What is an IPL without any controversy? The tournament had not even set foot when it was surrounded on all sides by controversies galore, with Lalit Modi being at the centre of most of them. Security concerns, issues with English board, boring strategic time-outs, cheer-leaders, alcohol, ousted Pakistani players and so on; everything seemed to have had things going against them.
Thankfully, after the start of the tournament, the off-the-field issues have stopped, but on the field, the players have continued to make news for all the wrong reasons. Here is a lowdown of all the things that have gone wrong in the tournament so far:
Yuvraj proposes, Ness disposes:
After been disposed off as the captain of the Kings XI Punjab side, Yuvraj Singh wanted to shift to the Mumbai Indians side according to a report in a newspaper. The owner of the side, Ness Wadia refused, but then was worried that the combination of the loss of captaincy and the lack of desire to play for Punjab would mean that he could underperform. Wadia is then said to have supposedly spoken to the BCCI about his fears, who had had a talk with the player.
The result? Yuvraj Singh struggles through most part of the first half of the tournament, whereas the Punjab side capitulate to one loss after another and after having played ten games, they are already out of the tournament.
Ordinary or extra-ordinary?
Gautam Gambhir is a rather angry man on most occasions, but this time around he seemed to have stirred the hornet’s nest by calling the Rajasthan side ordinary. He was been asked whether he thought he was worried about the Royals chasing down the target that was set by the Daredevils, and he replied that apart from Yusuf Pathan, he was barely worried about the ordinary side.
Modi reprimanded Gambhir, but that did not mean that the dashing southpaw stopped making statements. He said that he stood by what he said and did not care much for people who had not held a bat in their hands – alluding to Shilpa Shetty in this case. Rajasthan went on to beat Deccan and Punjab in two successive games and look to be heading their way into the semi-finals.
While diplomacy was never Gambhir’s middle name, surprising to hear Gambhir call the Royals ordinary anyway, given that they have won the first edition of the IPL and look good to enter the semi-finals in the second!
Over-rate issues:
While it was good to observe that the IPL had taken upon itself to sweep the slow over-rate offenders with fines that were anything but tiny, the surprising bit was that not only the captain but all the rest of the players were fined a bomb as well.
So picture this. Kumar Sangakkara gets fined $20k for his first offence, $40k for his second and gets banned for his third one. He has already lost more than $100k in fines. But more importantly, each of his player has also lost around $50k, which is probably more than what some of the players even earn in the entire duration of the tournament! This means that by playing in the IPL, these players, with contracts worth $30,000 or $50,000 stand to gain nothing, all thanks to some slow thinking captains! Quite a joke I tell you!
The third edition of the IPL is almost heading to its mid-way stage and it is still a very open tournament. While Mumbai is firmly perched at the top and look favourites to make it to the semi-finals, while the Kings XI Punjab at the bottom of the pile may crash out of the tournament if they lose another couple, there is a good race amongst the rest for the semi-finals spot.
This piece talks about three of the best innings played in this IPL so far:
Yusuf Pathan, 100 (37 balls) versus Mumbai Indians:
Not often does a century in T20 cricket end in a lost cause. This is exactly what happened when Yusuf Pathan smacked a 37-ball century consisting of nine fours and eight huge sixes, as his side failed to provide him with the necessary support required to win the game.
Chasing a total of 213 for a win, the Royals were down in the dumps at 66/4 in the tenth over with almost an academic interest left in the margin of defeat. Instead, Pathan had other ideas and by the time he was unfortunately run-out, the Royals had the entire momentum going their way, as only 40 runs were needed for the win off three overs.
The rest of them failed, and the Mumbai Indians ended winners by only 4 runs. It also led Shane Warne to quip that it was the best innings he had seen in career lasting two decades!
Jacques Kallis, 89 (55 balls), versus Kings XI Punjab:
It was an innings of great poise and substance. The Kings XI Punjab had piled up 203 in their twenty overs and chasing it down was going to be difficult. Not so much as the Bangalore team opened their innings with Kallis, who was expected to do the anchor’s role. Instead, the pair of Manish Pandey and Kallis mesmerised the Punjab attack with a 74 run stand and then Kallis rotated the strike over with Robin Uthappa looking in sizzling touch.
Even by the time Uthappa was dismissed, the Bangalore side needed 61 runs off six overs, a total that the team got with consummate ease thanks to the great South African; Kallis. His 89 ahd eight fours and most surprisingly, five sixes, something not to be expected from a more sedate batsman like Kallis!
Sachin Tendulkar, 71 (48 balls), versus Kolkata Knight Riders:
That Tendulkar has been in the form of his life is not unheard of. However, for him to play in the manner that he has in this tournament so far has been a sheer treat to the eyes, in a format that not many reckon his cup of tea. Against the Knight Riders, the target was 156, and Tendulkar opened the innings. He was ably supported by the others around him, but most importantly, he kept picking up the boundaries throughout the duration of his innings.
