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Five stitches in the webbing between his fingers... will he be able to play the final? MI had a convincing win over RCB last night, but the elation was subdued due to the news of the injury to Sachin Tendulkar's fingers.
Kieron Pollard limped his way to a 13-ball 33* before limping more to a 3-17 in 4 overs and a contribution to a run-out. By the end of it, he wasn't even limping! Pollard came in when 14 balls remained in the innings... and he faced 13 of them. But he scored just 33 of them! That is slow by his standards. Just last week, he had managed 45. What a bore!
When KP starred with his bowling (finishing with figures of 1-20 in 4 overs), the match was in favour of RCB. And then the new KP, with some help from a lesser-known ST, turned the game around decisively. But any mention of yesterday's win will not be complete without Rayudu's contribution. He steadied the ship early on, got out when MI needed the Pollard thrust, and then capped off a wonderful evening with two low catches and an athletic stumping of the original KP.
Wow, MI in the final. Finally, my investment on the two t-shirts is paying off. Enough about MI now! DC and CSK will be fighting for the other slot in the finals today.
DC is on a high with five consecutive wins. CSK is also on a high with a close nail-biting win in their last match after their meeting with Dalai Lama. Logic would suggest that law of averages is bound to catch up with DC soon. CSK will be wondering how soon!
DC have relied a lot on Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma's contributions. Their captain has not really clicked yet. Some performance from Suman and Vaas have helped. CSK, on the other hand, have relied more on their Indian players - the unexpected ones like Murali Vijay and S Badrinath. They have revolved around Suresh Raina though, with some more contributions from MS Dhoni, Doug Bollinger and sometimes, Albie Morkel and Matthew 'Mongoose' Hayden.
I have already lent my support firmly to CSK for this match. And for a change, I'd like to see a close encounter deciding the finalist, unlike the hordes of one-sided matches that we have had in this tournament so far.
Mumbai Indians have won the toss in the first semi-final and elected to bat first. The moment match referee Javagal Srinath announced that Sachin had won the toss, I started muttering, "Bowl first, bowl first!" And then Sachin announced to the Navi Mumbai crowd, "We'd like to bat first!"
Though I want to see MI bat first, but I am scared of RCB's chasing record. The opening partnership of RCB has been imperious in run chases... and poor in target setting. But then this is the semi-final... the big stage! And two big men... Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble!
I am just keeping my fingers crossed... prayers ready... hopes raised... all for SRT! Anil Kumble, another great cricketer, deserves a title too! So he should lose the match, win the 3rd-place qualifier, and then go on to win the Champions League that will be played in South Africa. After all, his team is a mini - South Africa! He had his shot at the IPL trophy last year, missed it at the final hurdle... so now he should pass over the chance.
The stage is set... the teams ready... SRT is about to walk out... let the battle begin!
7 matches remain in the IPL 2010 - 3 in the league stage, 2 semi-finals, 1 3rd-place play-off and the Finals. Despite just 3 matches remaining in the league stage, the semi-final positions are unclear. Mathematically, just 1 team is secure and 2 teams are knocked out. All the rest of the 5 teams still stand a chance to take remaining 3 spots in the semis.
Last year, when IPL had moved to South Africa, there were many close finishes. Out of the 59 matches played, 24 had victory margins of 10 or less runs or 6 or less balls to spare. In this IPL so far, back in India, only 16 matches have had such results.
However, the lack of close finishes has been compensated by the fact that each finish has been complicating the points table more and more. The fact that three spots for the semis are still undecided bear ample testimony to this fact.
By the time the second match of the day ends, the picture will become a lot clearer. The results over the past couple of days have made the equation very easy of CSK - win against KXIP and enter the semis; or lose the match and head back home. DD and CSK are the two teams who have featured in the semis of both the earlier tournaments, but never gone on to win the tournament. CSK did reach the finals in 2008 and DD managed to top the tables in 2009, but neither will be satisfied.
