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 soft target for Bangalore

Well as long as there are teams like the Rajasthan Royals, teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore have hardly any sort of problem. Can anyone of you imagine a total of just 130 in a T20 game and that too by a team that involves a batsman who has set the record for scoring the fastest hundred in the IPL? Can anyone of you imagine a team to have 4 wickets in hand at the end of their 20^th over and yet end up scoring just over six runs an over? Yes, that is the Rajasthan Royals for you. The team which won 11 out of the 14 games scheduled and the title a couple of years back.

The eitire innings of the Rajasthan Royals had only one hit out of the stands when Abhishek Raut hit the lone six of the innings. Coincidentally, he was also the top scorer of the match when he score an unbeaten 32 runs to push the run rate past 6 an over. All the Royal Challengers Bangalore required was just 5 bowlers all of whom bowled their full quota of 4 overs each. This can happen only when the opposition batsmen offer no resistance and challenge as well. If not for Anil Kumble, all other bowlers returned with wickets against their names.

However, this doesn't matter much for cricket is a team game unlike badminton or tennis that is played between two individuals. Luckily, there was also an over maiden which belonged to Pankaj Singh. Overs rarely go maiden as far as a T20 game is concerned. However, one cannot blame it completely on the Rajasthan Royals' batsmen for their debacle, for even the Royal Challengers Bangalore followed a callous approach when they lost 5 wickets enroute to their successful run chase of 131 runs. Nevermind that the Bangalore team reached the winning run in just over 15 overs, but it is the approach which makes the difference.

It is such games that come crucial in terms of a tie breaker when two or more teams end up with equal number of points. One fascinating thing about the Rajasthan Royals bowlers was that they never bowled an extra delivery for an innings that lasted close to a hundred deliveries long. Even the Rajasthan Royals followed their opposition when even they like their opposition never handed the ball to a sixth bowler with 3 of the 5 bowlers set to bowl their complete quota of 4 overs. Yousuf Pathan would have come in handy in such cases and Adam Voges being given another chance would not have proved costly.

At the end of the day, there was a bad match for cricket fans who want some decent action from the batsmen especially.

The way the RCB's IPL campaign starts

Well despite the fact that yesterday the Royal Challengers lost their first match of the tournament to the Kolkata Knight Riders, this need not draw any sort of criticism be it from the fans, the owner or even the coach f the RCB- Ray Jennings. This has been the usual way the Royal Challengers kick start their IPL campaign by losing the very first encounter rather miserably be it against any opposition. This time as well, the result was no different when the RCB lost to the KKR who were positioned last on the points table in the previous edition held at South Africa.

It was to the same Kolkata Knight Riders that the Royal Challengers Bangalore lost miserably in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League a couple of years back. That was the match where Brendon McCullum scored the highest individual score of 158* aiding his team to a total of 223 on the board. And, the Royal Challengers had absolutely no answer to McCullum's blasting shots. They gave up the match the moment a total in excess of 200 was put up on the board. The RCBs lost all their 10 wickets for a score of 82 runs on the board, which were 76 runs short of what McCullum could manage.

The only reason for the Royal Challengers to feel happy was that they did not lose all their 10 wickets despite being unable to challenge the Kolkata Knight Riders' bowlers. The RCBs put up a run rate in excess of 6 an over which at one stage of the match seemed a tough task. The RCBs made the KKR batsmen to come close to the ultimate over to score the winning runs. This can bring up the statement that "had the RCBs put up an additional 20 runs on the board, they could have well won the match" no matter to what extent the statement holds good.

Whatever happens, Jacques Kallis can never let his team down and this time as well he has done the same when he carried his bat throughout the innings despite wickets falling from the other end. At the same time, one cannot dispute the fact that the Kolkata Knight Riders were playing in the Eden Gardens wherein they are guaranteed the home advantage. This time, fortunately for the Royal Challengers, Brendon McCullum was not present in the KKR squad to remind the RCBs of the nightmare he had inflicted on them a couple of years back. Anil Kumble once again came back to his test playing days when he bowled 4 overs by not taking a wicket but still not even going in for runs as well.

Why Is Dravid Being Made The Scapegoat?

The picture is right in front of us, after the first inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League. Royal Challengers Bangalore finished last but one, only ahead of Deccan Chargers. This would obviously hurt, irritate and even make the sponsorer go mad, after investing the second highest amount in the tournament/league. For, Vijay Mallya invested a huge 442 crores for Royal Challengers team, that was just one crore less than that invested for the Mumbai Indians which was 443 crores. Well, that is not the discussion of the hour. All that Vijay Mallya could do was to sack the team manager Charu Sharma. Not a bad move, though not a good one.

