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: The Injury League
The third edition of the Indian Premier League is very well getting itself christened as the Injured Players League or the Injury Prone League. With the tournament heading its halfway mark, it is not just the action-packed excitement of the game that is making all the news but also the not-so-welcome trend of injuries to the players that is attracting the headlines. Almost all the teams have faced the same fate as far as the injuries to the players are concerned with Rajasthan Royals and the Delhi Daredevils being the worst hit teams. Here’s a quick look at the list of injured players in the season three of the IPL so far- Gautam Gambhir: The Delhi Daredevils received a major setback when its skipper Gautam Gambhir managed a reasonably serious hamstring injury while fielding during the match against the Mumbai Indians on March 17 which forced him to stay out of the IPL action. Wayne Parnell: The South African fast bowler Wayne Parnell, representing the Delhi Daredevils, got ruled out of the IPL after having sustained a groin injury during a warm-up session and had to return home without playing a single game. Graeme Smith: It came as a twin blow for the Rajasthan Royals when two of its key players Graeme Smith and Dimitri Mascarenhas got injured during their clash against Delhi Daredevils in Ahmedabad on March 15. The South African captain fractured his right middle finger while diving to take a brilliant catch of Virender Sehwag which brought to an end his IPL campaign. Dimitri Mascarenhas: The English all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas incurred an ankle injury while getting back into the crease in time during the Royals' innings in the Ahemdabad encounter. He is ruled out of the entire IPL action. Yusuf … [Read more...]
IPL: In the mirror of Past, Present and Future
Indian Premier League (IPL), a brainchild of BCCI or to be precise its vice-president Lalit Modi, is a Twenty20 league sanctioned by ICC.Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Dare Devils and Rajasthan Royals are the eight franchise teams taking part in the tournament.Vijay Mallya, Preity Zinta, Shah Rukh Khan, Venkataram Reddy and Nita Ambani are the major IPL franchises. The first season of the Indian Premier League, also known as the DLF Indian Premier League, began on April 18, 2008, in Bangalore, and ended on June 1, 2008, with the victory of the Rajasthan Royals in the final at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.The second edition of the cash-rich event was conducted in South Africa and was won by Deccan Chargers.Sponsorships: India's biggest property developer DLF Group paid US$50 million to be the title sponsor of the tournament for 5 years from 2008 to 2013. Other five-year sponsorship agreements include a deal with motorcycle maker Hero Honda worth $22.5-million, one with PepsiCo worth $12.5-million, and a deal with beer and airline conglomerate Kingfisher at $26.5-million. Television rights: On 15 January 2008 it was announced that a consortium consisting of India's Sony Entertainment Television network and Singapore-based World Sport Group secured the global broadcasting rights of the Indian Premier League. The record deal has duration of ten years at a cost of US $1.026 billion. As part of the deal, the consortium will pay the BCCI US $918 million for the television broadcast rights and US $108 million for the promotion of the tournament. This deal was challenged in the Bombay High Court by IPL, and got … [Read more...]
Twenty20 Champions awards announced
2008 T20 Cricket awards: Indian Premier League players won the most of the prestigious awards in the first Twenty20 Champions awards. These awards recognise the best performers in theTwenty20 league matches. Shaun Marsh won the most consistent batsman award for his stunning performance in the Indian Premier League. He scored 616 runs at an average of 68.44. He won the Orange cap (highest number of runs) in the IPL 2008. New Zealand wicket keeper Brendon McCullum won the award for the highest individual score for his outstanding century for Kolkata Knight Riders against Bangalore Royal Challengers. He scored 158 runs in the first match of Indian Premier League (IPL). Rajasthan Royals fast bowler Sohail Tanvir (Pakistan) won the award for the best bowling performance in a T20 match. He took 6 wickets for 14 runs against Chennai Super Kings in a sensational performance. Sohail Tanvir took highest number (22) of wickets in the IPL 2008 edition to win the “Purple cap”. Best batting strike rate: Graham Napier of Essex Eagles. He scored 326 runs at a strike rate of 195.2. He hit 26 sixers in a single innings, another twenty20 record. Best bowling strike rate in a match: Laxmi Ratan Shukla of Kolkata Knight Riders. He took 3 wickets at a strike rate of 1.6. Langeveldt of the Cobras took 18 wickets at a strike rate of 9 – best performance in a tournament. Best bowling economy: Yusuf Abdullah of Dolphins. Special performance: Sialkot Stallions. Sialkot won 16 matches in a row. Visit my blog on Champions League T20 Cricket … [Read more...]
