DLF IPL - HOME TEAM

Early 2008 when talks about starting the Indian Premier League were raised. The one good reason(besides stealing the limelight from ICL) was that local talent will get a platform to play with greats of the game, international exposure and opportunity to get noticed. On those lines, the 3rd season has not been disappointing as most teams realised that besides having 4 quality intl players in the team, it is very important to have 7 talented local guys, who can steal victories for them. Some teams could not get the combination right like DD and KKR where some like RCB and MI had headache with whom to bench. But, these local guys have to be the toast of the third season of DLF IPL. Here are the xi players who well truly define the term "HOME TEAM".

• Naman Ojha
• Murali Vijay
• Tirumalasetti Suman
• Faiz Fazal
• Saurabh Tiwary
• Ambatti Rayudu
• Kedar Jadhav
• Ravichandran Ashwin
• Vinay Kumar
• Siddharth Trivedi
• Murali Kartik

No surprises for the choice of openers, both Ojha & Vijay performed 2 notches above expectations. Suman won games for DC and helped the defending champions restore pride. Fazal looked quite good in the Royals outfit. Played a very significant role in the top order. The Mumbai Indians duo of Tiwary & Rayudu probably played their best cricket together. Caused lot of problems in the opposition's game plan. Jadhav had one really good knock for the Daredevils but, there on the Double D's couldn't figure out whom to play. Ashwin opened the bowling and did some serious damage for the Chennai Super Kings. His ability to mix it up and be very unpredictable was sheer class. Dint look like a rookie was in action. Vinay Kumar bowled very well initially and later got the stick treatment. But, in parts was good. SidT also bowled within his limits but mixed it very well and reaped praise from his captain and team mates. Murali Kartik showed with his county experience and Indian conditions was very effective but, was not used all that well.

Many others impressed. Of course, there is not room for all. We pick just eleven but, here we must mention a few. Ashoke Dinda once again showed signs of a smart bowler. Old Horse, Romesh Powar was very good but lack of wickets and 2 spinners already in the list meant he was left out. Badrinath, faced lot of criticism but had few good knocks that saved CSK the blushes. Mithun Manhas, Sarabjeet Ladda, Iqbal Abdulla, M.S.Bisla, Hameet Singh showed that domestic strength is very vital for the IPL teams.

DLF IPL - Wahs at War II

So the first of the knock-out games and a mouth watering one that promises to keep the water boiling till the very end. This is WAR! and we like to keep it that way between the bat and ball.

MI-Mumbai Indians were the favourites to win the IPL 3.0 even before it started and they haven't disappointed so far. Yes, a few hiccups here and there , but looks like its all sorted out. Questions were raised after the MI-CSK match when the wickets fell like 9 pins as soon as GOD(read SRT)retired. From then on,its been a collective effort from the batting side.Ambati-Did the Selectors notice my batting-Rayudu , Saurabh-a la MSD-Tiwary have been in good form right through the tournament. Keiron-10 ball wonder-Pollard has shown what he is capable of with the bat and ball. Duminy has found his long lost form. He is the new "Man with the golden arm", breaks important partnership. Proven and tested. Mclaren has been consistent with the ball. Coming to their bowling, its easily one of the best attacks. Zaks and Mclaren share the new ball and they hardly get hit.More importantly they uproot 1 or 2 wickets . Bhajji has been tremendous with the ball(even with the bat a couple of times). Lasith-Slinga-Malinga is easily their trump bowler with his pace, swing, variations. He is difficult to get through. I am sure he is a part of everybody's fantasy team :) Pollard is good for a 5th bowler. Satish, Duminy can be handy too. Their fielding has been fantabulous. They are a truly 3-d team. Jaya and Bravo have been the disappointments and are likely to sit out. Dhawan may open with SRT. The toss doesn't really for this team as they have an excellent bowling to defend the target and they have an explosive batting order which can chase down any target. Thier main strategy is remove KP and Uthappa ASAP, they are ones who change gears and up the ante. Jumbo has been in terrific form too, so its better they play away Jumbo without losing wickets. Its a knock out match for both the teams. MI would want all their 3 departments to fire and fire BIG TIME. If it does happen, there's no stopping the MI.

RCB- Dr. Mallya's merry men not in a very merry mood after the last few games giving them a scare of being knocked out before the knock-out stages. But Aal izz well in the RCB camp except they now face the table toppers Mumbai Indians enroute to the grand finale. RCB might be considered the under-dogs especially after the home ground conditions being stolen from them and gifted to their semi-finals opponents. Nevertheless, RCB being the under-dogs has to be a good sign(As that's what the IPL is all abt). Team strategy should ideally be - Win toss, elect to bowl first and get Sachin early. With Sachin in the hut, half the job is done. But, don't let the likes of Tiwary, Rayudu settle getting a couple of wickets exposes the chink in Mumbai's Armour i.e. their middle order. Restrict the Mumbai Indians and then beat them all over the park with a batting order to boast. C'mon Kallis, Dravid, KP, Rosco, Robin, Kohli.. hahaha. Mumbai may have a bowling attack on the sheets as well but, expect some buffet bowling and you shall be granted. Bowling needs to be extra-tight not sure if Pankaj Singh will get another game, expect PK to be back and Jumbo, Vinay, should support Kallis & Steyn very well. The pitch will not assist pace a lot but, when you can bowl @150+ you really don't need the pitch to help you. RCB should look to get ROFL Merwe in if you ask me. That will change a lot in the match. So, Kallis, KP, Merwe & Steyn can be the 4 maximum overseas players allowed. And if everything else goes by the plan RCB would have pulled an upset victory over the Mumbai Indians.