Who will win Indian Premier League title?

Indian Premier League teams are exhibiting unpredictable performances in the recent days. No team is looking as hot favourite to win 2008 Indian Premier League. I surprised after seeing the decimation of Chennai Super Kings in Jaipur at the hands of Rajasthan Royals while Mumbai Indians comfortably defeated Delhi Daredevils as Delhi depended too heavily on their top order. Kolkata Knight Riders suffered successive defeats after rousing start in the initial matches. Even though these unpredictable results are good for IPL tournament but team fans are not in a position to digest their unpredictable performances.

Bowlers are gradually gaining edge over batsmen and Delhi legend Glenn McGrath is simply a revelation in this tournament. There is visible drop in batting performances of some teams after the exit of foreign players. At present, Rajasthan Royals are consistently winning matches due to collective performances but you need match winners like Adam Gilchrist and Virender Sehwag etc to win in knock out matches. I am eagerly waiting to see how they perform in high voltage matches. Except Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royals, all teams are looking strong to win the trophy. Mumbai Indians are current underdogs.

Players I missed in IPL 2008: Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen.

What I liked in IPL:

1. Shane Warne – superb leader and Jaipur success is a case study for MBA atudents.
2. Rajasthan Royals team – Underdogs surprised analysts with their performances.
3. Australian and New Zealand cricketers: We really missed these stars. Who can forget McCullum and Hussey centuries and Mathew Hayden’s consistency?
4. Adam Gilchrist & Virender Sehwag: Most dangerous cricketers on their day.
5. Shaun Pollock through his all round performance.
6. Delhi top order is simply superb.
7. Rohit Sharma- who has tremendous future.
8. Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan – Indian bowling is in safe hands.
9. Young cricketers like Gony, Dinda, Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Kohli, Abhishek, Asnodkar, Shukla etc. They played much better than icons like Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman.
10. Wicket keepers like Brendon McCullum, Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher, Kumara Sangakkara etc tremendous roles through their batting.

Big flops:

1. Ricky Ponting: Worst performance.
2. Harbhajan Singh: Worst behaviour.
3. VVS Laxman: Worst captain.
4. Worst coach: Lalchand Rajput.
5. Worst team: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.
6. Worst pitch: Eden Gardens in that match.
7. Worst match: Chennai Super Kings Vs Rajasthan Royals.

Verdict: IPL is a resounding success. I am glad to see busy businessmen like Mukhesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya in the stands. Owners like Preity Zinta actively involved in the team preparations. IPL cricket tournament succeeded beyond expectations. If ICC can include this tournament in the future calendar, IPL will reach tremendous heights in popularity. Youth Icon Anil Ambani failed to judge the tremendous opportunity lies in this tournament. He really missed the boat.

Who will win IPL 2008 Cricket Twenty20 tournament? Please share your opinion

Why Delhi IPL is most successful?

Delhi daredevils reached top of IPL points table with a eight wicket win over Chennai Super kings in Chennai. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir decimated Chennai bowlers at Chepauk stadium. This is the first loss for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. Chennai seems to be losing steam after the exit of Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram.

Analysis of Delhi daredevils:

Secrets of Delhi’s success:

1. It bought real gems in their respective fields but not bits and pieces (Shoaib Malik is an exception). Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif may not bat but can rattle any batsman with their line and length which is essential in any form of cricket.

2. It bought players who will be available for entire season. Chennai missed the services of Australian giants, Mathew Hayden and Michael Hussey at crucial stage.

3. Delhi’s top order (Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan) are in scintillating form. Dare Devils are destroying opposition by losing just one or two wickets. Delhi batsmen scored 796 runs in 87 overs.

4. Like Adam Gilchrist, when Virender Sehwag is on song, no bowler in the world can do anything. He is one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket. He is sending right signals to national selectors through IPL matches.

5. Along with Mathew Hayden, Gautam Gambhir is the best twenty20 batsmen in the world.

6. Shikhar Dhawan is the find of the IPL 2008 along with Abhishek Nayar, Ravinder Jadeja and Asnodkar. Ravi Teja missed this bus due to Hyderabad selection politics.

Delhi weaknesses:

1. Daniel Vettori went back to New Zealand. It is difficult to replace most successful spinner in the Twenty20 Cricket world cup.

2. When compared to wicketkeepers like MS Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher, McCullum and Kumara Sangakkara, Delhi’s Dinesh Karthik is looking weak in batting.

3. Lack of big hitters in the middle and late order will be exploited in the tight matches. Opposition knows that Delhi Daredevils lose steam if they can take top 3 wickets which was exposed by Mohali IPL.

My favourite in Delhi IPL team:

Glenn McGrath. He defied age. He silenced critics. He once again proved eternal quotation “Class is permanent and form is temporary”. He is bowling tight spells against top class openers that too in twenty20 cricket matches. He is a real legend. McGrath may have taken another 100 test wickets if he was not retired.

IPL news and analysis

Indian cricketers are gradually taking centre stage in the Indian premier League after the exit of might Australians. Wonderful batting from Rohit Sharma (Lone warrior in a poor Hyderabad team) failed to save Hyderabad Deccan Chargers against Mohali IPL. Shane Ware’s Rajasthan Royals crushed Kolkata IPL but Warne-Ganguly episode took centre stage. Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Gang should think that Cricket is greater than any cricketer. Forget about spirit of the game, Ganguly scored a wonderful and fighting half century but team collapsed in the team.
Verdict: No team seems to be favourite to win IPL.

