IPL Season 4 - Group B Preview

   Kolkata Knight Riders:
   The Dark Knight! A complete white wash in the team and new look and feel (mostly Dilli-wallas) some key foreign purchases KKR will be hoping for some change in fortunes as well. After controversially dumping Dada for some multi-captaincy theory and then falling on their bum making him the man in charge to not bidding for him in the player auctions. WOW! quite a ride to be honest. This year they have a lot that is talented and have quite a reputation. Wonder if this season is make or break for the owners. Since, KKR is the only team from the previous 8 that is yet to make it to a semi-finals in the IPL. They made the biggest purchase during the auctions that of Gautam mommy loves Gambhir now named their captain, for 2.4m$. And the prize catch of Yusuf Killer Pathan for another 2.1m$ Phew!! Kallis being their third million dollar baby. Some very smart picks in the domestic players now makes the team a contender for the semis at least!
Captain: Gautam Gambhir
Players Retained: Nil
Key Players: Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan,
Dark Horse: Iqbal Abdulla,Ryan Ten Doeschate, Sourav Ganguly (well of course)
Group A: Deccan Chargers

   Royal Challengers Bangalore:
   Where KKR have many DD's domestic players, Dr. Mallya's men seemed to have robbed the Daredevils in broad daylight. They have Daniel Vettori their new captain, Dirk Nannes, Dilshan, AB De Villiers all from the Delhi Darevils Geeez! Well then again RCB lost all their merry men in Robin, Rahul, Pandey, Steyn none of whom they retained when they had a choice. Apart from the Dilli-walas there is Ex-RCB man Zaheer who makes a come back to his IPL team after swapping to the Mumbai Indians squad for Robin Uthapa. Immensely talented (and slightly over rated) Cheteshwar Pujara, trying to show his tools in T20 cricket and U-23 player of IPL season 3 Saurabh Tiwary and Once upon a time in Indian team Md. Kaif are in the squad as well. Which helps their batting but who are their bowling options?
Captain: Daniel Vettori
Players Retained: Virat Kohli
Key Players: Zaheer Khan, AB De Villiers, Dirk Nannes
Dark Horse: Saurabh Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara, Arun Karthik
Group A: Group A: Kings XI Punjab

   Rajasthan Royals:
  The winners of the inaugural IPL, Royals have not had a sweet time in the middle. After being almost kicked out like the KxiP they too have been fortunate to get the mercy plea from! the courts. Although, they did retain skip Warney and talisman Watto it doesn’t explain why they didn’t retain their mojo man Yusuf Pathan. As a result the bidders went bezerk and only KKR could afford him at over 2m$. The Royals look thinner than before only occasional Ross Taylor, the seasoned Rahul Dravid, useful Johan Botha, off target Tait a few names to reckon. Addition of in-form Jacob Oram must be good news for the Royals who replaced Collingwood due to injury. They have done some wild recruiting in the domestic circuit though. Getting some top catches like Rahane, and their usual suspects like Sid Trivedi. A couple from the last years Ranji season heros like Meneria, Chahar. Despite having 3 seasons of experience Royals have done well to remain underdogs.
Captain: Shane Warne
Players Retained: Shane Warne, Shane Watson
Key Players: Shane Watson, Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid
Dark Horse: Deepak Chahar, Jacob Oram, Ashok Meneria
Group A: Group A: Mumbai Indians

   Chennai Super Kings:
   MS Dhoni’s yellow army had a perfect 2010 season where they won the IPL and the CLT20. The onus is upon them to make their owners proud again. The owners too haven’t played much with the team balance. They tried hard to buy back as many players from their previous winning combination. In the process they seemed to have over priced some of their own players and bought them at a premium if not more. They did lose some of their talent like L Balaji, Muralitharan, Parthiv Patel and did not go for Jacob Oram or Mathew Hayden. Their new additions were pretty impressive but injuries seemed to have plagued them just before the tournament. Bravo, Hilfenhaus, Bailey, Bollinger the main accused. They have found solace in Southee and Tharanga who seemed to have put their best suit on during the WC. T20 is an altogether different ball game, a change in mind set. So, far no team has been able to defend their title successfully. Let’s see if the champs still have it in them.
Captain: MS Dhoni
Players Retained: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel, Murali Vijay
Key Players: R Ashwin, Mike Hussey, Suresh Raina
Dark Horse: Tim Southee, Suraj Randiv, Abhinav Mukund  
Group A: Pune Warriors India

