deccan Chargers finally managed to put up a decent total yet were surpassed with ease. Finally the top order managed to fire all at one go, but again the bowlers could not quite stand up to be counted. Let's not forget another splendid performance by Shaun Marsh and a stunning ominous return for Kumar Sangakarra.

Scott Styris should go back to New Zealand.

Revenge Battle Results
Gibbs v Chawla - Partial revenge for Gibbs
Rohit v VRV - Revenge for VRV
Rohit v Gagandeep - Comprehensive win for Rohit again !
RP Singh v Marsh - Comprehensive win for Marsh again !

The Path For Chennai

Cross-posted on Chennai Super Kings

If we win any one of the next two games, we are THROUGH.

If Mumbai beat Delhi we are THROUGH even if we lose both our games.

Otherwise, (i.e. if we lose both our games, and Delhi beat Mumbai) we can still go THROUGH if Mumbai loses their other two games as well, i.e. to Rajasthan and Bangalore. In short, if Mumbai loses all its games, we are THROUGH even if we don't win any more games. If Mumbai loses to Delhi but wins one of their other two games (either Rajasthan or Bangalore) then we will have to rely on run-rate.

If we lose both our games, and Mumbai loses to Delhi BUT wins the other two games - we are OUT.

The easiest thing for us would be - to just win a game and be happy ! :D:D:D

Young Turks - 4 - Shreevats Goswami !

IPL Team - Bangalore Royal Challengers

Ranji Trophy Team - yet to debut, (from Bengal),

IPL Performance - Got a chance very late, but impressed with a fine fifty but more importantly superb glove work. The stumping off Kumble was awesome but the gather to get the run-out was simply exceptional. Also, importantly, he walked when the umpire gave him not out in the last game. Shows tremendous character for someone so young to walk away like that (he does rate Gilchrist as his idol)

Features - Free-flowing batting, excellent natural keeper, livewire in the field, has great character

Concerns - Not sure about his ability to hit over the top, does play dot balls in between his strokes. In short, not quite the finished product yet.

Suggestions - Let him play first class cricket for 2-3 years grooming him as a back-up keeper for Dhoni. At some point when Dhoni decides keeping is too much for him, we should have a ready replacement. Being 9 years younger to Dhoni he has more of a chance to succeed him than Karthik, Parthiv etal.

King's X1 Punjab v Deccan Chargers - Preview

Inspiration ?
The Deccan Chargers need look no further than a few hundred kilometers west for inspiration - Rahul Dravid's team literally came back from the dead to shock a top team and play spoiler and Hyderabad can hope to play the same tomorrow against an increasingly strong King's X1 Team.

With today's washout Yuvi's boys are guaranteed of a semifinal slot, yet they would want to make sure they end up at No. 2 if not the top and will play with full vigor.

Teams
Hyderabad have tried everything and nothing has worked. Expect them to stick to the same lineup as in the last game altho what that guy Das did in the last game I don't quite know. Besides I somehow feel Afridi needs to be dropped and poor Vaas needs to come in.

For the King's X1 this would be an ideal time to experiment. I would like to see Yuvraj promote himself to get a good knock in the middle, as also Jayawardene. Maybe young Tanmay also deserves a knock. Big question - When will Sangakara be fit ?

Revenge Battles (Last time's winners in brackets)
Gilchrist v Pathan (Pathan)
Gibbs v Chawla (Chawla) - Gibbs might not play
Rohit v Sreesanth (Rohit)
Rohit v Irfan (Rohit)
Rohit v Chawla (Rohit)
Rohit v VRV (Rohit)
Rohit v Gagandeep (Rohit) - Gagandeep might not play
Afridi v Gagandeep - (Gagandeep) - Will either play ?
RP Singh v Marsh (Marsh)
Sangakara v Kalyanakrishna (Kalyanakrishna) - Will Sangakara be fit ?
Mahela v Kalyanakrishna (Mahela)

A Damp Squib

Match abandoned without a ball being bowled. Kolkata out. Delhi stay in the hunt. The equation for them still remains the same. Beat Mumbai to stay in with a chance. In fact, it got slightly tougher. Now, even if they beat Mumbai they will reach only 15 points. This means that one more win will see Chennai cruise ahead of them. If Delhi had been able to get to 16, they could have put the extra pressure on Chennai on account of superior run-rate. Another interesting issue is that if the Delhi-Mumbai game also gets washed out, they will be level with Chennai on 14, which means Chennai will still have to play around with their run-rates to be safe.

Young Turks - 3 - Manpreet Gony

IPL Team - Chennai Super Kings

Ranji Team - Punjab

IPL Performance - One of the leading wicket-takers with a decent economy rate

Features - well-built, has a very good strong action, troubled top players, gets good bounce, can bowl yorker, hits the wicket hard

Concerns - Not sure how much movement he can get

Suggestions - Enter into pool of Indian fast bowlers, introduce him to international cricket through limited overs cricket some time next year

Young Turks - 2 - Abhishek Nayyar

IPL Team - Mumbai Indians

Ranji Trophy Team - Mumbai

IPL Performance - Consistent and crucial 30s in the middle of the innings at a great strike rate including clean hits, useful bowler and good fielder

Suggestion - Draft in Indian limited overs team within the next year as a batting all-rounder or even as a pure batsman in the middle order

Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders - Preview

Do or Die
Definitely for the Knight Riders. Very crucial game for the Daredevils too but the defeats of Mumbai and Chennai today may have just given them some breathing space and a chance to advance even if they lose tomorrow. However if the last game was any indication Kolkata looked like a totally dispirited and exhausted team, not to mention highly insufficient in the batting department, so it is highly questionable if they can stand up to be counted in this crunch encounter.

Personally I shall be supporting Kolkata, for not only does it help Chennai, it keeps the tournament open for longer.

Teams
The Daredevils will be looking to go in with the same combination except that Mishra might make his way back.

The Knight Riders desperately need Shoaib back. And for God's sake get back Taibu and kick out that good-for-nothing Hafeez !

Revenge Battles
Butt v all bowlers - Butt managed 48, but this was a painstakig innings and never got away, ultimately he was top scorer !
Ganguly v Yomahesh
Hussey v Maharoof
Shukla v Maharoof
Akhtar v Gambhir
Akhtar v Sehwag
Akhtar v Devilliers
Akhtar v Tiwari
Dinda v Dhawan
Mishra v Shukla

An Embarassment

Cross-posted on Chennai Super Kings Fans

There is no other way I can think of to describe today's defeat. It was shocking, stunning, horrible, pathetic, abysmal and inexcusable. Full credit to Bangalore for the way they fought. But that should not take away from the sheer imbecility in our performance. Any team that contrives to lose after restricting the opposition to 127 and then being 85 for 2 in 14 overs surely deserves all the brickbats that it gets.

No batsman can be spared. So here's a lowdown on each.
1) What the hell is Parthiv doing up the order ? Yet again he has thrown away his wicket. Yet again he has proved that even when he comes up with a decent partnership he does not quite look a batsman that any opposition will be afraid of.

2) What the hell was Fleming trying to do ? Complacency oozed out from every shot of his in the later stages of his innings. WHY ?

3) What the hell was Dhoni doing ? All it needed at that stage was for Dhoni to stay till the end and victory would have been assured.

4) What was that shot from Badrinath ? Why would a batsman with his arsenal attempt a ridiculous shot like that on the last ball of Kumble's spell ? Did he get pressurised by the close-in field ? Does he have a mental weakness in that case ? Is that the reason why he has not yet broken into Team India ?

5) Where is Morkel when we need him ? The hook shot is the one shot that is not quite in his toolkit. Why did he have to go for it that too off a quality bowler like Dale Steyn ?

6) At the expense of sounding harsh, why does Vidyut frequently bat like an idiot ?

7) What about Goni ? Forget the way he got out, weren't the hoicks that he played and missed before that ridiculous enough ? And why did he have to get out when 10 runs were scored off that over already ?

8) And finally what about Raina ? He played a couple of glorious cricketing shots and otherwise came up with ugly heaves which he predictably failed to connect. Just earlier in the day Sachin Tendulkar had given a master-class in elegant 2020 striking. Pity this youngster touted as the future of Indian batting didn't quite pick it up.

It was indeed pathetic and pitiable to see him at the end trying to hold on to strike by all means and being unable to connect even a single ball. Praveen Kumar bowled the last over for 1 run !!!

Meanwhile credit to Bangalore. Really heartening to see Dravid smile and get pumped up again. And what a spell by the old warrior Kumble ! The only tragedy is that it came at our expense. Why couldn't they do this to Delhi or Punjab or any other team instead ?

Revenge Battle Results
Patel v Praveen - Draw
Raina v Praveen - Clearly Praveen gets the revenge !
Raina v Akhil - Draw
Dravid v Gony - Draw

The Greatest Game ?

Could this arguably be the greatest game of the IPL so far ? When Yelgati played out VRV Singh's last ball he started out on the single knowing fully well that this run would take the game to a bowl-out. What he didn't factor in was a Jonty Rhodesque-flight from Yuvraj Singh with ball in hand to dislodge all three stumps fraction of milliseconds before he made it to safety. This was only the thrilling climax in what had been a dramatic match full of tense and exhilarating moments.

It all started really when Mumbai began their batting. Up until then it had been a fairly normal T20 game with another good innings by Marsh and some lusty if unattractive hitting by Pomersbach. When Jayasuriya gave Mumbai another flier, that was the first indication that we would have an exciting game on our hands. And when Sreesanth got him completely outfoxed by a slower one, the excitement really began. For a while there was good strokeplay by Smith and some superb batting by SRT. And when SRT and Nair were going well together, in particular Nair hitting those towering sixes it looked like Mumbai would ramp home.

Enter Piyush Chawla - who got rid off the dangerous Nair with a perfect googly. And then, more importantly Utthappa. It is hard to describe exactly what Utthappa was trying to do on the wicket today. It wouldn't be too harsh to say he fairly sucked miserably at whatever he did. Uthappa in the past few months has become fat, developed a most hideous hairstyle, reduced himself to a two-shot wonder and if reports are to be believed is enjoying life and taking his cricket too lightly. Not only did he royally mess up, he showed an astonishing incompetence in handling pressure and in doing so commited the cardinal sin of running out a well-set Sachin Tendulkar !

When Pollock got out one thought that it was over at that stage but then VRV Singh nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. It required some comedy from Nehra and a brilliant combination fielding effort from Srivastava-Jayawardene-Uday Kaul to get the match to a situation where 2 runs were needed from one ball. And then, as mentioned before, Yuvraj took off in flight and finished it.

With this win, Punjab more or less guarantee themselves a semifinal slot. Mumbai will have to slog it out but with 3 more games to go they still have a very even chance. Of course considering what happened later in the day, this tournament may have just blown wide open at the very moment we thought it to be closing in.

Revenge Battle Results
Pathan v Nehra - Draw
Sangakara v Pollock, Kulkarni - No show
Yuvraj v Pollock - No show
Sreesanth v Kulkarni - No show
Sreesanth,VRV v Uthappa,Pollock - No show
Pathan v Nayyar - Draw

Young Turks - 1 - Yusuf Pathan

Starting a series on the young turks who have featured in the IPL and who hold promise as future India stars. Today, I start off with Yusuf Pathan !

What a series this lad is having ! 3 half centuries and several other crucial innings - coming at a strike rate of about 200 !, the record for the quickest fifty, plus a few wickets, but looking beyond stats, this guy really looks like he can hit the ball a long long way ! And the hitting is clean and straight ! He has played for India in the T20 World Cup final. Definitely a candidate for Team India at least in limited overs cricket in the immediate future.

Who would you like to see listed in the young turks category next ? Let us have your opinions.

