IPL T20 Cricket

Delhi daredevils will attack Mumbai Indians in their last match of Indian Premier League at Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground in Delhi. This is a must win game for both teams but Mumbai still has 2 games in hand even if it loses today’s match. But Delhi Daredevils must win this game to keep their hopes alive. This is an unbelievable turn of events who won the four of their first 5 games. Mumbai Indians won their first round match against Delhi Daredevils.Significance of the match: If Delhi loses this match, Mumbai and Chennai will enter into semi-finals of IPL T20 tournament. All the upcoming IPL matches lose significance which is not good for IPL.

IPL Match timings: 8 PM to 11 PM at Ferozeshaw Kotla cricket ground in Delhi.
Points: Delhi Daredevils are on 13 points from 13 matches while Mumbai Indians are on 12 points from 11 games.

Interesting battles: 1. Glenn McGrath Vs Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya: McGrath won the previous crucial battles as he did in the 2003 Cricket world cup finals.
2. Shaun Pollock Vs Sehwag and Gambhir.

IPL records and statistics:

1. Gautam Gambhir is leading the race for “Orange cap” with 504 runs but he may lose the cap to in-form Shaun Marsh if Delhi loses this match.
2. Glenn McGrath is the only bowler to be in top 10 list from the both teams. He took 12 wickets at an average of 23.3 and economy rate of 6.03!
3. Shaun Pollock is taking a wicket for every 19 runs he conceded means 1 wicket for every 3 overs (his economy rate is around 6.1)

Verdict: Both teams are depending on their top order batsmen to win the matches for them. Mumbai has slight edge in this match due to their depth in the team even though they missed the services of West Indies all-rounder Bravo. Maharoof and Pollock are performing wonderfully for their teams but for Delhi, opposition batsmen are exploiting other bowlers after the completion of McGrath’s spell. Delhi middle order is a big concern. Every team knows that if they remove Delhi top order cheaply, match is out of Delhi’s hands.

If Glenn McGrath failed to remove dangerous Mumbai openers Sachin and Jayasuriya, Chennai and Mumbai will enter into the semi-finals of the Indian Premier League.

Indian Premier League has thrown up some unexpected results and I failed to predict them before the onset of IPL T20 tournament in my Indian Premier League blog. Some players surprised me with their superb performances while some are disappointed me.

What I failed to predict:

1. Rajasthan Royals: I thought that it may win one or two matches but what happened is exactly opposite. I underestimated team spirit and Shane Warne’s leadership. Rajasthan Royals made me fool before my readers. Thank you Royals!

2. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: Absence of a great leader and selection politics is the reason behind their worst performance. Gilchrist may not know about all these politics but coach Robin Singh knows. Hyderabad has worst franchisee owners in the IPL.

3. Venugopala Rao: I am still unable to recover (positive surprise) from his stellar performances. As an Andhraite, I am happy to see his unbelievable transformation from Dravid like batting to “Sixers Rao”. Greg Chappell spotted immense talent in him but I thought he was a test player. He will surely serve for India in all formats of cricket. Who can forget his valiant knocks and useful bowling?

4. Muralidharan: I thought that he will among the top three wicket takers before the onset of IPL but he is still struggling to take a single wicket per match.

5. Mohammad Asif: I thought McGrath-Asif combination will become a nightmare for opposition. But Asif disappointed me and his Delhi team with his wayward bowling.

6. Sreesanth: He is simply sensational after “slapgate” episode. He needs to be nurtured carefully for Test cricket. I also underestimated Mohali leg spinner "Piyush Chawla".

7. Ricky Ponting: I thought that he might give strong answer for “his low price”. He bombed spectacularly.

8. Misbah-Ul-Haq: He is an underperformer by his standards.

9. Jacques Kallis: I thought that he might give strong answer to South African selectors (he was not selected for the T20 world cup).

10. Rahul Dravid: He played wonderful knocks for Bangalore but failed to save his team. He is so far played beyond my expectations.

My predictions gave me positive and negative surprises. But I am still enjoying the performance of Venugopala Rao even though he made me fool. I analyzed the IPL teams and cricketers in my blog on Indian Premier League.

Chennai Superkings will clash with Kolkata Knight Riders after both teams suffered humiliating defeats against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede. Mumbai cruelly exposed weak links in both teams in those two matches. Both teams are not looking as tournament winners and they are just depending on 2 to 3 players. For Kolkata, it is Sourav Ganguly and David Hussey in batting and Shoaib Akhtar in bowling while it is Dhoni, Badrinath and Morkel are for Mumbai. Home ground advantage is a big plus point for Kolkata. To raise their semi-final chances hopes, they should win this game.

Match timings: 4 PM to 7 PM live from Eden Gardens on Set Max channel.

Kolkata Knight Riders:

1. Shoaib Akhtar is in superb form and even top players are struggling against him. If Akash Chopra took the Jayasuriya catch in the Mumbai match, He might have repeated his sensational performance as he did against Delhi. Weak Chennai top order will definitely struggle against Akhtar and Ishant Sharma.
2. Sourav Ganguly returned to form and he is effectively playing all-rounder role.
3. David Hussey is one man army for Kolkata in batting. If he falters, Kolkata stumbles.
4. At Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders always play well with the support of huge fans.

Chennai Superkings:

1. Dhoni and Badrinath are carrying weak Chennai batting on their shoulders.
2. Vidyut and Raina are playing inconsistently.
3. Albie Morkel is a dangerous all-rounder who is sorely missed in Kolkata lineup.
4. Balaji is a high quality bowler and Dhoni should use him more.
5. Gony is a good bowler but not a dangerous one. Muralidharan failed to reach expectations.

IPL Statistics and Records:

1. Dhoni is the leading scorer for Chennai and is in superb form in the recent matches.

Verdict: Both teams are banking on individual performances and result will depend on their performances. Both teams are even on cricket abilities but mental strength will decide the match winner. Both teams are struggling with their unpredictable batting performances. Can these victims of “Mumbai Cyclone” play an entertaining game? Punjab, Rajasthan and Mumbai will definitely reach semi-finals and for the fourth spot, there will be a tight contest between Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. That’s why the result of this match is crucial for both teams. Chennai bowlers should exploit the weak batting of Kolkata Knight Riders to strengthen semi-final chances.

Latest news: Kolkata Knight Riders picked Sri Lankan young spinner Ajantha Mendis after sending back 5 local players back home. So management lost faith in Murali Karthik and Iqbal Abdulla.

Delhi Daredevils stopped their losing streak by winning the last match against Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and will face in-form Punjab Kings Eleven at their home ground, Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Top orders of both teams are in superb form and match result will depend on their performance. Punjab Kings all-India bowling attack so far performed beyond expectations. Wicket taking ability of Punjab bowlers is their main asset and Delhi batsmen will face stern test against this quality attack. Arrival of Shaun Marsh turned the Punjab side into a good batting team. Shaun Marsh is in ominous form and will be tested by Australian Legend Glenn McGrath. Delhi bowlers should remove this man within 3-4 overs; otherwise he will take away the match from Delhi’s hands. Kumara Sangakkara is still not available for Punjab so top 3 batting slots will be occupied by Australian youngsters i.e. Shaun Marsh, Pomersnach and Hopes.

Delhi once again depends on their top order batsmen (Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan) to deliver goods. Piyush Chawla will be tested by big hitting Farveez Maharoof.

Match timings: 8 PM - 11 PM. Live on Set Max.

Crucial cricketers:

Delhi daredevils:

1. Amit Mishra: Best performance by a spinner in the last match. Hat-trick hero.
2. Gautam Gambhir: Leading run scorer and will be tested by Punjab attack.
3. Virender Sehwag: Maverick performer.
4. Glenn McGrath: There will be an interesting battle with Shaun Marsh.
5. Shikhar Dhawan: Consistency is his forte.

Punjab Kings eleven:

1. Shaun Marsh: 99.83 batting average from five matches.
2. Irfan Pathan: leading wicket taker along with Sreesanth.
3. Sreesanth: He bowled very well after “Slapgate” episode.

IPL records and statistics:

1. Amit Mishra took the second hat-trick in IPL.
2. Gautam Gambhir is the leading contender for orange cap.
3. Shaun Marsh has the best average in IPL.
4. Sreesanth and Pathan are leading wicket takers and strong contenders for purple cap.

Verdict: Punjab will try to expose Delhi’s weak links in the middle order. If Delhi bowlers can remove Shaun Marsh for low score, Delhi may surprise favourites. Sreesanth and Pathan Vs Gambhir-Sehwag contest winner will decide match result.

We expected a high voltage entertaining thriller from the most high profile teams in Indian Premier League. But we got the most one sided match in the short history of IPL T20 tournament. Mumbai Indians clinically finished complacent Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Mumbai came into this match with well laid out strategy and players executed them with perfection. We can call it as an annihilation or demolition or decimation. Mumbai Indians are decimating top teams like Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders and are looking as strong contenders to win the inaugural Indian Premier League tournament. Sachin Tendulkar’s poor form is the only worrying point for Mumbai Indians. Sachin looked very uncomfortable in both the matches he played. Similarities with 2003 cricket world cup final:

This match reminded me the 2003 World cup final in South Africa. Indian and Australia reached finals and stage was set for an entertaining cricket. But Australia clinically decimated India in that match. It took me several days to recover from that shock. Today, Kolkata Knight Riders were outsmarted by intelligent captaincy of Sachin Tendulkar, clinical execution of well laid out plans by bowlers coupled with exceptional fielding. I am surprised by seeing the dives by 38-year old veteran cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya. Senior players like Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock is helping Sachin both on and off the field.

IPL T20 Match review:

Toss: Sachin won the toss and choose to field first.

IPL T20 Cricket score:

Kolkata Knight Riders: 67 all out in 15.2 overs.
Mumbai Indians: 68/2 in 5.3 overs.

Man of the match: Shaun Pollock. Along with Shane Watson and Irfan Pathan, he is the most valuable player in Indian Premier League. He was simply unplayable today. 4 overs; 12 runs; 3 wickets.

IPL Records and Statistics:

1. Kolkata Knight Riders scored lowest total in IPL- 67 runs. This is the fifth lowest total in the history of T20 Cricket.
2. Sachin Tendulkar took highest catches in a single IPL match – 4 catches.
3. It is the highest margin of victory in terms of balls remained. Mumbai now leads the net run rate chart in the IPL table.
4. Sanath Jayasuriya scored 48 runs in 17 balls with seven fours and three sixers. He simply murdered the bowling attack led by Ishant Sharma and Shoaib Akhtar. He is now leading the sixers chart with 17 sixers.
5. Spinner Rajesh Powar made IPL debut for Mumbai. He replaced Dhawal Kulkarni. But he didn’t bowl in the match.
6. Mumbai Indians reached 68 runs target just within 33 balls.
7. Sachin Tendulkar was out for zero and Sanath Jayasuriya escaped duck out as Akash Chopra dropped.
8. Sanath Jayasuriya scored 23 runs in the second over of Shoaib Akhtar. Splendid knock from veteran cricketer. He is enjoying his game and is entertaining us.

