Cricket Tournaments

A chase of 146 shouldn’t have proved all difficult for the Delhi Daredevils even on the slow turner at the Ferozshah Kotla. After all, the home side possessed one of the most potent batting line-ups in the tournament. However, a sense of complacency and some extremely charged-up bowling by the Deccan Chargers led to their downfall as the visiting side advanced to the semi-finals.

Delhi lost their top four with only 39 on the board. And the rut never stopped. There was an unexpected fight towards the end when Ashish Nehra joined Paul Collingwood to feature in an undefeated eighth wicket stand of 48. Deccan still got home by a comfortable margin of 11 runs.

Looking back at the game, it was one knock which stood out as the difference between the two sides. Like Deccan, Delhi too had got off to a promising start with the ball. At one stage, the batting side were struggling at 66 for 4 after Adam Gilchrist won the toss and decided to take first strike.

Delhi were comfortably on top when Andrew Symonds decided to take charge. He lofted the ball with consummate ease against the slower bowlers and, in the process, helped Deccan gain some momentum. Amit Mishra, Paul Collingwood as well as Tillakaratne Dilshan were slammed for sixes.

He hit five in all en route to a scintillating 34-ball 54. During this phase, he was well supported by rookie Mitchell Marsh. The youngster’s contribution of 13 from 19 balls may look ungainly in the scorecard. But, in the context of the game, it was precious. His most significant contribution was handing the strike over to Symonds, which was the need of the hour for Deccan.

Once Symonds fell though Delhi got themselves back on track. The bowlers conceded less than a run-a-ball in the last five overs to restrict Deccan’s mini-resurrection. Like at the end, the home side were sensational with the ball in the early part of the innings too.

The out of sorts Gilchrist was once again consumed early by Ashish Nehra while Umesh Yadav’s extreme pace did the trick for him. The bowler’s speed was too much to handle even for the in-form T Suman and Rohit Sharma, the former had his stumps shattered while the latter edged one behind the wickets.

At the halfway stage, Delhi would have fancied their chances to booking their semis berth. But, they only have themselves to blame for letting a golden opportunity pass by. Virender Sehwag was given a reprieve very early in the innings when Rohit Sharma spilled a tough chance off Chaminda Vaas’ bowling.

The same combination though combined to end Sehwag’s short stay at the crease not much later. Disappointingly, David Warner and Dilshan fell to rash strokes. The left-hander flirted outside the off-stump while the Sri Lankan went for a predetermined lap sweep, which saw him being trapped in front off Harmeet Singh’s bowling.

Coming in at 25 for 3, there was extreme pressure on the skipper. But, this time even Gautam Gambhir couldn’t bail the side out. With the pressure mounting, Mithun Manhas was run-out for 23 following a mix-up with Collingwood. Clearly, Delhi had underestimated Deccan’s bowling prowess. And by the time they realized this, it was too late. Collingwood did smash a few big ones towards the end, as did Nehra. But, after the initial disaster, they were always fighting a losing battle.

On a low, slow pitch at the Ferozshah Kotla, Kings XI Punjab bowled with great heart and were ably supported by some insipid batting and poor running from Delhi Daredevils, who won the toss and elected to bat. The home team were bowled out for a paltry 111, Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla once again starring with the ball for Punjab. When it was their turn to bat, the visitors opened with Pathan partnering Mahela Jayawardene, a clear indication that they wanted to attack the Delhi bowlers upfront.

The ploy did not come off. But, Jayawardene kept the runs flowing from the other end. Then, despite some tight bowling from Delhi, the experience of Yuvraj Singh and Kumar Sangakkara saw Punjab causing another upset, after the defeat they handed out to Mumbai Indians.

Without a doubt, it was their batting effort which hurt Delhi big time. After Pathan got Virender Sehwag in the second over of the match, they recovered well via some aggressive batting by their skipper Gautam Gambhir.

With five fours, he raced to 26 in 11 balls before a moment of madness cost him his wicket. A confusion between him and David Warner saw him being stranded out of his crease and getting run out for the third time in this IPL, clearly something he needs to work on. For Punjab, this was just the breakthrough they needed.

Warner (7) joined Gambhir in the pavilion soon, being dismissed in a similar fashion to his skipper, Paul Collingwood was his partner on this occasion. On a pitch where, as it is, batting was extremely difficult, Delhi could not have afforded to give away wickets so cheaply; the fact that they did, compounded their woes manifold.