Chennai Super Kings v Bangalore Royal Challengers Preview

Don't Relax
The most important message for the team ahead of this game should be to not be complacent. The danger lurks because we are playing the worst team in the competition at home and a win will almost guarantee us a semifinal slot. But there is every chance that Dravid's team by law of averages, if nothing else, might play a decent game and the only prayer is - may that not happen against us !!!

While Dravid's men have nothing to lose, I'm fairly confident that Dhoni will make sure we take this game very seriously. This is where his man-management skill as captain should come into play. For if we guard against that we are far too strong a team for the Royally Challenged to mount any challenge.

Teams
We are just about getting our combination right after the Kolkata game. Ntini coming to form has been a huge shot in the arm for us. Badrinath and Dhoni's good form is of course heartening. Fleming is beginning to find his feet. The only thing now that should give the icing on the cake is a match-winning innings from Raina. That would mean our batting will be firing on all cylinders. I had mentioned that the bowling looked a bit lacklustre in the last game and I hope this will be the game in which Murali picks up a few wickets.

For the Challengers, nothing seems to be working. They have tried out all sorts of players in all sorts of combinations, switched roles, and reswitched them but all in vain. What will be interesting is the performance of the youngsters - Praveen Kumar, Kohli (if he plays) and Goswami - who I believe is a fine talent. Misbah showed some signs of return to form in the last game. Dravid is of course a class act, and Steyn can trouble some of our batters - remember the way he harassed Dhoni in the test match at this very venue in March ?

Revenge Battles
Patel v Zaheer - Patel got off to a brisk start
Patel v Praveen - Praveen got Patel eventually
Raina v Praveen, Akhil - Raina had launced into these bowlers before getting run out
Dhoni v Steyn - OHOHOHOHOHO ... who can forget that memorable assault on Steyn ?
Dhoni v Zaheer - Dhoni didn't spare his own bowler either but Zak got him in the end
Gony v Chipli - Gony got the BRC opener "cheaply"
Gony v Dravid - Gony got the wall first ball !

Also read Robin's review on Chennai Super Kings Fans.

Mumbai Indians v King's X1 Punjab - Preview

Big Game
In all likelihood, it is going to be Mumbai, Punjab, Rajasthan and Chennai that are going to make it through to the semifinals, and so this one is a big game - it will give us an idea of which team is stronger going into the last 4. Mumbai have a 6-4 record to Punjab's 7-3 but if Mumbai win tomorrow they can level it up and probably go as high as No. 2 on the table. It will be a really unbelievable run of 7 wins after the first 4 losses. Mumbai is the team with all the momentum, but again, one feels they have got to slip at some point and what better team than Punjab to take advantage of that ? Bravo's departure will be a major blow for Mumbai and Punjab will do well to exploit it. However if the Pollock-Jayasuriya combination fires again, there is little that Yuvraj and his men will be able to do.

Punjab's Outstanding Record
King's X1 Punjab have a splendid 7-3 record but somehow I still feel they are not as good a team as their record suggests. Part of the reason for this could be that Chennai has beaten them, quite comfortably, twice. Three of their 7 wins have come against Bangalore and Hyderabad, one against an out-of-form Mumbai, and one - a bit of a lottery against Delhi thanks to Duckworth and Lewis and Sehwag.

Teams
For Mumbai the big question - who will replace Bravo ? They have got Nel and Smith as cover, but Nel is no batter and Smith is no bowler - well, not in the same league as Bravo, anyway. Pollock had a slight niggle - will he be fit enough ? Will Tendulkar find the touch at last ?

For Punjab, what is interesting is whether Sangakarra will be fit - for he will be crucial in negotiating Pollock. Otherwise, the team has a fairly settled look. Interesting to see how Sreesanth goes in this game after what happened the last time the two teams met.

Revenge Battles
Well, the biggest of them is not going to happen, thankfully, because Harbhajan won't be around to take on Sreesanth.
Other than that
Pathan v Nehra
Sangakkra v Pollock, Kulkarni
Yuvraj v Pollock
Sreesanth v Kulkarni
Sreesanth, VRV v Uthappa, Pollock
Pathan v Nayyar

To The Script

The demise of the Knight Riders has turned out exactly as I had foreseen. Do not play Taibu, open with a pathetic batsman like Hafeez, fill your top order with average to past-their-best players, deprive your talented youngsters of time in the middle by pushing them low down and you will get exactly what the Knight Riders did - a far less than adequate total.

Well one might reasonably argue that they still had a fair chance when they got the Royals down to 70/4 but that was when Pathan took the game away and it is precisely the player of the category of Pathan that Ganguly's team missed - or rather their lopsided batting didn't allow the likes of Shukla, Saha and Das to blossom.

The most interesting moment of the day, for me, came when a piece of paper fell out of Ganguly's pocket while running and Warne picked it up and had a good look at it before returning it to Dada ! Ganguly, was, to put it precisely, not amused. At the end of another long night, he looked jaded, tired and in need of some support.

Kolkata's campaign is all but over - another one bites the dust. The Royals bandwagon meanwhile continues to roll on - who can stop them ? Well they do have arguably their toughest games coming up - against Mumbai, Chennai and Punjab. Should be exciting viewing.

Revenge Battle Results
Ganguly v Warne - Ganguly might have struck Warne for a six, but ended up the losing captain, so Warne wins it again
Smith v Sharma - Smith got Sharma away for a couple of boundaries, so got a bit back there
Asnodkar v Sharma - REVENGE for Sharma !
Asnodkar v Gul - No show
Kaif v Agarkar - Draw
Pathan v Agarkar, Hussey, Shukla - No show !
Watson v Gul - Draw
Jadeja v Gul, Hussey - no show
Jadeja v Shukla - No show
Tanvir v Butt - Draw
Ganguly v Trivedi - Trivedi WINS AGAIN !
Agarkar v Watson - Draw
Agarkar v Tanvir - No show
Hussey v Trivedi - Hussey gets partial revenge
Hussey v Warne - Warne completely tied Hussey down - partial revenge !
Das v Tanvir - Tanvir WINS

Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals - Preview

Must-win for The Riders
Just as today was a must-win for Delhi, so also is tomorrow for Kolkata. The only difference being that Delhi had to do it (and did) against bottom-placed Bangalore, while Kolkata have to do it against the mighty Rajasthan. Additionally Delhi's win puts the pressure on Kolkata all the more. Under normal circumstances I would have given Kolkata a fair chance, mainly because playing at home, is a big advantage for them. But with the batting as poor as it is, I don't think even the most lethal combination of Shoaib Akhtar and the Eden factor will be able to bail them out.

Rajasthan Away From Home ?
Warnie's team boast a splendid 8-2 record but when you split it it reads 6-0 at home, and 2-2 away. Tomorrow should be a tester for bigger away battles to come - against Chennai and Punjab as well as the home game against Mumbai.

Teams
For Kolkata I don't see how they can get the batting in order - the only hope I see is if Taibu plays and plays a major role. The injury scare to Shoaib will weaken the bowling as well. Will be interesting to see if they draft in the mysterious Mendis straight away.

For Rajasthan, they are spoilt for choices really. I would like to see Kaif bat high up and play an important role.

Revenge Battles
Warne v Ganguly - how can we forget the controversial incidents in the last game ?
Smith v Sharma - Sharma got him early last time
Asnodkar v Sharma, Agarkar - Asnodkar devastated these
Asnodkar v Gul - Gul was the one who got Asnodkar in the end
Kaif v Agarkar - Kaif was one of the few failures in that game, caught and bowled Aggie
Pathan v Agarkar, Hussey, Shukla - Pathan followed up Asnodkar in smashing them around
Watson v Gul - first ball duck for Watson albeit with some help from the umpire
Jadeja v Gul, Hussey - Another one who made merry
Jadeja v Shukla - Shukla was the one who got him
Tanvir v Butt - All Paki battle - Tanvir got the better of his teammate last time
Ganguly v Trivedi, Munaf - Ganguly did well against the young pacers
Agarkar v Watson - Watson was the one who got him
Agarkar v Tanvir - smashed him for a 4 and a 6
Hussey v Trivedi - The youngster got Hussey
Hussey v Warne - All Aussie battle, Hussey did manage to get Warne away
Das v Tanvir
Saha v Trivedi

So What's New ?

Another royal challenge ending up in another royal defeat. So what's new ? Well, there is something new ! And there is something old - old like gold. The new is the arrival of Shreevats Goswami ! Kudos to this bloke ! He looks a fine talent - with the bat, but more impressively, with the gloves. His keeping today was outstanding and was definitely one of the high points of today's game. The old of course is the glorious Anil Kumble ! What a fighting spell of superb leg-spin bowling that was ! If only he could have gotten Shikhar Dhawan - who I maintain was out - he could have conceivably helped Bangalore turn the game around even at that late stage !

Other than that, Misbah (Mr. T20, as I like to call him) finally lived up to his reputation. Well he kind of dawdled in the middle of the innings but what a finish he provided. Unfortunately the likes of White didn't quite support him and BRC ended up with a disappointing total yet again.

Well, a bit perversely, the Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers is going to be the big game to watch out for now - between two sides who just can't get anything right.

Revenge Battle Results
Gambhir v Steyn, Zaheer, Kallis - partial victory to Gambhir again, handled them pretty comfortably though did not quite humiliate them like last time
Sehwag v Zaheer - Comprehensive win for Sehwag AGAIN
McGrath v Praveen - McGrath OWNS Praveen ! AGAIN

Rest of the battles were no-shows.

Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils - Preview

An absolutely crucial game for Delhi if they have to make it to the semifinals without relying on major chunks of luck and help from other sides. This should, however be a farily easy walk in the park. Looking at the way the 11 individual challengers performed on the field the other day (there is no team to speak up), Daredevils have a decent chance to keep their campaign alive and regain some momentum before the crucial games against Mumbai and Kolkata come up.

It will be interesting to see how the Bangalore crowd supports their "team" after the shambles they showed themselves to be. Will they still flock to the stadium ? If they do, one has to truly salute their solidarity and patience. For me, the only thing that will keep me interested in this game is seeing how Rahul Dravid performs.

Teams
For Bangalore it will be interesting to see how Rahul Dravid performs.

For Delhi, the top trio of Gambhir, Sehwag and Dhawan will be key again. They have delivered more often that not yet their brittle middle order has ensured that they have ended up in a precarious position in this competition. McGrath and Mishra will be the key performers with the ball. I would like to see Dilshan being promoted up the order to 4.

Revenge Battles
Gambhir v Steyn, Zaheer, Vinay Kumar and Kallis - GG thrashed all before getting out to Zak, who can forget his run-in with Kallis ?
Sehwag v Zaheer - Sehwag really took to Zak early
Dhawan v Vinay Kumar and Kallis
Malik v Steyn - Steyn uprooted his stump last time
Karthik v Kallis - Kallis destroyed his stumps last time
McGrath v Praveen - Old fox completely got the better of the young turk
Asif v Kallis - Asif was taken to the cleaners last time
McGrath v Dravid - Got him the first ball he bowled to Dravid
Sehwag v Boucher - Boucher thrashed him towards the end, in vain though

More On Ranjit Fernando

Thirucumaran points me to a couple of interesting resources about Ranjit Fernando in relation to our discussion the other day. Check them out for yourselves.

1) A slightly old blog by a group of Sri Lankans dedicated to the great man.
2) This video on Youtube.

Thanks Thirucumaran for the links.

Another Well-Constructed Hash

The Deccan Chargers completed another well constructed mess to record their impressive ninth defeat in eleven games in the competition. Such performances have become the norm by now for this team and really we should come to expect them every time they play. Mumbai was on a massive winning-streak coming into this game and the Chargers have just given them another shot in the arm by extending that run to 6, the longest by any team in the IPL so far. After having Mumbai in serious trouble at 100/4 in 14 odd overs Deccan Chargers showed off their generous side yet again by allowing the visitors to post an impressive 179. I was lucky I did not invest too much time in this very average game, preferring instead to watch the wonderful final between Nadal and Federer.