All the teams know very well that once they reach the semi-finals, the past results count for nothing. As a result, the pressure in the semis will be on the table-toppers MI who will have to cap their dominance with two more victories. Otherwise, it will all count for nothing.
It is good that MI is most likely to face RCB in the semis and not CSK. A team like CSK would have been under a lot less pressure, because they were never the favourites to get there. RCB, on the other hand, will be under immense pressure themselves because they were meant to get there, but goofed up their campaign somehow to reach the semis with just inches to spare.
So, for now, lets just hope that the remaining 7 matches all have close finishes for an interesting week ahead.
Yesterday's match: Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore
My Prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Actual Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Today's Match: Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils
My Prediction: Chennai Super Kings
My Score: 6 / 11
Kevin Pietersen smashed his way to a 29-ball 62 and has placed RCB in a very comfortable position in the fight for the semi-final spots. The talks of Kevin Pietersen being out of form when England was touring Bangladesh were things of the past... or atleast became things of past as KP started finding the middle of his bat.
I was a little disappointed with Shane Warne's tactics to KP yesterday. I feel he should have brought in Adam Voges to bowl as soon as Pietersen came in to bat. Some would say that 3rd over would be too early for someone like Voges, but then a target of 131 cannot be defended by conventional means either.
An introduction of left arm spin early in his innings would have put KP on his guard straight away. If Warne didn't have enough confidence in Voges, he could have come on himself... even he takes the ball away from a right-hander. By the time Voges was introduced in yesterday's match, KP had already moved on to a 13-ball 28 and then proceeded to smash 3 fours from the 5 balls that he faced from the slow left armer.
But in any case, even if KP had failed, a target of 131 would still have been too low for RR to successfully defend against a batting lineup as strong as that of RCB.
Today's match promises to be a good one. I like both teams... so I am confused which one to cheer for. DD have been running themselves out of the tournament and CSK is on a high after their thumping win in the last match. Since this is their last home match, CSK would want to round things off on a positive note. But then, Gautam Gambhir also wants to play more away games than home games. So, all in all, I am waiting for the clock to strike eight!
Yesterday's match 1: Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils
My Prediction: Mumbai Indians
Actual Winner: Mumbai Indians
Yesterday's match 2: Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders
My Prediction: Chennai Super Kings
Actual Winner: Chennai Super Kings
Today's Match: Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore
My Prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore
My Score: 5 / 10
KKR is out of the tournament... three consecutive unsuccessful attempts to reach the semi-finals... the only team to not reach the semi-finals of IPL even once in three years! A hat-trick that they certainly did not want to achieve!
I feel sad for Sourav Ganguly - I have always liked his character and had a lot of respect for his fighting abilities. But I am happy that KKR is out - because I do not like Shah Rukh Khan! I hope that he buys all the players that I do not like for the next edition of the IPL - then I can dislike KKR without any guilt feelings!
Finally, KP (I mean Kieron Pollard) justified (to a certain extent) his high-profile bidding! His version of the scoop was baffling! I thought he was all about power... but that scoop just shook me up completely!
The Royals' battle today will be virtually the second successive knockout match in this tournament. Where the RR team will be looking forward to a nice home game, the RCB will be buoyed by the fact that the fortress is not looking as strong as it used to be.
Yesterday's match: Deccan Chargers v Royal Challengers Bangalore
My Prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Actual Winner: Deccan Chargers
Today's match 1: Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils
My Prediction: Mumbai Indians
Today's Match 2: Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders
My Prediction: Chennai Super Kings
My Score: 3 / 8
DC scored their third consecutive win in this competition and this one was also their third consecutive win over RCB - winning both their matches this season after the finals last year. Needless to say, this result makes the points table even tighter (if that could be possible) and just as everyone has predicted, teams with better NRR will have a big advantage going ahead.
Dale Steyn bowling was magnificent to watch. He has some kind of a love affair with the VCA Stadium (Jamtha), Nagpur. He got a 10-wicket haul for South Africa at the same stadium in a Test against India in February... and his spell today was a timely reminder to everyone that high-quality fast bowling can still work in this format... it's not all about slower balls and cutters! It was sad that he had to end up on the losing side.
