IPL-3 is in final stage with Mumbai, Bangalore, Deccan and Chennai qualified for the semi finals. Mumbai will take on Chennai in the final and rest two will fight for the 3rd spot. Teams like Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders have only themselves to blame, they had plenty of riches within their ranks for their vapid show, others like Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab neither had the firepower nor the form to help their cause. These four teams, which failed to make to semi final, paid the price for the lack of form of their key players, names which promised a lot, but delivered a little. Let’s have a look at performance of top players from these four teams. Yuvraj Singh (Kings XI Punjab)Matches: 14 Runs: 255 Highest: 43 Average: 21.25 S/R: 128.14He was in news for all other reasons except his batting!!Stripped from captaincy, Yuvraj didn't do his reputation any good by being one of the biggest flop stories of this campaign. Even Yuvraj did come out with his own statement saying there is no problem within the side. Kumar Sangakkara (Kings XI Punjab) Matches: 13 Runs: 357 Highest: 56 Average: 29.75 S/R: 138.91 If the outgoing captain of Kings XI Punjab was struggling to find form, the incumbent fared only marginally better. Kumar Sangakkara's 42-ball 56 against Mumbai Indians was a match-winning effort, but most of his other contributions were forgettable may be because of captaincy pressure on him. S Sreesanth (Kings XI Punjab)Matches: 6 Wickets: 3 Best Bowling: 2-24 Average: 63.66 E/R: 10.05 The Kerala speedster is never in the news for his performances. In the inaugural edition, we remember him for crying in public after the 'Slapgate' incident. But … [Read more...]
IPL : Cricket or Carnival ?
When the IPL started in 2008, its huge popularity made one feel that it would serve the cause of cricket. Now, one is doubtful. IPL venues look more like carnivals instead of grounds where cricket is played. Cricket shares the limelight with team owners who grace the VIP stands and dugouts with their family and friends. The owners are usually bigwigs in the movie and corporate world. Cheerleaders prancing and ear-blasting music are the hallmarks of an IPL match. Pictures of post-match parties which players are compulsorily supposed to attend are splashed on Page 3 of tabloids and newspapers every day. These activities have hardly anything to do with cricket. They are more like marketing gimmicks to attract people who have no actual interest in the game. A true blue cricketer will surely be interested only in cricket and would indulge in activities like parties only in his leisure time. The staunch cricket fan also comes to the stadium to just enjoy the game of cricket. He is not interested in watching Shahrukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty or even Vijay Mallya. Even a fan watching the game on TV would prefer to watch it on silent mode minus all the noise and would barely tolerate the innumerable advertisements which keep popping up. The recent scams reported in the media have not helped matters any. A cricket lover watching the match would keep wondering if the game being played is clean and if any murky deals are going on behind the scenes? The off-field googlies of IPL-3 are reminiscent of the time when the betting scam involving Hansie Cronje, Herschelle Gibbs and others, had surfaced. Names of some of our own cricketers had also cropped up. That was a very difficult time for cricket and the sport lost many of its fans. One hopes that IPL does not … [Read more...]
Sehwag’s injury: A clarion call
Starting March 12, 2010, the IPL became the focus of the cricket-loving public. On March 26th, the BCCI declared the list of players for the T20 World Cup due to start in the Caribbean on April 30th. As usual, there was furore over some omissions and inclusions. It died down and the spotlight shifted back to the IPL. Then, rumours of scandals hit the IPL. In the midst of this hullabaloo, cricket lovers were all set to enjoy the semi-finals, when the bombshell dropped. The BCCI declared that Virender Sehwag was ruled out of the T20 World Cup as he was suffering from a shoulder injury which would take 3 to 4 weeks to heal. Every avid Indian cricket fan would surely have been stunned. It was almost déjà vu. Remember, the Sultan of Multan didn't play in the last World Cup either, but the script then was slightly different. He had gone to England and come back without playing a single match thanks to a shoulder injury which was declared late. He subsequently underwent surgery. Captain Dhoni made a statement on how players should not hide injuries, obviously hinting at Sehwag. There was also a rift between the team management and the media on the issue of Sehwag's injury. India lost all the Super 8 matches in the tournament. Coming back to this year's injury, nobody has any details as to how and when he sustained the injury and what is its nature? He had been declared fit when the squad had been announced. So it must have been caused in the course of the IPL matches. Sehwag played a total of 14 matches for the Delhi Daredevils and scored a total of 356 runs with an average of 25.42 and a strike rate of 163.3. But he has not looked comfortable in his game. He either sustained this injury in the last game where Delhi Daredevils played against the … [Read more...]