I was actually amazed to see Bravo play - I thought he was supposed to leave for the West Indies, but did he come to the party and how ? First, a crucial 30 and then that destructive spell earned him the Man of The Match, although to be fair it was Fernando's early wickets that really set up the collapse.

The Chargers have shown that they are not even capable of playing the role of King-maker or spoilsport and their only chance of notching up another win might come when the equally pathetic Bangalore Royal Challengers visit them later in the tournament.

Revenge Battle Results
Bravo v RP Singh - Looked like Bravo would get his revenge when he hit a 6, but RP bowled him next ball
Jayasuriya v Afridi - No show
Bravo v Gilchrist - Draw
Uthappa v Afridi - Afridi kept Uthappa quite again
Pollock v Bangar - No show
Nayyar v Afridi - Once again Nayyar took to Afridi !
Nayyar v Zoysa - Nayyar gets his revenge, 2 boundaries
Gilchrist v Nehra, Pollock, Jayasuria and Nayyar - Draw/No-show but it was the new man Dilhara who got Gilly !

A Crucial Win

Cross-posted on Chennai Super Kings Fans

Rain and Duckworth and Lewis combined together to make our task much easier today, but it would be fair to say we fully deserved this win the way we played. We must note that we have never lost a game bowling first and that should say something. Of course Kolkata was a weak batting team as I mentioned in my preview but we had to bowl well nevetherless. What was even more impressive was the way our openers batted before the rain. It is conceivable that they knew about the impending weather - and played the perfect game i.e. to keep wickets in hand and not go for too much, because the Duckworth Lewis system can create havoc with the target with every wicket you lose. In the end the 3 run defeat margin did not really reflect the true nature of the contest.

It was an inspired choice to play Ntini - one which I myself wasn't convinced about, but a lot of our readers were and well done to them ! It was even more astonishing to see that no one noticed his hat-trick including himself for a long time ! And this hat-trick constituted three top order players, each breakthrough turning out to be crucial in the context of the game. Well as Ntini bowled, I do think there is more improvement that can be shown on the bowling front by other bowlers - I thought we should have restricted Kolkata to abut 130 today.

With this win, we shall be breathing much easier and would be "quite safe" with regards to making it to the semifinals.

Problem Areas

1) Bowling - With the exception of Ntini, the rest of the bowling still looked toothless, even surprisingly, Gony. Murali is a major worry now, earlier though he was not picking wickets he was economical. Today he was really taken to task.

2) Fielding - The fielding was less than impressive with Vidyut in particular not looking too flash.

Kudos

1) Ntini - For his splendid performance, but even more so, for the decision to play him
2) Fleming - Finally he is looking like the Fleming we know, the one who can strike the ball crisply and score big at a brisk rate.

Now hopefully an easy win at home against minnows Bangalore, shoud virtually seal the deal for us.

Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians - Match Preview

It must be difficult getting up to play after 8 defeats, but that is exactly what the Chargers will have to attempt to do tomorrow. Mumbai are on a roll and are massive favorites, plus they take on an opponent that won't necessarily be up for it but that by no means allows them to be complacent thanks to their slow start. Delhi's loss today might have given Mumbai breathing space but there is still a close battle between Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai for two semifinal slots.

Teams
While the Deccan Chargers famed batting lineup has failed miserably (Gibbs, Styris, Afridi have been failures of a titanic nature) it is their bowling and fielding that leaves a lot to be desired. With the exception of RP Singh, there is no quality in their bowling and one has to question how they can leave the likes of Vaas and Zoysa on the bench. With the Indian stars like Rohit and Venugopal doing fairly well with the batting it is probably time to pack up the bowling with foreigners and shed out liabilities like Gibbs, Styris and Afridi.

Bravo's loss will be a blow for the Mumbai Indians, but so long as Pollock and Jayasuriya are firing I don't think they have much to worry about. I also hear that Andre Nel is joining the team and that can be another massive plus. With Tendulkar bound to fire at some stage, it is all looking very rosy for the "Men in Blue". What will be interesting is who replaces Bravo for tomorrow's game.

Revenge Battles
Jayasuriya v Afridi - Afridi got him on his first ball last time
Uthappa v Afridi - Afridi dismissed him cheaply, too
Pollock v Bangar - Polly laid into Bangar before getting out to him
Nayyar v Afridi - Nayyar was one man who got the measure of Afridi
Nayyar v Zoysa - Zoysa got him with the bouncer
Gilchrist v Nehra, Pollock, Jayasuriya and Nayyar, all of whom he shred to pieces !!

Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match Preview

Cross-posted on Chennai Super Kings Fans.

This is going to be a big game for both teams. While the winner won't necessarily be a certainty (esp. if it is Kolkata) for the semifinals, and the loser won't necessarily be out of contention (esp, if it is Chennai), the fact is that the balance will shift by a big margin depending on the outcome.

The biggest thing that Kolkata have going for them is the Eden Gardens factor. I think along with Shoaib it was the single most important reason for their win the other night against Delhi. The weakest link for them is their pathetic batting lineup and Chennai need to exploit this like Mumbai did yesterday.

Teams
For Kolkata Ganguly is the only hope as far as batting is concerned, maybe the odd innings by Hussey. I think it will be prudent to include a technically sound player like Taibu and bench the completely unimpressive Hafeez. The bowling however looks very good - maybe Agarkar will miss out again, and the spinner will get a chance given the nature of the Kolkata wicket.

So what can Chennai do ? Fleming's form continues to remain a worry. Should he be persisted with now that there are only 4 more games in the league to go ? Should he be allowed to come in at 3 or 4 ? Should Kapugedara be pushed up to open ? Will Raina finally play a defining knock ? Will Badri and Dhoni be able to continue their good run. The so-called strong batting is the main worry, though the bowling, as widely known, is thin. Is it worth it to bring back Ntini and sacrifise a batsman like Kapugedara ? All very interesting questions.

Revenge Battles
Ganguly v Joginder - Joginder dismissed Ganguly last time for a low score
Saha v Gony - Gony was hit but got Saha in the end
Saha v Amarnath - (if Amarnath plays), Saha got stuck into him last time
Hussey v Amarnath - Amarnath got him first ball last time
Hafeez v Amarnath - Another player that Amarnath got the better of
Shukla v Joginder
Agarkar v Patel
Shukla, Kartik v Dhoni

What The Hell Was Viru Thinking ?

Virender Sehwag commited yet another momentous gaffe when he brought on himself to bowl the fifth over of the innings in the rain-hit game and conceded 23 - at a time when Punjab were still behind and would have in all probability remained so if not for that over.

As if that was not enough he did not utilize McGrath's full quota of 3 - which meant Punjab went on to win by 6 runs.

These kind of games are always a bit of a lottery but Sehwag should have known that he is used to giving away 20+ runs an over in this competition. As it turns out, it was a last ball 6 that sealed the deal for the King's X1.

Daredevils can justifiably feel hard done by in this game, but truth is that overall, they have failed to lift their game to the next level. Punjab now look poised to qualify for the semis.

Revenge Battle Results
Gambhir v VRV Singh - Draw/No-show
Sehwag v Pathan - No-show
Tiwary v VRV Singh - No-show
Asif v Sangakkara - No-show

How Do You Tolerate Atrocious Commentary ?

Recently I have found a great method myself. I watch the cricket match while listening to music on my iPod. Especially when Ranjit Fernando starts mumbling meaningless, obvious inanities. The way I work is once he starts to mouth something I turn the music on, and turn it off only after the bowler comes in to bowl.

I might soon extend this rule to others as well - Sivaramakrishnan, being the first waiting in line, to suffer this fate, closely followed by Ramiz Raja. What was Ramiz doing today ? When he was talking to Jeremy Snape the number of times he mouthed "you know" in that stupid affected manner which made one pull his ears off ?? AAAAAAAA !!

I had often wished there was some option by which we could apply a filter so as to selectively mute commentary while being able to listen to the sound of the ball on the bat, crowd etc. So far this is the closest I have come to achieving it.

What about you guys ? How do you cope up ? Or do you love Fernando, Raja and Sivaramakrishnan ?

Nipped In The Bud !

The way Sehwag was going today, a first double hundred seemed very much on the cards ! (OK, I like to go over the top, much like Viru himself) but rain has mercilessly cut the innings short. Even if it lets up, I don't think there will be much chance for Viru to go on much longer. What an assault that was though ! He struggled against Sreesanth and then launched into VRV, Chawla and Powar, while the unattractive Gambhir put up another substantial score.

Looks like we might get a game yet ! Complete review, or non, depending on the outcome later.

By the way, it could be a really mad, manic chase ! Of the order of five overs or so ! So get excited about it !

Pathetic, Pitiable, Sad

If you thought Bangalore Royal Challengers had been poor so far in this tournament, today's performance can only be classified thus. What was Praveen Kumar up to ? First he does this, then he follows it up by standing as stationary as the pole star on the field, when an effort at a catch was the minimum that was expected, and then he tries to smash the greatest leg-spinner of all time out of the park the first ball he faces, to be promptly caught on the boundary like.

Despite all this, his bowling remained decent. I sympathize with Praveen Kumar. It must be difficult to play in a team that is losing consistently and miserably especially for a young talented lad full of attitude and a taste for success, as he has clearly had in Australia. Still, this is no way to behave on and off the field.

Dravid's frustration was evident. Clearly he would have felt like pulling his hair off and giving Praveen Kumar a sound telling off but being the gentleman he is and a losing general at that, all he could do was make a mild protest. The whole team today played as if it completely lacked interest, again with the notable exceptions of Dravid, Kumble and Zaheer Khan.

It was soothing to see Dravid's innings though - especially the fight he showed. Not just hitting those sixes, which we know he is well capable of, but first, refusing to take the fielder's word for the catch, and then holding on to the strike in the last over to score as many runs as possible. There was a message there, to the cricket world, but much more so, to his own teammates that said - "You bunch of no-hopers may be going through the motions, but I shall fight out till the end and never give up".

Other than this saving grace, the Bangalore performance was such that they deserve every bit of thrashing that critics, or Mallya might heap upon them.

Rajasthan put in another superb performance. After the heroics of Pollock and Jayasuriya last week, for the Mumbai Indians, another 38-year old, perhaps the greatest of them all produced a truly grand (citi ?) moment of success with a mind-boggling return catch of Zaheer Khan, to become the highest wicket-taker. This after Sohail Tanvir and the other seamers had done a wonderful in job in shattering the top order yet again.

It was indeed a bit of a surprise that despite losing only one wicket, the Royals managed to put up only 197 on the board. In the end, a 65 run defeat was a flattering margin for the royally challenged.

By the way, Asnodkar in the limited overs team for India any one ?

Revenge Battles Results
Dravid v Watson - Draw
Kallis v Watson - Draw
Kohli v Patel - Draw
Boucher v Warne - No show
Praveen v Warne - Warne wins ! REVENGE !
Praveen v Rawat - No show
Zaheer v Pathan - No show
Praveen v Watson - Draw

Delhi Daredevils vs King's X1 Punjab - Match Preview

Delhi have just about got their campaign back on track by eking out a hard win over the Chargers and they take on a very strong Punjab side. Delhi are outside the top 4 and this game is going to be crucial for them. If they win this they will take a big step towards the semifinals. If they don't they put themselves in a very precarious situation. Punjab are relatively more comfortably placed but of course, by no means guaranteed of a semifinal slot.

Teams
Daredevils are relying heavily on Gambhir with the bat, and McGrath's efforts with the ball are not being complemented by the other seamers. In such a scenario it might be the little leggie Mishra who might be their trump card.