Today's first match will see Virendra Sehwag return to the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai for the first time after his whirlwind 293 against Sri Lanka. Even Viru has a love affair with venues that have anything to do with 'M'. Mumbai, Multan, Melbourne, Motera, MA Chidambaram Stadium, etc.
With MI already in the semis, it will be interesting to see if they rest any of their key men. DD is in a desperate search of a win and Gambhir has his wish of playing an away game. A win for DD would more or less confirm them in the semis as well - because of their NRR. But MI would not want to lose their momentum.
The second match between CSK and KKR is a virtual knock-out match (even though both teams will still be in with a chance after losing). CSK look a lot better side... and KKR seem to be struggling with their combinations and belief to win.
What a pity that the two matches that deserved a weekend scheduling are going to be played on a Tuesday!
Yesterday's match 1: Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab
My Prediction: Delhi Daredevils
Actual Winner: Kings XI Punjab
Yesterday's match 2: Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians
My Prediction: Rajasthan Royals
Actual Winner: Mumbai Indians
Today's Match: Deccan Chargers v Royal Challengers Bangalore
My Prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore
My Score: 3 / 7
Yesterday's matches were very bad for my predictions, but it does not matter one bit. MI is through to the semi-finals and I am delighted! RR have lost for the first time at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur - and its Warne's old pal SRT who inflicted the first crack at the fortress!
Yes, I felt a little bad for DD - a team that I like. But despite this defeat (an embarassing one), they are almost certain to go through. KXIP did them a favour by taking their own sweet time in chasing down a paltry target of 112. It ensured that the Net Run Rate of DD does not take a big dip.
But it was the second match yesterday that stole the show for me! It was a perfect match for a Mumbai Indians supporter! A win at Jaipur against RR, who had not lost a single match there, was special. It was almost like Manchester United beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge!
Another batting masterclass by SRT (he tripled his tally of tournament sixes yesterday) ensured that he wore the Orange Cap in the second half. If orange caps were to be awarded for international runs tally, then that cap would never leave his head! His three boundaries off Warne's over were delightful to watch. The first one over extra cover was the best - his use of the wrists to control the direction showcased the artist at work!
And by the end of his innings, he was reading the bowlers like an open book, especially Shane Watson. Twice in the 19th over by Shane Watson, Sachin was waiting on the backfoot for what he knew was going to be a bouncer - and he was absolutely correct! Aditya Dole, you do not drop Sachin Tendulkar EVER!
The DC v RCB game today would be an interesting one with respect to the race for the semi-final berths. A week ago, I was thinking that 4 teams are fighting over 1 semi-final berth. Then, mid-week, it became a case of 5 teams for 2 berths. And now, with DD's loss yesterday, it has become a case of 6 teams for 3 berths. It couldn't have gotten any better!
Yesterday's match 1: Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings
My Prediction: Deccan Chargers
Actual Winner: Deccan Chargers
Yesterday's match 2: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders
My Prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Actual Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Today's Match 1: Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab
My Prediction: Delhi Daredevils
Today's Match 2: Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians
My Prediction: Rajasthan Royals
My Score: 3 / 5.
Yesterday, just before the toss before the 2nd match, Sourav Ganguly was asked what was his side's track record on that ground (M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Bangalore). He said: "Played one, won one."
So I tried to recall what had happenned in 2008 between RCB and KKR at Bangalore. And then I realised - the first ever IPL match - the Brendon McCullum 150 - the 140 run thrashing of a "Test" team.
The tables have turned completely. RCB is no more a "Test" team. KKR has forgotten what it is like to win comprehensively. And RCB is more likely to finish 2nd from top in the points table - rather than 2nd from bottom.
With his dismissal yesterday, McCullum now has an IPL average at Bangalore - an average of 203. But he could do nothing this time to help KKR win, which puts them in a precarious position in respect of the semi-final qualification spot.
