Wow:Even The Royal Challengers Can Upset!

It is really hard to believe in my own eyes at the end of the match,the scoreboard of which read: Royal Challengers Bangalore won the match by 14 runs.This never seemed so when I watched the Chennai Super Kings charging towards the small target of 127.And that too at an astonishing pace when they were found charging at 60/0 and later 85/2.And finally 112/8 after the end of their quota of 20 overs.

Much more amazing was that of Anil Kumble's feat of 3/14 which is the best as far as the Royal Challengers were concerned.Its a dilemma weather to say Royal Challengers as losers or to cite Chennai Super Kings as winners.Because,neither the pitch was found to deceive the batsmen nor there was any resistance from the Royal Challengers Bangalore team to restrict the Chennai Super Kings not even to chase successfully a modest total of 127.

Not being able to that when they were in a comfortable position at 60/0 and later at 85/2.Only three people were found to put up scores of 10+.And Parthiv Patel's effort taking more balls than the runs he scored.I feel it is a perfect answer to the ego of the Chennal Super Kings for having dominated the tournament for some part of it and also for under estimating their opponents in Royal Challengers Bangalore.

A hare and the tortoise race i can say.What?

Another D-L Debacle

Well with the T20 game of cricket itself lasting so short duration,imagine what would the situation be if there is a case of a bad weather,or heavy downpours as it happened during the match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders which was eventually won by the as usual Chennai Super Kings.One fact that has to be noticed here is that whenever there is a necessity for the Duckworth-Lewis method to take over,the team that would be in favour would at most of the times be the team which has been the upper hand in the series.Like it happened in the South Africa-Sri Lanka match in the 2003 WC which was awarded to Sri Lanka though it was South Africa who was in need of one.And the next bast example that I can give is the semis of the same in which Australia (who held the upper hand through the tournament) ended winners.

Coming to this match,the Kolkata Knight Riders didn't do a debacle as it was done by the Delhi Daredevils in the previous encounter.But,the fate of the Kolkata Knight Riders had different plans.Though not an extraordinary innings,a decent one from the blades of Salman Butt,followed by an OK like game from Das.But,some hats off to Makhaya Ntini who got yet another hattrick in the tournament.An unknowing one.None of them even Ntini didn't realize that he had done something special with the ball.

The tournament is turning out to be a special one ..something that even the World Cup that comes once in every four years dosen't have.The tournament has so far witnessed five fastest centuries with each one of them breaking the previous record with the number of balls taken into consideration.And the tournament has so far seen three hattricks.The number of such feats in the world is at the most two in the 2003 edition (which had Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas & Australia's Brett Lee).

But,still I wish the Duckworth Lewis method should not be used to predict the match results which would give rise to yet another format of the game.Probably a T10 match.

Finall The Mumbai Drought Ends

Last night was a relief for most of the Mumbai fans out there not for on, but for many reasons.The first being the return of the local hero in Sachin Tendulkar,whose introduction would be foolish thing to do.And then,there was one batsmen from Mumbai Indians' side who finally came out with a classical knock when the fans witnessed the second fastest hundred in the tournament from the blades of Sanath Jayasuriya.

11 sixes by Sanath Jayasuriya on a ground where he was found blasting an unbeaten 151 to carry his team (the then world champions) to the finals of the Pepsi Independence Cup and eventually win the series.This is the second time that I know that Sanath Jayasuriya hit 11 sixes after the first instance against Pakistan in the Singer Cup 1996-where he blasted 134 off just 65 deliveries.And if this chance was let off by Jayasuriya,it would mean the end of hopes for the Mumbai Indians as well. Thank god he didn't let that happen.

His knock against the Chennai Super Kings reminds me of the knock played by Adam Gilchrist when he was found smashing the Mumbai Indians repeatedly over the mid on side.And Sanath Jayasuriya's knock was something similar to that.Don't know as to what might happen in future regarding either Sanath Jayasuriya or Mumbai Indians,after even the same Adam Gilchrist had nothing to prove after his fastest hundred.As far as this math went out,it was a treat to watch as i-a huge fan of Jayasuriya could see him blast the bowlers,though there was a superb bowling performance when he took 3/19 and also 2 catches to empower his team to victory against Kolkata Knight Riders.

