RCB always a cakewalk for DC

It has been a traditional contest between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Deccan Chargers since the inauguration of the Indian Premier League in 2008 when both the teams first competed for the last spot on the charts table with the same two teams making it to the finals of the same a year later when the competition was held in South Africa. This was followed by the teams facing back each other in the third edition once again in India when the Royal Challengers lost both the games to the Deccan Chargers in the league stages but bounced back in the crucial stage to make it to the champions league.

Putting the past behind us, in the current edition of the same, once again the Deccan Chargers have defeated the Royal challengers rather royally when the margin of defeat would raise a question whether it was a T20 game or the one day international that they were witnessing. A margin of 33 runs can happen only in one day international when one of the teams have the advantage of the toss they would have won before the match would have started. But, that can hardly be the case in T20 games when the pitch would hardly be different from what it was a couple of hours ago.

A target of 172 runs for the Royal Challengers Bangalore would and should have been an achievable one if it is the T20 game that is going on on the field. The run rate that is required in such a case is just less than 9 runs an over but still achievable with players like Tilakaratne Dilshan and Virat Kohli in the team. However, if the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain-Daniel Vettori shows some extraordinary brains and sends in Zaheer Khan at number three to bat, than things may turn out to be different that what would have been expected.

There were just three hits out of the ground from the RCB team and all of it belonged to the top scorer-Virat Kohli who shone with the bat with a handy 71 off 51 deliveries. That constituted half of their overall total of 142 that included 8 extras. One has to wonder why were there the likes of A B deVilliars and Dilshan when their contribution never crossed the double digit mark. If Zaheer Khan could bowl first and return successful with three scalps, the same Zaheer Khan spoiled the RCB party by coming in at number 3. Instead, Vettori could have bought himself on keeping in mind his all round abilities. But, who can tell Vettori?

A surprise on the first day itself

Well hardly anyone would have expected the team that finished last in the previous years' edition of the Indian Premier League to beat the team that won the championship the same year. Things started the same way as expected for the Kolkata Knight Riders when they lost 2 wickets even before the scoreboard had something to read. It was fascinating to see the first two wickets falling when the score was zero and the next two wickets falling when the score was 31. And, what happened following that is well aware from the scoreboard itself which is needless to be said I suppose.

The Kolkata Knight Riders did exceptionally well to see their team go past 150 runs when at one stage even a 100 on the board would have made the players of the Kolkata Knight Riders feel satisfied for the fact that atleast they can bowl 10 overs to the Deccan Chargers who had the likes of Gilchrist and Symonds in their ranks. The run rate when the fourth wicket fell was just above 6 an over which eventually happened to be over 8.0 an over. All thanks to the two men out there namely- Owais Shah and Angelo Mathews who put up an unbeaten 131 run partnership.

Angelo Mathews was found to be a failure in the bilateral series between Sri Lanka and India which was played a couple of months back. But, this time he was the man who ensured a turnaround to his team which not only won the game but also Mathews was awarded the man of the match. It is nonetheless another case of underestimating the opposition from the Deccan Chargers who had anticipated a win against the Kolkata Knight Riders even before the match had begun. And, finally they had to pay the price for the same. A close look at the KKR squad doesn't reveal any strong batting names.

The only batsmen who can be thought of to have a huge fan following them were Sourav Ganguly and Brad Hodge, both of whom departed at early stages of their innings. Following them were Pujara who did what was expected off him when he went back runless. On the other hand, the Deccan Chargers had the likes of Gilchrist, Rohith Sharma, Symonds and Gibbs, all of whom were thought to be big hitters. Likewise, only Gilchrist & Symonds would have been enough for any opposition which didn't happen in the 1st match. So was the case with the KKR's bowling which had no decent names if not for Ishanth and Langeveldt and that too compared to the other bowlers of KKR.

And, the Deccan Chargers had Symonds, Vass and Ojha who have played international matches before but could not bail their team out yesterday. THis is the magic of T20 cricket and more so in the IPL.

A Prefect Team Effort

Some occasions occur rarely.And in cricket one of the rare occasions is the one match in which there is a team effort as against a cricket game in which even in the winning team there is only a one man show.And this is most of the case in a losing team.But,in the game involving Mumbai Indians and the Deccan Chargers,one could see a team effort on the part of the Mumbai Indians,as all of the known batsmen were found to make a mark in the match.Starting from Sanath Jayasuriya,until Shah,almost everyone did what best they could have done with the bat.