The second match today will be of great importance for the semi-final race. A win for MI will seal their place and virtually oust RR. On the other hand, a win for RR will not only help them take a huge step ahead, but also cause a lot of anxiety in the MI camp.
Even though I am a supporter of MI, I have predicted a RR win today because of the fact that they have never lost a single match in Jaipur. They have a brilliant record on that ground - and seem to be peaking at this moment.
Still, I will keep hoping that by the end of this day, one semi-final spot will be taken up.
Yesterday's match: Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians
My Prediction: Mumbai Indians
Actual Winner: Kings XI Punjab
Today's Match 1: Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings
My Prediction: Deccan Chargers
Today's Match 2: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders
My Prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore
MI has gotten into a losing streak (I know it's only two in a row now, but their next match is against RR at Jaipur - and RR has NEVER lost a match at Jaipur). Yesterday's result is not going to affect the table in any way, but KXIP has issued a warning to all their remaining opponents that they are going to try and upset a few parties.
The afternoon match today between DC and CSK will be played at Nagpur. Who the hell plays in the afternoon at Nagpur? Its 41 degree celcius and DRY out there. It is the most dry part of India and the 'hot winds' that blow in the afternoon over there (called 'Loo Winds') can really knock you out. All I can say is best luck to DC and CSK boys!
I hope Lalit Modi sees this match and realises that the attendance is 'very poor' at the neutral-Nagpur. It might be one of the best grounds in the country with great facilities, but it is very poorly located. It is far away from the city of Nagpur and takes a long time to reach there. Add to that the fact that it is hosting home matches for DC, who do not have a single big Indian star in their ranks. I mean, for God's sake, the Nagpur crowd is not going to come out in this kind of heat to watch a neutral game and support the likes of Rohit Sharma and RP Singh.
RCB and KKR will have much better and 'playable' conditions later in the evening at Bangalore. Both teams need wins for varying reasons - RCB to arrest their loss of momentum and KKR to take another step towards the semis. If KKR manage a win, RCB will truly need to worry about their semi-final spot. Kevin Pietersen must be wondering why his presence affects the RCB squad's performance so adversely!
Yesterday's match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers
My Prediction: Deccan Chargers
Actual Winner: Deccan Chargers
Today's Match: Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians
My Prediction: Mumbai Indians
So finally, after a long time, my prediction has come true! And I hope that tonight's will come true as well!
I hope Zaheer is fit and well-rested... I am not worried about him missing more matches for MI, but I want him fit for the World Twenty20 Championship. He is India's best pace bowler today by quite a distance... and he's not featured in either of the two World Twenty20 Championships that have been held till date.
Mohali will provide much better playing conditions that Chennai (in respect of weather)... so I am positively hoping for a big performance from SRT today! Incidentally, Sachin has hit just 1 six at Mohali in international matches - way back on 8th November 2007 against Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) in an innings where he was dismissed for 99! I'd love to see a similar performance tonight.
Some people are waiting for the Sachin Tendulkar v Brett Lee contest, but I am actually waiting to see the Sangakkara - Jayawardene v Lasith Malinga contest. Not so long back, another magician from the Emerald Isles - Muttiah Muralitharan - got the better of his countrymen when KXIP played CSK. Will the slinger-Malinga manage the same?
And yes, by the way, RCB's loss yesterday has thrown open the entire IPL table. Whereas just a week ago, 4 teams were fighting for 1 semi-final slot, now it has become 5 teams fighting over 2 slots. RCB's momentum has gone for a toss... and there have been numerous question marks from every quarter over their team selection policies.
They are due to host KKR tomorrow, who have suddenly found a new energy (especially, their skipper Sourav 'Dada' Ganguly). That match, I believe, will be a lot more interesting than tonight's fixture... but then, God's team will be playing tonight!