Verdict: Unless there will be an unexpected slump in their form, it is almost impossible to beat this Mumbai Indians team. It is the most complete all-round team with so many suitable Twenty20 players and in-form all-rounders. Sanath Jayasuriya reminded me 1996 world cup days with his shots. If Sachin too finds form, IPL 2008 trophy will be lifted by him. Kolkata should quickly recover from this unexpected humiliating loss against the best team in IPL. They need to quickly find good batting lineup. How long will they depend on David Hussey and Sourav Ganguly?

This is a clash between two titans (Sachin and Sourav). This is a battle between two resurgent teams in Indian Premier League. This is a war between battle hardened veterans (Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Shaun Pollock, Sanath Jayasuriya and Shoaib Akhtar). This is a cricket match between two teams with strongest fan bases. This IPL T20 match is crucial for both teams to strengthen their semi-final chances. Shoaib Akhtar stunned cricket analysts with a superlative performance on his favourite Eden gardens ground against Delhi Daredevils. But Mumbai should be careful against Ishant Sharma as he rarely gives you width to the stroke players unlike Shoaib Akhtar.

Batting: Mumbai has clear edge in batting with so many ideal T20 batsmen who can score quick fire 20-30 runs if necessary. How long Kolkata will depend on David Hussey and Sourav Ganguly? If those two batsmen fall cheaply, Kolkata may not score even 100 runs. Mumbai should try to exploit this weakness. Kolkata needs to promote exciting wicketkeeper Saha as opener to utilise power play overs.

Bowling: Both teams are looking even in this department. But Mumbai has slight edge due to presence of high quality all-rounders. Ashish Nehra should bowl consistently like Shaun Pollock to trouble Kolkata in the early overs. As long as Kolkata picks Akash Chopra, opposition is always in safe position.

Fielding: Kolkata is exceptional in fielding against Delhi.

Match timings: 8 PM – 11 PM at Wankhede stadium.

Interesting battle: 1. Sachin Tendulkar-Sanath Jayasuriya Vs Shoiab Akhtar: If Shoaib can able to repeat his last match performance against Mumbai, Kolkata win is certain. But experienced openers may utilise his pace to score some easy runs. I am expecting 2003 World Cup performance from Sachin Tendulkar.

Verdict: Mumbai has edge over Kolkata due to its strong batting and useful all-rounders. To defeat Mumbai, Kolkata batsmen especially Salman Butt should play along with Ganguly-Hussey. But after seeing Mumbai performance against Chennai, I am feeling sorry for Kolkata.

Probable squads:

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Robin Uthappa, Thornley, Bravo, Abhishek Nayar, Shaun Pollock, Yogesh Takawale, Ashish Nehra, Dhawal Kulkarni and Rohan Raje.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (Captain), Salman Butt, Akash Chopra, David Hussey, Shukla, Saha, Shoaib Akhtar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Hafeez/ Taibu, Iqbal Abdulla and Ashok Dinda.

Amit Mishra helped Delhi to beat Hyderabad by 12 runs in a high scoring IPL T20 thriller at Feroz Shah Kotla. Delhi batsmen set an imposing target of 195 runs but Hyderabad hard hitters fought valiantly till the last over. Amit Mishra single handily took the match away from Hyderabad with a hat-trick in the final over. Mishra earlier took the vital wickets of Gibbs and Afridi when Hyderabad was going strong. Weak bowling of Hyderabad cost them this match but Hyderabad batsmen impressed everyone with their never say die attitude. Delhi audience enjoyed a wonderful match and their team improved semi-final chances with this win.

IPL Statistics and records: 1. Delhi leg spinner Amit Mishra took the second hat-trick in IPL. Balaji of Chennai Superkings took the first hat-trick in Indian Premier League.

IPL T20 match Review:

Highlights of Delhi innings:

1. Virender Sehwag succeeded in scoring second successive duck out.
2. Vijay Kumar is once again at his economical best. He is “McGrath of Hyderabad”.
3. Sarvesh Kumar made his IPL debut and bowled much better than Vaas and Zoysa.
4. IPL helped many bowlers (Balaji, Ashish Nehra, Gony, Dinda and Sangwan etc) to catch the eye of selectors but it RP Singh omission from one day squad is almost certain.
5. Gautam Gambhir is marched ahead of rivals for orange cap as he scored 79 runs while rivals Gilchrist and Sehwag failed. But Rohit Sharma
6. Shikhar Dhawan once again played beautiful knock and if I were Indian selector, Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Badrinath are my automatic choices among younger lot. Indian selectors get huge opportunity to build good team for 2010 cricket world cup with these youngsters. Will they do it?

Highlights of Hyderabad innings: 1. Glenn McGrath took the crucial wicket of Adam Gilchrist.
2. I expected a lot from Mohammad Asif. He is one of the biggest failures in IPL along with Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Misbah-Ul-Haq etc.
3. Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi played sensational shots in the first 6 overs.
4. Good captaincy from Virender Sehwag. His gamble paid off. He brought in spinner Amit Mishra and Afridi went for shot too early and paid the price. Afridi innings came to an end. He scored 33 runs in just 14 balls with two 6’s and three 4’s.
5. Amit Mishra changed match course. He took vital wicket of Herschelle Gibbs who looked in ominous form. Did you see the two superb sixers of Gibbs in McGrath’s over?
6. Amit Mishra – 2 overs; 6 runs; 2 wickets. Exceptional performance against biggest hitters in the game. Can Rohit Sharma save the match?
7. Rohit Sharma is on fire. He scored 19 runs in Rajat Bhatia’s over with 2 massive sixers and one four. Hyderabad needs another over like this to win this match.
8. I can’t understand why players like Scott Styris, Akash Chopra and Stephen Fleming are playing in IPL. They are not suitable for IPL T20 Cricket. When will these teams realise this?
9. Maharoof turned the match by taking the wicket of Rohit Sharma who looked to take the match away from Delhi. Hyderabad is in big trouble. Styris is wasting balls in this big scoring match. Rohit Sharma played unnecessary shot at crucial stage of match. Sharma scored 35 runs in 18 balls with two sixers and three fours.
10. All the Hyderabad big hitters started well in this match but fell at crucial time. Huge target and mounting run rate made them to take huge risks.
11. Mohammad Asif bowled another bad over and Hyderabad batsmen scored 15 vital runs. Hyderabad needs to score 43 runs in 3 overs.

Verdict: Delhi ended their losing streak with a fine performance in this match. But Delhi is relying too much on their top order. Whenever its top order clicks, Delhi wins. If not, Delhi loses. They need to find a solution for this problem. I can’t able to understand why Delhi picked Mohammad Asif ahead of Pradeep Sangwan and Yo Mahesh.

Why Hyderabad hadn’t picked Ravi Teja, Sarvesh kumar and Vijay Kumar in the first round matches? Why Hyderabad is sending opener Ravi Teja at no.6? Why they are picking players like Scott Styris who can neither bowl well nor hit big shots?

Favourites Delhi Daredevils will take on Hyderabad Deccan Chargers at Feroz Shaw Kotla ground in New Delhi. Hyderabad hopes solely depend on their captain Adam Gilchrist. Even Rohit Sharma is playing consistently; he is not a match winner like Gilchrist. Hyderabad needs to change their batting order in order to win this match. Shahid Afridi should play in this match and Gibbs should come lower down the order as he is looking uncomfortable against moving ball. Hyderabad top order needs to play carefully against Glenn McGrath. Delhi Daredevils will try to win their match against Hyderabad to raise their hopes for Semi-final spot whicl almost unlikely. Famed Delhi top order was brutally exposed by Shoaib Akhtar in the last match. Sehwag and Gambhir will try to restore their pride by capitalising on the weak Hyderabad bowling. Delhi is looking strong over Hyderabad in all departments. If opposition can take top order wickets as Kolkata did, Delhi will be in trouble.
Hyderabad should remove Scott Styris and believe in youngsters. Gilchrist should properly utilise and guide youngsters like Venugopal Rao, Ravi Teja and Vijay Kumar. Delhi lost previous four matches due to individual brilliance. So Hyderabad hopes lay on Adam Gilchrist individual brilliance. Venugopal Rao all-round brilliance in the last match is a ray of hope for Hyderabad. If Gibbs and Afridi regain their form, Hyderabad may surprise Delhi.

Probable teams:

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist (captain), Ravi Teja, Herschelle Gibbs, Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao, Shahid Afridi, Chaminda Vaas/Zoysa, RP Singh, Vijay Kumar, Sanjay Bangar and Pragyan Ojha.

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, De Villiers, Shikhar Dhawan, Rajat Bhatia/Mohammad Asif, Farveez Maharoof, Dilshan, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Glenn McGrath and Yo Mahesh.

Verdict: Delhi is strong favourite against Hyderabad but recent form of both teams is not convincing and Delhi is relying too much on Sehwag and Gambhir. Either Mumbai or Kolkata will go to semi-finals if Delhi will not take things seriously. I don’t have any hopes on weak Deccan Chargers bowling.

Sensational century from Sanath Jayasuriya lifted Mumbai to 9 wicket victory over Chennai Superkings at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. This is the best batting performance in Indian Premier League after superb knock from McCullum in the first IPL match. Jayasuriya scored this unforgettable century in just 45 balls with 10 sixers and 7 fours. He scored 26 runs in Kupugdera’s over to end the match in just 14 overs. This is the absolute assault by Jayasuriya who has an average tournament by his standards. Dhoni failed to utilise properly his in-form bowler Balaji and paid heavy price. Brilliant partnership between Badrinath and Dhoni set a reasonable target of 157 for Mumbai Indians. Sachin Tendulkar looked uncomfortable despite one superb six. He was completely eclipsed by Sanath Jayasuriya who smashed even good length balls to out of the ground. Chennai lost four quick wickets but recovered admirably thank to 95-run partnership between Badrinath and Dhoni.

Toss: Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and elected to field first.

IPL T20 Score:

Chennai Superkings: 156/6 in 20 overs.
Mumbai Indians: 158/1 in 13.5 overs.

Unbelievable statistics:

1. Mumbai won the match by 9 wickets with 37 balls to spare. Do you want more statistics? Mumbai sent strong signals to the opposition with this emphatic win.

2. Sanath Jayasuriya scored second fastest century in Indian Premier League. He hit 11 sixers and 9 fours.

3. Shaun Pollock gave just 9 runs in his 4 overs. What a contrasting statistic.

Man of the match: Sanath Jayasuriya. This is the fifth successive man of the match award for a cricketer whose name starts with “S”. This is the second man of the match award for Sanath Jayasuriya.

Verdict: As I said in my preview, Mumbai has ideal T20 lineup with good all-rounders like Punjab Kings Eleven and Rajasthan Royals. They are the strong contenders to win IPL 2008.

They are brothers. They are playing for different teams. There is a huge difference in their auction prices. But these brothers are outstanding for their teams in IPL T20 tournament. All of them won at least one man of the match award. Yusuf Pathan is the cheapest cricketer among them but beat all expectations and is now indispensable player for Rajasthan Royals.