Punjab had a bit of a hiccup against Chennai but their pace attack is firing on all cylinders and Marsh is in the form of his life. Chawla has had few poor and few excellent games and this would be a great opportunity to see how the two leggies go in the same game from opposing teams.

Revenge Battles
Gambhir v VRV Singh
Sehwag v Pathan
Tiwary v VRV Singh
Asif v Sangakarra

Prediction: Punjab win (but I wish Delhi will win)

Rajasthan Royals vs Bangalore Royal Challengers - Match Preview

Royals vs Royals ! But one at the top of the table the other at the bottom ! Hehe ! Well by all cricketing sense, this should be an easy walk in the park for Shane Warne's team but the IPL has once again emphasized the old adage of it being a game of uncertainties. Dravid's team are again only playing for pride - I would be interested in seeing how Dravid himself goes against Warne here.

On a more sombre note this match takes place in Jaipur which has done remarkably well to shake off the tragic events of a couple of nights ago. It is indeed courageous and brave of all concerned to go ahead with the game especially the foreign stars.

Teams
For the Royals, Graeme Smith has had a couple of off games recently, he will be keen to get back into the groove. Dmitri did so well the other day that one wonders whether Tanvir will get a spot - yes that Tanvir who had destroyed Chennai with 6/14 not so long ago. Kaif will also be keen to make a contribution. Will Asnodkar get another game again ? Of course, Watson will be the lynchpin and the master, Shane Warne will be the commander.

For the Royal Challengers, despite all the criticism heaved at him, Dravid has been the one batsman to show some sort of form and class. Boucher is clearly looking like a fish out of water. Misbah has failed to deliver but I think a big innings is around the corner for him. Will the opening partnership continue to let Bangalore down ? Will Kohli continue to throw his wicket ? It seemed Steyn was suffering after the last game - will he be fit ? Will there be a spot for Kallis ?

Revenge Battles
Dravid v Watson
Kallis v Watson
Kohli v Patel
Boucher v Warne
Praveen v Warne
Praveen v Rawat
Zaheer v Pathan
Praveen v Watson

Nearly all the above battles were won by the Rajasthan team last time except for Praveen's duels with bat against Warne and ball with Rawat. Also Zak dismissed the dangerous Pathan early. Can he get his revenge ?

Prediction: Easy win for Rajasthan (but I hope that's not the case, for Dravid's sake)

They said ...

.... it was a young man's game !

.... it was a batsman's game !

Clearly they had not reckoned about these great old warriors - a Lankan and a Protean now playing as "Indians" and producing performances like this and this.

Put in a slightly assisting wicket, and fill the opposition team with batsmen full of suspect technique and that is a classic recipe for Shaun Pollock to create havoc.

It is hard to believe that their respective countries have found these aged warriors redundant !

Seriously speaking, Kolkata's batting lineup is VERY weak. In the last few games the reason they have done so well is their bowling and fielding. In my opinion, Ganguly is easily the best player in the side and that's not saying much. I can't understand why Tatenda Taibu was benched - Mohammad Hafeez has hardly done anything of note at all.

As for the Mumbai Indians, well now they are a serious force to be reckoned with. The only question is how long will Jayasuriya's dream run last ? And will there be another one come semifinals time ?

Revenge Battle Results

Pollock v Ganguly - No show/Draw

Jayasuriya v Hussey - No show

Bravo v Shukla - No show

Jayasuriya v Ishant - Jayasuriya gets the revenge !

Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders - Match Preview

Both teams that are on a roll after being down in the dump for a bit ! Mumbai have won their last 4 games after losing the 4 before, Kolkata have won their last 3 after losing the 4 before ! While Kolkata are slightly ahead on the table, Mumbai have a game in hand and can make it all level with a win tomorrow ! In fact that would put three teams - Mumbai Delhi and Kolkata jointly at 10 points bang in the middle of the table ! With no team yet guaranteed of a semis slot, tomorrow's match could make the plot all the more interesting. Plus these are the two teams with arguably the most passionate fan support so expect a high-intensity all out clash at the Wankhede !

Team News

Mumbai have been banking on their team effort so far until Jayasuriya changed it all in the last game. Expect the core set of players - Uthappa, Bravo, Pollock, Kulkarni, Nayyar, Raje, Takawle, Nehra to put in another good effort. If the openers fire, then that will be like the icing on the cake. Maybe tomorrow it will be Tendulkar's turn to hog the limelight. He looked out of sorts yesterday more particularly so because of what was happening at the other end. Kulkarni continues to impress with the ball.

For Kolkata now, the strength is definitely the bowling - the pace bowling, at that. But their record away from home has not been very good. However looking at the passion with which the team is playing Mumbai would do well to be wary.

Revenge Battles

Pollock v Ganguly - Polly got Dada very early last time to set up the win

Jayasuriya v Hussey - Jayasuriya (the bowler !) was the wrecker in chief last time, will he bowl though ?

Bravo v Shukla - Shukla (the batsman) thrashed Bravo (the bowler) for a bit

Jayasuriya v Ishant - who can forget Ishant sending the stumps cartwheeling ?

Prediction: I give the edge to the home team in this contest, but only just.

The Shortcoming of T20

I have been fairly supportive of the T20 format, especially in comparison to the 50-over game, but here is one shortcoming that I noticed, and one which could conceivably be addressed.

In a game like the one between Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians the other night, when one batsman like Jayasuriya gets going, the game is over and there is nothing that can be done about it. Well, it might be breathtaking for the audience, but as a contest it is one where there is no chance for the other team to fight back.

On the other hand, in a game like the Knight Riders v Daredevils the earlier night, even though another genius like Shoaib fires, there is still plenty of time and opportunity for the opposition to make a comeback ?

Why ? Because Shoaib is a bowler and Jayasuriya is a batsman ! The old adage of it being a batsman's game to the fore yet again ! The thing is Shoaib only has four overs to bowl ! If he had had a couple of overs more, maybe Delhi might not have had a chance to get to even 100 !

The fundamental problem with any limited overs game is that it puts a limitation on how many overs a bowler can bowl but not on how many balls a batsman can bat. This effect is more pronounced the shorter you make the game, because the bowler's opportunities get fewer while the batsman's remain the same.

I don't know how this idea of skewing the game in the batsman's favor thus came about when 50 over cricket was started but it has been so well-rooted, that it would be a travesty to question it. However, I dare to question it here. I think there is a case to be made to restore the balance here.

Restricting the number of balls a batsman is allowed to face is not an entirely ridiculous idea - say just as 120 balls are divided among 5 bowlers as 24 each, divide 120 balls among 6 "batsmen" as 20 each. Naturally some batsmen are going to get out playing fewer balls. These can be consumed by the batsmen coming in after No. 6. The main problem with this approach is what if a couple of top order batsmen face 20 balls and leave and then there is a collapse and the rest get bowled out soon and there are still a couple of overs left ? Do the top order batsmen then return ? I haven't quite worked out the details yet but I belive the idea is fundamentally sound. Revolutionary, but sound.

A less controversial idea and one suggested elsewhere is to allow one or two bowlers more than 4 overs.

It is fine to negotiate and discuss and adjust the numbers but something has to be done to redress the balance. Otherwise just as Jayasuriya destroyed the contest in the space of some 35-balls yesterday, so will other such great batsmen like Gilchrist, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Pietersen etc. The catch is that equally great bowlers like Shoaib, Lee, McGrath, Warne will be denied that opportunity.

Chargers Choke Again !

Wow this must be the umpteenth time that Chargers have come so close and choked at the end in a close game ! Sad, really, for they are such a beautiful team to watch ! Once again Rohit Sharma's innings was the stand-out today but I'm hugely impressed by Venugopal Rao - who had been written off rather unfairly a couple of years ago.

Scott Styris ? Well what can I say about him ? He should probably dig a hole and bury himself in it after that pathetic effort. Really the foreign buys like Afridi, Gibbs and Styris have let down Chargers big time and they should not be bought next season.

Meanwhile another final over hat-trick in the IPL - this time by the leggie Amit Mishra - that went almost unnoticed ! Eerily similar to Balaji's performance the other day, he also had two bigger wickets in one over earlier in the innings.

Chargers are now out of it - even mathematically. Daredevils live to fight another day, but the way they are going I think they will find it hard to resist the teams with the momentum like Mumbai and Chennai. It's going to be one hell of a battle to make it to the top 4.

And oh yeah, in case you thought I forgot to mention Gambhir and Dhawan let me just state that no matter how much they score, I just don't like their batting style so much. So yeah effective innings but nothing worth eulogizing about.

Revenge Battle Results
Gilchrist v Asif - Draw

Rohit v Maharoof - Maharoof wins, gets revenge !

RP Singh v Gambhir - Gambhir wins again !

Bangar and Afridi v Sehwag - No-show.

I Got Mine, Baby !

In the match preview I had labeled Gony v Jayasuriya as a revenge battle - and did it turn out to be sweet for the Man From Matara and how ! After a good first over Gony was smashed for four humungous sixes - and I'm sure a little bit of the motivation came from the dismissal in the previous game. From Matara Marauder now to Mumbai Marauder ?

Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils - Preview

Delhi Daredevils must be keen to put an end to the losing streak. If Deccan Chargers manage to put one good show in tomorrow, I'm pretty sure Viru will be chewing his nails. After looking the best side for a large part of the tournament, Delhi are now languishing at 5th spot, with Mumbai hot on their heels with a game in hand.

Deccan Chargers are virtually out of the semis and should play without any pressure. The problem is this might also result in them playing without a sense of purpose. Adam Gilchrist had given indications to this effect that it is difficult keeping up your performances when you are losing so badly and are in with no realistic chance of making the knockout.

Revenge Battles
Gilchrist v Asif (Asif got Gilly cheaply last time, but he might not make it to the 11 this time !)
Rohit v Maharoof (Rohit took a liking to Maharoof's bowling last time)
RP Singh v Gambhir (RP dismissed him cheaply, one of his rare failures)
Bangar and Afridi v Sehwag (while Symonds is away, Bangar and Afridi had also suffered from Sehwag last time around)

With the Mumbai Indians looking red hot the table has opened up beautifully. The Chargers (along with the Challengers) are virtually out of it, but not mathematically. For the other 6 teams, however, it is going to be a battle to the finish line, and Delhi MUST look to make a vital move here.

Cool It Down Guys !

The IPL is producing some great cricket especially in the last couple of games and its wonderful to see all these great superstars, Indian and international, be all excited and enthu about it. However, they seem to be going just a bit over the top with it

The other night Ganguly said this was one of the best victories of his career. It may have been on the spur of the moment - but really ? He who has led India to test series victories in Pakistan, to test victories in Australia, England, West Indies ? He who lifted Indian cricket out of the doldrums of match-fixing and enjoyed five glorious years at the top ? He who led India to World Cup final heights ?

And today Jayasuriya said it was one of his greatest career moments to open with Tendulkar ! Again, no disrespect to Tendulkar, but does this rank anywhere in comparison to winning the World Cup ? The double century to win the Oval Test of 1998 ? And so many of those fantastic victories to which he has led Sri Lanka in the past ?

These guys need to just tone it down a little bit and keep a sense of perspective I feel.

We Lost To The Better Player !

I choose to quote Steve Waugh today for there is nothing else that can describe today's performance. Yes, we struggled with the bat and the ball early but once in a while Jayasuriya can produce an innings of such bloody magnificence that even a total of 300 would appear tiny. It was another sensational IPL performance and immediately finds mention in my moments post earlier.

Moments From The IPL

Guys I would never have thought that a T20 tournament that too one that was taken with as much skepticisim as the DLF Indian Premier League would produce so many magical unforgettable moments. Here at about more than halfway through, let's try to enumerate as many as we can remember. You are welcome to update and comment ! Some of these are genuine moments of special cricket, some farcical, some ironic, but they are memorable nevetherless.