I know that the table above looks gibberish... but then I like doing gibberish stuff! The top row lists the home teams and the results of their matches against the corresponding away teams are given below their names. A home win is indicated by green colour and an away win by red colour.
And just to make it more colourful, yellow indicates the matches that are due to be played on the given dates, and blue indicates the matches that are not possible (I mean, Mumbai Indians cannot play against Mumbai Indians, come on!).
A few things came to my notice due to the abundance of colour usage. Firstly, I had not realised that KXIP is yet to win a home game (though it's certainly not surprising). Secondly, I was under the impression that only MI has lost just 1 match at home. Now I have realised that even RCB and RR have lost only 1 at home thus far (though they still have 3 and 2 home matches remaining, as compared to MI's 1 home match).
And another piece of information that is not visible from the above table, but just for fun: both of DC's home wins have been at Cuttack. Nagpur and Navi Mumbai, their other two 'homes', have not yielded positive results. The wins at Cuttack were the first wins that DC have registered in their 'catchment' area. They lost all the 7 matches in IPL 2008 at Hyderabad, and then went on to lost 2 matches in Champions League 2009 at the same venue again. Maybe, they should look to shift their franchise's base.
Yesterday's match: Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils
My Prediction: Delhi Daredevils
Actual Winner: Kolkata Knight Riders
Today's Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers
My Prediction: Deccan Chargers
I hope atleast today my prediction will hold correct. And hopefully, it will be Andrew Symonds who clicks today. He is my trump player in the Cricinfo Fantasy game today.
By the way, if you haven't noticed, this is the first time RCB and DC will take on each other after last year's IPL finals. They haven't met in this IPL yet (this is the only battle that is yet to be played out).
DC have lost 5 in a row, and even RCB have lost a bit of momentum due to their tinkering with the squad. It will be interesting to see which four foreigners feature in both the squads today. I am also hoping for inclusion of Manish Pandey for the simple reason that he deserves the opportunities.
It is an irony that the last time these two teams met, both were in red hot form... and now, they are desperately seeking some momentum. If DC lose today, they will virtually be out of the tournament - and will continue the tradition of defending champs unable to reach the semis.
In the last year's finals, Anil Kumble brought himself on to bowl the first over and got Gilchrist out for a second-ball duck. I am waiting to see this battle again!
Have a look at this - the IPL Points Table. The RR - KXIP clash has just gotten over, with the home side continuing their golden 'home' run at Jaipur - streamrolling KXIP by 9 wickets with 5 overs to spare.
Now, I just thought of stepping into the shoes of Nostradamus and find out who will win this IPL. So, there you go:
Apr 07 - KKR v DD
Apr 08 - RCB v DC
Apr 09 - KXIP v MI
Apr 10 - DC v CSK
Apr 10 - RCB v KKR
Apr 11 - DD v KXIP
Apr 11 - RR v MI
Apr 12 - DC v RCB
Apr 13 - MI v DD
Apr 13 - CSK v KKR
Apr 14 - RR v RCB
Apr 15 - CSK v DD
Apr 16 - KXIP v DC
Apr 17 - RCB v MI
Apr 17 - KKR v RR
Apr 18 - KXIP v CSK
Apr 18 - DD v DC
Apr 19 - KKR v MI
The top-4 will then look like this: 1. MI - 22 points; 2. DD - 18 points; 3. RCB - 16 points; 4. CSK - 16 points. So the semi-final fixtures will be:
Apr 21 - 1st Semi Final - MI v CSK
Apr 22 - 2nd Semi Final - DD v RCB
Apr 24 - 3rd Place Playoff - RCB v CSK
Apr 25 - Finals - Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils
So there you go... Mumbai Indians will win the IPL this year (something I have been saying every year). But c'mon, what a final this would be! The biggest domestic rivalry in India reignited at a bigger stage! Awesome!
The pitch at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai intrigues me. A total of 1413 runs have been scored so far in 158.5 overs at 8.90 runs per over. An average innings score at Chepauk, so far in the 4 matches played there, has been 177, but the interesting bit is the fact that it has a standard deviation of 37, giving a coefficient of variaton of 21.20.