   Kochi Tuskers Kerala:
   The newbie in Group B will have a tough task in their debut season against the seasoned pros like CSK and RCB. They had some over the roof bidding technique throughout the auctioning. The pattern was tougher to crack than the Da Vinci Code. They did end up with a strong domestic bowlers list and some key hitters from the foreign buys. Murali's fitness will be alarming but they will be hoping he's fit for some part of the tournament. The only team which can accomodate VVS with a Brendon McCullum then add Muralitharan with a Steve Smith a little bit of Romesh Powar and top it off with Ravindra Jadeja... and well of course the home grown Sreesanth. WOW!! Whether the odd mixture gels well, will be keenly studied.
Captain: Mahela Jayawardene
Players Retained: Not Applicable
Key Players: Muralitharan, Brendon McCullum, RP Singh
Dark Horse: John Hastings, Kedar Jadhav, Vinay Kumar
Group A: Delhi Daredevils

   It seems the Group B is well stacked with 2 former champions. Unlike Pune Warriors, Kochi Tuskers have their hands full and don’t look all that deadly to handle. Since it isn’t about topping Group A and Group B separately the ten teams will realize they cannot afford slip ups. The top 4 will only make the cut and there are no consolation prizes. That’s that then, wishing you all a fun-tastic and fooper IPL. The entertainment just got a little dirty!
p.s. - Who are your key players to watch out for in the IPL4. Share with us in the comments section. Cheers!

IPL Season 4 Opener

  Its that time of the year again.. you know, "DLF maximums", "Karbonn Kamaal Catch", "Citi moment of Success" yada yada all that crap sans Modi cam err.. Lalit K Modi. Well, what's new then? Primarily the tournament is bigger with 10 teams now in the fray and the format is as complex as the Benedict–Webb–Rubin equation, if not more. You know.. split into two groups then play home and away games with teams in their group and a random draw to pick the team to play twice from the opposite group and play the rest of the teams once.. Then the Playoffs for the finals. Phew!! If you're still reading this, either that made complete sense to you or you are waiting for the Benedict–Webb–Rubin reference to appear in this post somewhere. In the case of the latter please stop reading now! Thank you, for those now searching for some IPL hungama can continue reading.

   Two new franchises Sahara Group owned Pune Warriors India and Rendezvous Sports World Kochi Cricket Pvt Ltd. owned Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Yes, the tradition of picking crappy team names is still very much evident. Somethings that keep the IPL very Indian indeed. Along with new teams the existing 8 teams were busy at the auctions buying players since the existing 3 year deal for all teams went *poof*. All franchisee owners were allowed to retain a maximum of 4 players (2 foreigners max). The first player retained will cost a team $1.8 million against the salary cap of $9 million, regardless of the amount the player is actually paid. The second player will cost $1.3 million, the third $900,000 and the fourth $500,000. Using all four retention options will mean that a franchise will have only $4.5m to spend on 26 other players. IPL season 3 champions CSK and runner-up MI were the only two teams to retain 4 players each. Where as, season 2 champs DC, KKR, KxiP did not retain even a single player. DD, RCB retained 1 player each and RR the inaugural season winners retained 2 players.

Players Retained:

• CSK - MS Dhoni (Ind), Suresh Raina (Ind), Murali Vijay (Ind), Albie Morkel (RSA)
• MI - SR Tendulkar (ind), Harbhajan Singh (Ind), Lasith Malinga (SL), Kieron Pollard (WI)
• RR - Shane Warne (Aus), Shane Watson (Aus)
• DD - Virender Sehwag (Ind)
• RCB - Virat Kohli (Ind)

 In the players auctioning things seemingly went very ugly. Some key highlights of the auctions can be seen HERE. The 10 teams have been split into two groups A and B.

Group A	Group B
Deccan Chargers	Kolkata Knight Riders
Delhi Daredevils	Kochi Tuskers Kerala
Kings XI Punjab	Royal Challengers Bangalore
Mumbai Indians	Rajasthan Royals
Pune Warriors India	Chennai Super Kings

   Coming up next will be the "Team Previews" before the "maha yudh" starts. So dont forget to catch all the action-reactions right here!

CSK !! All the way!!

DLF IPL - GRAND FINALE

DLF IPL - Wahs at War III

Alright, another semis game up tonight.. After Mumbai Indians ate the Kumble pie, not to sure any of these will bother to face them in the finale. But atleast they automatically qualify for the Champions League 2010, rather than face RCB in the play-offs game. The wounded tiger is sure to give a fight for the Champions League spot. So, Kollywood takes on Tollywood in the second semi-finals at D.Y.Patil stadium home of the Mumbai Indians and also the Deccan Chargers (get the clue?). Battle is heatnig up nicely, DC coming in with 5 straight wins and CSK pulling a humdinger of a match against KxiP to qualify for the semis.