The last time I saw Sanath Jayasuriya play a splendid innings was in the T20 game against New Zealand-where he scored 61 runs off just 42 deliveries.Well if this is the way people like Sanath Jayasuriya,Shahid Afridi,Adam Gilchrist...so on and so forth (who are known for their big hitting) goes,it would be a real success for a tournament where players are paid astronomical sums.

Return With A Bang!!

Well in the game between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings there was Laxmipathy Balaji who was found to make a grand comeback,the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils saw the man whom people love to hate make a terrific comeback when he sent four batsmen back to the pevilion every time he came out to bowl out there.

The man was found to make news for all the bad reasons had something good in his very first Indian Premier League match.But,once again he's a man whom people love to hate.And once again he's made atleast Shahrukh do this.For his services were not available for most part of the IPL would have annoyed atleast me if not everyone.As far as the match goes,both the teams out there had to face humiliation when it came to batting.The first being the Kolkata Knight Riders who were bowled out for a mere total of 133 that was assumed to be chased down in a wick with the likes of Goutam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag.But,the Shoaib factor was not taken into account I guess.

And the funny thing the I like to highlight is the falling of three wickets in Laxmi Ratan Shukla's first five deliveries.So is it Shoaib Akthar who rattled the Daredevils' batsmen or the Delhi batsmen themselves got into self destruct mode.Well it is left for you people to judge it out.And the most successful bowler of the match being given just 3 out of four overs that could have bowled.

Well..I have a suggestion to Shoaib that the boundary in the T20 games is a bit less when compared to ODIs.Else,it would not be too far when one can see Shoaib Akthar starting his run-up from out of the boundary line.

Singh vs Singh and Kings vs Kings

It was a battle between two Kings in Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab and also between two Singhs in Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni who captained their respective sides.One team that had come off from bottom to top and the other maintaining their streak with some ups and downs in the tournament.

But some difference with so many similarities between the two teams that clashed out there was that the match witnessed what no other team in the tournament so far has been able to achieve so far.A hattrick by a man who was seen in action after almost two and a half years-Laxmipathi Balaji.Also not to mention the clash between two players who have played for the same team for years altogether.But this time one had to face the other's bowling.Muttiah Muralitharan and Mahela Jayawardane two M's.And finally similar to his team's result,Murali's result was also no different. Murali did the same to his counterpart what Dhoni did to his.

All could be forgotten but for the wicket of Irfan Pathan who was threatening to walk away with the match had he not been taken by Raina off the bowling of the local hero-Laxmipathi Balaji.Irfan scored an 18-ball 40 before the ball found the hands of Suresh Raina.The Kings XI Punjab gave away 15 runs in extras with some clever bowling off Chennai Super Kings gave away just 3.If this was not to be,the Chennai Super kings had nothing when it came to their batting for the strike rates of even the settled batsmen was not above 150.

The match result may say whatever but both the kings team put up a decent performance what-so-ever.Both threatening to take away the game from each other time and now.

A Perfect Revange For The Chennai Super Kings

Well after a series of three defeats by the Chennai Super Kings,it looked as though the Chennai Super Kings were found to learn their lessons.And also after a series of boring one-sided matches ever since the inaugural edition of the IPL started,there was some enthusiasm in the crowd I guess after the match between Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Dare Devils-which resulted in a last ball win for Dhoni's men.

It is true that "Time and Tide wait for none".Since the first round robin of the IPL got over and the second round has already begun.When the same two teams met in the first round robin,the Delhi Dare Devils demolishes the Chennai Super kings by handing them their first ever defeat in the tournament.Since then th Chennai Super Kings have never been able to win a single match.And what better can it get by starting their winning streak once again by winning against a team which handed them the first ever defeat in the tournament?