First IPL Semi-final preview: Mumbai Vs Bangalore
The first semi final in IPL 3 sees the Mumbai Indians take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday. The fact these two meet in the semis comes as a surprise to many, who thought they'd only lock horns in the final. Mumbai are favourites after topping the table but any side with Bangalore's batting line-up can't be written off. Venue and Conditions: After 56 games in IPL 3 the eight teams have finally been whittled down to four and now it's time to get serious. The first semi final will see the Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the Mumbai Indians and for the winners the spoils couldn't be higher: a place in the final and also a guaranteed spot in the lucrative Champions League this autumn. Originally this match was scheduled to be played in Bangalore, but given there were two explosions before the last Bangalore home game, it has now been switched. Fortunately for Mumbai the game is now to be played in Mumbai, at the huge Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, where 60,000 Sachin Tendulkar fans will be out in force to cheer on their hero. Only two IPL matches have been played there so far so there are no obvious trends but the wicket does appear to provide assistance to the spinners. Team News: Mumbai Indians: Mumbai rested a number of players for their dead rubber match against Kolkata, so expect to see many changes from that game. Tendulkar, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan will all come back in, while Dwayne Bravo will likely be the most high-profile overseas player to miss out. As recently as last weekend, the Mumbai Indians hammered the Royal Challengers by 57 runs in Bangalore. Mumbai were ruthless on the day as they were already assured of their semi final place. … [Read more...]
IPL 2010 Semi-finalists
Introduction: This year in the Indian Premier League the points table has been different from other years because 7 teams were in contention with only a few matches to go to make the semi finals and only 1 team were not winning too many games. Mumbai was the inform team during this IPL with them having more points than the other teams by a long shot. Deccan had a close finish and somehow found them self at 2nd place at the end of the matches before the finals. Chennai had a close game against the bottom team Punjab to make the finals with some impressive batting. Bangalore played well but during some games they fell apart in there middle order but luckily they won enough games to have a place in the finals. Mumbai Indians: Mumbai were defiantly going to be in first place before the finals as they were leading by a few more points than all the other teams. Mumbai were favourites for this tournament as they had a good auction picking up a highly respected cricketer in the T20 format called Kieron Pollard. There star recruit didn’t show too many of his skills with the bat but later he started getting starts that started entertaining the crowd. They had the talent of course to get them through with Sachin Tendulkar scoring 561 runs also top scoring for the whole IPL. Surprisingly Mumbai’s only batsman in the top 10 highest run scorers before the finals was Tendulkar but Saurabh Tiwary was in 10th place with 367 runs. Recently Pollard has performed with the bat as he was a main pick for Mumbai in the auction but was not batting like what people expected he would at the start of this great tournament. Harbhajan Singh was the pick of the bowlers collecting 15 wickets with the ball in his hand and only conceding … [Read more...]
IPL Game: Delhi Vs Hyderabad
Sunday's second IPL game is a straightforward affair in which the winners are guaranteed a place in the semi-finals. Pre tournament favourites Delhi will take on reigning champions Deccan. This is a fascinating contest between two teams who have got their acts together in time to be in with a chance of the semi-finals. Venue and Conditions: Pitches have deteriorated as the tournament has gone on and the Feroz Shah Kotla seems to have suffered the most. Delhi was skittled out for 111 here last time on a slow track that offered variable bounce and prodigious turn. Team News: Delhi Daredevils: Delhi's worry is indifferent form of their top order batsmen particularly explosive opener Virender Sehwag. He has not done much damage so far and the attacking batsman would love to break the shackles. If he gets going, nothing could be better than that for Delhi. Skipper Gautam Gambhir has played a vital role in keeping the team in contention and the youngster would surely be aiming to see his side through tomorrow. Going by present form, Delhi's chances rest on a good show by their bowlers, especially their opening fast bowlers Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra and spinner Amit Mishra. Delhi will surely recall Daniel Vettori on this pitch but they will have a tough call over which of their overseas players to drop and it could be that Tillakaratne Dilshan returns to the bench after the briefest of recalls. Deccan Chargers: Deccan have been a settled unit in recent games and their only real decision is whether to bring back Herschelle Gibbs in favour of Mitchell Marsh. Delhi have their task cut out as Deccan's young players like Rohit Sharma and T Suman, guarding the middle-order, have the … [Read more...]
Preview: Mumbai Indians Vs Royal Challengers
"Two giants of the game - Tendulkar and Kallis - come together when Royal Challengers and the Mumbai Indians meet in Bangalore on Saturday. Venue and Conditions: The first game of the day takes place at the M Chinnaswamy stadium as the Bangalore Royal Chargers host the Mumbai Indians. The average first innings score at the stadium is 166, suggesting that it is not an easy track to score on. However, that average is dragged down by Rajasthan's abysmal tally of just 92 all out earlier in the tournament and Bangalore's reply of 93 without loss in 10.4 overs provided evidence that there are no gremlins in the pitch. Trivia: • Mumbai have suffered the least run-outs in the competition - only four to date in 12 matches. • Kallis has scored ten fifty-plus scores in the IPL (all seasons), Tendulkar is joint-second with eight. • Across all three IPLs, Harbhajan Singh has been the stingiest bowler, conceding an average of 6.41 an over. Anil Kumble is a close third, with 6.52. • Bangalore has been the most boundary-happy venue this year, with 57.66% of the runs scored there coming in boundaries. Only Cuttack has a higher ratio - 59.76%. • Mumbai have been the best batting side in the last six overs, scoring at 11.04 an over. Team News: Bangalore: This is Bangalore's final round robin match and victory will certainly guarantee them a place in the semi-finals. They have made hard work of it so far and they could still miss out though their net run rate makes that unlikely. Seven wins and six defeats puts them level on points with the Daredevils and the Chargers but they are well ahead on run rate and a win here would be a giant stride towards securing second place and a home semi final. They … [Read more...]