But most specifically, he reserved a special treatment for Ishant Sharma, someone who was banished to the fence each time he erred ever so slightly in the spell. Sharma did pick up a couple of wickets, but could not get Tendulkar out and conceded 44 runs off his four overs.
And Mumbai won with seven wickets and nine balls to spare!
It was a heart-warming innings in a format of the game which is usually associated with brute power and thrashing!
Last week, we spoke about Deccan Chargers and Kolkata night Riders. Continuing with the preview to the start of the IPL, this piece talks about the chances of two more teams, Chennai Super Kings and Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Chennai Super Kings:
Strengths:
The captaincy of MS Dhoni has to be their biggest plus. Not often does one have a captain, who can lead by example so finely like how Dhoni has done while captaining for India or the Chennai Super Kings. His batting has evolved with each passing day and his wicket-keeping is safe as houses, which makes it easier for him to command respect from most of his peers and subordinates. He could be the one singular factor who could turn things around for the side.
Weaknesses:
Loss of key players would be their biggest weakness. Jacob Oram may miss out for the entire season, whereas Andrew Flintoff will definitely not feature in the IPL this year. Makhaya Ntini is so out of form that he is out of the Test team for now, while Muthiah Muralitharan was savaged by the Indian batsmen in the Test series this year. It definitely is a ragged team and will need a lot of assistance from the Indian players
Players to watch out for:
Murali Vijay would be my pick for the opening slot. He is a class act as has been evident from the manner he plays and the amount of runs he gets, and could be a good man to have partnering Mathew Hayden at the top.
Bangalore Royal Challengers:
Strengths:
The manner in which they gelled in the previous season after the loss of Kevin Pietersen can be attributed to the two big factors; Anil Kumble, their captain and Ray Jennings, their coach. The pair will make up for the Challengers’ biggest strength after an abysmal performance in the first season of the IPL and they will hope to continue with the same vigour. Pietersen will return back to the side and despite being out of form will be the one man to watch out for. So will the presence of Roelof van der Merwe and Manish Pandey in the line-up.
Weaknesses:
Thankfully, the ‘Test team’ that the Royal Challengers were christened as in the first edition of the tournament is no longer the case, but the players of the calibre of Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis will need to play much quicker than they have earlier. While they had reinvented themselves in the second edition of the tournament, the one thing one needs to look at is that the previous tournament was played in South Africa. The pitches in South Africa were not as conducive for stroke play as the ones here in India and hence, both, Kallis and Dravid were vital cogs with their impeccable techniques. With the IPL back in India, there is no doubting that the requirement for the big hitters will be increase and if the two cannot deliver, there is a good chance that they will remain out of the team.
Players to watch out for:
Manish Pandey is the one man who will not only benefit his team with a good tournament, but also his own self. One can be rest assured that a strong performance from him will win him a place in the following ICC World T20; something that will be a huge motive to perform to the best of his abilities.
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5th Match: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings
When: IPL 2009 20th April 2009
Toss: Chennai Super Kings - elected to bat
Winner: Chennai Super Kings by 92 runs
Man of the Match: M Muralitharan (Chennai Super Kings)
Well done Super Kings!
Dhoni won the toss and his big name players ruthlessly attacked the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Matthew Hayden smashed a half century (run out by Dravid, 65 off 35, s/r 185.71), Muttiah Muralitharan bowled devastating spin (3 for 11) and an all round game by Andrew Flintoff (bat:not out 22 off 13, 169.23 bowl: 1 for 11) helped the Chennai Super Kings cream them by 92 runs.
Team-mates congratulate Muttiah Muralitharan on getting Robin Uthappa, Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings, IPL, 5th game, Port Elizabeth, April 20, 2009
© Getty Images . This image may not be reproduced without specific consent from Getty Images and Cricinfo.
1st Match: Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians
When: IPL 2009 18th April 2009 10:30 GMT
Toss: Chennai Super Kings - elected to field
Winner: Mumbai Indians by 19 runs
Man of the Match: SR Tendulkar
Well done Mumbai!
2nd Match: Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Rajasthan Royals
When: IPL 2009 18th April 2009 14:30 GMT
Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers - elected to bat
Winner: Bangalore Royal Challengers by 75 runs
Man of the Match: RS Dravid
Well done Bangalore!
The Maharashtra bann on cheerleaders exposing too much skin only applies in India. Now the second season of the Indian Premier League is being held in South Africa on the 18th of April 2009 we will see a lot more liberating dance routines.
Check out other cheerleader posts. Make sure to vote for your favourite IPL2 cheer squad.
Bangalore Royal Challengers - The White Mischief Girls
The White Mischiefs for Bangalore are a mix of 14 seasoned cheerleaders from US Varsity and 10 other international cheerleaders. Read the rest of this entry...