Piyush Chawla joined in the act for Punjab, producing another mesmerising spell. On a wicket that seemed tailor-made for his style of bowling, the leg spinner trapped Collingwood with a perfectly directed googly and did the same to Daniel Vettori a little later.

At 63 for 5, the innings was in tatters. But, if Delhi had a reason to be positive, it was that they too had two potent spinners in Vettori and Amit Mishra. Before that, however, they needed to put up a challenging total. In Mithun Manhas and Dinesh Karthik, they had two men who were capable of staging a fightback. But, Punjab were determined not to let that happen.

Pathan returned to end Karthik’s resistance for 17 while Manhas gave his hand away, falling to Juan Theron on 26. The mop-up job did not take long.

Delhi needed to strike early with the ball to have sniff. That was not to be. And, though the bowling was competitive, Jayawardene ensured that he picked up a few boundaries here and there, including a mighty six, thereby not allowing the pressure to build. When he was eventually dismissed for 38, Punjab had reached 65 in the 11th over. A couple of quick wickets would have still put the pressure back on batting side.

But Sangakkara and Yuvraj (21*) joined hands and featured in a sensible partnership. By the time, Sangakkara was dismissed for 33, Punjab were on the doorsteps of victory. They might not make it to the semis, but Punjab are clearly beginning to show their capabilities. Better late than never.

In a match where fortunes shifted constantly, the Kolkata Knight Riders got the better of Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens thanks to a spirited effort by their bowlers. The eventual margin of victory, 14 runs, may read like a rather comfortable one, but that hardly told the story of the hard-fought match.

Both teams constantly jostled for the upper hand. And, it wasn’t until a rampaging Virender Sehwag was dismissed by Ajit Agarkar for a superb 64 that Kolkata began to feel that they were in with a good chance. Their batting effort told a similar tale. At one stage, it looked like they would struggle to cross 160 despite a rapid start provided by Sourav Ganguly and Chris Gayle. But, Angelo Matthews’ power hitting towards the end saw them reach 181 for 3, which proved to be a match-winning score at the end of the day.

One of the defining aspects of the game was the manner in which Ashok Dinda took Eden Gardens by storm. The quickie, who had done nothing noteworthy so far in the tournament, was handed the new ball by his skipper. This was a huge responsibility considering that Kolkata had failed to defend 200 even against the punching bag of the tournament, Kings XI Punjab.

And Dinda responded in an unbelievable fashion, cramping David Warner for room for four consecutive deliveries and shattering his stumps off the fifth. It was exactly the kind of start KKR needed. But, it was only fair to expect a fightback from Delhi.

Sehwag and skipper Gautam Gambhir batted in an extremely smart fashion to keep Delhi ahead in the race. The former was undoubtedly lucky when Rudi Koertzen was unwilling to raise the deadly finger after Sehwag had nicked one off Dinda in the bowler’s second over.

That dismissal could have turned the game. Instead, Sehwag rode his luck and carried on. Though swashbuckling, it was a smart innings. He picked the man he wanted to go after, Angelo Mathews, and saw to it that he maximized the score. In two overs, Sehwag slammed his innocuous medium pacers to all parts of the ground and, in no time, Delhi were up and running again. As expected, Gambhir was excellent against the spin of Ajantha Mendis and rotated the strike frequently as well.

Kolkata needed some inspiration, and it came in the form of a run-out enforced by the captain himself. Ganguly cut short his opposite number’s innings with a sharp, accurate throw from mid-on. But, Sehwag continued to bat with utmost comfort and raced past his half-century. It needed a special delivery from Agarkar, full and slower in the air, to end Sehwag’s magic. It did not help Delhi that Paul Collingwood was foxed by Mendis just a few overs earlier. However, the wicket of Sehwag nailed Delhi.

Though the win must be dedicated to the bowlers, it wouldn’t have been possible without noteworthy contributions from their batters. Gayle and Ganguly, looking better with each game, added 94 for the opening wicket in under 11 overs. Then, despite the loss of a few quick wickets, a stroke-filled 46 off 28 balls from Mathews gave them the proper impetus. The bowlers then did excellently to ensure they did not repeat the grave mistakes they committed against Punjab.

A superlative 75 not out by Paul Collingwood, amidst the fall of regular wickets, and some extremely tight bowling and fielding later on saw Delhi Daredevils overcome a strong Royal Challengers Bangalore outfit at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Thanks to Collingwood’s effort, Delhi managed to post a handy 184 for 5. And, on a typical Kotla pitch, that was getting slower by the over, Bangalore never quite got going.