Best successful strategy:

1. Rajasthan Royals bet on young players and their strategy paid rich dividends. Kudos for Shane Warne for selecting young Indian cricketers over his Hampshire teammate Mascarenhas. IPL needs captains and coaches like Shane Warne. He picked Asnodkar as opener against a tough opposition like Kolkata.

I can’t understand:

1. Why Hyderabad is selecting Arjun Yadav and Venugopala Rao ahead of dynamic young player Ravi Teja. I am getting headache by thinking about Hyderabad team selection. Robin Singh is the worst coach and VVS Laxman is the worst captain in IPL.

2. Why Bangalore is leaving Misbah-Ul-Haq on the bench? Bangalore needs Robin Uthappa as icon but not Rahul Dravid.

My suggestion:

1. IPL authorities need to change “4 foreign player rule” to raise the quality of matches. Teams should need 5-6 international players for high quality games.

2. ICC should include IPL in their calendar otherwise we will see 10-15 retirement announcements from International players especially from England and New Zealand.

3. There are very good players in ICL also. ICC should lift ban on these players.

Latest IPL news:

1. “Indian cricket God” Sachin Tendulkar will play in Indian Premier League from Sunday onwards.

2. IPL authorities still undecided over Shoaib Akthar ban. Pressure from Kolkata Knight Riders.

3. Mohammad Yusuf will play for England county Lancashire. No IPL team wants him. What a pity for a legend like Yusuf!

Analysis of IPL captains

Captains played a very crucial role in changing the fortunes of their IPL teams. Captains like Shane Warne and Dhoni inspired their teams with their leadership qualities while Dravid and Laxman buckled under pressure with poor batting and unimaginative captaincy. Unlike Dravid, Laxman at least sacrificed money and iconic status.

Analysis of Indian Premier League captains:

1. Shane Warne: He is the coach, captain, magician, God, motivator and saviour for underdogs Jaipur. He inspired young Jaipur team to sensational victories.

2. MS Dhoni: Ice Man Dhoni showed his immense potential against Bangalore with his hard hitting and cool captaincy. Indian cricket is in the safe hands of this “Ice Man”. We will know his real potential in the coming matches where Chennai will miss the services of Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram. Can he inspire his team like Warne?

3. Virender Sehwag: One superb inning against Hyderabad and nothing else.

4. Yuvraj Singh: He is playing consistently well in all the Mohali IPL matches. But team lost some matches due to bad selection and unsettled batting order. Indian vice-captain need to prove his captaincy skills.

5. Sourav Ganguly: He is an inspirational leader but poor batsman. Kolkata fans love the passionate combination of Sourav-Shahrukh but Ganguly needs to score runs.

6. Rahul Dravid: Why is he playing in this tournament? What can he do in Twenty20 games? He should sit at home and watch matches. Poor leader but good man.

7. VVS Laxman: You should pick your best players to win tight Twenty20 games. You can’t bat; you can’t see potential in young men; you can’t take bold innovate decisions; you can’t field; you can’t say no “Recommendation candidates”. Critics at last found answers for eternal questions like why he wasn’t picked by one day selectors.

8. Sachin/Harbhajan/Pollock: Sachin hides injuries for money/advertisements. Harbhajan slaps opposition players. Pollock is waging lone battle. How can you expect match winning performances from Mumbai IPL team?

IPL Awards:

Best captain: Shane Warne.

Cool captain: MS Dhoni. Chennai won two tight matches against Mumbai and Bangalore under cool Dhoni’s captaincy.

Worst captains: Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman.

Worst decision: Laxman gave last over to Andrew Symonds against Rajasthan Royals.

Best moment: Shane Warne hit 2 sixers and 1 four in the last over to destroy Hyderabad hopes.

Verdict: Why can’t India able to produce great leaders like Australia? Sachin, Dravid and Laxman are good batsmen but poor captains. Ganguly and Dhoni are the only world class captaincy materials from India. Anil Kumble is an intelligent captain.

Live IPL Matches: Subscription plans

IPL T20.com, official website of Indian Premier League announced subscription plans to watch live streaming of IPL Twenty20 matches on the web. They live streamed IPL matches for free in the initial days but now only subscribers can watch T20 matches on the web.

IPL T20 Subscription plans:

1. One day pass: $ 2.45.
2. Entire IPL tournament: $ 36.97.
3. One year Pass: $ 46.83.

What subscribers will get?

Subscribers can watch live streaming of matches, Video highlights, access to archives of IPL videos and replays of matches in the selected subscription period.

Click here to know more details on subscription plans to watch IPL twenty20 matches on the web.

Note: Live streaming of IPL cricket matches will not be available for citizens residing in USA, UK, South Africa, Zimbabwe and West Indies etc.

IPLT20.com lost many visitors after it stopped live streaming of IPL matches. Subscriptions plans may not work in countries like India and Pakisthan where broadband penetration is poor.

Shoaib Akhtar all set to play

Kolkata Knight Riders will have better chances with their bowling as Pakistani fast bowler has been cleared to play in the IPL for them. Shah Rukh had requested Akhtar to apolgise to his board for making critical comments against his board.

But the board went ahead and banned the player. Shaoib went on appeal and finally two days back his ban was suspended and the player was given permission to play for his team in the IPL - the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Akhtar and Ishant Sharma should make a deadly pair. Here’s wishing them all the best in the coming matches.