Brothers in arms:

1. Pathan Brothers (Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan): A. Irfan Pathan (Punjab Kings Eleven): He already took 13 wickets and leading bowler for purple cap. He is also chipping with bat.

B. Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals): Along with Shane Watson, he will command huge price in the 2009 IPL auction. He always gave rousing start to Jaipur batting with sensational stroke play. He took crucial wickets in the middle overs especially against Hyderabad.

2. Hussey brothers (Michael Hussey and David Hussey): A. Michael Hussy (Chennai Superkings): He played just 3 matches but who will forget his match winning knock against Punjab Kings eleven. We really missed him.

B. David Hussey (Kolkata Knight Riders): Most consistent player in the IPL along with Rohit Sharma. He is the force and wall in the weak batting lineup. Everyone surprised when got huge price than his illustrated brother and Ricky Ponting in the IPL auction. I think they got answers.

My dream: Punjab and Rajasthan reach finals of the Indian Premier League. First ball was bowled by Irfan Pathan to Yusuf Pathan. What a climax.

Indian off spinner Harbhajan Singh was banned for 5 ODIs only by BCCI disciplinary committee. Harbhajan Singh was already banned from Indian Premier League by IPL authorities. Off spinner will miss Bangladesh series and Asia cup (two matches) due to this ban. Cricket analysts expected 10 match ODI ban or 5 test matches ban for controversial spinner. 3-member disciplinary committee was headed by BCCI president Sharad Pawar banned Harnhajan for 5 ODIs only as he pleaded for clemency. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni strongly supported off spinner in his news paper column.
BCCI president warned him that if he repeats his mistake, he will be banned for life time. Harbhajan already lost 3 crore rupees due to IPL ban and he was charged with ICC level-4 offence. Australian captain Ricky Ponting asked for life ban while his nemesis Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne came in support of Harbhajan and requested BCCI not to punish him for life time.

Harbhajan Singh slapped Mohali pace bowler Sreesanth after the post match handshake. According to unofficial reports, Harbhajan was provoked by Sreesanth throughout the match and controversial spinner unable to restrain his emotions. BCCI appointed one-man Nanavati commission to conduct enquiry on the “Slapgate” episode and didn’t recommend any punishment in his 14-page report.

Sachin Tendulkar led Mumbai Indians will take on Dhoni led Chennai Superkings at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. This is the first match for Sachin in Indian Premier League as he missed previous Mumbai matches due to fitness reasons. Stand-in captain Shaun Pollock led Mumbai to crucial victories over strong teams like Rajasthan Royals. Both Chennai and Mumbai are in resurgent mood in the recent matches. We can expect another interesting contest at Wankhede as it happened in the last game between two teams. Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya will open for Mumbai Indians and they are looking strong due to presence of strong all-rounders in the batting lineup. Mumbai strength lies in middle order hard hitters like Robin Uthappa, Abhishek Nayar, Shaun Pollock and Dwayne Bravo. If Mumbai top order clicks, big hitters will take the match away from Chennai. Ashish Nehra is vital for Mumbai in the initial spell.

For Chennai, their weakness lies in the inability of their batsmen to convert good starts into big knocks. Albie Morkel and Badrinath are playing well for Chennai and they should exploit bowlers like Bravo and Jayasuriya. If Balaji continues his superb form, Mumbai will be in trouble. Suresh Raina needs to convert those 20's and 30's into big scores.

Match timings: From 8 PM to 11 PM.

IPL Statistics:
1. Sachin Tendulkar will play his debut match in IPL.
2. L. Balaji is the only bowler to take hat-trick in Indian Premier League.
3. MS Dhoni is in the sixth position in the top 10 batsmen list needs to score 57 runs to wear orange cap.
4. Only Ashish Nehra is in the top 10 bowlers list from both teams.
5. Cricketers whose name starts with “S” won the man of the match awards (Shoaib Akhtar, Shaun Marsh, Sourav Ganguly and Shane Watson) in the last 4 games. Can Sanath, Sachin or Shaun make it five in a row? Sanath, Shaun and Ashish played vital roles in the last 3 Mumbai wins.
6. Mumbai lost 4 successive matches and won 3 games in a row.
7. Robin Uthappa is the leading batsman for Mumbai Indians.


Probable squads:

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Dominic Thornley, Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Bravo, Shaun Pollock, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ashish Nehra, Muzafir Khote/ Raje and Yogesh Takawale.

Chennai Superkings: MS Dhoni (captain), Stephen Fleming, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Suresh Raina, S. Badrinath, Albie Morkel, Balaji, Muralidharan, Kupugedera, Joginder Sharma/ Amaranath and Manpreet Gony.

Verdict: Mumbai Indians will win this match and their strong batting lineup will expose chinks in Chennai bowling attack especially in middle overs. I don’t think current Chennai bowlers can stop the likes of Sachin, Jayasuriya, Uthappa, Bravo and Pollock from hitting those big shots. Chennai hopes lay in big hitting all-rounder Albie Morkel, MS Dhoni and Badrinath.

Shoaib Akhtar and Eden Gardens are inseparable. Akhtar took four top order wickets of Delhi Daredevils in a sensational spell of 3 overs. This is the best bowling performance in an IPL T20 Cricket match. Kolkata Knight Riders won the match by 23 runs. Famed Delhi top order failed miserably against quality bowling of Shoaib Akhtar. Shoaib exposed weaknesses of Indian batsmen in facing quality fast bowling. Bowlers completely dominated the match from both sides. What a fielding from Kolkata Knight Riders!

Kolkata IPL: Passionate captain, passionate owner and passionate crowds. Do you want more?

Shoaib Akhtar bowled out Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in 1999 in an Asian Test championship match to silence Eden Gardens crowds. Now he took 4 Delhi top order wickets in just 3 overs to send them into raptures. Of those 4 wickets, Sehwag and Gambhir are tournament leading scorers. Shoaib Akhtar bowled this sensational spell in a match in which Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul failed to find place in their teams. Cricket needs this man.

Toss: Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat first as expected on this shining pitch.

IPL T20 cricket Score:

Kolkata Knight Riders: 133/6 in 20 overs.
Delhi Daredevils: 110 all out in 17.5 overs.
Match Result: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 23 runs.

Man of the match: Shoaib Akhtar. It is very difficult to describe his performance in words. When he is on song, watching his bowling is a treat to watch. We want more.

IPL Statistics:

1. Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akthar made IPL debut. His fastest ball clocked at 151 kmph.

Highlights of the match:

Kolkata innings:

1. Gautam Gambhir dropped Aakash Chopra in McGrath’s over. I can’t understand why Kolkata is picking this stubborn cricketer for T20 matches. Poor selection. Why can’t they send Saha as opener? No team is employing tactical innovations in IPL.
2. Glenn McGrath is once again at his economical best. He is producing test matches economies in IPL cricket especially in the first spell. Real legend.
3. Captain Sourav Ganguly fell cheaply to Yo Mahesh after hitting a superb sixer.
4. Salman Butt scored crucial 48 runs at his favourite Eden Gardens ground.
5. Gambhir made amends by taking wonderful catch of Shukla.
6. David Hussey scored 31 runs but all Kolkata batsmen failed to raise run rate against strong Delhi bowling attack. Delhi leg spinner Amit Mishra played vital role in the middle overs.

Delhi IPL innings:

1. Shoaib Akthar decimated Delhi. Do you know that this man played in this game without match practice for 2 months? He silenced critics like me who underestimated his influence. Thank you man.

Verdict: Despite this win, I am still worried about Kolkata. Except David Hussey, none of the batsman is scoring runs consistently. Body language of Virender Sehwag is not sending good signals. He seems to be taking things lightly. Mumbai Indians may beat both teams for semi-final berth.

"Indian cricket God" Sachin Tendulkar return to Mumbai Indians will raise the TRPs for IPL T20 matches. Whether he is in form or not, Indians simply love to watch him. IPL authorities decided to give purple cap to highest wicket taker as they are already giving orange cap to highest run getter.

1. Sachin will play against Chennai: Confirmed. Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar will play in the next match at Chennai Superkings in Mumbai. He will take over captaincy reins from Shaun Pollock who marshalled the team mates to sensational wins in the crisis period. Sachin will open innings with Sanath Jayasuriya in the Sunday match. Mumbai will become a strong contender for semi-final berth with the return of “Little Master”. Mumbai is on winning spree after defeating top teams like Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils.

2. Laxman out for 2 weeks: Is it really a loss?

Another setback for Hyderabad Deccan Chargers. VVS Laxman will not play in Indian Premier League for another 2 weeks means he will be available for last 2 league games only.

3. Bangalore IPL: Controversies galore.

Vijay Mallya is thinking that he was deceived by Captain Rahul Dravid during IPL auction. He blindly put faith on his icon, Rahul Dravid who went to the auction without doing sufficient ground work over T20 cricket as he lacks experience in this format. Vijay Mallya is speaking corporate language which Indian cricketers take time to understand. They want ruthless execution of tasks as Australian cricketers do on the ground. IPL T20 format is for multitalented young cricketers but Rahul Dravid picked old age test cricketers (like him). He is paying price now. Will other franchisee owners also follow “Hire and fire” game?

4. Kolkata Knight Riders management "politely" asked 5 players to vacate their hotel rooms as they went on cost cutting measures. How much money will they cost if they stay on in the hotel for another 2o days? Poor management decision from Shahrukh Khan.

The players list: Yashpal Singh, Ranadeb Bose, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sourashish Lahiri and Hokkaido. These young cricketers may have learnt a lot by spending time with giants like Shoaib Akthar and Sourav Ganguly. But most of the film stars are always greedy in their acts.

5. Purple cap for highest wicket taker:

Purple cap will be awarded to highest wicket taker in the Indian Premier League. Orange cap is awarded to highest run getter in the tournament. If two bowlers tie on wickets, economy rate will be taken into consideration to decide cap winner. Gautam Gambhir is leading the batsmen list while Indian speedsters Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan are leading wicket takers list.

Bangalore and Kolkata franchisee owners should learn lessons from Mohali and Jaipur team owners on management and PR. Shahrukh and Mallya are too much greedy or rude in their behaviour.

Rejuvenated Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Delhi Daredevils at Eden Garden in an Indian Premier League match. Delhi surprisingly lost 3 consecutive matches after their wonderful run in the initial matches. Delhi is depending too much on its top order but absence of match winners in the middle order and lack of all-rounder like Daniel Vettori is costing them much. David Hussey and Shukla are revelation for Kolkata Knight Riders and they will expose Delhi’s fifth bowler. Kolkata needs to play Saha in the top order in order to capitalise on power play. Accumulators like Akash Chopra may score 20-30 runs but they can’t fully utilise first 6 overs.

Delhi needs to utilise Farveez Maharoof more astutely as he is a big hitting all-rounder. Glenn McGrath needs to quickly remove Salman Bhatt and Sourav Ganguly in the first spell. Delhi top order can easily tackle Shoaib Akthar’s pace if he plays for Kolkata.

Deciding factor: How Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan will perform against their Ranji team mate Ishant Sharma?

Match timing: From 8 PM to 11 PM.