They fell well behind the run rate even before the first strategic break was taken. And, when they tried to open up, they only kept losing wickets to eventually succumb to a 37-run loss.

The first half of the game was essentially the tale of Collingwood vs the Bangalore bowlers, with the former triumphing hands on. He arrived at the crease after Virender Sehwag (35) had been dismissed after a brisk start and Gautam Gambhir was run out for only one soon after.

David Warner was still going great guns and seemed like he would be the man to pull Delhi out of trouble. But, he perished on 33, well-caught in the deep by Virat Kohli off Anil Kumble. At 83 for 3 in the 10th over, it was anybody’s game. Collingwood went on to lose, Dinesh Karthik to a brilliant diving catch by Cameron White. But, that only inspired him onto better things.

Collingwood lofted the ball with effortless ease and on occasions when he threw his bodyweight behind the ball, it delivered massive results. For a man renowned for being a street-smart cricketer, this was an extraordinary show of power hitting. He clearly demonstrated that there was more to his game than just the cheekiness.

The result was he ended up hitting as many as seven sixes. After Kumble bowled three dot balls to him in one over, he stepped out and responded with a mighty swing that went the distance. Other bowlers were treated with even more disdain as sixes flowed from Collingwood’s bat. Length balls from Vinay Kumar, Kallis and Mithun disappeared, perhaps also a result of Bangalore underestimating his firepower. Thanks to Collingwood, Delhi went on to register what turned out to be a match-winning total.

To compete, Bangalore needed a brisk start. In their endeavour, they opened with White, but it did not pay off. He perished for four while trying to fulfil his task. The Delhi bowlers then stifled the batsmen completely. Even those of the pedigree of Kallis and Kevin Pietersen struggled to find the gaps.

At one stage, nine runs came in three overs. Bangalore had no option but to break free after that dry spell and the result wasn’t what they were looking for. Pietersen was castled by Pradeep Sangwan for a hard-earned 16. And, from thereon began a procession that never ended. Amit Mishra and Sangwan both helped themselves to 3 wickets each, even as the rest were happy to keep things under control with some accurate bowling.

Kallis did register yet another half-century while Ross Taylor shone briefly, slamming three sixes in his 10-ball stay of 22. Both the contributions were rather futile though in the context of the game. Bangalore did have their moments of ascendancy earlier in the game, when Delhi lost four big wickets. However, they couldn’t get the man who eventually made the difference.

David Warner scored a glorious 107 not out and was well supported by Paul Collingwood (53) to raise Delhi Daredevils to 177/4 at the Feroz Shah Kotla against Kolkata Knight Riders, a good enough score to pin Kolkata down.

This was after they lost three big wickets in the first three overs of the game post winning the toss and electing to bat on a pitch that had little for the pacers, but sharp turn for the spinners. In reply, the Delhi bowlers kept the pressure on the Knight Riders right from the start and eased to a 40-run win.

The match though belonged to Warner. The comparatively tough batting conditions meant his knock was all the more special. There was plenty of pressure on the left-handed bat after Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik all fell cheaply. But, Warner responded by taking on the bowlers and muscled them all over the park.

Taking a cue from Shane Warne and Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly had opened the bowling with the spin of Chris Gayle. And, while Sehwag slammed him to the fence on a couple of occasions, the West Indian was smart enough to drag him out of the crease a third time and have him stumped.

At the other end, Charl Langeveldt trapped Gambhir in front — a marginal decision, but certainly one that had Delhi on the backfoot very soon. Karthik was well deceived by a slower ball from a struggling Ishant Sharma and fell for a first-ball duck. At 38 for 3 in the third over, Delhi were in great strife, the only positive being that they were scoring at a phenomenal pace thanks to Warner.

What Delhi needed was for someone to support Warner. And, as luck would have it, they had Collingwood, a perfect fit for the situation. While Warner took on all the bowlers with ease, Collingwood made sure he gave the Australian a majority of the strike, manoeuvring the ball in the gaps.

Even while going after most of the bowlers, Warner batted with common sense and treated the spinners with respect, on a pitch that demanded it. The beauty of the Warner-Collingwood partnership was that they never allowed the run-rate of plummet. When Warner was approaching his century, Collingwood took over the mantle of boundary-hitting and raced to his half-century – chipping down the pith and dragging the ball to the on side boundary proved to be his most effective stroke.