And the recent news was that Rahul Dravid would no more be leading the side. In other words, Rahul Dravid's credibility in taking his team forward is being questioned by the owner. And more over, its been a buzz that Rahul Dravid has even been put up for sale. No idea regarding how true the story is. However, this is not good news and not fair on the part of Vijay Mallya. For, it was only because of Dravid that Royal Challengers ended a place above the Deccan Chargers. Else, the team would have been placed at the last position. No doubt that Dravid's style of play is more suited for the test cricket and not for T20 game which is the one concerned.

But, if Dravid can adapt himself to this format of the game, which is not considered his cup of tea, it really deserves much applause for it. I think it is still in the memories of Vijay Mallya the way Rahul Dravid snatched victory against the runners up of the tournament- Chennai Superkings, when all would have thought otherwise. And the way he belted an unbeaten 75 off just 35 balls against the champions- Rajasthan Royals is something noteworthy. All these with the above mentioned fact that he is a test player basically. Still if Vijay Mallya thinks of axing Dravid and even tries to get rid of him by auctioning him, I feelt that Mallya's cricketing knowledge has to be reconsidered.

If Dravid has to be axed, if Vijay Mallya is to be believed, so should be Wassim Jaffer and Sunil Joshi. And god knows as to what made Vijay Mallya think of having Zaheer Khan sacked inspite of him being among the leading wicket takers in that edition? And how successsful was Robin Uttappa in the Mumbai Indians' side? Why doesn't Vijay Mallya curse himself for bidding money on players like Sunil Joshi, Virat Kohli and Wassim Jaffer who don't even have the ability to stand for a long time like in test matches, forget about a T20 bash? If this is the way someone like Vijay Mallya thinks, I wish even the IPL chaiman Lalit Modi should consider sacking Mallya as a sponsorer who does not know to pick the right players for the game. But, money makes many things.

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?

Royal Challengers......?

Hmm..when the name Royal Challengers come to someone's mind one thing is for sure..either they are considered to be talentless,unlucky,not hard working..etc...But, if one could watch the match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Daredevils,one difference that could be seen is that the Delhi Daredevils were found to make a tough going when the going got to be tougher and tougher.This was what the Royal Challengers Bangalore were found lacking.Throughout the tournament,all that the Royal Challengers could manage was a shuffle in their batting order and nothing else.Also some selfishness in the bowling department wherein there was a leading bowler in Zaheer Khan who emerged as one of the leading wicket takers though not helping his team win or even save some face for his team.

And this time in the match against Delhi Daredevils,Oh!what a fantastic position they were in when they had a 24 run last over courtesy:Misbah-Ul-Haq.Though not a decent total posted by the Royal Challengers Bangalore,there's no rule that it shouldn't have been defended.Likewise,the best example being the Kolkata Knight Riders who rattled the stumps of the same Delhi Daredevils when the total they were defending was a handy 134.What's something special in Shoaib is that his hand bends legally and that shouldn't have been a major threat-because the same bowler was shown the gallows by Sanath Jayasuriya against Mumbai Indians.

Now,I guess the debate of the hour is the lack of a batsman of the caliber of Jayasuriya?Why are the likes of Jacques Kallis and Misbah (who nearly pulled off a win in the finals of the T20 finals) there for?

And coming to the latter part of the same,a complete control after Sehwag left should have made much use of.For,the Delhi Daredevils were struggling at 123/4 (3 wickets for 33 runs).But...?

All eyes on how to make Anil Kumble a scape goat now have to look out for someone else as the team had him ending up with figures of 2/18 off his allotted 4 overs.A test like stats.Wow!And at last,it is too much late for Goswamy.And Virender Sehwag is really worth the praise for he led the Delhi Daredevils courtesy:19 ball 47.Yet once again missing out on scoring the fastest IPL fifty.So Sad!!!

Too Much For The Royal Challengers' Team

This is the match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Rajasthan Royals which the Rajasthan Royals as expected thrashed the Royal Challengers Bangalore by some relief serving 65 runs (compared to their crushing defeat in the previous matches).The first time when the two teams met in the first round robin stage,the Royal Challengers were royally thrashed by 7 wickets with 17 balls remaining.A modest total of 135 that would hardly worry the team consisting of players of the batting caliber of Yousuf Pathan,Swapnil Asnodkar,Justin Langer,Kamran Akmal and Shane Warne who did wonders in the first match against the Deccan Chargers.