IPL Statistics:

1. Delhi Daredevils lost 3 straight matches while Kolkata won two straight matches.
2. Sourav Ganguly won back to back man of the match awards.
3. This is the first match between two teams.
4. Both teams won 4 matches while losing 4 games.
5. Gautam Gambhir is the leading run scorer in IPL 2008.
6. David Hussey is the only Kolkata batsmen in the top 10 list.

Key cricketers:

Kolkata Knight Riders:

1. Sourav Ganguly: “Dada” is back to his best and won two man of the match awards in straight games.
2. David Hussey: Most consistent batsman in IPL along with Rohit Sharma.
3. Ishant Sharma: Maturity beyond his age.

Delhi Daredevils:

1. Glenn McGrath: Economical bowling hero.
2. Sehwag- Gambhir: Most consistent and dangerous openers in IPL.
3. Shikhar Dhawan: Consistency is his forte.

Verdict: Delhi Daredevils have slight edge despite recent losses but they have to cope with resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders and Eden Gardens atmosphere where 90,000 passionate fans support their home fans. Match result will depend on how Kolkata bowlers expose weak Delhi middle order. If Glenn McGrath quickly removes Sourav Ganguly, Kolkata will be in trouble. If Ishant Sharma can take care of Delhi top order, Kolkata is safe. Interesting contest.

Probable teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Sourav Ganguly (Captain), Aakash Chopra, Salman Butt, David Hussey, L. Shukla, Saha, Tatenda Taibu, Umar Gul, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda and Murali Karthik.

Delhi Daredevils:

Virender Sehwag (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, De Villiers, Rajat Bhatia, Maharoof, Dinesh Karthik, Yo Mahesh, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohammad Asif and Glenn McGrath.

I am a big fan of Punjab Kings Eleven but not because of their success. They symbolises the spirit of T20 Cricket and Indian Premier League. They are the most youthful side and their owner Preity Zinta is passionately following IPL and his team from the days of auction. She stood by team through successes and defeats. She stood by Sreesanth in the Harbhajan episode. She is encouraging team from the stands during IPL matches like an ordinary fan. Every team will win matches if they have a owner like her.

Preity Zinta is kissing Yuvraj Singh: Mohali franchisee owner Preity Zinta kissed after their 9 wicket massive win over Bangalore Royal Challengers at PCA grounds in Mohali.
Arrival of Shaun Marsh changed the fortunes of Punjab Kings and their all-india bowling attack bounced back very well after initial setbacks. Their coach Tom Moody played crucial role in selecting ideal T20 players for Mohali. Return of Kumara Sangakkara (after the injury) will further strengthen this team.Preity Zinta is congratulating Piyush Chawla:

Every team will try to win if there is such a reward for success. Vijay Mallya needs to employ such tactics if he wants to win more matches. I want to see "Katrina Kaif is kissing Rahul Dravid" and "Shreya is kissing Adam Gilchrist" etc. I want to see change in fortunes of Hyderabad and Bangalore but these teams lack desire and motivation to win like Mohali and Jaipur.

Please share your opinion on "Why Mohali IPL is winning matches?"

Note: This post is for entertainment purpose only but not to hurt any one. Take it easy.

Image courtesy: Eenadu Daily.

Young Australians Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach steered Punjab Kings Eleven to a comfortable victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers. Mohali IPL decimated Bangalore IPL by 9 wickets at PCA stadium in Mohali. These young cricketers destroyed famed Bangalore bowling attack with 4’s and 6’s especially South African fast bowler Dale Steyn who gave 33 runs in just 2 overs. This 34th match in Indian Premier League glorified weaknesses in Bangalore test squad. What will Vijay Mallya do after this humiliating defeat? He needed a coach like Tom Moody whose faith in Marsh and Pomersbach is vindicated.

Both these young cricketers were banned from Western Australian team due to their late night drinking habits. But they wonderfully bounced back in the domestic tournament (PURA Cup). Shaun Marsh was selected as “Western Australia cricketer of the year” and was selected for 2008 West Indies tour of Australia.

Image courtesy: Wellpitched.com

IPL Statistic:

1. Shaun Marsh: 5 matches; 295 runs; Average – 98.33.
2. Rahul Dravid is the highest scorer for Bangalore in IPL 2008.

IPL T20 Score:

Bangalore Challengers: 143/8 in 20 overs.

Punjab Kings: 144/1 in 15.4 overs.

Result: Mohali won the match by 9 wickets.

Man of the match: Shaun Marsh – 74 not out.

Best Shot: Misbah’s four in Sreesanth’s bowling.

Defining moments:
1. Misbah out hit wicket when he was playing sensational shots.
2. Shaun Marsh and Pomersbach scored 21 runs in a Dale Steyn’s over.

Highlights of T20 Cricket match:

1. Sreesanth once again bowled exceptionally well in the initial overs. Sreesanth performance improved after the “Slap gate” row.
2. Misbah-Ul-Haq batted superbly in his short stint at middle and he showed glimpses of his talents. Misbah’s association with bizarre outs is continuing.
3. Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid and Mark Boucher played useful knocks but failed to score big knocks.
4. In my opinion, every team will have 6-7 Australians in their squad especially youngsters in IPL 2009. Their reserve players are playing better than our icons. Mohali is lucky to have 3 Australians (Shaun Marsh, James Hopes and Pomersbach) in the top order.

Verdict: Mohali is the most vibrant team in IPL. Young cricketers, beautiful franchisee owner and stunning displays from players – Do you want more? Punjab coach Tom Moody is doing wonderful job for Punjab. Australians are ruling Indian Premier League in all departments despite absence of main players.

IPL’s most successful team Rajasthan Royals have some striking similarities with Kapil’s 1983 world cup winning team. These similarities once again illustrate the importance of leadership and team work in winning matches. Both teams entered into the tournament without any expectations but surprised everyone with their performance. Both teams consist of useful all-rounders and good fielders. Major difference is Kapil Devils played in 60 overs cricket while Rajasthan Royals are playing in T20 matches.

Similarities between Rajasthan Royals Vs Kapil’s devils: 1. Leadership: Like Kapil Dev, Shane Warne is leading from the front. Shane Warne hit match winning six against Hyderabad in the penultimate ball of the match. Who will forget Kapil’s 175 against Zimbabwe? Both are inspiration leaders.

2. Team Work: Rajasthan Royals are playing as if they are playing as a team for the last 10 years. All the team members already have nicknames.

3. Underdogs: Both 1983 Kapil team and Rajasthan Royals entered into the tournament as underdogs. Will Shane Warne lift IPL 2008 cup?

4. No stars: Like Kapil & Gavaskar (captain & opener), Shane Warne and Graeme Smith (captain & opener) are showing no egos and mingled with teammates very well.

5. Good All-rounders: Mohinder Amaranath played all-rounder role in semi-finals and finals. Shane Watson is playing that role for Jaipur IPL team. Both are match winners. Like Amaranath, Shane Watson won two man of the match awards. 6. Senior & Hitter opening combination: Like Gavaskar and Srikanth, Jaipur has Graeme Smith and Asnodkar. Swapnil Asnodkar/Yusuf Pathan successfully replicated Srikanth hitting.

7. Fielding: Both teams are great fielding sides.

8. Mental Strength: Both teams recovered wonderfully after the humiliating defeats.

9. Huge losses: Kapil’s team lost two league matches against Australia and West Indies by huge margins. Rajasthan suffered two huge defeats against Delhi and Mumbai.

10. Youngsters: Like Kapil, Shane Warne imbibed fearlessness in these players.

Kapil Devils won the 1983 cricket world cup by defeating mighty West Indies in the finals at Lords. I hope Shane Warne will win DLF Indian Premier League Tournament in the finals at DY Patil stadium in Mumbai.

Sourav Ganguly’s all-round performance enabled Kolkata Knight Riders to defeat patchy Hyderabad Deccan challengers at Uppal stadium in Hyderabad. Hyderabad lost all the home matches while Kolkata raised semi-final hopes with two consecutive wins. Venugopala Rao performance is the sole bright spot for Hyderabad IPL. They are sloppy in fielding and bowling. Sourav Ganguly was supported well by ever reliable David Hussey but Venugopal Rao found no support from other end.

Ganguly surprised everyone by opting to bat after winning the toss. But he was right at the end partially due to Hyderabad’s poor bowling and fielding.

IPL Cricket score:

Kolkata Knight Riders: 204/4 in 20 overs.

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: 181/7 in 20 overs.

Match result: Kolkata won by 23 runs.

Man of the match: Sourav Ganguly who scored 91 runs in just 57 balls with 11 fours and 5 sixers. This is one of the best innings in the recent IPL matches. He missed well deserved century. Ganguly also took two vital wickets by giving just 24 runs in his 4 overs.

Venugopala Rao: Exceptional all-round performance.

Bowling: 4 overs; 24 runs.
Batting: 71 runs in 42 balls – four 4’s and six 6’s.

Verdict: Gregg Chappell is a brilliant talent spotter. He believed in Dhoni leadership and abilities of Suresh Raina and Venugopal Rao. He criticised “seniors” politics. Now he is in Rajasthan management team.

Highlights of the match:

Kolkata innings:

1. Sourav Ganguly played his best innings in the recent days. Except Vijay Kumar and Venugopala Rao, he destroyed all the bowlers with 4’s and 6’s.
2. I can’t understand why Kolkata picked Akash Chopra. Be innovative man. Send a batsman like Saha to utilise power play.
3. David Hussey is one of the top 3 batsmen in IPL 2008. The way he plays according to the situation and the way be built his innings is a lesson for every aspiring cricketer. He scored 57 runs in just 29 balls.
4. Vaas and RP Singh bowled without line and length. David Hussey and Sourav Ganguly exposed them. When other Indian fast bowlers bowling beautifully in this tournament, RP Singh disappointed with his worst performance in IPL. Do you that he played vital role in India’s Twenty20 world cup win? RP Singh gave 59 runs in his 4 overs in this match!!
5. Poor captaincy from Gilchrist. He once failed to utilise the full quota of his best bowler, Vijay Kumar as he did in previous matches.
6. I have not seen such a pathetic fielding in IPL T20 matches. These Hyderabad players have neither desire nor will to win the matches.
7. Congrats to Venugopala Rao for bowling superbly in this high scoring match (24 runs in 4 overs).

Hyderabad innings:

1. Except Venugopala Rao and Rohit Sharma, none of the Hyderabad batsmen showed willingness and application to chase the Kolkata total.
2. There is no place for bits and pieces players like Scott Styris in Twenty20 cricket. He is neither an ideal T20 batsman nor a good bowler. Shahid Afridi is at least a better bowler than him. But Hyderabad dropped him.
3. Venugopala Rao showed his all-round brilliance in this match.

Verdict: We should not expect wins from a team which lacks desire to win. My request to Hyderabad franchisee owners (Deccan Chronicle) is please sell your team to someone who has real passion for cricket. I am also requesting IPL authorities to conduct fitness tests before auctions especially to icons and other aged players. IPL needs a passionate team like Kolkata Knight Riders in semi-finals. I hope they will reach it.

