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.