Sanath Jayasuriya became the highest six hitter in the tournament with 20 big hits so far.The top scorer in the Mumbai Indians side was Abhisheik Nayar who scored only a handy 38 runs off 24 balls.But,the overall scorecard of the Mumbai Indians read 178/7 at the end of their alloted 20 overs.The run rate being almost 9.0 runs an over.Which is decent a decent one in the T20 format and that too in a team where none of them could manage a 50+ score.And when it came to the batting of Deccan Chargers,it was as usual.Lose couple of quick wickets and then towards the fag end of the innings,the prevailing batsmen can be seen only as though trying to draw a test match.

Shahid Afridi couldn't continue the good work he was found doing in the first three overs in the fourth over.It would raise eye-brows if one hears that Afridi's first three overs cost just 9 runs until he was blasted by Bravo for 14 runs in his fourth and the 16th over of the match.And when it came to his batting,the scoring was only in the minds of the fans of Shahid Afridi who are so far almost dejected.

An all round performance from Dwayne Bravo who scored a handy 30 off 17 balls with a couple of boundaries and an equal number of sixes.And in the second innings when it was his turn to take the ball into his hands,he never did a Virender Sehwag (who cost 22 runs in his only over against Kings XI Punjab).But,took 3 wickets giving away
24 runs from 4 overs.

The last time when the same two teams faced each other,the ball was on the Deccan Chargers' court owing to which Adam Gilchrist blasted a 42 ball hundred which was the then fastest hundred of the tournament.There it was a one man show unlike in the second round.But,Mumbai should have found it relaxing after it gave back Deccan Chargers what they (Deccan Chargers) had given them in the first meeting.

Slowly Turning The Other Way?

Well as soon as the talk is about the T20 game,the first thing that comes to people's mind is about not batting but about belting the ball ruthlessly.But,in the ongoing Indian Premier League,in addition to merciless belting of the cricket ball,there are at time when teams end up putting a low total,and in case of Royal Challengers Bangalore,it is something a common gesture I can say.But,the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and the Delhi Dare Devils found the Kolkata Knight Riders not only end up scoring a low total but also defend it successfully.Coutesy:Shoaib Akthar's 4/11 off 3 overs.

And in the recent match between the Chennai Super Kings versus Rajasthan Royals, the match witnessed not only a hat-trick but also a second 5-wicket haul.The first one being Sohail Tanvir's 6/14.I doubt weather he has taken better figures than this one even in tests?And more recently,that is in yesterday's match,there was one more hat-trick by Amith Mishra who was also making a comeback after a very long time. Not sure as to when he last played his international game in any format.

Well another coincidence has arisen which even I came to know while writing this particular post.That is all the aforementioned bowling efforts have been by bowlers who have made a comeback after a long time.

It was nice to see some big hitter like Shahid Afridi play his natural game of slogging the ball randomly.Though not lasting too long,there was some satisfaction compared to his previous knocks.And the innings played by Goutam Gambhir is outstanding not to mention.Congrats Goutam on reaching the 400 run aggregate mark.Lets hope that he gets atleast one man of the match award.No doubt that he still stands one of the best (may be the only one) to be awarded the man of the series award.I've already awarded him it!!!

Another Icon Player Comes out With a Wonder

Well until now it was only Virender Sehwag who was found to prove his icon status by having two match winning knocks against his mane,there was one more to join when Sourav Ganguly was found to do what he was supposed to so as to prove his icon status.For he was found belting the ball to not only score a 57 ball 91 but also lead his team to four victories from 8 games till date.

It all didn't happen overnight as words go out.The man had to wait patiently until he got his rhythm right which took as many as ten overs during which the scoreboard read 73/1.And a miracle was awaiting as he along with David Hussey put on 115 runs off the last 7 overs.And a rare feat happened when the Kolkata Knight Riders when they were found to cross the 200 run mark.

Even the Deccan Chargers-unlike the Royal Challengers Bangalore were found to put in some sort of resistance when they came close to chasing the mammoth total but ended 23 short when their innings stopped at 181/7 after the end of the 20th over.Courtesy a 42-ball 71 by Venugopal Rao,whose splendid efforts have so far resulted in only his team's loss.