It eventually needed a spectacular catch by David Hussey, nudging the ball over the ropes, but managing to keep it in the field of play and eventually pulling off the unthinkable.

Kolkata’s batting effort was not half as good. They lost Ganguly early, the left-hander exposing his stumps and being cleaned up by Dirk Nannes. The inexperienced Mandeep Singh felt the pressure and succumbed, going for an almighty swing against Amit Mishra, only to find the ball turning the other way.

The wicket then played its part in Kolkata’s downfall. Last match hero Manoj Tiwary’s stumps were castled by a straight delivery from Andrew McDonald. The problem was that the ball did not rise above knee-high.

Gayle was the only man looking comfortable, playing in his typical brawny style. And, he was lucky too as a mistimed sweep was dropped by Sehwag when he was on 24. Despite the respite, the loss of three cheap wickets meant that Kolkata needed Gayle and Hussey to replicate the efforts of Warner and Collingwood respectively.

On a slow wicket though, the medium pace of Rajat Bhatia was enough see him drag one into the outfield for 30 and Umesh Yadav took care of Hussey for an uncharacteristic 29. Clearly, Kolkata were outplayed.

The script could not have been written for Delhi Daredevils as they looked to end their somewhat surprising losing streak against the rampaging Bangalore Royal Challengers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Apart from the losing the toss, almost everything went right for them.

A sensational start provided by David Warner, a good consolidating knock by A B de Villiers in the middle and an unbelievably brilliant half-century by a little known Kedar Jadhav, who incidentally was with RCB last year, made sure that Delhi ended up with a highly impressive 183 for 4.

Then, despite another good start provided by Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey, Delhi managed to stage a comeback courtesy Amit Mishra and Andrew McDonald and some atrocious running by the Bangalore batsmen.

Delhi had their noses in front right from the start. Warner went hammer and tongs from ball one and Delhi ended up crossing 50 in just over four overs. The Australian hammered 33 from 14 balls, inclusive of three fours and two sixes, and even Virender Sehwag looked sedate in comparison.

Post Warner’s dismissal, Bangalore did fight back, dismissing Sehwag and skipper Dinesh Karthik before they crossed 100. However, a smart partnership between de Villiers and Jadhav made sure that Delhi were in the hunt to post a challenging score. And after the South African was run out, five short of a deserved half-century, Jadhav took over and played an astounding knock.

His half-century came off a mere 29 balls and featured five fours and two sixes. None of the bowlers could make any impact on him as he slammed a couple of memorable boundaries off Kallis and opposition skipper Anil Kumble.

For Bangalore to overhaul the 183 set by Delhi, they needed another great start from Pandey and Kallis. And, while they did add 71, the fact that Delhi bowlers did not allow them to run away with the game, proved crucial in the end. Dirk Nannes kept things tight as usual and his bowling partner Umesh Yadav proved to be a surprise package.

The speed with which he bowled unsettled both Pandey and Kallis and different times. Still, Bangalore managed to reach a steady position before the cookie crumbled.

Kallis, after reaching a sedate 29-ball 27, fell trying to open his arms. An attempted slog sweep was missed and Amit Mishra had struck once again for Delhi. That was the beginning of the end for Bangalore. The chase deteriorated rather rapidly thereafter. Yet again, Pandey fell in the 30s.

On a day when Kallis failed, he should have gone on to do much better. Some dreadful running by Bangalore did not help matters either. Rahul Dravid lasted just one ball and Eoin Morgan could not prove his big-hitting prowess.

The lower half of the batting collapsed in a heap. If Bangalore lost by a somewhat respectable margin of 17 runs, it was only due to some good hitting by Virat Kohli (38*) towards the end.

All said and done, Delhi were the better of the teams on the day and deserved to win.

The much talked about Mongoose bat made a stinging impact at the Ferozshah Kotla, as Matthew Hayden used it to devastating effect against the Delhi Daredevils. Being set a highly competitive 186, courtesy yet another special effort by Virender Sehwag (74), the Chennai Super Kings got home with little trouble as Haydos used the long handle to great effect in true sense of the word. Stand-in skipper Suresh Raina contributed a crucial, unbeaten 49 to see the side home. But, it was undoubtedly the big-hitting Hayden’s knock of 93 that made the major difference.