This I bet would have been the worst defeat that Rahul Dravid would have had to think over,for it came despite a mind blowing innings of a 36 ball unbeaten 75.And who wouldn't be? With as many as 6 huge sixes and an equal number of boundaries. Isn't this an almost impossible task as far as Dravid's batting style is taken into consideration?

The bowling done by the Royal Challengers team was all the most fascinating.If not all of them,I bet most of them were full-tosses.None of the bowlers really bothered about maintaining any line or length.Just like the Sehwag saying "If the ball is there to be hit I will go for it"...something like..and the bowlers were just like that..."If the ball is there to be bowled we'll go for it"..no matter what length or line.

Congrats Anil kumble on taking the first wicket of the tournament!And the rest of the Royal Challengers' batsmen failing to cross the two digit mark and my goodness 4 ducks!!Good bowling or poor batting?Well you readers choose..

The next time a team takes on the Royal Challengers Bangalore,I would suggest that the team rest most of its frontline bowlers.Atleast then can the match be interesting?Well not!

Same Faces Again And Again

Well the match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals as usual,not to mention..well I guess the result has already been guessed.Thats true..Well lets forget that.There's lots and lots that we can talk about the match.So lets not get our moods rotten by talking about Royal Challengers and their plight in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League.

It is once again Shaun Marsh who was the match winner in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore too as he was in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. Some things-some good and the rest of them bad can and will never change. With the same people emerging as the match winners in each and every game they face.Some examples being Yousuf Pathan,Shane Watson,Brendon McCullum,Goutam Gambhir ...While there are some like Virender Sehwag,Sanath Jayasuriya,Adam Gilchrist etc who are good only on their particular days...while the third category which includes the likes of Rahul Dravid,Shahid Afridi,V V S Laxman..who are never found to fire what so ever.

Same match But Different Result

With the second round already in progress,the result is somewhat the same as compared to the first stage.If not completely true,it isn't completely false either.Atleast for Kolkata Knight Riders and for Royal Challengers Bangalore none-the-less.With the first clash between the same two teams proving to be a one-sided encounter,with the Kolkata Knight Riders walking away with all credits,courtesy Brendon McCullum's 73 ball 158*.

But this time in the second edition,the Royal Challengers as they usually do not seem to do,were found to give the Kolkata Knight Riders a run for their for their money.The Royal Challengers came so close to beating the Knight Riders that the match was on until the vary last ball.But,as usual,there can be one and only one winner.That alas!turned out to be the Kolkata Knight Riders as usual.

But still some positives that I could find out from the match being that the awesome work done by the bowling department of Zaheer khan and co (not Sunil Joshi and co as I usually quote) to restrict the Knight Riders' batsmen to a partly total of just 129 from 16 overs in a rain hit match was not able to sustain by their batsmen.It looked as though the Royal Challengers were playing an individual game rather than a team sport that is supposed to be played.

The Royal Challengers had 6 wickets in hand but still were found to end up in the losing side.Not hats off to even Cameron White who blasted 15 runs off the 11th over nor to the innings of Mark Boucher-who belted 24 runs of 10 balls after taking 30 deliveries to score 26.To be noted that it is a T20 game that is involved and not a one-day international.

Likewise the Kolkata Knight Riders were found to play better cricket for they were found making use of as much as 7 batsmen.While the Royal Challengers wasted the talent of Vinay kumar and Virat kohli who were supposedly included in the team taking into account their batting ability.And at last not to forget the all round performance by the captain Sourav Ganguly who had his counterpart bowled.

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.

Glenn McGrath-The Old War Horse

Well..it is a real waste of time,money and energy for people to once again think about Royal Challengers who are bound to disappoint almost every now and then.So,let us cast our eyes on the Delhi Daredevils who had a wonderful night out there at the Firoz Shah Kotla stadium.The first praise from me would go to Gautam Gambir,who scored a blasting 86 off 54 balls to provide Glenn McGrath the momentum to cut the heads off the Royal Challengers royally.The knock was worth the praise as the rest of the batsmen if not for Shikar Dhawan were found struggling even against a cheap bowling attack of Sunil Joshi and co..

Even Zaheer Khan-one of the leading bowlers in the tournament is not able to handle pressure and lead his side to victory.But,lets forget that.And as my last post quoted regarding the breaking of the fastest hundreds in the tournament,the same happened even in case of the best bowling performance.Sanath Jayasuriya's last night's feat of 3/14 against Kolkata Knight Riders was overtaken in just one match by Glenn McGrath who took figures of 4/29 from his alloted four overs.