CSK

The Sooper Kings made their entry with a Bang! and thus, ended Delhi Daredevils hopes of making it to the semis. With Capt. MSD in ominous form their batting seems have got a new lease of life. Hayden problems continue. But, most teams have attacked him with a spinner at the start. Gilly might not waste his best bowler and purple cap owner Ojha so early. So, Mongoose man can expect some off-cutters from Vaas at the most. Raina, Vijay have been in great touch and undoubtedly they are the linch-pins once again.. CSK will expect a big start from the top 3. Badri's knock against the Zintans has recouped his chances in more than one ways. MSD may look to send him ahead once again. Bowling worries continue for CSK with Albie Morkel getting the STICK treatment. He's most likely to save his place as there is no Flintoff or Oram to give him competition, only Kemp who did play against KxiP but bowled just 1 over. So, MSD would most likely go for Bollinger, Morkel, Haydos, Murali. Just keep Balaji/Tyagi in the playing xi(big case of What-Else, But-IF) bowl Bollinger, Morkel, Jakati, Ashwin , Murali, Raina. But, 4 spinners is a risk and might not be taken and the batting depth lacks due to this. So, Thushara Mirando may start in place of Murali. Albie, Hayden cannot afford to disappoint once again. Win toss bat 1st à la Mumbai and score BIG! and use spinners later in the game when they are more effective.

DC

The Chargers have literally charged their way in with 5 straight wins and look re-charged from the way they started this season. Honesty, they dint look defending champion material until, the local boys came to the party. Suman, nearly the find of this season along with the Rayudus and Tiwarys. So, in case CSK bring their spinners into play, DC should easily tackle that with their domestic strength. Mishra, Suman, Rohit. Gilly better not fall for Ashwin as that is likely on the cards.. But, a Déjà vu of last years semis should make Gilly the MVP in this game. Symonds selects himself and the batting position, whether Gilly plays Vaas or Harris will be keen or he plays both and drops Mitch Marsh is an option. Gibbs still not the 1st choice and may sit out once again. Pragyan-Purple cap-Ojha, Harmeet-fake seamer-Singh, RP-Ex-Indian team-Singh should help out Vaas/Harris who ever plays and Roy can bowl his crap as well. Marsh if playing can be useful as well. Win toss, bowl first and restrict CSK. Bowl Rohit against Hayden early in the game. Chase down the target with ease. Have defeated CSK already twice this year so should look to repeat the task. Just in case invite Trisha for the match. Cos, she supports CSK they are sure to end up as the losing side. Qualify for CLT20, defend the title against Mumbai in the finals! Period.

DLF IPL - Wahs at War

Wah are at War and it aint smelling like blueberry pies. Sooper Kings take on the Double D's today in a crucial encounter. The loser is not necessarily out and the winner not surely through as we said here. But surely both teams are desperate to win and will be happy with points in the bag rather than prayers on their lips. So it is simple, go out there and win 2 games and the next 2 and be crowned champs. CSK hv a neat record against DD, now going 3-2 head to head. So, that will mentally get them ready for the challenge. For DD Viru has been at ease against CSK and Chepauk is his one of his favorites undoubtedly. So, this is what the two teams must look to do.

CSK- It should be an easy outing for the Super Kings considering their current form. Finally after several FAILED experiments, the bowling department seems to have clicked. Though not attacking , but definetely better. Batting has always been their strength. Its good to see that the batting is not dependant on Haydos. Its good to see the young Indian guns firing. Murali-I can Fkn hit DLF Max too- Vijay has been a revelation. Suresh -IPL- Raina has been the backbone of the team in all the 3 editions. MSD, you never know, when he hits, it stays hit! If one of them clicks,its PARTY TIME for CSK! Last time when these two teams met, it was a run feast at the Feroz Shah Kotla. We all got to know the reason for the MEGA HYPE for Mongoose. Double Ds scored 185, thanks to Joginder-Golden Arm- Sharma. Haydos and his pet, Mongoose murdered the DD bowlers. The problem which CSK faced in the first half is now faced by DD. Their bowling looks weak after the exit of Nannes. It still seems an area of concern. Of late, their batting seems to be breaking too. Looks like they have their IPODs on when batting, they just dont listen to their partner's call. I hope they continue this way for CSK to make full use of it. Playing in Chennai doesn't really matter to any team because they cheer for everyone, even you and me. Its more like a neutral venue. I feel CSK should stick with the same winning combo. 3 spinners and 2 pacers looks perfect . Their main strategy is to remove the openers as quickly as possible. Gambhir has looked dangerous, but he will run himself out, no worries there. Nothing much to say about the rest of the batting, maybe Karthik will try to impress the crowd. CSK should bat first, it should be a belter of a pitch, score an assload of runs. Bowlers should make sure that Viru and Warner get back to the pavillion within the powerplay and the Double D's will succumb to the pressure automatically.

DareDevils - The Double D's are in woeful form and they know it. They haven't settled into a stable team combination and the absence of Dirty Dirk is proving crucial. Play to win, has to be the plan here. Probably bringing back Dilshan into the xi will help. He has been kept away for too long one feels. McDonald was given the treatment so we hope capt.GG learnt not to bowl his happy meals, in the last few overs like Raina did earlier captaining CSK. Viru has to get going and not towards the dug-out. DK just cannot bat at no.4 that is just insane! Probably go in with Warner, Dilshan, Collingwood and Vettori will make sense and bringing in Bhatia will provide some depth. Also if Viru can bowl a couple will surely help the cause as the wicket in Chennai is sure to assist the slower bowlers. Last time around Haydos unleashed the Goose. That shouldn't happen again, getting wickets early exposes the likes of Badri, Morkel and that should help DD buckle them and strangle them. It would be a good toss to lose. But, an important game to win.