The Australian’s splendid innings came off just 43 balls and was punctuated with nine fours and featured an almost unbelievable seven sixes. All the bowlers came in for massive punishment at the hands of Hayden except the ever-dependable Dirk Nannes, who ended with figures of 1/18 from his quota of four overs. From among the rest, Umesh Yadav was spanked for 38, Pradeep Sangwan for 46 and Rajat Bhatia went for as many as 31 from his two overs.

Even when stand-in skipper Dinesh Karthik turned to spin, things didn’t get any better. Hayden launched both Amit Mishra and Tillakaratne Dilshan regularly over the top. And, when he was finally dismissed for 93, captain Raina took over. With no pressure of scoring quickly, he and Murali Vijay, who played a couple of significant lofted shots after the big hitters like Albie Morkel and Justin Kemp fell cheaply, easily guided Chennai to victory.

While both teams missed their regular captains, it was Delhi who had to pay heavily for the loss of Gautam Gambhir. In his absence, only Virender Sehwag could make a noteworthy impact. Though Mithun Manhas (32) and Rajat Bhatia (21 not out) did their best towards the end of the innings, the failure of their middle-order haunted the Daredevils. Also, they seem to be desperately missing the services of the experienced Ashish Nehra.

Without him, Nannes has had to fight a lone battle with the ball in hand. In contrast, Hayden and Raina ensured that they more than made up for MS Dhoni’s absence, at least for this game. And, they would like to continue in the same vein until the skipper is totally fit to take the field.

For Delhi, they would like to see marked improvements in their fielding as well, apart from their bowling. The home side for the match missed a number of run out opportunities and even dropped a couple of catches, which did cost them. Had they hung on to some, who knows the result could have been different or at least the game would have been a lot more competitive in the second half, when Hayden was literally decimating the bowling.

Also, they would like see better performances from the likes of David Warner and, in particular, Dilshan whose lack of form has been hurting them big time. A few runs from stand-in captain Karthik would also help. It is still early days in the tournament, but two indifferent performances in consecutive games doesn’t augur well for the Daredevils.

It’s been over two years since the cash-rich Indian premier league showed us the trailer to the movie of what was to come. One thought the trailer was flattering to deceive. However, that wasn’t the case to be. The Indian premier league has charged forward and is now in some eyes second only to the World cup which happens once in four years.

The fans/ cricket lovers/ the players just can’t seem to have enough of the IPL and want it to come and stay for long. Well, the good thing for them is that the IPL unlike the world cup is there every year. Many players have been seen trying to focus on limited Overs cricket. The big question is had the Cash rich IPL not been there would competitive 30-34 year olds make that decision; would they step down had the cash rich IPL not been there?

The most recent of all was Brett Lee, who at the age of 33 stepped down from test match cricket to prolong his career in the shorter formats of the game. In the past year, along with lee several notable cricketers have stepped down from the test level and are either doing the freelance role or playing the shorter formats for their respective countries. Players including the likes of Oram, Styris, Bond, Flintoff and now lee have done so.

Mind you, all these players are not overly old and are well under the retirement age—under 35 (if there’s something like that). A lot has been spoken about how lucrative the league has been and its exploits. What’s more is there are another two franchisees to be added for the fourth edition of the IPL. There will be a fresh auction, all players will come into the pool again and even iconic players can be traded. The league never ceases to amaze me. The 3rd edition of the IPL is less than a week away and the excitement is mounting with every hour.

People across India are counting hours before they get to see their favourite players on the grand stage. Now, delving into what the 3rd season of the IPL has in store for us, which are the teams that look good to bag the stunning gold embedded Indian map. Teams have been training for over a week now, and managers have focussed more on player availability rather than just player name.

Deccan chargers

Deccan chargers: After some controversy whether the chargers would play the tournament or not due to division of the Andhra state, the news is they will be playing and look strong as ever. Under the inspirational captaincy of former Australian vice-captain and wicket keeper, Adam Gilchrist the Deccan chargers on paper at least look the strongest unit of them all. The champions of the last edition the chargers, wouldn’t raise an eyebrow if they go on to win this edition of the IPL as well.
Owner: Deccan Chronicle
Captain: Adam Gilchrist
Coach: Darren Lehmann
Game breakers (batting): Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, Dwayne Smith.
Knock over’s (bowling): Kemar Roach, Fidel Edwards, RP Singh, Ryan Harris.
Fielding: Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, Dwayne Smith.
The chargers look a good side all round and seem to have all aspects covered. Their only concern would be their dismal record at their home ground, but the good thing for them being they don’t have a lot of matches to play there.