1. Match 1: BRC v KKR - Bangalore - Brendon McCullum's stunning attack - what an opening to the event

2. Match 4: KKR v DC - Kolkata - The lights go off at Eden at a tense moment ! What drama !

3. Match 6: RR v KXP - Jaipur - Warne performs his first magic - 3/19 with the wickets of Yuvi & Sanga

4. Match 7: DC v DD - Hyderabad - Rohit Sharma arrives on the scene - 66(36)

5. Match 7: DC v DD - Hyderabad - Viru goes berserk smashing Symonds for 464646 in his 94*(41)

6. Match 9: DC v RR - Hyderabad - Symonds thrashes fastest 100, Warnie gets his revenge - with the bat !

7. Match 10: KXP v MI - Mohali - Bhajji loses cool, slaps Sreesanth who bawls like a baby !

8. Match 12: BRC v RR - Bangalore - Warne The Captain Shines, Innovative Fields gets Dravid first ball

9. Match 14: MI v DC - Mumbai - Gilchrist smashes unbelievable 100, fastest of the series

10. Match 15: CSK v BRC - Bangalore - Dhoni launches massive assault on Steyn

11. Match 15: CSK v BRC - Bangalore - In same game, Dhoni engineers dramatic BRC collapse to win

12. Match 16: KKR v MI - Kolkata - Bravo displays Calypso glimpses

13. Match 18: RR v KKR - Jaipur - Asnodkar rises from middle of nowhere to destroy KKR bowling

14. Match 20: CSK v DD - Chennai - Sehwag launches blistering assault to end Chennai's winning run

15. Match 21: BRC v DC - Bangalore - Kumble bowls BRC to dramatic last over win on home ground

16. Match 23: KXP v KKR - Mohali - Hussey & Saha's valiant try in vain; Piyush's batting heroics win day

17. Match 24: RR v CSK - Jaipur - Sohail Tanvir demolishes Chennai with a scarcely believable 6/14

18. Match 25: BRC v KXP - Bangalore - Smarting under slap Sreesanth reproduces his Wanderers heroics

19. Match 25: BRC v KXP - Bangalore - Amidst collapsing ruins Dravid erects a masterpiece 66(51)

20. Match 28: DD v CSK - Delhi - Badrinath, Gony clinch last ball thriller !

21. Match 29: KKR v BRC - Kolkata - Ganguly the bowler wins Man of The Match !

22. Match 31: CSK v KXP - Chennai - The folkhero Balaji rocks Chennai with 5 wickets including hattrick

23. Match 32: DC v KKR - Hyderabad - Ganguly turns the clock back 8 years !

24. Match 34: KXP v BRC - Mohali - Shaun Marsh firmly establishes himself as a future star

25. Match 35: KKR v DD - Kolkata - Shoaib returns from the dead, redefines bowling in T20 !

26. Match 36: MI v CSK - Mumbai - Sanath Jayasuriya 10 sixes and all demolishes Chennai

Chennai Superkings vs Mumbai Indians - Preview

It's all building up to a very exciting final third of the IPL. After a grand opening, there was a bit of a lull with a few dud games but yesterday the stars lit up Eden and today the biggest Maharathi of them all, is going to make his belated, yet much anticipated entry.

The best part is he will be walking in against one of the stronger teams of the championship and one which is on the rise again. Chennai Superkings is led by Dhoni, whose leadership qualitities, apparently, were first noticed by SRT himself. What will happen when the two lock horns ?

For more details follow Robin's review here.

Although this is Sachin's first foray, the two teams did meet before. Here are some revenge battles we can look forward to:

Raina and Dhoni versus the entire Mumbai attack (whom they shredded to pieces last time)
Gony v Jayasuriya

One battle which did not quite happen last time but I'm keen to see is Murali v Jayasuriya.

Sitaron Ki Mehfil !!!

Whew ! What a fool I was to say that I was "not much interested" in this game ! This was truly one memorable game, nay a party, nay a celebration ! Yes ! A celebration is the right word ! When the three Ss - the Super Super Stars - Sourav, Shoaib and Shahrukh descended on Planet Eden !

What a spell of fast bowling ! I always believe there is no greater sight in cricket than a genuine fast bowler running in at full tilt. Nothing can be more exciting, more exhilirating, nothing from the batting side that is. This will always remain a bowler's game and so it should. So far I'm glad to say bowlers have held their own in this format that was touted as one that was going to kill bowlers, but Shoaib yesterday entirely changed how people will think about bowling in T20 cricket ! This coming from a man who has surely gone through a harrowing time in life in recent times ! What a way to make a return !

The other two Ss had their share of the spotlight also. Shahrukh admittedly appeared a bit of a weirdo, dancing all by himself out on the boundary attracting all cameras and cheering on the fielders - but his passion and enthusiasm was amazing ! The ultimate showman - that he is ! It must be a great feeling for the team when your owner celebrates with you in that manner - unlike a certain other in this tournament. But he did take it all over the top when he literally, and I'm in no way exaggerating mounted himself atop Shoaib Akhtar at the prize distribution.

Finally, a word for Dada - he flopped with the bat today - but what a contribution that was in the field both as captain and fielder. And he didn't forget to send a tongue in cheek reminder to the national selectors too.

Eden Gardens was the place where the Gods chose to be last night - it's truly time to say "Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re !"

Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Preview

Sad that I have to say this but little over halfway into the tournament, I'm losing interest in some of the games, especially those that do not involve my favorite teams.

In today's game I am only keen to see how Sehwag fares up against Ishant and if he plays, Shoaib Akhtar. Pardon me for saying this, but I am really no fan of the rest of the Delhi batting. I have never liked Gambhir as a batsman, Dhawan also looks only okay-ish and poor Tiwari is not even getting a chance.

For Kolkata, it's all about Dada now.

Any of you Daredevils or Knight Riders have different thoughts and wish to have a go at me are most welcome to comment.

By the way, isn't it funny that this is the first time that these two teams are meeting in the league ?

Grumpy Will Get Grumpier !

After this embarassing defeat, I'm pretty sure Vijay Mallya will be tearing his silver white haif off !! I don't know whether to feel bad for Rahul or enjoy Mallya's discomfiture !

In all seriousness, this was another pathetic performance by BRC. The opening is just not there and when that happens it's going to be impossible in a T20 game as some wise soul on Cricinfo recently pointed out. Kohli for the umpteenth time threw a start, Misbah found yet another novel way to get out and Boucher valiantly but in vain, kept swinging it without timing it. Bah !

What an innings by Shaun Marsh though ! The way he took apart Kumble and Steyn was awesome ! Nice to see Sreesanth and Irfan continue to do well, now joined by VRV and Chawla. Augurs well for Indian cricket.

It's Purple !

After the much talked-about Orange Cap for the highest run-scorer in the IPL, Modi, has now come up with this for the leading wicket-taker.

Right at the start of the tournament I had mentioned that it is unfair to have a cap only for batting achievements and not for bowlers. But, most remarkably, I swear, just yesterday I was telling a friend that they should introduce a PURPLE cap for the highest wicket-taker. Yes, I chose the color PURPLE and today Modi comes up with just that ! Whew !

Talk about coming up with ideas !

Bonanza For Commentators

I am pretty convinced that every time a commentator says "CITI Moment of success" or "DLF Maximum Sixes" he gets some additional perks. That is why, yesterday when Shaun Marsh took to Dale Steyn by smashing a six over point, all hell broke lose. Not only did he "put himself in contention for the DLF Maximum Sixed Award" as Arun Lal promptly noted, it was also a "CITI moment of success" according to Ravi Shastri. The competition is on and even the commentators are turning on the heat on each other :D:D. Poor us !

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs King's X1 Punjab

Rahul Dravid has already said that now his team will try to trouble other teams in the competition and play for pride. Their only chance at redemption lies in winning all six games and they HAVE to play like there is no tomorrow. Which means we should be in for a cracker of a contest.

Punjab continue to remain very strong despite their loss to Chennai, but they have shown that once Shaun Marsh is dismissed the lineup becomes totally vulnerable. Considering law of averages it is time Marsh failed. That should be the way the BRC should look at it.

BRC finally seemed to have struck upon an okay combination, though Boucher's form continues to be a worry. If Misbah comes in it will have to be at th expense of Chander which throws up the question of the opening slot again.

Revenge Battles
Sreesanth v White
Chawla v Misbah
VRV v Dravid
Yuvraj v Praveen Kumar
Marsh v Kumble

A Largely Forgettable Game

The reason this game turned out to be exciting-ish in the end is only due to the way the two teams competed against each other to play poor cricket. There was nothing sparkling about the batting on either side with the exception of Watson's innings and there was nothing too smart about the bowling either. All in all not a bad game to give a miss.

The umpiring issue is a joke. A bigger joke however is how the power can suddenly go off in the middle of the game preventing the third umpire from getting the feed.

My Time Machine Works !

I feel convinced I traveled back in 2000 to see this from Ganguly.

Spotted !

The Person: Makhaya Ntini

The Place: Outside Lifestyle in Chennai City Centre Mall

With: A Friend (Male), Possibly Brother/Other Relative

The Time: 4.45-ish in the evening, Sunday, May 11

What He Was Doing: Evidently had come to have a good time, was shaking hands with people and posing for photos.

The Pinch: Yours truly had no camera :(

Most Annoying Commentary Pieces From IPL

"This is certainly a CITI moment of success."

"With that six, he has put himself in contention for the DLF Maximum Sixes Award"

Any more ? Submit your own and let's keep adding to the list.

IPL Commentators

The commentary team is one of the weak links of the IPL. I mean Aamir Sohail, Ramiz Raja, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Ranjit Fernando and Arun Lal all together ? That is surely recipe for torture. This in addition to the ever-so-blah though not as bad as above Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar. Only Ian Bishop, Robin Jackman, Greg Chappell and Pommie Mbangwa are decent while the old warrior Tony Cozier is the saving grace.

Chargers v Riders, Daredevils v Royals

Two matches coming up today, and I'm not particularly interested in either. So just doing a brief preview. Chargers have got to win this to stay in with a mathematical chance. Unfortunately even with Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma firing they haven't been able to win anything. If the Riders can win this and the Daredevils lose, then the Riders can put themselves right in contention for the semis.

It will be interesting to see Gilchrist take on Ishant and if he plays, Shoaib. In the other game, it's Warne vs Sehwag. No other contest particularly piques me, so will only keep a brief tab on these games.

A Game Full of Freaking Highs !!

Cross-posted on Chennai Super Kings Fans.

Woohooo !! What a game that was last night ! One of the best in the IPL so far, if not as close as some of the others ! I was there once again right in the thick of the action ! The last couple of games had been a bit low-key what with them being scheduled on weekdays and Chennai losing out. But on Saturday night, the Chidambaram Stadium was once again packed to the rafters - for the first time since .. ummm .. the Kolkata game yeah ! And Dhoni and his boys did not disappoint.

It is hard for me to pinpoint what was the highlight of the the night ! Was it the sight of the world's best bowler, Muralitharan and the best batsman Sangakkara, donning opposite colors, meeting at the center of the ground before the game ? Was it Preity Zinta arriving at the stadium from the gate right next to the stand where I was sitting and then moving along the boundary ? Was it Badrinath smashing the ball and in particular being the first batsman in the IPL (need to check this) to maximize the free hit ? Or was it Dhoni's two big hits each of which landed a few feet either side of me ? Or those by Marsh that cleared the ground with so much ease ? Finally, was it that fantastic spell by the folk-hero Laxmipathy Balaji ?