DLF IPL - How KKR are still in it

48 games and the semi-finalists still not decided. What is happening here? Someone surely knew watching 56 league stage games is going to be boring as shit. But, what we have here is completely bizzare. Even Lalit Modi could not have written a better script. Only Mumbai Indians have booked their seat for the knock-outs. The rest are just are mastering the art of hara-kiri. Believe it or not, despite yday's massive loss KKR can still make it to the top 4. This is how 6 teams can end up at exact 14 points after the league stage is complete.

49th match - Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore
50th match - Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils
51st match - Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab
52nd match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians
53rd match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals
54th match - Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super Kings
55th match - Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers
56th match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians
* teams in BOLD win

which means the points table looks like this:

• MI - 18 pts
• CSK - 14 pts
• RCB - 14 pts
• DD - 14 pts
• RR - 14 pts
• KKR - 14 pts
• KxiP- 10 pts

**Red- already in semis
**Blue - already knocked out

So, what KKR needs now is 2 big wins. Just go out there, and kill the opposition. They have nothing to lose except lose what they are already losing. NRR will play a major part again in this years IPL. Some team is surely to end up in tears and ex-performances will flash in front of their eyes.

Also have been hearing KxiP still have a chance.. I'm sorry I don't see how that is possible. Given they win both their games they still end up at 12 points only and surely other teams will end up higher. But, they can surely try and get rid of the 8th place finish.

So, who's it gonna be? No one knows yet.. Looks like a very close race. DD look in trouble, RR look good, DC are unpredictable. Will CSK, RCB hold on in the last leg? Aaaaah... Who ever is writing this script is doing a fine job.

DLF IPL Semi Finals -The Line Up

You can throw away your calculators cos I've just solved the puzzle that will lead us to the semi-finalists in a jiffy. First to remind all that the World T20 Championship starts on the 30th of April. Yes! and that plays a big role to how the IPL is going to be decided. Remember, how it all began. MSD takes a bunch of 22yr olds to South Africa on a fully-paid vacation and end up winning the T20 championship and then hell breaks lose. ICL happens and quickly Modi and his merry men introduce "IPL". Banks go broke as players mint money during auctions. Md. Kaif gets more than Ricky Ponting! People soon relate it to the perfect entertainment formula.. Bollywood+Cricket+Parties= $$$

And so, when the IPL happened again this time in SAF and soon after Ind go to England to contest as the defending champions in World T20, yea.. yea that shit. They somehow make it to the super-6 and get taste of reality w/o Viru. West fucking Indies, Chockers Saffers, even the Poms beat India. Not quite sounds like the best team in the world playing T20's. So, this time the 2 tournaments are even closer than before. So, why injure the players and go thru all the crap once again. Viru, Gauti, Raina, Yuvi, MSD they sure realise it but, they dint see me catching them red-handed.

Lets see among the IPL teams which teams will not be affected by the World T20 champs and vice versa.

• DD- Viru+Gauti enough said! (add DK to that, DD semis hopes look bleak.)
• CSK- MSD+Raina (Big money on these two. As we know Yuvi is pregnant. CSK will put on a fake fight.)
• KxiP- Who are u kidding? They're already outta the semi's race.
• KKR- Not a single Knight Rider in the Squad to West Indies. (possible semi spot)
• DC- Rohit (He doesn't seem to be interested in performing for the national team prefers the 50 days a year format. Might give KKR a run for their money)
• RCB- Rahul+Jumbo+Robin+Kohli+Pandey (none in the T20 team, quite easily into the semis)
• RR- YPathan (Has he ever performed for Ind; even 25% of what he has done with the Royals. Semis more likely)
• MI- The team solely dependent on Sachin and no one else in the radar to the West Indies (Sachin no longer plays Intl. T20's so, easily in the semis) and so, they already are.

This means the like of Yuvi, Viru, Gauti, MSD, Raina et all are going to be out of action much before you and I think they are. Which is around April 18th. Which gives them 10 days before they play the warm up games in West Indies. Period!



p.s - this post was written primarily with a batsman's perspective. That is completely fair and unbiased.

DLF IPL - DC CSK mixed fortunes

We know DC are the defending champs but look at the mess they've got themselves into. First, they don't play at Hyderabad which is the official home ground for the DCs. They end up playing their home games at Cuttack, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur and their horror run of losing home games continues. Their last home game against the Raj Royals, who have stressed on building that fortress for opposing teams when playing at home. RR have the best home games record. Mumbai Indians this season have set the same tune. So, how crucial is it playing at home and more importantly winning!