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers will attack Kolkata Knight Riders in a do or die clash at Uppal stadium in Hyderabad. Hyderabad is on the verge of elimination if it loses this IPL game. But Kolkata is on high after defeating Bangalore Royal Challengers in the last match. Hyderabad wins if Gilchrist plays well; that’s the situation. Brad Hodge departure will not have much impact on Kolkata fortunes. There are still some doubts over Shoaib Akthar whether he plays or not. VVS Laxman is unavailable for Hyderabad due to injury.
Image courtesy: Eenadu Daily.

Salman Butt should play for Kolkata as he is in immense form in the recent Pakistan series. David Hussey will once again need to play vital role as he did in the last match between the two teams which was marred due to bad pitch and flood light problems. Ishant Sharma should take the wicket of Adam Gilchrest early; otherwise Kolkata will be in trouble. Kolkata top order batting is a concern.

Why Kolkata is taking a batsman like Akash Chopra into their team? Except Rajasthan and Chennai, other teams are not doing much ground work. No team is employing surprise strategies, innovations and different plans according to the situation. I hope we will see more such things in IPL 2009.

Match timing: From 4 PM onwards at Uppal stadium in Hyderabad.

IPL Statistic:

1. Hyderabad lost all the home matches and Hyderabad is the only team that owns this dubious record.

Key players:

1. Adam Gilchrist: One man army.

2. Rohit Sharma: Consistent performer.

3. Ishant Sharma: Gilchrist needs to be more careful against him.

4. David Hussey: Unsung hero in IPL. He is like Mohinder Amaranath of Kolkata (mental strength). Unforgettable innings even in defeat along with Saha.

Why Hyderabad is losing:

1. There is no visible passion either in the team or franchisee.
2. It has worst coach in the form of Robin Singh.
3. It has captain who doesn’t spend minimum time to spot young talent and nurture him.
4. They are not practising seriously even before the match day.
5. There is no clear strategy or match planning.
6. Absence of strike bowler.
7. Captain and coach don’t know strength and weaknesses of teammate especially younger players.
8. Failure of big hitters like Gibbs and Afridi. There is no motivation or enthusiasm to win the matches.
9. Adam Gilchrist is a legendary batsman but worst captain. Unlike Warne, he failed to spot young talent and nurtures them.
10. List will go on.

Verdict: If Adam Gilchrist scores above 70 runs, Hyderabad wins otherwise it loses. If Hyderabad bats first, Kolkata win is a foregone conclusion. Opposition can chase any total against this Hyderabad attack. Hyderabad urgently needs a Shane Warne like captain.

Congrats to Preity Zinta and Sharukh Khan for really involving in the IPL Cricket unlike Hyderabad owners. When will Akshay Kumar and Amir Khan own franchisees?

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Chennai Superkings will take on Indian vice-captain Yuvraj Singh led Punjab Kings eleven at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Chennai IPL won the last ball thriller against Delhi Daredevils thanks to Gony and Badrinath. Chennai seems to have found an ideal batting lineup in that match after the exit of Hayden and Hussey. Punjab Kings Eleven is in superb form having won the last five matches. Chennai may find it difficult to stop Mohali to cruise to sixth straight victory. Winner of this match is almost assured of a berth in semi-finals of Indian Premier League. Chennai won the first round match against Mohali.

Stadium: MA Chidambaram stadium, Chennai.
Match timings: 8 PM – 11 PM.



Punjab Kings Eleven:

Punjab bounced back admirable after the initial losses and won five consecutive matches even after the exit of Brett Lee. It is playing in IPL with a bowling attack comprising of only Indian players. Punjab missed the services of Kumara Sangakkara due to injury.

Key cricketers:

1. Irfan Pathan: Leading wicket taker and useful batsman. Punjab needs to use him in batting also.
2. Shaun Marsh: This young man lifted the spirit of Punjab with stunning performances in the top order.
3. Yuvraj Singh: Big innings due.

Chennai Superkings:

Chennai’s international bowlers Muralidharan and Ntini are continuously failing to take wickets despite good bowling. It is depending too much on Manpreet Gony. Dhoni and Raina are failing to convert their good starts to match winning knocks. Balaji form is a good omen for Chennai.

Key players:

1. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan: He played scintillating knock against McGrath & Co. Sreesanth needs to be more careful against him.
2. Dhoni: Big innings due.
3. Albie Morkel: Most important player in the Chennai team. He is one of the best all-rounders in IPL along with Shane Watson and Irfan Pathan. Piyush Chawla is the target.

Verdict: Punjab has edge over Chennai based on recent form. But Chennai batsmen may try to expose wayward Sreesanth and spinner Piyush Chawla. Match result will depend on who will win these battles. Chennai should not allow Shaun Marsh to explode in the initial overs.

Indian Premier League made talented unknown young cricketers into overnight stars. They have not played either test cricket or one day cricket. Even cricket maniacs don’t know much about them. But today they are household names in India thanks to IPL T20 Cricket. These young cricketers played better than their famed counterparts and will command hefty fees in the next year auction if BCCI lifts upper circuit on them. Indian cricket future is safe in their hands.

Young successful cricketers in IPL T20 Cricket:

1. Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi IPL): Delhi Ranji player is an ideal no.3 in both T20 and one day cricket for India. He is in the top 10 batsmen list in IPL 2008.

2. Swapnil Asnodkar (Jaipur IPL): Goa opener needs to change state to get more attention from Indian selectors. He has the potential to replace even Virender Sehwag in Indian T20 team if necessary. He scored 132 in just 3 matches but Rajasthan inexplicably didn't seelct him against Hyderabad.

3. Virat Kohli (Bangalore IPL): India under-19 world cup winning team captain is the rare batting star in poor Bangalore team.

4. Manpreet Gony (Chennai IPL): This Punjab all-rounder surpassed all expectations by taking wickets regularly. This hugely built dynamic young man is a threat to any batsman.

5. Abhishek Nayar (Mumbai IPL): Hard hitting Mumbai batsman is another T20 hopeful.

6. Ashok Dinda (Kolkata IPL): He is Glenn McGrath of Kolkata Knight Riders with his economic bowling.

7. Pradeep Sangwan (Delhi IPL): Along with Yo Mahesh, he is lucky to share dressing room with McGrath. Fast learner.

8. Yo Mahesh: Tamilnadu lad is learning tricks of fast bowling from team mates like Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif.

9. Vijay Kumar (Hyderabad IPL): Lorry cleaner from Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh) achieved fame and earned money through IPL. Bad luck, he is in Hyderabad team which has poor captains like Gilchrist and Laxman who doesn’t know how to groom these youngsters.

10. Ravindra Jadeja (Rajasthan IPL): He is a contender for late middle order.

11. Trivedi: He single handily disrupted strong Hyderabad batting lineup when they are marching ahead.

12. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan (Chennai IPL): Another T20 opener who smashed McGrath and Asif at will in the recent match. Dhoni should not drop him for recommendation candidates like Anirudha.

13. Prasanta Saha: Wicket keeper of Kolkata Knight Riders has bright future if groomed well.

What a performance from Rajasthan Royals! Jaipur IPL decimated Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in a one sided encounter at Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur. Yusuf Pathan played a breezing knock (68 runs in 37 deliveries) to take the match away from Hyderabad. Adam Gilchrist played superb knock in the initial overs but Rajasthan bounced back in the late overs thanks to Shane Warne and Trivedi. With this win, Jaipur is almost assured of semi-final berth while Hyderabad is on the edge of elimination. Hyderabad team is playing without any strategy. They take young opener Ravi Teja but sent him at No.6. Is there any planning in their game? It is waste to write about this team. They don’t have desire to win the matches.

Toss: Shane Warne won the toss and asked Hyderabad to bat keeping in mind that Rajasthan Royals never lost a match batting second.

IPL T20 match score:

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: 140/8 in 20 overs.
Rajasthan Royals: 141/2 in 16 overs.
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 8 wickets with 4 overs to spare.

Man of the match: Yusuf Pathan. He scored 68 runs in 37 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixers. He also took the wicket of Scott Styris to trigger major collapse.

IPL Statistics:

1. Rajasthan Royals are now at top of the table. They are undefeated in all their home games and in which they batted second.
2. Rajasthan won 6 matches out of 8 they played while Hyderabad lost 6 games out of 8 they played. Interesting statistic.
3. Rajasthan Bowler Trivedi gave just 8 runs in his 3 overs.

Verdict: Rajasthan Royals recovered wonderfully after their humiliating loss against Mumbai Indians. Hyderabad may not win many matches with this bowling attack. Anil Ambani should take over this team and inject much needed passion and desire to win matches. Congrats to Rajasthan Royals.

Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament completed first round of league matches. Contrary to pre-tournament expectations, Rajasthan Royals played extremely well while Hyderabad Deccan Chargers disappointed with their poor performance. Captains played vital role in changing the fortunes of their teams. Every IPL franchisee is now searching for a captain like Shane Warne while Vijay Mallya is still paying price for his blind belief in Rahul Dravid.

Top captains in IPL T20 Cricket:

1. Shane Warne: He is the best captain by miles in IPL. He is leading his young boys from front and getting sensational results. He is the coach, captain, leader, motivator, guide, inspirational figure and match winner for Rajasthan Royals. They are already started preparations for IPL 2009. He is the best captain Australia never had.

Rating: 5/5.

2. Shaun Pollock: He single handily inspired demoralised Mumbai Indians to winning ways with wonderful performances with both bat and ball. They are playing exceedingly well despite absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh. Pollock is an inspirational leader.

Rating: 4.5/5.


3. Virender Sehwag: He is the second highest run scorer in the first round of IPL at an astonishing average of 190. Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan are supporting him well in batting while Glenn McGrath is exceptional in bowling. He needs to take some bold decisions to strengthen middle order.

Rating: 4/5.

4. Yuvraj Singh: He is leading his young team very well but he is failing to convert his good starts into match winning knocks. His belief in young bowlers like Piyush Chawla and Sreesanth despite bad start paid rich dividends.

Rating: 4/5.

5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni: This cool man struggled to find an ideal batting lineup after the exit of Hayden and Hussey. His composure in crisis times and his maturity earned accolades from even opponents. But his batting still has not reached expected levels.

Rating: 3.5/5.

6. Sourav Ganguly: This inspirational leader is getting full team and crowd support despite successive losses after the rousing start. His performance in the last match against Royal Challengers is simply superb.

Rating: 3.5/5.

7. Adam Gilchrist: He is playing well but failed to motivate his insipid teammates.

Rating: 3/5.

Verdict: It is waste to talk about captaincy of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid. Dravid failed spectacularly in the IPL auction and in the tournament. Hyderabad is searching for ideal winning combination that tells the story. Youngsters of Rajasthan Royals are lucky to get a captain and coach like Shane Warne.

Missing point: Innovation. No team is employing enough innovations and almost all teams are playing with predictable lineups, batting orders and strategies. I want to see Irfan Pathan as opener and unknown names like Sarvesh Kumar in the Hyderabad lineup etc.