The lanky Australian pacer can never be taken for granted in any form of the game I guess.And some positives for Dravid that he was somewhere close to playing a one day match where until last game was found to play a test game(even worse than that by scoring two golden ducks).But,that's a gone case altogether.An accurate bowling(even without swing,bounce and pace) can do wonders be it a test or a T20. And thats what Glenn McGrath once again proved that in the match against Royal Challengers.Kudos to U!!!

Sanath Jayasuriya:A Balanced Cricketer

Well,all of you Jayasuriya fans would be rather disappointed when one saw the batting debacle the Sri Lankan dasher was found going through since the start of the Indian Premier League.But,guys..please relax!!There was something from this great hearted man on the cricket field.The man was found taking the best bowling figures of the tournament until date.The figures of 3/14 off his alloted four overs is still the best by any bowler in the tournament till date.And not to forget the two awesome catches that were taken by this 39 year youth,followed by 10 ball 18 that included 1 six along with two hits to the fence if not something more.

But,the highlight of the day being the stump breaking delivery off Ishanth Sharma to dismiss this left handed opener,not long before he had the initial damage done.And coming to the match,it looks like the Kolkata Knight Riders are second best to the Royal Challengers Bangalore when it comes to making a mess of their cricket,and also do not deserve to be there.A fact that even I recently came to know,the Kolkata Knight Riders have so far had only 1 batsman who has scored a fifty runs of more innings.The only edge that I can see in them is that of Ishanth Sharma and Brendon McCullum.The rest viz Ricky Ponting,Sourav Ganguly etc proving nothing worth.

Some handy contributions from the Mumbai Indians include the Shaun Pollock's 2 wicket first over and Dwayne Bravo's 65* which is the best score by Mumbai Indians till date.Some cheers for Mumbai fans eh?

And even Brendon McCullum is got to leave to fulfill his national commitment.God knows as to what will happen to the fans who have had so much expectations from these Kolkata Knight Riders,unlike Royal Challengers,for whom the fans have already called it off.Great going!!!

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.

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?

Royal Challengers Or Royal Losers?

After some consolation win against Mumbai Indians at Mumbai,there was some relief for the Royal Challengers team.Though the win not being a convincing one as far as the Royal Challengers were concerned,it could have been a motivation for the upcoming matches involving tough teams like Kings XI Punjab,Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Superstars.But,as a Banglorean,it was once again disappointing for me especially since the Royal Challengers were back to their routine of losing matches. And this time they did just the same,by forfeiting the match to Rajasthan Royals.The word Royal being common to both the teams out there.But,only one team emerged as Royals,and that being the Rajasthan team.

If not for Ross Taylor who scored 44 runs off 20 balls,it was as though the rest of them were playing a one day match over there.Most of the strike rates falling between 100 and 150 and some even in the range of less than 100.And as it usually happens with the Royal Challengers,six out of ten batsmen had strike rates of less than 100.And our gr8 Rahul Dravid could score nothing but a golden duck.It looks like the Wall has mistaken the word Golden duck with that of a goose that lays golden eggs.Ha ha Just kidding!!!

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...

All Because Of Brendon McCullum!

Well the last night witnessed the inauguration of the inaugural IPL T20 competition.All was Ok..but the way the first encounter between Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Kolkata Knight Riders according to my opinion didn't go upto the mark.If not for the mind blowing innings of New Zealand wicket keeper-Brendon McCullum,none of them proved their worth on the field.

The way the others members of the Kolkata knight Riders except Brendon McCullum fought it out there,the rest viz Ganguly,Ricky Ponting and David Hussey had nothing to prove.If McCullum's innings was sidelined,the score was something nearer to the 82 posted by Bangalore Royal Challengers.Even if the 73 balls utilized by McCullum was taken into consideration,can it be said that a similar innings would have been put up by his replacement?

The body language of Ganguly,Ponting and David Hussey showed no signs of any enthusiasm.For the cheap bowling of the Royal Challengers-who were without their trump card in Dayle Steyn and Nathan Bracken,something better was expected atleast from Ganguly and Ponting.Not to forget the drop catches of Ganguly.

And coming to the second innings,the surprise being that the top scorer in the team being an abstract.The innings consisted of 19 extras,one more than the top score by Praveen Kumar-who scored 18.Rest of them being in single digits.This can happen only in a T20 game.What Say guys!!!
Must Watch Video: Part1 Part2 part3