DC bowled well, played with a plan and executed it. They really needed the win to equal CSK, RR, KKR on points and fight to the semis. 159 still seemed a lil disappointing as they managed to avoid some serious beating from the hands of their old pal Yusuf-cant-play-short-stuff-Pathan who has won 4 M.O.M's in 5 games they have played. Shane-can-whack-Watson's knock helped RR post a target of 160 for the DCs. And from there DC batsmen switched their brains off. They managed to go from 137/5 to 157 all out. This with Rohit-I'm-going-to-WI-Sharma hitting 73 from 44 and not able to hit 3 runs from the last 2 deliveries and DC were all out. Only CSK could have managed to lose it from there (Remember chasing 139 against KxiP). So, their fate now looks stuck above the KxiP but, they still can make it due to weird calculations.

So, we see how did DC actually perform ala the Sooper Kings. This is what we can understand from the team's fortunes up to now:

• Gilly = MSD : Capt and WK - both have come and gone, hit a few but, missed mostly. (MSD was injured in between)
• Gibbs = Haydos : Both have swished the bat like Harry Porters wand, the spells seemed to backfire very often.
• Rohit = Raina : Both have played some good knocks, looked curious for more but then disappointed.
• VVS = Badri : Two batsmen who seemed to be in wrong place at the wrong time playing the wrong game.
• Symonds = Morkel : All-rounders for their teams, never really performed to potential or previous performances.
• Vaas = Murali : Both had good beginning to IPL this season, Vaas eventually ran outta gas, Murali on the way?
• Ojha = Jakati : The two left-armers have picked wickets but have gone for plenty.
• Rahul = Ashwin : back-up spinners hardly looked vicious in batsmen's paradise.
• RP = Gony/Tyagi : Jaskaran = Balaji : Harmeet = Joginder They have been in a league on their own. No matter who is picked the result doesn't change.

CSK have recovered with Vijay clicking at the top. Murali has been resonable and with MSD back they look better placed than DC who need to win all from here and hope the others don't. Interestingly, CSK-DC have to play each other in the remaining games to come. CSK have 8 pts from 9 games and DC have 6 pts from 9 games. Just 5 matches each, its a fight to the death for each one of them. RR and RCB will their main threats, considering KKR like to goof it up when someone takes them seriously.

Chennai Sup(CK)er Kings

CSK is definitely one of the best teams in IPL. Somehow its managing to screw it up big time leaving even the cricket pundits confused. It is definitely not a team which should be at the bottom of the table. Their bowling has been pathetic, but then its the same bowling attack for 3 years now. So what is the problem?

The bowling has become more pathetic with at least 2 bowlers going for 40 runs of their quota. CSK has the weakest bowling attack of all the teams. Every team has a Fast 'Sting' bowler like Steyn for RCB, Roach for DC, Malinga for MI, Lee for KXI, Nannes for DD, Bond for KKR and Tait for RR. These are bowlers who can hit the 145ks+ consistently. Speed does help in T20 and we can see it. Albie Morkel is CSK's fastest bowler who barely touches 130. CSK's pace bowlers are Morkel, Balaji, Gony, Tyagi, Joginder Sharma, Ganapathy, Ntini, Perera & Thushara.

Morkel has been lucky ,with his pace with the new ball he should be whacked all over.
Balaji gets the right treatment every match.
Gony and Tyagi play alternate matches and its even stevens, both get creamed.
Joginder Sharma, only God knows how he makes it to the playing XI
Perera bowled 5 full-toss deliveries on his debut game, 4 were to God. Got spanked, let the game shift to Mumbai Indians. Obviously not returned to the team since.
Thushara , haven't seen much of him yet and with whatever seen ,he isnt impressive either.
Ganapathy bowled just one over, not enough to rate him.

Chennai's only saving grace has been the spin department comprising of Murali, Jakati and Ashwin
Murali is Purple Cap holder with an economy of less than 7. Period.
Jakati has been impressive with his line and length.
Ashwin has been disappointing.
All over ? wait a minute..
Makhaya'Fast bowler-converted-Joker'Ntini, where the hell is he ?
why isnt he playing ? If MSD needs a fast bowler y is he still waiting for Ginger Bollinger.
Bolly can be vicious and very useful but he too has his limits and bowls under 140k's and in Indian conditions will be a big question mark. So, y hasn't MSD tried Ntini when he had so many opportunities.. remains unanswered!



ps: more on the batting and champion-like fielding later...

DLF IPL - CSK rope in Doug Bollinger

Not much of a surprise, after the horrendous run chase against the Zintans, CSK have been on repair mode ever since. If you do remember a certain member of the team Jacob Oram a.k.a delicate doll was injured and ruled out from playing in the IPL this season. Following further damage caused due injuries to MSD and Kemp, CSK have roped in Doug Bollinger. Looks Santa gave them their X-mas present quite early this year. This will definitely boost their chances to make it to the knock-out stage of the tournament. Bollinger is said to join the team from Apr 1st following the aus-kiwi test series.