Same two Teams,Same Result,Same Man

Well the last time when the Deccan Chargers met the Royal Challengers,they were outplayed by the latter despite the then fastest hundred from the blades of Andrew Symonds.The match was outplayed by another man from Rajasthan Royals who notched up the fastest fifty of the tournament.And the same story repeated once again when the same two teams met each other at Jaipur.

This time there was no Andrew Symonds,but off course there was Yousuf Pathan who was once again found to trouble the Deccan Chargers' bowlers with his power shots.Off course the main culprit being the hopeless batting display by the Deccan Chargers-which also included Adam Gilchrist's 49 ball 61 for that he could not result in the momentum going.If it was at the top of the batting order that saw some stroke play from the blades of Adam Gilchrist,the next such show came towards the end when Venugopal Rao blasted a 11-ball 23.The team whose score was 74/1 at the end of 10 overs,were found to pile up just 66 runs in the next slot losing 7 wickets.

And this was in no way found to trouble the Rajasthan Royals.And how would it ever do-when a target of over 200 didn't fount to in the first encounter,how come a target that was some 60 runs short compared to the first?That too without the power of Andrew Symonds?With Smith and Pathan almost getting the job done,the next who came in (Kaif and Watson) had nothing much to do but to give a perfect finish to their team.

God knows as to when will there be a BOOM BOOM AFRIDI?

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.

Kings XI Punjab Have An Easy Prey

A fourth victory on the trot for the kings XI Punjab meant winning five games in a row for them as they were supposed to take on the non countable team in Royal Challengers Bangalore who are not at all counted to be an opposition by anyone.Even the Deccan Chargers-who are next to them when it comes to losing I guess.And this is what exactly happened on May 5th when Kings XI Punjab trounced Royal Challengers Royally at the Chinnaswamy Stadium by 6 wickets.

The Royal Challengers needless to say,have already registered the lowest total of the IPL when they were all out for a score of 82 in the very first encounter against another minnow team in Kolkata Knight Riders.And after this humiliating defeat,the Royal Challengers never lost their way.They kept on following the steps paved in the first match.And the match against Kings XI Punjab.

Well it would be a foolish advice to expect the Royal Challengers Team stand up and show some teeth because they have already given it up.Not a guess!The only chance for the Royal Challengers would be the team who challenges them when it comes to losing badly.One hope would be off course Deccan Chargers.But still,it is hard to believe that the highest wicket taker in the tournament being Zaheer Khan who belongs to Royal Challengers.Isn't it?

Bottom To Top & From Top To Bottom

Well when the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League started,the Kolkata Knight Riders started it all with a bang by beating the Royal Challengers Bangalore by a whooping 140 runs-which is till the highest margin of victory for any team against any opposition.But,the victory streak was limited it looks.Because,after winning the forst two matches,the Kolkata Knight Riders had nothing at their end but defeat.Likewise on the other hand,the Kings XI Punjab has had a steady progress as they were found to win the rest of the games with much ease compared to the way they lost their opening encounter against Rajasthan Royals-which is famous for the Sreesanth-Harbhajan incident.

And if there was Yousuf Pathan for the Royal Challengers making news for all the good reasons,his younger brother Irfan is not too far behind as even this man was found to put up an all round performance by capturing two crucial wickets and scoring 24 runs (lets not take into account the strike rate).And much to my surprise,it was unimaginable to see Piyush Chawla belt the ball like an Indian Shahid Afridi.The tail end batsman scored a 7 ball 21 at a strike rate of 300 which included 3 hits to the fence and one huge six.

And the match was such a close encounter that it kept the audience always guessing out there for every ball that was bowled.The Kolkata Kinght Riders captain was once again a great flop as he could only manage to come out of a duck and get struck at 5.Atleast some blistering knock of 71 saw some face saving work for the Kolkata Knight Riders.And after a series of losses,it looks like the Kolkata knight riders are going the Royal Challengers and the Deccan Chargers way.

Vow Even The Royal Challengers Can Win!!!