Image courtesy: Rajasthanroyals.com

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers will take on Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur. Hyderabad played wonderfully to defeat Chennai and Adam Gilchrist once again played match winning innings. He is the player to watch out for in this match. Rajasthan Royals exhibited poor performance against Mumbai Indians but they are still strong favourites on home ground. Hyderabad lost previous encounter with Jaipur due to poor captaincy from VVS Laxman (He gave last over to out of form Symonds). Shane Warne has sweet memories of that last match.
Hyderabad IPL:

Herschelle Gibbs needs to play match winning knock along with Adam Gilchrist. Hyderabad should open with Gilchrist-Ravi Teja combination. Deccan Chargers are looking unbeatable on paper but not playing to their full potential. VVS Laxman is still in doubt for this match. Rohit Sharma is consistently playing well and Shane Warne will target this young man. Young fast bowler Vijay Kumar bowled exceptionally well along with RP Singh in the last match.

Key players:

1. Rohit Sharma: Most consistent player in unpredictable Hyderabad team.
2. Adam Gilchrist: Man of the match award performance in both Hyderabad wins.
3. Herschelle Gibbs: Don’t underestimate this match winner.

Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan success hinges on how their top order will perform. With Graeme Smith, Yusuf Pathan, Asnodkar and Shane Watson in superb form, Hyderabad bowlers have a difficult task at their hand. They will try to exploit weak Hyderabad bowling on their home turf. England cricketer Mascarenhas may play his first IPL match who is big hitting all-rounder but whom will he replace. Mohammad Kaif is the only under-performer in this energetic squad.

Key cricketers:

1. Shane Watson: He is in top 10 list in both bowling and batting rankings in IPL 2008.
2. Sohail Tanvir: Best bowling performance in IPL.
3. Asnodkar: Hyderabad needs to quickly remove him who has an average of more than 100 runs in Ranji cricket in this season.
4. Shane Warne: He will try to take crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shahid Afridi and Scott Styris.

Interesting battle:

1. Shahid Afridi Vs Shane Warne: Can he slam-bang Warne?

IPL Statistics:

1. Rajasthan Royals won all the matches at their home ground.
2. Shane Watson is the number one player in all-rounders list.

Verdict: Rajasthan Royals has slight edge but Hyderabad match winners are dangerous in any match. Interesting battle lies ahead. Match result will depend on how Hyderabad bowlers will perform and whom they will pick.

Chennai Super kings clinched a last ball thriller against Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground in Delhi. Badrinath scored vital single in the last ball to stun home fans. Manpreet Gony is the unlikely hero with the bat by hitting six and four in the last over for Chennai IPL who registered their first win in the last 4 matches. This is the second successive loss for Delhi IPL. Chennai top order which failed in the recent matches played exceptionally well against top quality bowlers like McGrath and Asif.

Indian selectors must pick Shikhar Dhawan when they select ODI squad. He is an exceptional talent. The way he builds up innings is a lesson even for experienced cricketers. If nurtured carefully, he will become “Michael Hussey of India”. I can’t find the logic behind Manoj Tiwary selection over Rajat Bhatia. Most of the teams are losing the matches due to selection mistakes and bad captaincy. Chennai won this match just due to good selection policies. They left out ineffective Joginder Sharma and Makhaya Ntini. But Delhi picked ineffective Shoaib Malik.

Albie Morkel scored 3 consecutive sixers in the bowling of Virender Sehwag to change match course. Yo Mahesh took two crucial wickets in the penultimate over to turn the match in Delhi’s way but Shoaib Malik bowled carelessly in the last over to gift Chennai crucial win.

Toss: Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first.

IPL T20 Scores:

Delhi Daredevils: 187/5 in 20 overs.
Chennai Super Kings: 188/6 in 20 overs.
Result: Chennai won by 4 wickets.

Man of the match: Mahendra Singh Dhoni??? This is the second Man of the Match award for Dhoni. Gautam Gambhir scored 80 runs in 49 balls.

Highlight of the match:
1. 131 runs fourth wicket partnership of Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan.
2. Vidyut Shivaramakrhnan's explosive knock against Mcgrath and Asif.

IPL Statistics:
1. Gautam Gambhir won the orange cap by becoming top scorer in IPL 2008.
2. Virender Sehwag is the second highest run scorer in Indian Premier League. There are 3 Delhi batsmen among top 8 batsmen list.
3. This is the first IPL match whose result was decided in the last ball.
4. I felt happy after seeing Balaji in action after a long time. He took 2 wickets for 35 runs.
5. Mathew Hayden is still in top 10 batsmen list despite playing in 4 matches only. His average is 63 in IPL T20 Matches. Unbelievable.
6. Shane Watson is the best all-rounder in IPL. He finds place in top batsmen and bowlers list.

Verdict: Both teams played well but best team won the match. IPL is continuously producing unpredictable results. IPL needs matches like these to get more audience. Chennai at last found an ideal batting lineup at crucial stage of tournament. Chennai won this match as they exploited Delhi part time bowlers (Sehwag and Malik) by milking 30% of runs in their 4 overs.

No place for part timers in T20 cricket:

There is no place for part time bowlers like Andrew Symonds, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Joginder Sharma and Shoaib Malik etc. in T20 matches especially in end overs. Batsmen cruelly expose these part time bowlers as it was done by Shahid Afridi (Joginder Sharma), Shane Warne (Symonds) and Manpreet Gony (Shoaib Malik). You need either genuine bowlers like McGrath or real all-rounders like Irfan Pathan and Shane Watson. There is no place for bits and piece cricketers.

Learn from Glenn McGrath:

Have you seen the body language of Glenn McGrath and Shoiab Malik in the last overs of the match? McGrath is all over the park by giving suggestions to young bowlers and saving runs while Malik is casual and looks uninterested in the proceedings of the match. That’s why McGrath expressed his unhappiness publicly over Shoaib Malik attitude after the match. Delhi should not take him into the team for the next match.

Kolkata Knight Riders will try to end their poor run by winning against demoralised Bangalore Royal Challengers at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akthar will not play in this match. Bangalore team lost morale after Mallya’s shock treatment to their CEO Charu Sharma. Their big hope Misbah-Ul-Haq failed to reach even double digits in the last 2 matches.

Kolkata decimated Bangalore IPL in the first match of IPL T20 tournament thanks to McCullum heroics. Kolkata failed to win a single match after this win. They are playing this match after losing four successive matches. Except David Hussey, no other batsmen played well in the recent matches. How can they play well against strong Bangalore bowling attack? Kolkata bowlers failed to perform well after their superb showing in the initial matches.

Bangalore will play this match without their in-form opener Wasim Jaffer. Strong Bangalore bowling attack may disrupt weak Kolkata batting lineup. But to win this game, their batsmen need to play according to the requirement of Twenty2o matches.

Interesting battles:

1. Zaheer Khan Vs Sourav Ganguly: Ganguly became a big bunny for Zaheer Khan in the recent matches. Will he reverse the trend?
2. Misbah-Ul-Haq Vs Umar Gul:

Watch out for: Shahrukh Khan’s 20-minute performance off the pitch. Famous wrestler Kali will also appear along with Kareena-Saif.

Key cricketers:

Bangalore IPL:

1. Virat Kohli:
2. Mark Boucher:
3. Misbah-Ul-Haq:
4. Dale Steyn & Zaheer Khan:

Kolkata IPL:

1. David Hussey: Lone warrior who played heroic innings in the last match.
2. Shukla: Very good all-rounder.
3. Ishant Sharma:

Verdict: Bangalore bowlers may give their team crucial victory in this match. Kolkata batsmen may find it difficult to face Dale Steyn, Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar. Anil Kumble registered his best bowling figures (one day cricket) at Eden Gardens. Kolkata captain Sourav Ganguly needs to lead his team from front but he rarely played well against quality bowling. How long David Hussey wage lone battle? Bangalore needs to tackle 90,000 strong Kolkata fans who are still supporting their home team despite its losing streak.

Delhi Daredevils will take on unstable Chennai Super Kings at Kotla Cricket ground in Delhi. Delhi is looking strong in all departments and will try to erase their shocking loss against Mumbai Indians. Chennai is looking completely out of sorts with their main bowlers Makhaya Ntini and Muralidharan failed to take wickets. Chennai’s captain MS Dhoni need to play exceptional innings to upset Delhi. Will it happen? Chennai Super kings lost 3 successive matches after the exit of mighty Australians. They are still trying to find out ideal batting lineup especially openers. It is foolish to except much from Parthiv Patel Co against the likes of McGrath and Asif.

Match timing: From 4 pm onwards live on Set Max channel.

Crucial player: Delhi captain Virender Sehwag scored 247 runs at an average of 49.4 and strike rate of 199. Do you want more from him? Sehwag is a serious contender for Man of the Tournament.

IPL Statistics:

1. Delhi Dare devils defeated Chennai IPL by 8 wickets in the previous match.
2. Sehwag and Gambhir is in second and third positions in the leading run scorers list.

Key players: 1. MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina: Others are just making up numbers except Morkel.
2. Delhi top order: Most dangerous Sehwag and Gambhir and stable Shikhar Dhawan.
3. Glenn McGrath – Mohammad Asif: Weak Chennai top order has no chance against them.
4. Albie Morkel: Real all-rounder for Chennai.

Delhi strategy:

Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif will try to exploit weak Chennai top order and increase pressure on strong middle order. Delhi knew that Chennai hopes rest on Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. For Delhi, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are playing exceptionally well while Shikhar Dhawan and Rajat Bhatia already played sensible knocks. It is interesting to see how their young bowlers (Yo Mahesh and Pradeep Sangwan) will bowl to Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. Delhi should not underestimate big hitting Morkel who played well in the last 2 matches.

Chennai strategy:

If they can remove Delhi top order quickly, they have no quality batsmen in the middle and late order to chase big totals as it happened against Mumbai Indians and Kings eleven Punjab. Muralidharan will expose the inexperienced Delhi batsmen in middle overs. Chennai need to keep wickets against McGrath and Asif in order to allow its stroke players to play their shots against other bowlers.

Verdict: Delhi is hot favourite to win this match. But miracles are common in T2O cricket. But, It is too much to except such miralces from Dhoni & Co.

Mumbai Indians crushed Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets to register third straight victory while Rajasthan succumbed to first defeat in six matches. Robin Uthappa and Yogesh Takawale played well for hosts to reach Jaipur’s small total. Richest team in IPL is showing scintillating performance after losing first four games and Harbhajan Singh. Despite absence of their icon Sachin Tendulkar, Mumbai Indians defeated three top IPL teams i.e. Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals in the last three matches under the inspirational leadership of Shaun Pollock. Mumbai Indians outplayed Rajasthan Royals in all departments.
Toss: Mumbai won the toss and choose to field first. Sachin Tendulkar will play in the next match. This is the last IPL match in the newly built DY Patil stadium. Remaining home matches will be played at Wankhede stadium.

Analysis of Jaipur Batting:

Ashish Nehra bowled a sensational spell in the initial overs to contain Rajasthan top order which is in top form in the recent matches. Shane Watson and Asnodkar tried to resurrect Jaipur Innings but Bravo took the vital wicket of Shane Watson to change the tempo of match. Young Asnodkar impressed everyone with his stroke play along with all-rounder Shane Watson.