DLF IPL CSK-Chennai Super Krap

Well, for people who believe they witnessed one of the best matches ever, I pity them. It was one of the worst matches I have ever seen. And only teaches how teams should not screw up a chase. First of all, it was a contest between a team with a poor batting and a team with a poor bowling. CSK seemed to have an upper hand as they had the momentum with them after 2 consecutive victories. Raina won the toss and elected to field, quite a good decision considering the dew factor and also the fact that KXI were playing 2 spinners.

It was quite a surprise to see Irfy opening alongside Bopara. CSK suddenly, from no where got brains and dropped Joginder Sharma. KXI kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Yuvi and Irfy showed some resistance. CSK's bowling was pretty ordinary . KXI batting was even worse. Wonder what was going through their minds.Everyone got out with poor stroke play and lack of application. If I was Md. Kaif's father/mother/wife/child I would lock him up in the dungeon for eternity. The guy should not be allwoed to hold a cricket bat ever again! It was a terrible batting display by Punjab and they managed to score 136. Moorali getting the better of his two countrymen (Sanga & Jaya) BRILLIANT!

Then the Mongoose Man and Mini bullet took strike for CSK. They were scoring briskly at a steady pace and KXI , by the looks, were all down with drooping shoulders thinking that the match was slipping away from them. But with the fall of Haydos everything seemed to slip out of CSK's grasp. First a horror run-out of the capt. Raina and then the crumble. Vijay, Badri have hardly impressed and it seems with Srikanth their chances of wearing the national cap will also disappear. Kemp injured himself with a side-strain so, he could not come in to bat as well. With Parthiv out after making his half-ton Gony made it to the crease. With just a run-a-ball reqd. all that was needed was sensible batting, pushin the ball into the gaps and giving Morkel most of the strike. But, it was not to be. Gony wanted to become Super Gony in no time and ended losing his stumps and CSK reqd 10 off the last over. Albie hit a boundary the very 1st delivery to make it 5 from 5 and then 3 from 3. Here the final twist. Ashwin hits the ball and they run 2!!! Why would you want a bowler to face the final 2 balls of a match Albie. Even if it was 2 off 2 with Albie on strike it would be the smarter choice. Alas, Irfy bowled a dot ball and Ashwin hit the final ball straight to Kaif. Match tie = SOOOPER OVER

KXI chose the rookie Juan Rusty Theron, who bowled a superb spell earlier in the game. Not looking rusty at all. so the CSK managed 1,W,2,6,W just 9!! So 10 to win for the Zintans and they got there with a slight hiccup but, when you have the quality of Yuvi, and the two Lankans in your side you are more likely to win from these situations. Had MSD been there it would have been a sight! Well played to both teams to make an interesting match out of shitty batting performances. Lalit Modi will be very pleased!

IPL 3.0 Sooper Dooper Kings

Chennai Super Kings

Alas the Chennai Sooper Kings, the side that lost the championship in the inaugural season and then lost in the knock-out semis in the second season, look like they are on the downslide. They rely heavily on Aussie giant Matt Haydos and from there the problems begin. MSD has played Parthiv-mini-Patel as he is free from the wk duty that has already given him enough back issues. But this means Parthiv who can(read should) be playing lower down the order opens the batting with Hayden. If MSD is going to take IPL seriously, as equal to winning World Cup. Then he may have to strain his back a bit more and stand behind stumps and accommodate an extra bowler in place of mini Parthiv. Otherwise Parthiv has to lift his game, or bat lower down the order so, Vijay can open the batting. The CSK are marred and scarred by injuries to Jake' Oram, Al' Morkel has his line of fitness issues, Mike Huss wont be available initially. Losing Flintoff was a big blow for them. But, the replacements for Freddie and Stephen Fleming were just not enough. So now they have Justin Kemp their new recruit along with a few Lankans whom they dont miss to buy at every player auction.

CSK do look like a formidable opposition but, seriously not the top-3 in the competition. In Balaji and Gony their bowling can fall apart anytime. Add Tyagi to that, MSD will have some serious cardiac issues while fielding. Raina, Badri, Vijay should help MSD post big, bigger, biggest totals everytime so, he wont worry about the bowling too much. Ashwin, Jakati & Murali give him added tension of whom to drop and whom to play. It will take a few games initially to find the balance in the team and sort out fitness issues.

SQUAD:R Ashwin, L Balaji, C Ganapathy, MS Gony, SB Jakati, M Muralidaran, M Ntini, S Tyagi, KB Arun Karthik, S Badrinath, GJ Bailey, ML Hayden, MEK Hussey, SK Raina, M Vijay, T Thushara, JA Morkel, JDP Oram, NLTC Perera, JM Kemp, MS Dhoni, PA Patel.