The King's X1 were easily one of the more sporting teams to have arrived in Chennai - particularly the Sri Lankans in the squad. That meeting between Sangakarra and Murali was quite clearly a photo moment (as was Preity's entry later, Preity actually looks prettier in person than on camera, a rare phenomenon) - of course I could capture neither due to my lack of possession of a decent camera-phone. Later, during the game I could see Jayawardene helping out Chawla, patting him on the back and giving him tips when he was being hammered.

Badrinath's batting was superb. For long I wanted to see this guy in action having heard raving reviews about him from Tamil Nadu cricket followers. Dhoni really took to Chawla but preferred to play out his other team-mates, Irfan and Sreesanth, both of whom bowled really well I thought. At one point when Sreesanth bowled Dhoni a bouncer, Yuvraj came up and had some words - I don't know what he said, but clearly Yuvi was in quite a foul mood today and that was not elevated when he flopped royally when batting.

180 was a fair score, though by no means a massive one. But we got behind the home team from ball one when they were in the field and made such a noise that the pressure was huge on the visitors. The fielding at the start was quite brilliant, especially with Murali hitting the stumps with great regularity. And on a couple of occasions when some of the fielders were sloppy, Dhoni really let go at them and asked them to focus. Well, Shaun Marsh did hit some towering sixes right out off the ground, but once Balaji got himself into the act there was only really going to be one winner.

Balaji may have only briefly shone on the cricket field, but already he is a mini-legend. Not entirely for his cricketing skills, which incidentally, are substantial, but also for his massive, easy almost casual smile and his long locks of hair. Just ask the Pakistani girls who saw him in 2004. The Balaji of today is much slower in pace, than in his heyday and with a remodeled action, yet the skill is still there. Last night he got surprising bounce that none of the other bowlers on show could manage and first destroyed the threatening partnership of Sarwan and Marsh. And finally when his good friend Irfan was looking like spoiling the party for Chennai he came up with that unbelievable sensational hat-trick which will not merely go down in history books, but also in the folklore of Chennai cricket for generations to come.

Once again, a close game with a local hero coming up trumps in the final act with the whole stadium cheering form. The best formula for an IPL game, in my opinion. With Badrinath and Balaji being the main protagonists in this act, the Super Kings look serious title contenders once more and this time based on local talent than imported.

IPL 2009

Fast forward 1 year. What would you like to see in the IPL ? I think the main interest is is how new players are going to be drafted in and how transfers are made. Any thoughts ? Other ideas you would like to see implemented ?

Harsha On Fire !

In his column on ESPN STAR, Harsha minces no words as he says:

Soon, even the Harbhajan-Sreesanth episode will come to an end. Some of us, who were shown the video of the incident as part of the hearing, and were rightfully asked to keep the contents of the footage confidential, are feeling very disappointed that those that are meant to investigate do not feel a similar need. And even though I am part of the industry, I cannot understand the urgency with which everyone feels the need to be seen on the small screen. Sometimes we need to get our priorities right.

Clearly, his targets are obvious.

This at the end of an otherwise typical Harsha column.

In And Out

This is a good time to revisit what Pathan had said after the game against Kolkata about his partnership with Sreesanth - "I bring it in and he moves it out. It's a good combination, isn't it ?"

Indeed. A couple of years ago I had thought that this potentially lethal combination would serve India well for years. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then and both have gone through major ups and downs (more downs, perhaps, particularly in Irfan's case) but fortunately now for the Punjab team both seem to have got their act together and are combining well. Sreesanth was oh-so-freakingly-magnificent against Bangalore - it was almost like seeing Allan Donald again, and for Pathan that legendary in-dipper is back as his ball to Brad Hogg showed. It's good times for Indian cricket again, for not only do they form a very effective combination, together they are a beautiful sight to watch. One right-arm, the other left, one brings it in, the other out and both have lovely smooth rhythmic actions.

Dhoni Versus His Own Men - Match Preview

This somehow seems similar to the famous legend in Mahabharata where Shri Krishna fought on the side of the Pandavas while his massive army fought from the opposite side.

Dhoni will get a similar feeling as he faces an almost Team India attack comprising of the fiery Sreesanth, the cool Pathan and the talented Chawla. Of course his rival commander-in-chief will be his good friend Yuvraj.

Again I think this is a great opportunity to get a BIG WIN - against one of the leading sides in the competition because I'm hoping that complacency settles in in the King's X1 Team.

If we win this we can almost surely start looking towards a semifinal slot with games against Bangalore and Kolkata to come.

Last time the Kings managed to score 207 yet lost easily as we had Hussey destroying them - this time we can't afford such luxuries.

Revenge Battles
Hussey had thrashed Lee last time around but neither is there for the re-match. So we have:
Chawla v Raina
Sreesanth v Patel
Hopes v Dhoni

as potential revenge battles.

For more detailed analysis read Robin's review here at Chennai Super Kings Fans.

Two Great Games, One Damp Squib

Been busy with work and other stuff for the past day or so. So didn't get much time to post here.

What a game between Delhi and Chennai ! The Dhoni magic is at work again ! Yo ! We are right back in it and a couple of wins would all but ensure our path to the semifinals.

The other game was also fantastic ! A closely fought bowler dominated game is exactly what I like ! What a spell by Dada ! Nice to see the smile on his face again. Heart goes out to Dravid. I think the fielding in the last two overs of the first innings is where the tide turned and cost Royal Challengers the game.

Today's game was a complete waste of time. A Gilchrist 50 was of no use to the Chargers as that bloke Afridi continues to let his team down. He is a total misfit at No. 5 where he has ample opportunity to betray his team. He should either open where it gives the team a chance to repair if he flops or bat low at 7.

Hope to be back in regular action from tomorrow. Adios.

BREAKING NEWS: Dhoni Opts To Bowl

For the first time ever as T20 captain ...

Bangalore v Kolkata - Preview

Back to where it all started about twenty days ago. These two teams shall do battle again. For both it is crucial to get these points, a defeat would surely mean the end at least for BRC.

Bangalore are literally at their worst low. With off-field events unfolding the way they are, it is difficult to see them going anywhere but up from here. Knight Riders have been in torpor but the game is at Eden and the cheering of a hundred thousand fans and one movie star might just provide the tonic for the turnaround.

Watch Out For
Sourav Ganguly - will be looking to make his mark on this tournament

Revenge Battles
Ganguly v Zaheer - Zaheer got the better of his former captain last time around.
Dravid v Ishant - similar to above
Dravid v Ganguly - surely a 140 run thrashing would rankle ?

The First Rematch

For the first time in this IPL we have a rematch and hence a chance for revenge. Whoo ! This should be exciting stuff. Read Robin's excellent preview here on Chennai Super Kings Fans.

Come on Dhoni ! You have GOT to stop the slide now. Show us your famed captaincy magic ! I have full faith in Dhoni. Flem has got to come good today. He is just too classy a player to fail for too long.

Watch Out For
MS Dhoni - Too classy a player, too proud a captain to fail for long. His reputation is not exactly at stake but he would like to reaffirm it here.

Revenge Battles
Fleming v Yomahesh - Yomahesh castled the former Kiwi captain last time around
Dhoni v all Delhi bowlers - who kept him quiet in Chennai
Sehwag v Ntini

Beating The Best

Mumbai Indians have made it a habit of beating only the best. Something akin to reverse-minnow-bashing. First they beat Kolkata when Kolkata were still one of the top teams, then they beat the then No. 1 Delhi and now Rajasthan.

Seriously the DY Patil Stadium is an intimidating arena for visiting teams as Shastri rightly put it and I think Reliance are just being foolish by shifting the games to the Wankhede.

A word for Nehra - what is this guy up to ? Expect a whole lot of reports and reviews about how on his day Nehra is still the best in the country and talks of his imminent return when the fact is all he has done is dimiss Pathan, Tanvir and Rawat in an IPL 2020 game in a spell of 4 overs

Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians - Preview

Warne vs Tendulkar

The Gentleman Show

Cross-posted on Chennai Super Kings Fans.

I expected it to be a much easier ride into the stadium today. Being a weekday, an opponent ranked at the bottom of the table and given the home team’s disappointing recent run, the rush was bound to be much lesser. I found enough time and space to buy a Chennai Super Kings flag from an old lady outside the station. When I asked for the price she blurted out some number in Tamil leaving me quite clueless. When I managed to convey this emotion to her, she had the good sense to find another customer, a young Tamil guy, to do the necessary translation. The flag cost sixty rupees, arguably a bit exorbitant, but I was not going to haggle with a poor, old lady who did not speak my language. I handed her a hundred and waited for what seemed to be an eternity as the poor soul managed a great balancing act, literally, holding several flags in one hand, and trying to carry out monetary transactions with her customers with the other the money of course stashed away in a compartment of her saree. I had a good mind to leave her with the hundred but, God bless her soul, she managed to return my change just before my patience was run out. As soon as I entered the stadium an earnest looking policeman promptly snatched the flag from my hands, and before I could comprehend what was going on, freed it off the stick that was holding it. For good measure, he disposed off the stick. Great! Once inside, I got a rude surprise in the form of a major price hike in the coffee prices – inflation is well and truly here, right in our midst In a period of four days the prices had skyrocketed by 50-67%!!

Arun Lal was in the center doing the pitch report. The pitch, (and the report) I guess must have been as flat as a dodo, so to say, because clearly someone found the need to spice it up. The cheerleaders from both teams were right behind Lal practicing their moves (this really means that their leader is performing the moves and they are merely aping her). The new idea was that Lal should make a Bollywood-style entry from amidst the two teams of cheerleaders. This he duly did and appeared as comfortable as a test player in a T20 game, to avoid some old clichés about fish and water.

My heart wrenched a bit when I saw Adam Gilchrist walk out for the toss because it meant that I would not be able to witness my favorite player, sorry artist, the great VVS Laxman play his masterstrokes. But Gilchrist, I must note, played the model captain. He walked out with MS for the toss (unlike our pampered and almost uncouth Indian players like Ganguly and Sehwag) and was all grace and dignity personified. It was to be Gilly’s game by all accounts. From the moment the Deccan Chargers took the field, Gilly was in control like a conductor at a well-perfected orchestra.

The game was not close by a big margin but that did not mean that I did not get my rupees worth. When Badrinath tentatively poked at a delivery from Afridi that jumped up on him, Herschelle Gibbs, stationed exactly 180 degrees opposite to my vantage point, initially a bit confused by the course of the ball, just like the batsman, took a couple of steps to his left and then launched himself into orbit to pocket one of the most magnificently stunning catches ever, the best I personally have ever seen on the field. And then, later, only a trifle less spectacularly, Albie Morkel hit one from Pragyan Ojha right on the roof of the stadium again putting me in one of the best positions to witness. Incidentally, and somewhat ironically, these action moments in this speed-of-light version of cricket are the ones that allowed me plenty of time to soak it in. The Gibbs’ catch, for instance, was not, blink and you miss it stuff. The ball looped in the air, Gibbs had enough time to judge it, walk a couple of steps to his left and then put in the dive, the whole sequence lasting for almost a couple of seconds, an eternity in cricketing terms. Well, they say the World is full of contradictions. Also goes to show that even a T20 game need not rely on the close finish to be exciting.

Incidentally, do some of you guys follow the Cricinfo Wagon-wheel thing when you are annoyingly stuck in the office during a big game or when Neo Sports is the only option to watch a test series and your cable operator decides to indulge in non-cooperation? Well, I saw these guys who make your life just that touch more bearable, up close today. These guys who operate the Cricinfo software, and I must say do an amazing job, considering the speed at which the game progresses and the impatience among their consumers, which I am only too well-aware of, sit alongside the official scorers, who incidentally I noticed frantically wave yellow flags upon acknowledgement of any proclamation by umpires. So now I realize why the other day Billy suddenly turned, looked at me, and nearly made me jump off my seat as he thrust his hips as though in a fit out of the blue, and jerked his arms in the air. He was actually seeking the attention of these good folks to let them know that the ball was a wide. Sigh.

