The Good Bad and the Ugly

Finally ,the so claimed next BIG thing after GOD(not read as sachin here), THE IPL is back and so are we . After all the hullabaloo,player retention controversies, team owner controversies,the IPL auction took place at Bengalooru without the ex-Kingpin-Lalit K Modi. There were a few good bids and a few shocking bids . Here listed are a few bids classified as the GOOD(total value for money),Bad( a little waste of money) and Ugly ( total waste of money ).

THE GOOD


1) Davy Jacobs - One of the best buy of the auction. It was one bloody hell of a steal for $190k. High stakes were expected of him considering his form in the Champs League . He is an opening bat as well as a keeper and an outstanding captain. Chennai almost bought him before MI raised the stakes and bought him. Well done MI!

2) Kumar Sangakkara- A steal for $700k, considering the way money was thrown around. He can double up as a keeper as well as a number 3 bat. Not to forget his captaincy skills . He is a major utility player . Well done Deccan!

3) Dan'The Man'Vettori- $550k! Can u beleive it . You cant get cheaper than that even in Clearance sale . World Class All rounder. Considering the fact that the matches are gonna be played in India,SPIN is the KING!. With his late order hitting and good captaincy skills , he is surely a match winner :).Well Done RCB!

4) Shakib-Al Hasan- Yet another steal! Bangladesh Captain, who has literally revolutionized the team was picked for $425k.Yes,agreed that he is a Bangladesh cricketer , but he is the No.1 in the ICC All rounder ratings . KKR!

5) Scotty Styris and Dwayne Bravo - Two match winners , having a tough time presently , but to get them $200k, who would say NO.Good job CSK !

6)Charles Langeveldt- At $140k , he was a terrific buy . He is one of the best bowlers at death presently , though , very underrated.

THE BAD


1) Umesh Yadav - $750,000. Who the hell is he ?? Seriously . Delhi Daredevils!

2) Subramaniam Badrinath-$800,000. Kochi sensed CSK's desparation after their strategy became an open book and started chasing Badri which finally ended up at 800,000.Happy New Year Badri.

3) The Pathan Bros. - $4million. Do they even know the number of 0s in it . Let them be good players , but 4mn is almost like half the total budget . A bad buy for sure . 2.1 for Yusuf and 1.9 for Irfy , who haven't shown much promise after the first IPL season.But thanks Irfy , you made sure CSK lifted the trophy :)

THE UGLY

1) Joginder Sharma and Sudeep Tyagi- What a waste of $390,000. Period .

2) Ravindra Jadeja - What were the numbskulls even thinking ? Do they even watch T20s? For $950,000, even his parents wont buy him.

3) Saurabh Tiwary- !!SHOCKER!! . Agreed he's a young talent and all other crap,but,$1.6million for a guy who bats  at 6 . The Owners must be crazy.

4) Gautham Gambhir - Maybe the KKR team weren't off the hangover while bidding for Gambhir. A record buy of 2.4million for a single dimensional,injury prone player . Even Viru would be cursing him now .

5) Mahela Jayawardene- Again a front line batsman, overpriced at $1.5million.

6) Dan Christian - Who ???? Wonder what made them bid so much for him . His stats aren't impressive . Waste of $900,000.

And few more players add up to each of the categories . But the thing which we have to look forward is , Does any team buy Saurav ' Dada' Ganguly off the auction. Overall,the teams looks good . Kochi were mindfucked and were on lookout bolwers,forgetting T20( esp. in India) is a batsman's game.Chennai went on go for the same players, which was the smartest thing to do . Keeping their faith in their players(even Jogi and Tyagi). KKR and RCB opted for a totally new look team. Mumbai Indians look like a Juggernaut on the paper. Time will tell, which owner succeeded and which owner sucked.

Quick Updates: Oz Vs Kiwis ODI #1

Aussies may have been undefeated thru'out summer but, I have always wondered why the Aussies suck when they enter Kiwi-land. Its been happening for ages now. I think they are not able to cope up to the irregularly shaped rugby grounds or pitch or whatever ( just kiddin :P) Dan the Man was not in the playin XI and Rosco was the skipper today. Punter won the toss and chose to bat and the Ozzies were off to a flier. Watson scored a quick-fire 45. Everybody chipped in with 30 , 20 etc and ended up setting a target of 276 for the Kiwis. Mike Huss topscored with a run a ball 59. A target of less than 300 in NZ has always been defendable(at-least most of the times!). Ingram and Mc Kill'em got off to a good start sharing a 75 run partnership for the opening wicket. If only Baz realised it's a 50 overs a side game! Ross Taylor then steadied the ship scoring a valuable 70. Definitely a captain's knock! Suddenly in the early 40 overs, Kiwis lost some quick wickets. Oram's injury was a huge blow (for ppl who consider the Oram can still bat).