After most of humiliating defeats in most part of the tournament,finally,the Royal Challengers could afford to snatch a victory.Though not fully deserving,atleast there was some relief for the crowd and the cheer leaders who had come over there to cheer the Royal Challengers.For a change,even the unlikey to fire batsmen of the caliber of V V S Laxman,Wassim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid were found to do some sort of contribution with the bat.However,even the Deccan Chargers are no way less when it comes to losing games.But,the difference being the big hitting names like Andrew Symonds,Adam Gilchrist,Rohith Sharma...unlike the Royal Challengers who are duped by the selection of Rahul Dravid.Jaques Kallis and Mark Boucher being the only positives when it comes to the batting involving power hitting.And on the other side with the likes of only Zaheer Khan to provide some sort of relief when given the ball in hand.

The only interesting ones that I can suggest is that between two weak teams and the other is that involving two strong teams.Unluckily,the match between Royal Challengers Banaglore and the Deccan Chargers falls into the first category.

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??

Replace a Match Winner By Another Match Winner

Set a thief to catch a thief.And this is what the Kings XI Punjab were found doing in the encounter against Deccan Chargers who on the last night gave the kings a tough fight.People like Shahid Afridi,Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs-who are known for their hard hitting abilities were found to do the scoring part only in the imaginary world.While lesser known names (when it come to big hitting) like V V S Laxman and Rohith Sharma were found to dominate with the bat.And the coincidence being that the match winner in the last game-Simon Katich was replaced by another match winner-Shepherd Marsh(son of Geoff Marsh).

And one of the rare feats that is witnessed in the Indian Premier League,both the teams put up a tough fight.But,as the rules of the game goes,there could be only one winner and that turned out to be the Kings XI Punjab.Someone like Yuvraj Singh and Shahid Afridi were once again found to disappoint.But,the man who made the day out there was Rohith Sharma who scored an unbeaten 76 off just 42 balls-just like he did in the inaugural T20 world cup against South Africa in South Africa.This happened when all the batsmen from the other end collapsed but for VVS Laxman.

And it was also a delight to watch Mahela Jayawardane who scored 45 runs off 23 balls which involved most of them scoops.After all,it was a rare fight that was witnessed in the IPL after the second game.And also more smiles for Priety Zinta who saw her team climb up the stairs after three initial losses.

A Rcord Overtaken In Just Two Days

Well the very first match of the Indian Premier League saw some blistering sixes from the blades of the New Zealand dasher Brendon McCullum,who score the fastest hundred of the tournament in just 53 balls,only three days later to be seen losing to Australian effortless hitter Andrew Symonds,but even this feat didn't seem to last long as well,as the feat was once again overtaken by his Australian team mate-Adam Gilchrist,who made the fastest hundred in just 42 balls,overtaking Andrew Symonds' 47 ball feat.

It was nice to see the stroke play of Andrew Symonds,for he was found plundering the ball all over,unlike Brendon McCullum-who just blasted a weak bowling line up in Royal Challengers,who were babies when it came to the T20 format of cricket.And taking Adam Gilchrist's knock,almost all of them were targeted towards the mid wicket.This could rather be referred to his day.At the end,it was a treat to watch as the Aussie was back to his firing ways.But,god knows as to how long this will go on?

Rajasthan Royals:Deserving Winners

If one could take a look into the Thursday's match between Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers,one comment that I could see was that "it was really disappointing to see the Deccan Chargers end as losers despite the fastest century by Andrew Symonds",also not to mention the maximum number of sixes hit by the same Andrew Symonds.Now,I wonder as to weather it was only Andrew Symonds who was supposed to do all the hitting work,while the rest of the Deccan Chargers' men just feeling charged rather than proving themselves to the name-Chargers?

With Andrew Symonds scoring at a rate of about 12 per over,the rest of the Chargers's team score was believe it or not just above 8 per over compared to the overall run rate of 10+.After Symonds' score of 117,the second best score of the Royals' team being 36 off 30 balls by Rohith Sharma.And with only 5 out of 7 batsmen playing,what better result does the Deccan Chargers' team deserve?

On the other hand,taking into account the performance of the Rajasthan Royals',first of all I would go in for all praise for Shane Warne,who is lesser known as batsmen,but could still see his team through by blasting 19 runs off the last over.This is what a responsible captain is supposed to do.And not only that..the team saw atleast 5 batsmen contributing to their side.The man who proved a point being off course Yousuf Pathan.Some positives that I could also witness is that for Shahid Afridi-who known for his batting poweress,but was found to dominate with the ball.

And one more thing that needs to be highlighted is that the match witnessed both the fastest hundred (by Andrew Symonds) and the fastest fifty by Yousuf Pathan(in 24 balls).