The only positives in the Delhi Daredevils team being the knock of Gautam Gambhir who kept on fighting a losing battle,keeping the hopes of a Daredevils' win very much alive to a greater pert of the innings.But,no enough support for him at the other end (but for Shikar Dhawan) made things worse for the Delhi Dare Devils.

And one more thing that keeps on confusing/wondering me is the fact that Dhoni was awarded the man of the match award,with Stephen Fleming and Vidyut doing the scoring part for most part of the innings and also with a better strike rate of 170+ compared to Dhoni's run-a-ball 30.How?

After A Series Of Wins,It Is A Series Of Losses For The Chennai Super Kings

Well when the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League started,the teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings started it all with a huge bang by registering three consecutive wins and the Chennai Super Kings extending it to four.And much frustration as the Chennai Super Kings were found to do the good work they were found doing in the match against weakly rated Deccan Chargers.This would off course put the audience in a guess as to what would happen to the finals or as to who would emerge the winners of the IPL and walk away with a whooping Rs 12 crore?

Off course that would by no means go into the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore.And not even Deccan Chargers.And with the Chennai Super Kings making a mess of their game after the famous New Zealander-Jacob Oram and the Aussies Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey had to return back home to fulfill their national commitments.Even two lives given to Parthiv Patel was not made use of fully by this child when he threw away a running catch to R P Singh in the sixth ball after he had two lives -one in the first ball and the next in the fourth.

And for a change,this time there were some fireworks from Shahid Afridi who was for most part of the tournament found to score only in the dressing room and only on paper.But,a strike rate of 333 means that this would be the beginning of another Afridi era and a treat for the fans out there in the upcoming matches.A lower order batsman in Albie Morkel was the first one to slog the ball over the ropes.As against Adam Gilchrist who saw to it that the scoreboard kept on jumping with hefty blows all over the ground.

It would be nice for the fans if V V S Laxman is out of the tournament if the Deccan Chargers have got to prove something.

Rajasthan Royals' Journey From Bottom To The Top

In the beginning of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League,the Rajasthan Royals were considered to be the modest of all opposition.And much to the amazement of the viewers out there,it looked the same for the Rajasthan Royals team were found to lose the first two matches of the tournament.But,it was also the same surprise when the same team is now the top team even ahead of the Chennai Superstars-who started their games with a bang by winning most of their games.

But,today if the Rajasthan Royals are compared to what they were in the beginning of the tournament,it looks really fantastic and also one of the best contenders for the tournament.And something to be noticed is that the Rajasthan team have a different match winner out there every time they take on the field.Some names include Yousuf Pathan,Shane Warne,Shane Watson,Asnodkar and this time it was Sohai Tanvir.And just take a look at the bowling figures.My God!!It is the third time that the record has been broken after Sanath Jayasuriya and Glenn McGrath hod it against their names a week ago.

Only Morkel could post a 40+ individual score,and that too with a modest strike rate (when it comes to T20 cricket) of 127.Only four of them posting totals of over 10.The batsmen belonging to the Rajasthan Royals had absolutely nothing to do but just keep the score board ticking by rotating the strike as it is done in test cricket.Finally a look at Sohail Tanvir's feat on youtube.NJOY!!!

Sehwag:The Only One Icon Player?

Well the definition of icon player seemed to be redefined by Virender Sehwag for,he is the only one so called icon player to have proved to be worth his status.Unlike other so called icon players like Sachin Tendulkar-who is yet to make a mark in the tournament,Rahul Dravid-who can just defend the ball rather than see it clear the ropes,Sourav Ganguly who is only a step agead of Rahul Dravid when it comes to big hitting and last but not the least we have Anil Kumble,whose name has hardly been heard by the fans over.Guess this is why a thinking player like V V S Laxman chaose not to be one of those icon players citing the team's budget as the reasons to opt not to be one.Some intelligence to be observed.Ha ha ha..

The man for the second time was found to fire with the bat.The first against Deccan Chargers-wherein he scored a quickfire 91 off just 42 deliveries and this time against the Chennal Super Kings-who have until now been unbeaten.But,Sehwag took the initiative to see to that this dominance continues no more.There was nothing to complain from the side of M S Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings if not for Virender Sehwag.And also not to forget his wicket of Parthiv Patel to give initial breakthrough to his team.