Indian Premier League news and TV ratings
Indian Premier League Cricket (IPL T20) news: 1. Indian Cricket board agreed to meet rival organisers of Indian Cricket League. ICC asked BCCI to resolve the issue with ICL. If the talks succeed, it will allow ICL players to play International Cricket. New Zealand and Bangladesh are the biggest beneficiaries if the ban on ICL players was lifted. Can we Shane Bond again in action? 2. Sri Lankan Cricket Board will send a team to finalise a $ 40 million deal with the Indian Premier League. This deal will last for 3 years which will allow Sri Lankan players to participate in IPL T20 Cricket matches without interruption. 3. TV Ratings: According to MAP ratings, ongoing Indian Cricket League (ICL) failed to match the TV Ratings of 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL). IPL attracted an average TVR of 4-5 while ICL garnered meagre 0.2-0.4 TVR despite broadcasting in Zee Sports and Ten Sports (ZEE has control over most of cable people. India-Australia test series attracted a TVR of 0.5-0.7. Indian Premier League will attract more viewers due to more awareness, timing and due to DTH spread. 4. Surrey is holding discussions with IPL organisers about the feasibility of conducting 1 or 2 IPL matches at Oval Cricket stadium if ECB gave no objection. 5. Sensational Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis will play for Rajasthan in the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy. According to new rules, each state can rope in one International player to increase competitiveness in the domestic tournament. Old warhorse Muttiah Muralidharan will play for Bengal Ranji team. Visit my blog on Champions League T20 Cricket. … [Read more...]
Indian Premier League sponsors
Indian Premier League (IPL) is a 20-20 cricket tournament which is being played between eight Indian city franchises. IPL was started on April 18 at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. This tournament has all the ingredients to change the dynamics of world cricket. Many companies are betting on twenty20 cricket to attract new age audience. It is simply “Cricketainment”. Sponsors of IPL cricket tournament: 1. Title sponsor: DLF real Estate company. 2. Co-sponsor: Hero Honda. 3. Beverage supplier: Pepsi 4. Official Airlines: Kingfisher Airlines. 5. Umpire partner: kingfisher Airlines. 6. Hospitality partner: ITC Welcome group hotels and Resorts. … [Read more...]
KKR crushed RCB in IPL 2008
Kolkata IPL team crushed Bangalore Royal Challengers (test team) in a one sided twenty20 match at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. Kolkata defeated Bangalore by a big margin of 140 runs. Batting first, Kolkata IPL scored 222/3 in 20 overs thanks to magnificent 158 not out by Brendon McCullum. But Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly failed to entertain the crowds. In response, Bangalore IPL was all out for 82 runs in 15.1 overs. Bangalore people may find it difficult to digest their team’s lack of fighting spirit. Except all-rounder Praveen kumar, not even a single Bangalore batsman has shown minimum fighting spirit and application in facing Kolkata Knight Riders. Shahrukh Khan is the happiest man on earth after seeing the wonderful all-round performance by his team. Kolkata IPL outclassed Bangalore IPL in batting, bowling and fielding. Bangalore challengers started their innings in horrible way by losing 4 wickets for 24 runs in 6 overs. Test stars like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Wasim Jaffer failed miserably along with Indian under-19 captain Virat Kohli. India young sensation, Ishant Sharma terrorised Dravid, Kallis and Jaffer in his initial overs. Even experienced hard hitter Mark Boucher fell cheaply to Kolkata captain Sourav Ganguly. IPL started in a spectacular fashion at Chinnaswamy stadium which was well attended by famous cricket dignitaries. Music show by Shankar Mahadevan and Laser show enthralled the Bangalore crowds. But McCullum innings overshadowed all these things. IPL Match analysis: Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers won the toss and elected to field. Highlights of the match: 1. Brendon McCullum gave sensational start to this … [Read more...]
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