STRENGTH:Hayden opening, Depth in batting.

WEAKNESS:Bowling in death overs.

WATCH OUT FOR:Lankans could well prove to be strong plus for CSK, Ganapathy, Bailey. Justin Kemp.

WAH'S XI:

• Haydos
• Patel*
• Raina
• MSD©
• Albie
• Badri/Vijay
• Perera/Thushara
• Ganapathy
• Murali
• Balaji
• Jakati

WAH SAY: Bailey replacing Pup in the Kiwi tour mid-way will hurt CSK. Mike Huss will have to play in a cramped batting order again. I will have to stick my neck out and say CSK are most likely to miss the bus to the semis. DD, MI, RCB clear favorites right now. With KxiP, DC, CSK fighting for that final semi spot. But, dont count them out completely! Like MSD would say it "MIND IT!" Period.

IPL 3.0 Coming Soon!

Yes, Lalit Modi and his minions are back "bigger" and "louder" than ever! Somehow, I can't wait. With just about 8 days you can almost sense it's here already, with everybody on TWITTER constantly ranting the same training, practice match crap. So, we decided to see who's been up to what in the last one year and what has really undergone in the team building process. Who stands where and who is running the lead.. already. Your favourite, my favourite, everyone's favourite. Once again it boils down to the 8 teams and their performance on the field so, no matter how much we want in the end only one team can be crowned "champions"! Let the battle begin..

B.B.O.T.D. - DeVil

Believe it or not, today is the very day 26 years ago DEVIL was born. Daredevil by heart, Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is the bday bum of the day. Half human pure evil, AB is young and a strong prospect for South African cricket. He's already a first choice player in any format of the game. His adaptability, maturity and aggression are quite stunning for his age. No surprise why he is already seen as someone who will take South African cricket to new heights. Be it T20, ODI or Test cricket AB has been there done that.. Add to that his alien, ambidextrous fielding skills makes him one of the highly reputed fielders in world cricket, getting him comparisons from none other than "Jonty" himself. Already he has produced some memorable performances like his double hundred against Ind, 174 against Eng or 178 against the Windies or even his 102* for the Daredevils against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL(mind-blowing that!!). He has set his standards high, and it is only exciting to see what he can do to beat that. So, what's next?



p.s: Also is Adil Rashid's birthday. Cheers

DLF IPL 3.0 - South Indian HOT!!

CSK captain tells us why he missed India. Follow MSD as he enjoys his idli,vada, sambar. It's back!!!

DLF IPL 3.0

I'm too lazy (read sloshed), so taking an off this weekend, unless something urges me to blog. Till then enjoy the action that awaits us!!! Yea, the "DLF IPL". Nothing less than *Wah!*

First-Aid

Due to some unpredictable circumstances the forthcoming test championship battle between the top two test playing nations South Africa and India (read in order) now seems more like a battle of chimps. Yes, first the saffers monkey around sack the coach and then the entire selection committee. Mean while self appreciating team India go to Bangladesh for a two test series, the toughest there could ever be and result in injuries. It started with captain MS Dhoni, Bhajji, and then spread like wild fire to Sreesanth, VVS, Dravid, Yuvraj and some bits of Sachin to add. Although MSD and Bhajji have recovered since and Sachin looks okay it raises the basic question whether the two teams are ready to play for the top position. The Proteas don’t seem to be bothered with Mickey and the rest of the Disney gang changing but, India need some serious replacements if they are to retain the no.1 spot in the ICC (mindless morons inc.) test ratings. So, who are capable to replace the likes of Dravid, VVS and Yuvi in such short notice let us see.

Mock’s pick:
Well, with Dravid out with the jaw fracture, I just can’t see a better replacement than S Badrinath. He has got what it takes to be a 1 down batsman. Skill, technique, good hand eye coordination etc. He has been the backbone for Tamilnadu in the Ranji Trophy for years now.
Vijay is sure to hang on to his place since Laxman isn’t playing against the Chokers... Oops Saffers. Though Vijay did not score much in this test, his technique did stand out. Confident and elegant.
An aggressor replacing another aggressor, a lefty replacing another lefty. Yes, it’s none other than the one who sends the ball screaming to the cow corner, Suresh Raina. Though he hasn’t played an Intl test yet, he has proved himself time and again in the county circuit. He has come of age and has proved he’s matured enough to play at the test level. Can be a handy part time bowler too and about his fielding…you know it .

Quite a coincidence that all the 3 replacement players are from Chennai Super Kings… HAIL CSK!