It can be justifiably argued that television coverage gives a better sight of the game of cricket than the one from the stands but the aspect that TV cannot give you is the sound. The sound that the bat makes when it strikes the ball can be truly appreciated only from up close. And it is this sound that distinguishes the skills of a great player from a merely good one. This distinction is particularly pronounced when the great and the good co-exist at the crease. The other night, the two roles were played by Sehwag and Gambhir, and today it was Gilchrist and Styris. It was of course, Gilchrist’s game, he was the supreme dictator. The key is that for Gilchrist even the slight mishits seem to be attractive while from a player like Styris even the shots of the meat off the bat are only okay. Usually, if you were forced to associate one word with the batting of a certain supremely skilled player, with Brian Lara, you would associate “flow” with Gilchrist it is “crisp”. Crisp was his strokeplay last night as he reduced to dust any hopes of an upset Chennai win.

Finally, another word for Rohit Sharma. I guess I have put in so many words for him over the past few weeks that he should grant me rights for his biography twenty years hence. But the lad’s strokeplay sounds definitely closer to the Gilchrists of this World, than the Styrises. And with the kind of cool head he has shown, which, incidentally is now adorned by the orange cap (which is worn by the highest run scorer) he is certain to be destined for a great future.

Isn’t it possible to get jaded visiting the stadium to watch a T20 game four times in two weeks? Well, the best part of this tournament is that on every occasion you have the added attraction of watching a different set of players perform. While I am supporting the home team, now, in the span of a fortnight I have had a chance to witness in addition to Dhoni, Hayden, Hussey, Murali, Fleming, Oram and Ntini, Jayasuriya, Pollock, Bravo, Harbhajan, Ganguly, Ponting, McCullum, Ishant, Sehwag, McGrath, Asif, Gambhir, Gibbs, Afridi, Rohit Sharma and now above all the great gentleman cricketer Adam Gilchrit. That can’t possibly be such a bad show.

Crucial Game For Chennai

Robin has already done the preview here. So all I shall say is this is a very crucial game simply because we are playing the team at the bottom of the table but by no means an easy team. Win here and it will be just "a win against the last placed side", lose and all hell might break lose.

The encouraging aspect is that the DC bowling is very weak. Dhoni can make mincemeat of such bowling. On the flip side if Gilchrist fires, then everything else including our strong batting and weak bowling may become irrelevant.

Weaknesses we can exploit
Bowling: Opposition bowling is their weak point. RP Singh can work up some pace but other than that (with Vaas unlikely to play), Styris Kalyanakrishna, Bangar and Ojha shouldn't be a problem at all. Keep a look out for Afridi.

I'm off to see the game !

Exquisite Batsman, Adamant Captain

Rahul Dravid has yet again shown that he is both. On a pitch where five of his batsman added to the poultry population and only one other got to double figures, he played an innings or rare class and beauty, and proved alongwith that one can bat classically and yet be successful at T20. On the other hand the adamancy which he has shown in refusing to be flexible with his top-order batting line-up cost BRC irreparably.

Sreesanth's bowling was a deadly beautiful sight. The delivery that destroyed Cameron White was a corker ! Yet BRC should have and would have recovered from the deadly double blow if it had not been for
a) daft running between the wickets by Kohli and later Patil
b) yet another instance of Kohli throwing away a start
c) Misbah and Praveen Kumar displaying surprising and alarming incompetence against Piyush Chawla

The overseas players contributed less than 10 runs and less than 1 wicket in yesterday's game and yet Dravid does not find the need to play a quality top-order batsman like Chanderpaul.

126 was never going to be enough where 150 might have been plenty. Had Dravid managed those 20 runs in the last 2 overs we could still have had a game.

You can blame the Bangalore bowlers for not being able to exploit the conditions as well as Sreesanth but they were just under too much pressure. The responsibility of this defeat has to go to the daft batting and adamant and inflexible captaincy.

A word for young Chawla - I am extremely happy and impressed with his steady progress.

Can Bangalore Get It Right ?

This is the opportunity for Bangalore to take that one step up and make inroads in this IPL Championship. So far their victories have come against the so-called "weaker" sides. Besides the advantage that they had gained from their narrow win over Hyderabad has been negated by Mumbai's win yesterday. Mumbai is sitting in a relatively pretty position at No. 5 while Bangalore are languishing at No. 7.

A win over a very strong team like the KXP would do their morale a world of good. For the past 3 games now Bangalore have been steadily improving only to botch it up at the end. But there are a couple of issues that need to be sorted out.

One, is the top order batting. I cannot believe that Chipli, Jaffer and Kohli can be your top 3 at this level. Dravid has to give up his adamancy and bring in Chanderpaul to open. This means that he has to drop one of Kallis/Boucher/Misbah/Steyn. Kallis has been poor with bat and ball, but just showed signs of returning to form with the ball in the last game. They do need Kallis as the backup bowler since there is no one else who can fill in the fifth bowler's slot. Boucher has been a disappointment with the bat other than one innings in Mumbai. Misbah has had just the one outing in which he got a shocker, and he is a legend in this format of the game. Steyn, is crucial to the attack. So I guess Boucher has to be the one to make way. Goswami can don the keeper's gloves in his abscence. Kohli is talented, but not yet mature enough. He will be better off batting at No. 6.

For KXP, the form of their fast bowlers would be most heartening. As, indeed, that of Chawla. Shaun Marsh has been a revelation. Yuvraj is yet to fire and when he does, he can just put the opposition out of the game in the space of two overs. Sangakkara and Jayawardene have been patchy but threatening. All in all, it is a very strong team full of confidence. The only thing that can go against them though is the Law of Averages.

Bangalore have a chance to pull one back. But for that they need to get their combination right.

Major Upheavals

All teams have now played 6 games and this is a good time to revisit who is going up and down the IPL Table.

On The Rise
1. Rajasthan Royals - Now sitting pretty at the top undisputedly. This has got to be the fairy-tale story of the tournament. Thrashed a supposedly strong Chennai team

2. King's X1 Punjab - 4 successive wins now, after the first 2 losses. Going from strength to strength, despite the loss of Brett Lee.

3. Mumbai Indians - Big win over Delhi to follow up their win over Kolkata. Major jump right up to No. 5 in the table

4. Bangalore Royal Challengers - Narrow win over Deccan Chargers just keeps them in the hunt and lifts them up from the bottom of the basement.

On The Slip
1. Delhi Daredevils - Another minor blip but a fall from the top slot is a fall even though they are still at No. 2 and one of the strongest contenders

2. Chennai Superkings - A worrying fall from the top slot not long ago, down to No. 4. The most worrying part seems to be that they are badly missing Hayden, Hussey and Oram.

3. Kolkata Knight Riders - Nothing seems to be going right after the fourth successive defeat.

4. Deccan Chargers - Another very narrow defeat. At the bottom now with just one win. There has to be some mental issues with this team of very strong individuals.

Agony and Ecstasy !

These would be the contrasting emotions fans would have experienced in the coastal cities of Mumbai and Chennai yesterday ! Mumbai showed the fighting spirit needed to win, Chennai were outclassed and thrashed as Robin here lucidly puts it. Mumbai, despite being able to put up only a moderate total rallied under captain Pollock to pull of the win. Chennai on the other hand had to face the ignominy of coming up with the second-lowest total in the tournament in what can only be termed as the most abysmal of performances.

Where do the teams go from here ?
Mumbai with that win, have made a leap from the bottom of the table to No. 5 while Chennai drops 2 spots to No. 4. Of course, Chennai still has a 4 point lead over Mumbai which will take some work to erase. But Mumbai can only go from strength to strength from here. If (and that's a big if) Sachin Tendulkar finally takes the field and decides to put one past Warne, his old foe, that would just blow the competition wide open as Warne's Rajasthan Royals are the undisputed leaders at the moment. Chennai, meanwhile, have a lot of introspection to do. First they need to ensure they don't slip up against bottom-placed Hyderabad at home. This is potentially dangerously slippery encounter. Hyderabad may have lost almost everything under the sun, but a lot of their games were very tight and as their one win shows, if Adam Gilchrist fires at the top of the order they can look a completely different team.

A word for the other two teams that were in action yesterday. What can you say about Warne except "hats off" ? He has managed to better 7 Indian captains, present and former to go right up to the top of the table. He has proved what a great loss World cricket and Australian cricket suffered by not appointing him as captain. Sohail Tanvir was an absolute sensation ! 6-14 in a 20 over game ? At one point his figures read 5-2 !!

Delhi I think were a bit complacent. I worry that their middle order is undercooked and not strong enough to back their fabulous top order and superb bowling lineup.

Kings X1 v Knight Riders

A valiant effort by David Hussey and the hugely impressive Saha was not enough to see the Knight Riders through. Ishant's last over could have been the difference as could have been the terrible top order batting.

But the opening bowling from Sreesanth and Irfan was most impressive. It was soothing to see Sreesanth run in smoothly and a bowl a lovely spell while Irfan was just too good. That perfectly pitched inswinger to Brad Hogg ? Ah ! It was back to the good times of 2 years ago.

With this win Punjab have 8 points along with Delhi, Chennai and Rajasthan. Knight Riders were not really outplayed but this defeat is going to make their task very tough as I said earlier. They need to get rid of Hafeez and bring in Butt or Chopra. Or some local youngster - Bengali youngsters have been a revelation in this tournament - be it Dinda or Das or most importantly Saha. Ganguly would do well to trust his young boys than rely on the foreign recruits.

Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers - Match Review

THIS is what the IPL is all about ! THIS is the essence of the concept of the IPL in its full glory. A low-scoring match going all the way down to the wire with the final act played out in front of a titanic, raucous crowd and the protagonist playing the final act is the local boy, well man in this case.

The IPL has been a great confluence of cricketing cultures and all teams and fans have welcomed their foreign stars with open arms and hospitality but to see Anil Kumble come on to bowl the crucial last over with the Chinnaswamy behind him ? That is something special. To see Rahul Dravid's range of emotions from worry to ecstasy to confusion and then coming down to pat Kumble on the back and for Kumble to do the job again ? To see the crowd celebrate and cry with its own local heroes to come up with a happy ending ? This is true Bollywood stuff.

This has been the best match of the tournament for me, not the least because of the emotional reasons mentioned above but because it was a match dominated by VERY GOOD BOWLING. Any cricketing contest is great when the bowlers have a say. The way Steyn and Zaheer and Praveen Kumar the man of the match responded to the pressure was just awesome !

This is not to belittle the efforts of Rohit Sharma and VVS Laxman who produced the most classy partnership of the series. Laxman gifted T20 an entirely new concept of "elegant slogging" and Rohit, well, he seems to be the next big thing in Indian batting. I see shades of Laxman as well as Tendulkar in the youngster and that should say it all. I'm interested in knowing what Vijay Mallya said to him at the prize distribution - I bet it was something like "We'll be on the lookout for you next season."

Bangalore, as Dravid said "got out of jail with this one" but there is lot of work to be done. I still fail to see how Dravid can't see the need of a major player in the top 3. Jaffer cannot be your main top-order batsman in this format. Kohli is not yet mature enough to be the No. 3. There has got to be some way to get in Chanderpaul - maybe at the expense of Kallis or even Boucher for that matter. But the bowling looks awesome now that liabilities like Akhil and Joshi have been kicked out.

Bangalore got the luck they needed with the wickets of Laxman and Styris.