The corresponding numbers for other venues are:
Venue - Matches - Average Score - Std. Deviation - Coefficient of Variation
Navi Mumbai - 2 - 153.50 - 15.14 - 9.86
Mumbai - 6 - 168.17 - 25.12 - 14.94
Mohali - 4 - 164.38 - 18.58 - 11.30
Kolkata - 4 - 160.75 - 31.22 - 19.42
Chennai - 4 - 176.63 - 37.44 - 21.20
Ahmedabad - 4 - 152.63 - 13.71 - 8.98
Bangalore - 4 - 155.88 - 41.94 - 26.91
New Delhi - 5 - 166.70 - 31.48 - 18.88
Cuttack - 2 - 166.50 - 4.15 - 2.49
From the above figures, Chennai and Bangalore seem to have the most unpredictable pitches. However, Bangalore's figures are distorted due to the match in which the RCB blew away RR for 92 and chased the target without the fall of any wicket. If I were to remove that match, the numbers for Bangalore become 177.00 - 23.67 - 13.37.
As a result, Chennai becomes the only ground to have a Coefficient of Variation of above 20. It's clear why Chennai shows such numbers. On one hand, a chase of 136 results in a tie; and on the other hand, 469 runs are scored in another match.
So for the next 3 matches that Chennai will play host to, the captains (particularly of teams batting first) will have to be careful in their assessment of a decent first innings total. It might turn out to be a tricky puzzle to crack!
A huge Galye hit the Kings XI Punjab side at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata before Mahela Jayawardene applied a soothing balm to heal the wounds and bruises.
That innings by Jayawardene was not only soothing for the Kings XI side, but also to the eyes of many who, like me, are a little tired of all the slogs and mishits that have been carrying all the way for *** Maximums and being called **** Moments of Success instead of becoming ******* Kamaal Catches.
And thus, IPL III saw another game (two in as many days) where more than 400 runs were scored. This match has given another jolt to KKR in their quest for a semi-final spot. If they do not reach the semi-final this year, they will be the only one amongst the 8 original teams not to have reached the semi-finals ever when they start their campaign next year (I have obviously made a very safe assumption that Mumbai Indians will make it to the final-4 this year).
In the second match, Delhi Daredevils blew away the Royal Challengers Bangalore side. I think that Anil Kumble made a huge mistake by making 3 changes to a winning squad in order to accomodate Ross Taylor. There is no doubt that Ross Taylor is a very good cricketer, but was including him in the squad so important that 3 other players had to be dropped?
By dropping Manish Pandey, Kumble broke a solid opening partnership that has been one of the reasons behind RCB's good performances this summer. By removing Dale Steyn, he not only excluded from his squad the best fast bowler in the world, but also one who has been bowling in the Indian conditions for two months now and has his lengths well-adjusted. If he really wanted to go for Ross Taylor, he should have just dropped Cameron White.
But yes, if you have read my previous blog, you will know that RCB has continued its tradition of losing matches held on Formula One Sundays. Dr. Mallya did all the travelling from Sepang to Kotla in vain.
Today, Nagpur will host its first ever IPL match between Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals, where a loss for the former ('home' team) will almost be curtains for them in the tournament.
A flight from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi takes about five and a half hours. Dr. Vijay Mallya said in his interview during the last match that he will reach New Delhi to catch RCB's match against DD.
The Formula One race at Sepang starts at 1330 IST. Considering that the race will take about 2 hours, and another half an hour for Dr. Mallya to take his leave and reach the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (just 10 mins from Sepang race circuit), he will not be able to leave before 1600 hrs. That means he will reach New Delhi only by 2130 hrs IST and reach the Kotla some time after that, maybe when the match is in its finishing stages.
But why am I trying to decipher Dr. Mallya's schedule? A very stupid reason, actually! The only other time that RCB played a match this season on a Formula One weekend (their first match against KKR), they lost it. When, they won the next few matches on a trot, I thought at that time that maybe, Dr. Mallaya is the lucky charm for the RCB side. His presence in the stadium inspired an RCB win.