Steam’s angle:
There’s no point in pondering about who will when it’s the matter of who can. There is no question in the ability of Murali Vijay so, regardless whether Gauti plays at the crucial no.3 or opens with Sehwag, Vijay can play either ways. Considering Sachin is fully fit he bats at no.4, otherwise a whole new slot opens another debate. No.5 spot presently belongs to VVS playing his twilight years of cricket. Now that he is injured he should be replaced by Badrinath who has been in and out of the side for quite some time. But going on current form and the Pied Pipers tune I am tempted to opt the not so forgotten and lucky monkey of 2010 Md. Kaif. Kaif has the experience and the caliber to play the long game. His high bid in the IPL auctions and recent burst in the zonals have only helped him appear once again in the selector’s radar. Whether or not he is chosen is another case. (Remember he dint attract a single bid in the 1st round of auctions. But, what happened last lasts longer.) So, good for the chap. MSD will have to now bat at no.6 in place of Yuvi and someone can take his place batting with the lower order tail. Raina would be one contender but, recent form again points towards Virat Kohli. The boy is now a man so why not test him. Raina is in good form himself but, honestly Kohli looks more solid (tried and tested down under) and Raina’s history with the short pitched stuff will only bring smiles to Saffers. So, Badri and Raina could make the squad but not the playing eleven.

One’s who closely missed out: Pujara – he’s still got time till there are permanent openings. One opportunity and you don’t want to end up ruining your chances forever. Manish Pandey – good season of domestic cricket, still have time. Probably play some ‘A’ tours abroad. Rahane – all izz well! But not tested against international attacks. Rohit Sharma – no.

SOLD OUT!!!

The last time we spoke of the IPL auctions, we got them spot on! There were a few questions on Brad Haddin but, we told you it would be a definite “NO”! Besides the Pakistani’s a.k.a. World champs in T20 we got almost everything right. The lack of interest in the Pakistani players was mutual among all the franchisee owners. Almost as though they had agreed upon before hand or Lalit pie face Modi had including it in the rules sheet. So, minus the Pakistani’s from the list the franchises had only 1 maximum 2 slots to fill in their respective teams. Some had the slots but had run out of “money”!

Kings xi Punjab acquired Adrian Barath for 75,000$ outside of the auctions. This meant they were starting with a balance of 650,000$. First player to go under the hammer was Shahid boom boom Afridi also the captain of the world champions. He failed to get any response. All wondered it must be the high base price of 250,000$. Next was Kieron Pollard, and suddenly every franchise wanted him on their side, like Ramesses had found Moses. It wasn’t surprising as 4 teams locked their maximum bids of 750,000$ for Pollard. This meant the tie-breaker was on now. Any team with the highest bid now will get the services of Pollard and the difference amount was reaped by the IPL (read B.C.C.I.) Mumbai Indians out bid everyone and thus Pollard now joins the Indians. News is that M.I. side bid a whooping 2.75 million $ tats nearly twice the amount KP & Freddie were bought for last season, breaking all records. One by one, every Pakistani player who came onto question was shown the middle finger in a polite way. Shane Bond, drew the next big interest again resulting in a tie-breaker and finally joining the Kolkata Knight Riders. Again the sum is said to be 1.3 million $.

If you thought these were easy picks for anyone to predict, we also managed to get Damien Martyn spot on. Martyn joins the Warne led Aussie Royals oops Rajasthan Royals team for a steal away price of 100,000$. Adam Vogues, the only other Australian picked up today, once again by the Rajasthan Royals side for 50,000$. Eoin Morgan was chosen by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for 220,000$ but, it was the cockroach, Kemar Roach who went for 720,000$ picked up by the defending champions, Deccan Chargers. The other fast bowler who gained interest was Wayne Parnell had stiff bidding finally ended up at the Daredevils camp for 610,000$ further strengthening the Delhi side.

The Chennai Super Kings outfit, who were outbid in every attempt ended up choosing Justin Kemp for 100,000$ and continued their love-affair for Sri Lankan cricketers picking Thissara Perera for 50,000$. Again, predicted by us. When there are players like Pomersbach and Noffke available at cheaper rates we can only say CSK only wasted their money this time around. Whether they are going to use the money from Freddie’s withdrawal and buy players outside the auctions is still unknown.

Kings xi Punjab also picked up Yusuf Abdulla after some sweet success in the previous edition of the IPL. Coming at 50,000$ I would say it’s a rather smart pick. Douggie Bollinger was left out with no buyers. 3 u-19 players joined the RCB, DC and MI sides. But, the final shocker came when Md. Kaif was re-called for bidding. From 100,000$ his value went upto 250,000$ joining his bum-chum pal Yuvraj at KxiP. Truly, a citi moment of success I should say. :-)

Which leaves us with just the cricket to play, the trophy to be won. Daredevils look mighty strong with the addition of Parnell into their attack, Mum Indians look well balanced as always, Rajasthan Royals have their Aussie flavor, Deccan Chargers look to hurt a few, break a few, KxiP were smart during the auctions, KKR the lesser spoken the better, RCB were fairly quiet and CSK were plain yellow, to say the least. Looking forward to an exciting IPL, “Wah!”