But the abiding memories of the day were Rahul Dravid getting all pumped up after Afridi's wicket. The way he has managed to motivate himself for this event (keep aside the results) is great news for Indian cricket - clearly the man believes he has a lot more cricket left in him. Then of course Anil Kumble pulling out the Jonty Rhodes drive, Caterina Kaif dancing when she thought Kohli hit a six only to look emabarassed when he was caught on the boundary, and finally that dramatic climax in the last over.

Bravo Bangalore ! Great match ! Pity it had to result in another defeat for VVS though.

Questions To You Guys

I have been at the stadium for all the matches for the Chennai Super Kings and I have a few questions for the rest of you guys, especially those supporting other teams.

1. Who are the stars who provide entertainment at your venues ? I know Akshay Kumar did some daredevilry in Delhi once, and Imran Hashmi did some random dance in Hyderabad, but what else happens other than that ? What about in Mumbai ? Kolkata ? Jaipur ? Bangalore ? I seriously want to know because I presume there would be something but can't figure it out watching on TV.

2. Do you have some performer who performs throughout the length of the match like we have Sivamani who strikes up his beats after every boundary and every over ?

3. Watching the matches on TV sometimes gives a better idea of the outfield and the pitch. For e.g. I realize that the boundaries in Bangalore are quite short and Eden Gardens produced an absolute shocker but I couldn't exactly figure out these things about my own Chennai stadium. What did the commentators say on TV ? All I could make out was that the outfield was lush, the boundaries of a decent size and the pitch a good one for batting without being too obscene ? Are these impressions correct ?

Proud To Have MSD Leading My Team

I am very touchy about captains not walking out together to toss. Sehwag did a Ganguly yesterday and kept Dhoni waiting. This is a most annoying and sad practice that has cropped up in cricket (at least in Indian cricket) these days.

I presume Sehwag and Dhoni are not on the best terms what with Dhoni keeping Sehwag out of the ODI team and in the long term, taking over the honor of Indian captaincy from Sehwag. (Sehwag was a prospective captain until not long ago.)

But this still does not explain not following the basic cricketing etiquettes.

Modern day Indian cricketers fall into two schools -
a) The Ganguly School - of brash, headstrong, almost arrogant cricketers who with their attitude bring a dash of aggression and that X-factor. Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Sreesanth, Uthhappa and now Sehwag all belong to that school.

b) The Dravid-Tendulkar School - of couteous, gentlemanly, dignified, elegant and hard-working cricketers who prefer to let the bat/ball do the talking. VVS, Kumble, Irfan (probably) and sadly, hardly any youngsters belong to this school.

The best part about MS Dhoni is that he seems to bring about the best qualities of both schools. He will never hesitate to give it in your face or speak his mind out when the need arises, but otherwise he holds on to his dignity. As home captain he was playing the perfect role to both Ganguly and Sehwag whose behavior was less than desirable.

It is no coincidence that all youngsters in this team look up to Dhoni as their undisputed leader. He is more mature than all of them put together yet when the time comes to show the steel he will take the fight to the opposition like he did against Australia.

Truly it is a matter of great pride to have this fine ambassador of cricket as the captain of my team.

Make or Break

I do think this is a make or break clash for the Kolkata Knight Riders. If they manage to put it past the King's X1 Punjab today, they may as yet be able to salvage their floundering campaign, but if not, it will be mighty difficult to lift themselves up from the despondency that is bound to set in.

Punjab on the other hand are going from strength to strength and should fancy their chances for an easy win at home.

Teams
KKR are likely to go in unchanged unless they can spring up another surprise in the form of a talented young Bengal player. They will hope that the newcomers Hodge and Butt will fire. KXP might welcome back Hopes in place of Sarwan who looks out of sorts. Almost everyone else is looking fine and playing his role.

Watch Out For
For KKR - Laxmi Ratan Shukla. The one player who has continued to come up with the goods while the rest have come crashing down.
For KXP - Yuvraj Singh. He has been playing crucial inns in all games but is yet to come up with that one defining innings. He is a class player in this format and look out for some heroics ala the T20 World Cup last year.

Battles Within The Battle
Sreesanth v Ganguly
Chawla v Hussey
Sangakkara v Ishant
Preity v Shahrukh !!!

Battle For The Basement !!

Yeah, after the top of the table clash yesterday, this is what today's game between the Deccan Chargers and the Bangalore Royal Challengers will be. The loser of this game will face a monumental task to make it to the semis.

Teams
Surely, at least now, BRC will play their trump card - Misbah-ul-Haq ? And Anil Kumble needs to take his place instead of Sunil Joshi. They also have a hard task trying to replace Vinay Kumar who has looked very ordinary. And the answer is NOT AKHIL. All this probably means that Shiv Chanderpaul will have to continue to sit out.

DC are wasting Afridi at 5. He can never be relied upon. He should be put down at 7, maybe Scotty Styris could get a game ? The bowling attack is very weak and needs all the strengthening possible.

Watch Out For
For BRC - Mark Boucher. He's had a quiet series and is too good a player to miss out for long. I wouldn't be surprised if he is pushed up the order a bit.
For DC - Rohit Sharma. Shining like a beacon in an otherwise faltering line-up. This guy continues to delight with his dazzling strokeplay.

Battles Within The Battle
Steyn vs Gibbs
Kumble vs Afridi
Dravid vs Laxman

On Site View - Chennai Superkings vs Delhi Daredevils

Daredevils from Delhi Dare The Dance
For every game the musicians perform right through till the time the toss is done and when the Daredevils did their running and stretching exercises today,, I swear it seemed like they were moving to the beats of the rhythm. Awesome ! So the devils can dance too !

Raina's little encounter
I don't know why it is so but the Chennai team always have their warm-up close to the Cognizant stand where I am present for all the games. The opposition team always does their warm-up on the other side. Today I had an up-close look at Raina as he was hitting out. Boy, he hits the ball hard. His strokes are really crisp. Today however, as he struck one ball, it bounced off the boundary rope and landed flush on the face of a policewoman who was patrolling the fence. Raina was visibly aghast and apologized immediately. The cop brushed it off and put up a brave face (pun unintended) but it was evident it hurt her as I could see her holding an ice-pack onto it for several minutes afterwards. The incident seemed to have shaken up Raina a bit, and it seemed some of his later strokes lacked that punch.

Stephen Fleming - Key Man
Fleming also had his hit out and I was very keen for Fleming to do well. I believe he is going to play a key role in our campaign. He didn't go on today but hit a couple of delightful boundaries. More importantly, he was very active on the field, encouraging players and guiding Dhoni. Having a world-renowned captain to assist MS on the field can only be great news for the Superkings.

Double View
When teams practice high catches at their warmups it makes for very interesting viewing. This is because you can get a double view of the action - one live of course, and the other on the big screen. Make no mistake, unlike television picture which has a good 2-second delay or so in the feed, this picture on the big screen is near-instantaneous. So you can see the coach hit the ball live, follow it go up on the screen, watch it come down, both on the screen and off simultaneously and finaly watch it land in the fielder's hands live. Interestingly, this is only possible with the high catches because that is the only piece of action which gives you that much time to soak it in.

The Game Waits For No One
Talking about double viewing, at times I made the effort to follow the action on the TV screen to see if I could spot myself in the crowd. On a couple of occasions, this made me miss part of live action. The game truly waits for no one. We talk about the game being dictated by TV, but at this level, once the bowler is ready, the game is on.

Glenn McGrath - Friendly Man, Masterful Cricketer
McGrath patrolled the boundary at our end for long parts of the day today. He immediately endeared himself to the crowd by waving at us first up. But McGrath bowling was a sight to behold. Having been to the stadium for three games now and for the test match last month I have seen a wide spectrum of great bowlers bowl - fast and spin - from Oram and Ntini to Pollock and Ishant, from Kumble and Harbhajan to Murali and Karthik. The sight of the lanky McGrath taking his steps and delivering that white object from that height beats all other by miles though. It was truly a privelige and I got my money's worth.

The Game
Sangwan and Yomahesh were highly impressive, esp Sangwan with his bounce and Yomahesh with his yorkers. In fact it was their spell that was the suprise weapon and took the game towards Delhi. Gambhir's innings was not bad but the game was all Sehwag today. Of course after seeing his record breaking epic 319 in the Test match at the same place last month this might appear to be a mere limerick. But the quality of the strokes was just as astounding. Naturally since he was in the opposition today, some of his strokes were greeted by stunned silence. That was to be a great blessing because the cracking sound his bat made appeared to come from less than a few feet away. Such was the quality of his strokeplay today.

Superkings vs Daredevils - Match Review

Well Played, Daredevils ! You outshone us in all departments and were man to man just that much better on the day. However we needn't be too despondent about this loss. I was quite chuffed by the way we fought right till the end despite that unbelievable opening onslaught by Gambhir and Sehwag. I know a lot of teams would have given up and lost the game in 12 -13 overs but Dhoni kept it going, very nearly engineered a minor panic, and kept us interested till the last over.

Overall, I must say the Devils are looking pretty good ! McGrath, Asif, Sangwan and Yomahesh are forming a formidable foursome and Sehwag, Gambhir and Dhawan is a terrific trio. The loss of our major stars definitely affected Chennai, and there are now beginning to show a few glaring deficiencies. Luckily they can be countered, in my opinion. Fleming is a class player and will find form in a few games time. But Patel and Viduyt in the top 3 worry me. I believe Raina and Badrinath are much more talented players than these two and deserve to be swapped. Ideally Fleming, Raina, Badri and Dhoni should form the top 4.

With the top 3 teams now all having 8 points from 5 games the top of the table has suddenly opened up wide and the game against Rajasthan is going to be an absolute humdinger. Can't wait for it to begin

Top Drawer Clash

Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings has the potential to turn the top section of the tables in the IPL. Chennai are facing a double challenge in the form of a) one of the better teams in the competition and b) coping with the loss of their Aussie stars.

Team News
For Chennai, Ntini finally arrives - YAY - to bolster the bowling. It would be great to see Badrinath and some other local youngsters get a chance to shine now that Hussey is gone. For Delhi, the top order batting as well as opening bowling is very strong. If Chennai can breach the opening, the middle is weak in both batting and bowling.

Watch out For
For Chennai - Suresh Raina, he has been in splendid form and the departure of the stars would encourage him to take more responsibility.

For Delhi - Virender Sehwag ! He returns to the venue where he did this not too long ago !

Battles Within The Battle
McGrath v Fleming
Yomahesh v Badrinath
Ntini v Sehwag
Murali v Sehwag
Dhoni v Sehwag

Also - Robin of Chennai Superkings Fans previews the game here.

About This Site

This is not one of the first blogs dedicated to the DLF Indian Premier League. This site also does not claim to be the source for all match reports, scorecards, previews and reviews in the IPL.

But this promises to provide sharp, insightful, subtle analysis, the writing between the lines and what is hidden under the big picture. This blog promises to be the best resource for the true, ardent cricket who looks beyond the obvious.

About the IPL:
I suspect Mr. Lalit Modi came up with the concept of IPL - for several reasons, none of them being the general welfare of Indian or World cricket. But regardless of the intentions, the end-product is cool. IPL has revolutionized cricket in India. It has drawn the passion and captured the imagination of the very young nation like very few things can. The combination of cricket and Bollywood has proved to be lethal destroying all other competition from all other entertainment forms.

The design of the IPL has several flaws, yet it has been able to tide over all of these. It is a hundred times better than the Indian Cricket League (ICL) which ironically, was in my opinion the immediate provocation for Mr. Modi to come up with this baby.
As of today, Chennai Super Kings seems to be in a league of its own with the seven other teams fighting it out for three semifinal slots. The teams led by the four oldies - Ganguly, Laxman, Tendulkar and Dravid are piled at the bottom of the table.

First Post

This blog is dedicated to the DLF Indian Premier League. Keep coming back for deep analysis and interesting tidbits in this grand event !

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