Bangalore Royal Challengers

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Finalists of the last year’s edition, the challengers showed the world a new side to their cricket after a dismal performance in the inaugural edition of the IPL. Labeled as the “Test team” by critics the challengers showed their true worth by showing everyone how dangerous they can be and proving that T20 is not a game that can be decided on paper.
Owner: Dr. Vijay Mallya
Captain: Anil Kumble
Coach: Ray Jennings
Game breakers (batting): Manish Pandey, Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen, Cameron White.
Knock over’s (bowling): Dale Steyn
Fielding: Roelof Van de Merwe, Cameron White, Steven Smith.
Their new look squad doesn’t look the “test team” anymore with White, Taylor and Pietersen who can each give it a fair whack. Along with the blend of youth they have good seniors in Rahul Dravid, Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis and Anil Kumble. They shouldn’t be underestimated as they showed how dangerous they could be. Loaded with South Africans, perhaps that’s what perhaps was their undoing last time—chokers. Jokes apart the royal challengers do have one of the best spinners in the tournament in their skipper Anil Kumble and also the Best ODI bowler in the world, Dale Steyn. A sure team to watch out for.

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings: Finalists of the first edition and semi finalists of the one down in South Africa, the Chennai super kings have been one of the most consistent teams in the IPL. They have the best set of all rounder’s and a good blend of youth and old with a very ‘calm’ captain in Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Owner: India Cements Ltd.
Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Coach: Stephen Fleming
Game breakers (batting): Matthew Hayden, Albie Morkel, Jacob Oram, Justin Kemp, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina.
Knock over’s (bowling): Makhaya Ntini, Muttiah Muralitharan
Fielding: Suresh Raina and Justin Kemp.
A very strong team overall, a very strong opener in Hayden and good players to nurdle and take the neck by the scruff if required. Their only shortcoming is their bowling, they need to strengthen it if they have to make it to the final four. A team filled with all rounder’s (and good ones at that too), it would be very interesting to see which or how many out of the four will be selected. You’d like to think that Albie Morkel should be an automatic choice however the same cannot be said about Jacob Oram due to his inconsistent performances in the last season. Justin Kemp has been in good form for the cobras and he should get a nod ahead of the tall black cap all rounder.

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils: The daredevils like the Chennai super kings have been a very consistent side in the IPL too. They made the semi finals in both the editions and looked good to go further. Somehow they seem to give the South African image about them, they lose/ choke in tense matches. On paper they are second only to the Deccan chargers and look as if they are capable of overpowering any unit. A change in the head was seen with Virender Sehwag stepping down from captaincy as he wanted to concentrate on his game.
Owner: GMR Holdings
Captain: Gautam Gambhir
Coach: Greg Shippered
Game breakers (batting): Virender Sehwag, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB De Villiers, David Warner
Knock over’s (bowling): Dirk Nannes, Daniel Vettori
Fielding: Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB De Villiers, David Warner
A very good unit and like the chargers have got everything they could ask for in the T20 arena. If they get on to a good start in the tournament there could be no stopping them. They would be hoping to go one step further and win the league. It will be very interesting to see who the 4 foreign players will be considering the nick Warner is in, it would be very tough to leave him out. However, Dilshan, de Villiers, Vettori and nannes all have been very successful for the daredevils. Surmisably, it could be a toss up between Dilshan and Warner or Vettori and Warner considering the other spinner Mishra will play.

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians: The side of the master— Sachin Tendulkar. The great man has been in tremendous form for India for a long time now. He’s seeing the 51/2 cherry as the size of a football. The Mumbai Indians failed to make it to the semi finals on both the previous occasions. However, a lot seems to have changed since then, and the odds are in their favour this time round. Mumbai’s biggest and most recent pick is that of West Indian giant buy Kieron Pollard. The West Indian was sold for over 6 crores. If he does justice to half the price he was brought for the Mumbai Indians should pick up the trophy.
Owner: Reliance Industries Limited
Captain: Sachin Tendulkar
Coach: Robin Singh, Jhonty Rhodes
Game breakers (batting): Sanath Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Abhishek Nayar.
Knock over’s (bowling): Lasith Malinga, Zaheer Khan.
Fielding: Kieron Pollard, Abhishek Nayar, Dwayne Bravo.
With Jhonty Rhodes being their fielding coach you could expect the Mumbai Indians should be from the top draw. Mumbai Indians have a huge fan following (largely due to the presence of Sachin Tendulkar) and their fans will be hoping that they do come up with something special this year. Twenty 20 is not Sachin Tendulkar’s most preferred format but you can never tell with the master. If great players can adapt to any form of the game, then Sachin Tendulkar surely can and you wouldn’t hold it against to him to carry his team single handedly towards the title.