Scotty 2 Hotty put all his experience into play and the altercation Mitchy must have pumped him up more. He played some gutsy shots and made sure NZ reached home in time :) Not to miss Bond's 4's in the 49th over. Definitely it did settle the nerves in the Kiwi camp. Ross Taylor was adjudged the MOM, Scotty Virus could've bagged it though. So Kiwis are 1 up in the ODI series. Let's see if they can keep the momentum going throughout the series.

OFF THE MARK!

UP TO DATE:

· Kiwis beat Pak in the final ODI by 7 runs to win series 2-1.

· Johnson & Watson ruled out of the 7th and final ODI of the Ind-Aus series to be played in Mumbai.

· Indian team for the upcoming Ind-SL test series is announced.

Steam's Shot:

o Kiwi's possibly have the most brittle batting line up today, gone are days of Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns et al. This Kiwi side relies too heavily on McCullum, Taylor and probably Jesse. Bowling looks really good with the all-rounders in the team performing better than with the bat. But the 3rd ODI was a different tale. Pakistan failed to chase 211 after a superb bowling effort. The Pakistani batting looked painful @ 86/8 then a 100 run 10th wkt partnership by Saeed Ajmal and Md. Aamer brought the chase too close only to lose by 7 runs with 5 balls to spare. Kiwis win series 2-1.

Steam’s corner-This only raises one question in my mind. Is this Pakistan team serious about cricket that last more than 20 overs per side?

If it is to be the reason, all cheers as the team is now to face the Kiwis for 2 T20 internationals.

o Johnson & Shane Watson ruled out of the 7th ODI ! I thought the series was over... Really does it matter now if the Indians play the Aussie Women's cricket team?

o Indian side picked for the test series against Lanka at home. This was the bomber, why was Ashish Nehra dropped after so many consistent performances home as well as away. Poor lad has done nothing wrong, but won a few games for his side and picked the M.O.M as well. So is he secretly injured? Y would u pick Sreesanth who has no discipline whether bowling or otherwise and continue with Ishant who needs some rest and rehab and some re-thinking on his bowling career.

Steam’s session- Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha both feature in the race to play against Lanka. Bhajji must be very lucky to play considering his recent form.

Steam’s prediction- The two lads from T.N. Badri and Vijay are most likely to carry drinks in Ahm, K'pur & Mum. Unless, someone is nursing an injury from the set batting order. So, Tamil Nadu will miss their services in the on-going Ranji trophy games as well.

Mock’s Take:

o Kiwis,well,a team has to rely on its experienced players. Leaving aside the previous 2 matches, McCull had hardly scored any runs. Maybe the jinx of KKR just got over him :) Jesse is injured half the time. Kiwis rely mainly on their all rounders . Styris is back in the team and it has really added a new dimension to their side. Dan Vettori has definitely been an inspirational captain for the Kiwis.He has lead the team very well, be it batting, bowling or fielding. NZ may not have the strongest team on paper, but they have a real formidable attack. Pakistan, on its day can beat the world champions or can be defeated by minnows. Pakistan can play their best only for 20 overs. Its tailor made for them. They reached the finals of the 2k7 WC T20 and eventually won the 2k9 WC. They are good for playing FUN games like T20 not the other formats of the games, which are quite serious :)

Mock’s pick- I place my bet on Pakistan for the 2 T20 Intls against the Kiwis.

o Would it even matter if Aussies dont play the next ODI! India sealed the series when they were 27/5.

o I have been a Sreesanth supporter and I am happy to see him back. After his performance in the Challenger series,it was sure that it would jus be a matter of few days to get into the side. He is the one of the most spirited cricketers I have seen Ishant is really good with the red ball and is exactly opposite with the white and it would be good to watch zaheer after a decade :P I feel sorry for Nehra who dint make the cut, but 3 seamers are more than enough. Mishra, I hope gets a chance to play, It shouldn surprise me if India plays 3 spinners.

Mocks prediction- It should be a great contest against the spinners. Murali Vs Bhajji, Mendis Vs Mishra , Herath Vs Ojha. It would be great to see the spinners ripping it !

Cheers,

Mock Wah & Steam Wah