Rajasthan batting: 74/3 in 8.4 overs and 103 all out in 16.2 overs. How can you explain such a dismal performance by Rajasthan Batsmen? Youngman Raje took the crucial wickets of dangerous Asnodkar to change the match course. Mumbai bowlers collectively bowled well to restrict Rajasthan to such a low total. Dismal of Graeme Smith illustrated the carelessness of Jaipur Batsmen. Have you seen it?

Note: Only two Jaipur batsmen reached double digits. Extras are their third highest score. They performed in similar manner in their first match against Delhi.

Analysis of Mumbai batting: Image courtesy: Mumbaiindians.com

Mumbai started slowly by scoring just 8 runs in the first 3 overs. They are particularly careful about last match hero Sohail Tanvir. Yogesh Takawale played well before being foxed by wily Shane Warne. Jaipur fielding is exceptional but their batting let them down. Robin Uthappa’s 34 runs in 21 balls sealed the low scoring match in Mumbai’s favour. Why Warne bowled just 2 overs? Inexplicable!

IPL T20 scorecard:

Rajasthan Royals: 103 all out in 16.2 overs.
Mumbai Indians: 104/3 IN 15.1 overs.
Result: Mumbai won the match by 7 wickets.

Man of the match: Ashish Nehra. Indian young fast bowlers like Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are bowling exceptionally well in Indian Premier League along with Ranji and under-19 bowlers. India is surprisingly producing good fast bowlers in recent times. But we still need an exceptional one like Glenn McGrath.

Verdict: Indian Premier League is gradually becoming more interesting with these unpredictable results and huge swings in performances. Sachin Tendulkar will play for Mumbai in the match. So they are the team to watch out for. It is interesting to see retired legends like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Pollock are dominating their young counterparts in Twenty20 games. When will Indian legends perform up to their potential?

Why these unpredictable results?:

Most IPL teams are strong in one area only. Opponents are exploiting the weak areas to create upsets.

Mumbai Indians will take on in-form Rajasthan Royals at DY Patil stadium in Mumbai. Mumbai stunned Delhi and Kolkata IPL teams in the recent matches and will be looking forward to upset another in-form team. But Jaipur IPL under inspirational leadership of Shane Warne won 5 consecutive matches and removed the pre-tournament tag “Underdogs in IPL”. The way they decimated Chennai IPL is a warning signal for Mumbai Indians. Sachin Tendulkar once again will not play due to lack of match fitness. This match will surely entertain 50,000 Mumbai audience as both teams are in winning momentum.

Shaun Pollock and Ashish Nehra need to quickly take the top order wickets of Graeme Smith, Asnodkar and Yusuf Pathan. With Shane Watson and Ravindra Jadeja in middle order, Jaipur batting is looking very strong. Shane Warne needs to remove Uthappa, Bravo and Pollock otherwise these big hitters change match outcome. Both Pollock and Warne are inspirational leaders and exceptionally talented match winners. Arrival of Dominic Thornley gave major impetus to Mumbai Indians. Stadium: DY Patil Sports stadium, Mumbai. Match starts from 8 PM onwards.

Best Quote: Shane Warne is the best captain Australia never had – Ian Chappell.

IPL Statistics:

1. Rajasthan Royals was undefeated in the last 5 IPL matches.
2. Sohail Tanvir in Chennai: 4 overs; 14 runs; 6 wickets. Sterling performance.
3. Robin Uthappa is the leading run scorer for Mumbai in IPL 2008.

Interesting contests:

1. Sanath Jayasuriya Vs Sohail Tanvir: This battle may decide match outcome.
2. Battle of South Africans: Graeme Smith will take on Shaun Pollock.

Key cricketers: 1. Shaun Pollock: One man army for Mumbai. He is the best all-rounder in IPL 2008.
2. Sohail Tanvir: Best bowling figures in IPL 2008. Mumbai batsmen need to play him carefully.
3. Shane Warne: Man of the tournament and God of Jaipur IPL. It is difficult to describe in words. Real legend. Have you seen how he trapped MS Dhoni.
4. Asnodkar, Yusuf Pathan, and Jadeja: Young brigade of Rajasthan is giving rousing starts.
5. Graeme Smith and Shane Watson: Consistently playing well.
6. Sanath Jayasuriya: He needs to replicate the batting heroics of Gilchrist and Sehwag.
7. Uthappa and Abhishek Nayar: They need to convert their good starts into big totals.

Verdict: Rajasthan Royals have slight edge over Mumbai Indians. But we should not underestimate Mumbai Indians at home when 50,000 vocal fans vociferously supporting them. Result of the match will depend on how Mumbai captain Shaun Pollock wrecks Jaipur top order and how Jaipur captain Shane Warne tackles Mumbai middle order big hitters like Uthappa, Bravo and Pollock.

Click here to read an interesting article on EPL and IPL in Guardian.

Hyderabad and Chennai IPL managements surprised analysts with their selections. Chennai dropped Vidyut and picked Anirudha and retained out-of –form Parthiv Patel. Hyderabad once again picked Arjun Yadav. Both are sons of high profile people in their cricket associations. Arjun Yadav is the son of Hyderabad Cricket Association king, Shivlal Yadav. I don’t know whether Deccan Chronicle franchisee/Adam Gilchrist knew about these selection politics. These bigwigs in HCA successfully spoilt the career of talented Ambati Rayudu. Now it is the turn of Ravi Teja.

It happens only in India:

1. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan played well in his limited outings. But he was replaced by Anirudha, who is the son of Chennai brand ambassador K. Srikanth. He scored 1 run by playing 7 balls in a Twenty20 match. He was all at sea in the middle then why was he selected?

2. Ravi Teja was once again neglected in favour of Arjun Yadav, who is the son of Hyderabad Cricket Board heavyweight Shivlal Yadav.


Comparison of Ravi Teja and Arjun Yadav:

Even though statistics don't reveal real talent and potential of a cricketer, just take a close look at them.

A. Arjun Yadav (Son of Shivlal Yadav):
First Class: 103 innings; 2769 runs; 28.5 average.
Twenty20: 7 innings; 58 runs; 9.6 average.

B. Ravi Teja (No God-father; young boy from Kakinada):
First class: 25 innings; 1169 runs; 48.7 average.
Twenty20: 2 innings; 43 runs; 21.5 average.

If you were a selector, whom will you pick? Hyderabad needs a coach and captain like Shane Warne but it gets a meek captain like VVS Laxman and coach like Robin Singh. Coach praised Ravi Teja before the start of IPL tournament but now who is preventing him to take Ravi Teja into team?

Foreign coaches of Rajasthan, Mohali and Delhi don’t know about these politics. They pick their players just basing on their talent. That’s why they are winning matches. They don’t heed to the requests of Lalit Modi, IS Bhindra and others. Do you think a coach and captain like Shane Warne oblige such requests? That’s why Rajasthan Royals are so successful. They are promoting young cricketers like Asnodkar, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja while Hyderabad is neglecting its 20-year old young talent Ravi Teja.

Bangalore IPL franchisee owner Vijay Mallya acted tough by sacking Coach Venkatesh Prasad and CEO Charu Sharma for non performance. Brijesh Patel will replace Charu Sharma as CEO of Bangalore Royal Challengers. Sacking of Venkatesh Prasad is yet to be officially confirmed. If BCCI acts in same manner over non-performers, Indian Cricket team will reach top ranking in all formats of game. Corporates spend big money but they want you to show them results. This is not BCCI to tolerate non-performance. They missed the boat in the first round of auction by selecting test cricketers for IPL Twenty20 matches. How can you explain the non-purchase of Robin Uthappa by Bangalore IPL? Charu Sharma took things lightly and paid heavy price.
Bangalore IPL lost 5 of the last 7 matches in IPL 2008. Their dismal performance against Punjab made Vijay Mallya to take these tough decisions. These are the first causalities in Indian Premier League. We will see some more sackings in the coming days. Indian coaches and supporting staff were shocked by these sackings as they are not accustomed to such treatments by BCCI despite their dismal performance.

Congrats to Vijay Mallya for trying to inject accountability into Indian Premier League. Initial euphoria is finally over. We will see these types of touch acts in Football leagues. This is a new experience for Indian Cricket lovers. We will see more serious performances in IPL in the coming days.

Hyderabad Deccan chargers defeated Chennai by 7 wickets at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. Hyderabad played perfect match in which they excelled over Chennai in all departments. Pakistan big hitter Shahid Afridi hit 6, 4, 6, 4 in the last 4 balls of 18th over (Joginder Sharma is bowler) to complete the match. This is the second victory for Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. Adam Gilchrist captained Hyderabad in the absence of VVS Laxman who missed out due to injury. Rohit Sharma became the top scoring batsman in IPL 2008.

Adam Gilchrist took the match away from Chennai by hitting quick fire 54 in 36 balls. Scott Styris and ever dependable Rohit Sharma played sensible knocks in the middle overs and helped Hyderabad to register a comfortable victory in a must win match. Hyderabad sent warning signals to opposition by getting its together. I can’t understand why Hyderabad is selecting dummy cricketers like Arjun Yadav and Venugopala Rao. Such bad selection issues will become crucial in tight matches.

Image courtesy: Adamgilchrist.com.

Chennai stumbled to third successive defeat and is looking completely out of sorts in batting. They can’t win a single match with this top order. Chennai is still struggling to play well after the exit of Hayden, Hussy and Hayden. Chennai management needs to sort out these issues immediately.

Stadium: MA Chidambaram stadium, Chennai.
Toss: Adam Gilchrist won the toss and elected to field. This is a wise decision and batting is their main strength.

IPL T20 Scorecard:

Chennai IPL: 144/7 in 20 overs.
Hyderabad IPL: 148/3 in 18 overs.
Result: Hyderabad won by 7 wickets.

Man of the match: Adam Gilchrist. Australian legend won the Man of the Match awards in both matches in which Hyderabad won.

IPL Twenty20 match review:

Highlights of Chennai innings:

1. Anirudha replaced in-form batsman Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and failed miserably by scoring 1 run in 7 balls.
2. Chennai top order batsman who looked invincible in the initial matches now became its Achilles heel after the exit of Hayden, Hussey. Chennai top order failed miserably in third successive match. Dhoni needs to do something.
3. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni stabilised Chennai innings in the middle overs but failed to score big runs once again.
4. South African all-rounder Morkel is responsible for decent total with some big hitting in the late overs.
5. Stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist failed to utilise full quota of its strike bowlers, RP Singh and Vijay Kumar who bowled tremendously in the initial spell. RP Singh- 3 overs; 12 runs; 2 wickets and Vijay Kumar – 3 overs; 17 runs; 1 wicket. Gilchrist wasted 2 overs of its strike bowlers in a Twenty20 match. Such bad decisions may alter match course in tight matches.
6. Chennai scored 20 runs off Sanjay Bangar’s last over. Hyderabad needs an intelligent captain.