Kings XI Punjab

Kings XI Punjab: The men from Punjab have a new king to work under. The managerial unit at the Kings XI Punjab have decided that it is best that Yuvraj Singh plays as player and not as captain as he is more efficient as player. Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara has been appointed captain and would be able to share a good rapport with Tom Moody as moody was Lanka’s ex coach. The men from Punjab would look to replicate their performance of the inaugural edition of the IPL if not better it and go all the way.
Owner: Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Mohit Burman.
Captain: Kumar Sangakkara
Coach: Tom Moody
Game breakers (batting): Yuvraj Singh, Shaun Marsh, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara.
Knock over’s (bowling): Brett Lee, Shreesanth, I Pathan.
Fielding: Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Brett lee.
For me, if the Kings XI Punjab have to stay in good stead they would have to ensure that ace pace man Brett lee is fit and raring to go. If that’s the case is death bowling and lower order striking will be invaluable and could go a long way in deciding the fate of the franchisee.

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals: The champions from the first edition of the IPL. Looked one of the most ordinary twenty 20 side on paper when the auction first concluded. However, as I mentioned before T20 isn’t done and dusted on paper. Under the tactical and inspirational captaincy of Australian spin bowling legend Shane Warne. Warne showed that he can weave his magic on not just the cricket ball but also on people as he did here. Youngsters namely Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan and Swapnil Asnodkar owe their careers to Shane Warne as he identified their talent and helped them exhibit it on the world stage.
Owner: Emerging Media, Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra.
Captain: Shane Warne
Coach: Shane Warne
Game breakers (batting): Graeme Smith, Yusuf Pathan, Adam Voges
Knock over’s (bowling): Shaun Tait, Shane Warne
Fielding: Adam Voges, Abhishek Jhunjunwala
Shane Warne’s tactical role as captain and coach of the team will have a huge role to play if the Royals have to emulate their first season’s performance. It is very possible for them to re do that especially with the royals having one of the fastest bowlers in the world (if not the fastest-currently) in shaun tait. Tait has been in brilliant form after his comeback into the Australian side early this year. His rhythm seems good and he had recently clocked over a 160 clicks in a T20 match against Pakistan. Warne along with this bowling will have to motivate the boys how he did so in 2008. A very well knit side and are certainly the dark horse of the tournament.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders: Dismal performances in the last two editions of the IPL in spite of having a decent set of players leaves Kolkata as a ‘not-considered’ option amongst the people in India. Having said this, this might just be what the Knight riders may need as they have been the most popular and glamorous side ever since they burst onto the scene largely due to their owner Shah Rukh Khan being the Badshah of bollywood. A lot of controversies surrounded the knights which hampered them adversely. Racism rows, conflicts between the coach, captain and owner, and the whole strategy of multiple captains; all turned out to be KKR’s undoing in the end. Hence, SRK finally decided to re instate Sourav Ganguly as captain and replace John Buchannan with Dav whatmore. Kolkata will be without the services of Brendon McCullum this year due to his commitments with the national side.
Owner: Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Jai Mehta.
Captain: Sourav Ganguly
Coach: Dav Whatmore
Game breakers (batting): Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Chris Gayle.
Knock over’s (bowling): Shane Bond, Ishant Sharma, Charl Langeveldt.
Fielding: Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Angelo Mathews.
KKR bagged New Zealand quickie Shane bond, who after severing his ties with the rebel Indian Cricket League is now eligible to play for the Knights. He’s a pretty good buy and should reap his 6 crore worth returns. KKR are certainly my pick of the tournament and it is how Ganguly and whatmore function together will decide the fate of this wonderful side.

This year’s IPL has a lot to offer, in fact the IPL itself this year has a lot to offer. They have the Huge auction coming up later this year and also unveiling of the new franchisees mid way through the IPL. The IPL is back in its home nation and is set to thrill. With media playing its part in the form of hoardings and advertisements this year’s IPL promises to be an “enthralling” one to say the least.