Well Dhoni had set each and everything right for his team by putting on 169 runs which was rather the most a decent total.But,Sehwag had different plans.And that too without the likes of Matthew Hayden,Mike Hussey and Jacob Oram,who have been the right hand in posting three consecutive wins for their side.It looks like after this game against the Delhi Daredevils,the life span of the Chennai Super Kings has been numbered.Really??

It Looks Like The Royal Challengers Aren't interested in Winning!!

A third consecutive loss in the tournament for a team that has all test playing players, who could not even make it even after the visitors gave as many as four lives to the hosts,one in the form of Taylor and three in the form of Wassim Jaffer.But,the home team had different plans I guess.First it was in the bowling department,which saw the Chennai Super Kings go past the 175+ mark,when the going seemed tough from the initial overs wherein the Chennai Super Kings were reeling at 102/3 in 15 overs,to see the Chennai Super Kings end up putting a total of 178/5,76 runs coming from the last five overs.And Dhoni,who was found to score at run a ball,was found blasting all over the stadium to end up with an individual score of 65 off just 30 balls.

And things were not difficult either for the Royal Challengers' team,when even test playing batsman of the caliber of Wassim Jaffer and Ross Taylor were found to dominate with the bat.And the great "Rahul Dravid" was found to get his second Golden Duck in the tournament.Dropping three catches didn't stop Royal Challengers from ending as losers for the third time in the series,all three at home.The score of the Royal Challengers' team comes out to be 55 for 8 with Jaffer's and Taylor's knock alog with 7 extras kept apart.

Well if there is one captain in M.S.Dhoni who could fight until the very end to see to that his team puts up a fighting total at the end,there was also a hopeless captsin in Rahul Dravid who could do nothing but wash his hands and accept defeat with both hands.

Dhoni & Hayden Style..

Its nothing new regarding the way batsman like M.S.Dhoni, Virender Sehwag..like to finish off the match or be it getting into the landmark they were fast approaching.And Dhoni last night against Kolkata knight Riders did just that.A formal if not massive six to put an end to Kolkata Knight Riders' fate and also to seal Chennai Super Kings' fortunes.

On the other hand even Hayden was not ready to compromise either.One straight drive for six by this Australian lad took almost everything from me.I intend in giving a million pounds to that shot of his.Just kidding!!The most perfect shot I've ever come across,with his foot perfectly balanced,catching up with the length followed by perfect timing.The 13 sixes hit by Brendon McCullum in the first encounter against Royal Challengers had not even one such shot,with all those being just a slog,and not to forget the poor bowling off Dravid's party.

And Jacob Oram showed hos New Zealand team mate that Chennai Super Kings aren't Royal Challengers to have only test players like Sunil Joshi and Rahul Dravid to name a few.3/32 from 4 overs was all the most economical when it came to the T20 format.Coool Super Kings...

A Better Match to Follow

After the first match debacle in the opening encounter involving Bangalore Royal Challengers,there was some relief in the second encounter involving Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings.For both the teams out there were found to show their powers,if not for the fact that there can be only one winner for a match.Both teams crossing the 200+ mark showed some maturity in the game that was totally dominated by batsmen,which witnessed the fastest hundred in the history of the game by Mike Hussey.

If not for the likes of Indian skipper M.S.Dhoni,rest of them could boast of having a strike rate of excess of 150,with two out of six having their strike rates of 200+.Well like I always do,this time i have got nothing to complain about.Because,the T20 competition is most (if not all) about belting the ball.And if this is not to be,does someone expect the audience just to come out there and watch the batsmen ducking each and every ball they face?Had it been so,the T20 would rather been called as a reduced version of 50 over ODI.

Even in the second innings,5 out of six (if Irfan Pathan is taken to be a bowler), batsmen could post strike rates of excess of 150.Well,at the end of the day,it was atreat for all the fans,in addition to the delight of watching the dancing girls out there.So,thanks people for giving us a beautiful match.