Yes, RCB has lost two other matches after that, which were not held on Formula One weekends! But after 2008 season, RCB has not won a single match that was played on a Formula One Sunday. They lost 3 matches in South Africa 2009 that were held on the same Sundays as the Bahrain, Spanish and Monaco Grand Prix (the last one was the IPL 2009 Finals). They have already lost the match held on the day of this year's Bahrain Grand Prix.
So I have my prediction ready for the result of today's DD v RCB match to be held on the Malaysian Grand Prix Sunday: a win for Delhi Daredevils.
Apart from the very stupid reason stated above, I also feel that Viru is going to click today. Somehow, I also feel that RCB's bowling attack will be exactly what Viru will want in his search for a good form. Praveen Kumar and R Vinay Kumar, though extremely intelligent bowlers, might just provide Viru with the pace and length he would like to feed on. And apart from the bouncers from Steyn and Kallis, I do not feel much else will be a problem for him. He should be able to manage Anil Kumble as long as he keeps his cool.
Lets wait and see... we'll know by 11.30 pm tonight if Dr. Vijay Mallya is indeed RCB's lucky mascot!
When Irfan Pathan came to bowl the last over of KKR's innings against KXIP at Mohali, his figures read 1 for 21 in 3 overs. And in that one over, he managed to replicate those figures, 1 for 21, and thereby finish with 2 for 42.
I think that KXIP need a good leader. With due respect to Kumar Sangakkara (who is a wonderful batsman and keeper), I believe that he is not inspirational enough to solve the current problems of KXIP.
We saw last year, when Royal Challengers Bangalore team was suffering from problems similar to that of the Kings XI Punjab this time, a new leader in the form of Anil Kumble spelled a reversal in their fortunes. Shane Warne has always had the ability to inspire his Rajasthan Royals side to comeback when the odds have been stacked against them. In IPL 2008, Sachin Tendulkar missed the first 7 matches of Mumbai Indians. But he returned to inspire a turnaround in the performance, which saw them miss out on the semi-final spot marginally by 1 point.
KXIP's troubles this year are similar to those of KKR's cricket-related problems last year (KKR had too many non-cricket problems as well). Despite having a good enough team, there is a lack of confidence that is hindering them in their efforts to land the killer blow. Even in today's match, when KKR was struggling to find momentum in the slog overs, KXIP should have chipped away at a couple of wickets and finished KKR. Instead, they conceded 53 runs in the last 4 overs. In the end, 183 always seemed daunting.
I do not know who is the vice-captain of KXIP. Sanga has already been fined twice due to slow over rates, and there might be a ban looming round the corner.
Kings XI Punjab will be hosting the Kolkata Knight Riders this evening at Mohali, in a clash that might see an overdose of Bollywood with Preity Zinta, Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla associated with the two franchisees and many others in the film industry pledging their support for one team or the other.
This is the second consecutive Kings XI Punjab match that can be termed as a-bottom-of-the-table clash. In their last game, KXIP (then 7th) lost to Rajasthan Royals (then 8th) at Ahmedabad. Now, RR has climbed to the 3rd position and the 8th-placed KXIP will be hoping that a similar journey begins for them today against the KKR, who themselves are desperately seeking winning ways.
But this post is about something else. I have just discovered the secret behind the success of Mumbai Indians this season. It's lying in my wardrobe - my Black 'Sachin' t-shirt! That is what has been making MI win all this time!
I have discovered that whenever I wear my Black Sachin t-shirt during MI's match, they go on to win. It's Black Magic at work! If I wear the other White MI jersey, they end up losing, like it happenned on 20th March against the Royal Challengers Bangalore team. But despite MI's loss, that match was a wonderful experience due to two reasons. First, RCB is my second favourite team after MI. Second, it was my first experience of watching a cricket match in a movie theatre.