Hyderabad innings highlights:

1. Herschelle Gibbs once again failed but Adam Gilchrist played whirlwind knock to end Chennai hopes.
2. His decimation of Makhaya Ntini is a delight for Hyderabad fans.
3. Rohit Sharma and Scott Styris stabilised innings while Shahid Afridi entertained Chennai viewers in the last over by hitting 2 sixers and 2 fours in the last 4 balls of the innings.

Verdict: Hyderabad played according to plan and they cruelly exposed Chennai weaknesses in top order and part time bowler like Joginder. If Hyderabad performs in same manner in the upcoming matches, it is a sure contender for semi-final berth. Hyderabad win is a good sign for IPL and is increasingly becoming complicated to predict semi-finalists.

Hyderabad Deccan chargers will play with Chennai Super Kings in a vital encounter at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. This is a must win game for last ranked Deccan Chargers while Chennai will try to cash on opposition’s poor form. But Chennai struggled in the recent matches after the exit of Hayden, Hussey and Oram.

Chennai should not underestimate a team who has match winners like Gilchrist, Gibbs and Rohit Sharma. But weak bowling is a big worry for visiting team. If Hyderabad wins the toss; it may elect to field and try to chase the Chennai total. Hyderabad lost previous match against Bangalore as their batsmen failed to hold their nerve at crucial time. They should not repeat similar mistake here.

Pitch: Good batting wicket.
Match timing: From 8 PM onwards.


Significance of match: Hyderabad knew it the fact that loss in this match is almost an end to their semi-final hopes.


Crucial players:

1. Rohit Sharma who scored 235 runs in six IPL matches and he is in scintillating form.
2. Adam Gilchrist and Gibbs for Hyderabad and Dhoni for Chennai can single handily change match course.
3. Muralidharan: Spin wizard needs to perform well against Hyderabad batting lineup.


Hyderabad failed to pick an ideal team even after playing 6 Twenty20 matches. Deccan Chargers are still struggling with selection problems and weak bowling attack. Their big hitters are letting them down with poor batting. Match winners like Gibbs and Shahid Afridi are struggling to reach even double digits. But batsmen like Adam Gilchrist (fastest century in IPL) can win matches on their own. Rohit Sharma is in sensational form and is the only contender from Hyderabad for IPL dream team.


Chennai Super Kings seems to have lost tempo after the exit of Jacob Oram, Mathew Hayden and Michael hussy. Their replacements failed to match those legends heroics. But batsmen like Dhoni and Suresh Raina may face no difficulties in facing weak Hyderabad bowling. Sohail Tanvir destroyed Chennai lineup but Hyderabad missed incisive bowlers like him. RP Singh failed to perform like his Indian teammates i.e. Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma.


Verdict: Match result will depend on how Hyderabad bowlers will perform in this match. I hope this match will give another surprise result to make IPL more interesting. Hyderabad needs to overcome its current tag “Least passionate team in IPL”.


My ideal Hyderabad team:

Openers: Adam Gilchrist and D. Ravi Teja.
Batsmen: VVS Laxman, Herschelle Gibbs, Rohit Sharma and Scott Styris.
All-Rounders: Shahid Afridi and Sanjay Bangar.
Bowlers: RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha and Vijay Kumar.

Hyderabad captain VVS Laxman needs to take courageous and innovative decisions to propel Hyderabad into Semi-finals of Indian Premier League. Hyderabad has talent at its disposal but missed inspiration and clear direction.

Punjab Kings decimated Bangalore IPL in a one sided boring match at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. Bangalore poor batting line up reached new low levels in this match where extras are the third highest score in their innings. 5 Bangalore batsmen failed to open their account. Punjab bowlers Sreesanth and Pathan terrorised Bangalore batsmen in the initial overs. This is the fifth successive win for Mohali IPL.

Man of the Match: S. Sreesanth. Terrific bowling performance from this Kerala cricketer. Keep it up.

IPL T20.com, official website of Indian Premier League announced subscription plans to watch live streaming of IPL Twenty20 matches on the web. They live streamed IPL matches for free in the initial days but now only subscribers can watch T20 matches on the web.

IPL T20 Subscription plans:

Bangalore Royal Challengers will clash with Punjab Kings eleven at MA Chidambaram stadium in Bangalore. Both teams won their lost matches and Bangalore must win this match to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Punjab Kings rebounded after their initial failures and their bowlers like Sreesanth, Pathan and Chawla are performing like a cohesive unit. Even though Bangalore bowlers are performing well; their batting is always letting them down.

Indian Premier League teams are exhibiting unpredictable performances in the recent days. No team is looking as hot favourite to win 2008 Indian Premier League. I surprised after seeing the decimation of Chennai Super Kings in Jaipur at the hands of Rajasthan Royals while Mumbai Indians comfortably defeated Delhi Daredevils as Delhi depended too heavily on their top order. Kolkata Knight Riders suffered successive defeats after rousing start in the initial matches. Even though these unpredictable results are good for IPL tournament but team fans are not in a position to digest their unpredictable performances.

Bowlers are gradually gaining edge over batsmen and Delhi legend Glenn McGrath is simply a revelation in this tournament. There is visible drop in batting performances of some teams after the exit of foreign players. At present, Rajasthan Royals are consistently winning matches due to collective performances but you need match winners like Adam Gilchrist and Virender Sehwag etc to win in knock out matches. I am eagerly waiting to see how they perform in high voltage matches. Except Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royals, all teams are looking strong to win the trophy. Mumbai Indians are current underdogs.

Players I missed in IPL 2008: Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen.

What I liked in IPL:

1. Shane Warne – superb leader and Jaipur success is a case study for MBA atudents.
2. Rajasthan Royals team – Underdogs surprised analysts with their performances.
3. Australian and New Zealand cricketers: We really missed these stars. Who can forget McCullum and Hussey centuries and Mathew Hayden’s consistency?
4. Adam Gilchrist & Virender Sehwag: Most dangerous cricketers on their day.
5. Shaun Pollock through his all round performance.
6. Delhi top order is simply superb.
7. Rohit Sharma- who has tremendous future.
8. Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan – Indian bowling is in safe hands.
9. Young cricketers like Gony, Dinda, Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Kohli, Abhishek, Asnodkar, Shukla etc. They played much better than icons like Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman.
10. Wicket keepers like Brendon McCullum, Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher, Kumara Sangakkara etc tremendous roles through their batting.

Big flops:

1. Ricky Ponting: Worst performance.
2. Harbhajan Singh: Worst behaviour.
3. VVS Laxman: Worst captain.
4. Worst coach: Lalchand Rajput.
5. Worst team: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.
6. Worst pitch: Eden Gardens in that match.
7. Worst match: Chennai Super Kings Vs Rajasthan Royals.

Verdict: IPL is a resounding success. I am glad to see busy businessmen like Mukhesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya in the stands. Owners like Preity Zinta actively involved in the team preparations. IPL cricket tournament succeeded beyond expectations. If ICC can include this tournament in the future calendar, IPL will reach tremendous heights in popularity. Youth Icon Anil Ambani failed to judge the tremendous opportunity lies in this tournament. He really missed the boat.

Who will win IPL 2008 Cricket Twenty20 tournament? Please share your opinion.

Delhi daredevils reached top of IPL points table with a eight wicket win over Chennai Super kings in Chennai. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir decimated Chennai bowlers at Chepauk stadium. This is the first loss for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. Chennai seems to be losing steam after the exit of Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram.

Analysis of Delhi daredevils:

Secrets of Delhi’s success:

1. It bought real gems in their respective fields but not bits and pieces (Shoaib Malik is an exception). Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif may not bat but can rattle any batsman with their line and length which is essential in any form of cricket.

2. It bought players who will be available for entire season. Chennai missed the services of Australian giants, Mathew Hayden and Michael Hussey at crucial stage.

3. Delhi’s top order (Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan) are in scintillating form. Dare Devils are destroying opposition by losing just one or two wickets. Delhi batsmen scored 796 runs in 87 overs.

4. Like Adam Gilchrist, when Virender Sehwag is on song, no bowler in the world can do anything. He is one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket. He is sending right signals to national selectors through IPL matches.

5. Along with Mathew Hayden, Gautam Gambhir is the best twenty20 batsmen in the world.

6. Shikhar Dhawan is the find of the IPL 2008 along with Abhishek Nayar, Ravinder Jadeja and Asnodkar. Ravi Teja missed this bus due to Hyderabad selection politics.

Delhi weaknesses:

1. Daniel Vettori went back to New Zealand. It is difficult to replace most successful spinner in the Twenty20 Cricket world cup.

2. When compared to wicketkeepers like MS Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher, McCullum and Kumara Sangakkara, Delhi’s Dinesh Karthik is looking weak in batting.

3. Lack of big hitters in the middle and late order will be exploited in the tight matches. Opposition knows that Delhi Daredevils lose steam if they can take top 3 wickets which was exposed by Mohali IPL.

My favourite in Delhi IPL team:

Glenn McGrath. He defied age. He silenced critics. He once again proved eternal quotation “Class is permanent and form is temporary”. He is bowling tight spells against top class openers that too in twenty20 cricket matches. He is a real legend. McGrath may have taken another 100 test wickets if he was not retired.

Indian cricketers are gradually taking centre stage in the Indian premier League after the exit of might Australians. Wonderful batting from Rohit Sharma (Lone warrior in a poor Hyderabad team) failed to save Hyderabad Deccan Chargers against Mohali IPL. Shane Ware’s Rajasthan Royals crushed Kolkata IPL but Warne-Ganguly episode took centre stage. Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Gang should think that Cricket is greater than any cricketer. Forget about spirit of the game, Ganguly scored a wonderful and fighting half century but team collapsed in the team.
Verdict: No team seems to be favourite to win IPL.

Best successful strategy:

1. Rajasthan Royals bet on young players and their strategy paid rich dividends. Kudos for Shane Warne for selecting young Indian cricketers over his Hampshire teammate Mascarenhas. IPL needs captains and coaches like Shane Warne. He picked Asnodkar as opener against a tough opposition like Kolkata.

I can’t understand:

1. Why Hyderabad is selecting Arjun Yadav and Venugopala Rao ahead of dynamic young player Ravi Teja. I am getting headache by thinking about Hyderabad team selection. Robin Singh is the worst coach and VVS Laxman is the worst captain in IPL.

2. Why Bangalore is leaving Misbah-Ul-Haq on the bench? Bangalore needs Robin Uthappa as icon but not Rahul Dravid.

My suggestion:

1. IPL authorities need to change “4 foreign player rule” to raise the quality of matches. Teams should need 5-6 international players for high quality games.

2. ICC should include IPL in their calendar otherwise we will see 10-15 retirement announcements from International players especially from England and New Zealand.

3. There are very good players in ICL also. ICC should lift ban on these players.

Latest IPL news:

1. “Indian cricket God” Sachin Tendulkar will play in Indian Premier League from Sunday onwards.

2. IPL authorities still undecided over Shoaib Akthar ban. Pressure from Kolkata Knight Riders.

3. Mohammad Yusuf will play for England county Lancashire. No IPL team wants him. What a pity for a legend like Yusuf!