Ravindra Jadeja episode
Ravindra Jadeja: What is the cause for a very promising player in the T20 format to sit at home twiddling his thumbs, when the world’s most exciting T20 tournament is going on? Who is responsible for Ravindra Jadeja’s current situation? Was it plain greed on the part of Jadeja, temptation to earn a few more bucks or is it much more than that? Could it not be the fault of the Mumbai Indians management who may have instigated Jadeja to cross the thin line of professional ethics? Was the Rajasthan Royals management trying to exploit a performing cricketer by underpaying him, making him feel insecure by not confirming his place in the team and then crying foul when he lost patience and decided to try new avenues ? Has the BCCI penalized him more harshly than the situation warrants? A ban for a couple of matches, a hefty fine would have taught him a lesson. A ban for the entire tournament for a budding T20 player may jeopardize his future in this format of the game. Let’s assume that the BCCI is honest when it says that it did not want to set a bad precedent. But would a similar precedent have been set if the player involved had been senior or influential? Then, why was the Mumbai Indians franchise let off with a warning? They too deserved and could afford a harsher punishment. They may have convinced the gullible Jadeja that he was committing no wrong. Here, the BCCI did not seem to have any worries of precedent setting. This episode is a lesson for players especially the younger lot that when it comes to rules and regulations, they should strictly go by the book. Whatever be the motive or reason for digressing, they would be the losers. And more importantly, when the rules are not clear, … [Read more...]
IPL T20 Preview: Delhi Vs Bangalore
The story of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Daredevils makes identical with a decent first half of the season means that a semi-final spot is there for the taking for both Bangalore and Delhi and a win for either side on Sunday night only edges that team a little bit closer. On a roll with three successive victories, Delhi Daredevils will look to continue the winning momentum. Delhi had bounced back in the tournament with a 17-run win over Bangalore on March 25 and then won two more matches to bring their campaign back on track. They currently lie third on the points table. The Devil Hosts: It was a convincing win over the Rajasthan Royals the other night, a victory that saw two of the batsmen and two of the bowlers contribute towards. One must doff one’s hat to the manner in which Dinesh Karthik batted after the first couple of wickets had fallen, and virtually took the game away from Rajasthan. The Delhi team has gone through a complete metamorphosis since those three consecutive defeats with the very much in-form unit of David Warner, Paul Collingwood, Farveez Maharoof, Andrew McDonald and Kedhar Jadhav now playing starring roles. A batting order led by Sehwag, but with no mention of the dasher is impossible, but the Delhi stalwart could use some runs and what better time to score them than in a big game. Karthik’s innings was the difference between the two sides, and it consisted of some crisp and clean hitting. He has been doing a good job behind the wickets and this innings in front of the stumps would have only added to his confidence. In Virender Sehwag, Delhi have someone who can rip apart any bowling attack on his given day and Kedar Jadhav has also shown some spark. Among the … [Read more...]
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IPL: Tales of money, politics and family
Time was when the grouses against IPL were that it resulted in players being overworked, that the cheerleaders’ costumes were against Indian culture and that the focus was on film stars instead of cricket. This was baby talk compared to the issues being raised now. Now we know that the IPL Commissioner's brother-in-law has a stake in an IPL franchise; his stepson-in-law holds the web rights for IPL. We already know that a member of the BCCI has a stake in another IPL franchise. Looks like the great men in the cricket board who rule the cricketers with an iron hand have not heard of something called 'clash of interest'. Also, a minister in the Central Government 'blesses' the formation of a new franchise and the lady who is rumoured to be his love interest gets a 'free' stake in the franchise. She of course claims that it is 'sweat equity' for advice rendered to the franchise. And as if all this was not enough, the IPL Commissioner, Mr. Lalit Modi, who seems to be greatly troubled over the allotment of the Kochi franchise, vents out his ire on Twitter. One would think that a person of his stature would use a proper forum to present this issue. It looks more like he is bent on disqualifying the Kochi franchise, Rendezvous Sports World as well as disturbing Mr. Shashi Tharoor's already fragile ministerial post. The match off the field , that is the Modi-Tharoor spat is now providing more entertainment than the actual matches. With skeletons tumbling out of various cupboards, one realises that IPL is not just about cricket and entertainment now. One can now hear about franchises routed through tax havens which obviously indicate money laundering activities and of pressures to allot franchises to particular business entities. It does look … [Read more...]