At about 7.30 that evening, a friend of mine and I decided that we will watch the MI v RCB match at the BIG Cinema multiplex (which is located at the other end of Pune from where I live). So by the time we got hurriedly ready, drove in high traffic to the other end, got our tickets and took our seats, MI had already lost Sanath Jaisuriya.
The best part about watching the match in there was - NO ADVERTISEMENTS! Actually, there were commercials during the strategic time-outs, but the fact that there were no commercials in between overs was refreshing to watch. All the fans in the hall were also distributed with whistles and banners indicating '4' and '6'. So it was fun!
I wouldn't go as far as calling it a 'stadium' experience, but it's the closest I have come to a stadium experience in a long long time. I could shout my support for Sachin at the top of my voice without worrying about the neighbours getting disturbed! By the end of it, my throat was tired and aching! All this when MI lost! I am wondering what would have happenned had MI won...
I wish that BIG Cinema's association with sports continues. I would like to see the upcoming FIFA World Cup in there as well. I know that it is not financially feasible to show each match live, but if it's possible, they could broadcast live the finals atleast. That would be enormous fun!
Exactly one month from today, two teams will walk out on 25th April at Dr. D.Y. Patil Sports Academy Stadium in the finals of the Indian Premier League 2010. And there is a big chance that both those teams are amongst the ones playing today.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore are currently struggling in their chase of Delhi Daredevils' 183. However, there is no doubt in most people's minds that they are one of the two strongest teams in this tounament - the other one being Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai Indians will take on Chennai Super Kings in about an hour from now, hoping to get another win and take another step towards the semi-finals.
Both these teams, RCB and MI, have certain similarities - which might well be called the keys to their success thus far in this tournament.
1. Both these teams have relied on strong solid starts consistently, with two batsmen in the top-5 runs scorers list (Kallis and Tendulkar).
2. Both have a strong opening bowling combination (Zaheer + Malinga and Praveen + Steyn).
3. Both these teams have bowlers who bowl to pick up wickets in the middle overs as well, not just for containing the batsmen (R Vinay Kumar and Dwayne Bravo).
The fact that these teams have concentrated on strengthening their bowling department (an often neglected affair in this format) is paying dividends now. Lets hope we get to see India's highest run-scorer captain his side against the side of India's highest wicket-taker - that would truly be a final of the Indian Premier League.
Delhi Daredevils were beaten by 5 wickets with 5 balls to spare, resulting in their 2nd consecutive home loss. And Deccan Chargers finally got their first 'home' win in IPL at their 'adopted home' (Cuttack) against the only team they had not beaten yet in IPL - Kings XI Punjab.
TEAM PERFORMANCE REVIEWS:
DD: Virendra Sehwag went beserk, and DD looked untouchable. He got out, DD looked controllable. Hayden attacked DD's bowling, they looked beatable. Raina played the role of a finisher, the DD team was beaten. This team seems to be going the way Deccan Chargers went in the first IPL in 2008. Both teams are extremely strong on paper, but just as DC did not click at all in the inaugural edition, DD do not seem to be clicking now. They will soon need to get their act back together.
CSK: Despite the win, CSK will know that all questions have not been answered in their camp yet. Their bowling looks extremely susceptible to a good onslaught. But what was visible yesterday was the fact that if Matthew Hayden gives them a good start, their batting looks far more secure and capable (even if Dhoni is absent).
DC: They had a wobble in the middle overs while batting, but overcame it to win in the end. As I have mentioned last time as well, the Indians in the DC squad need to click soon. They have been depending too much on their foreign players, and I doubt such dependence wil be healthy for them in the long run.
KXIP: Three consecutive losses! The change of captaincy does not seem to be working. Infact, little seems to be working for them. Their star batsman, Yuvraj Singh, has flopped in all outings so far. Irfan Pathan led a late fightback against DC yesterday, but late fightbacks usually don't win you the game (ask Irfan's brother - Yusuf). Adrian Barath would do better at the top of the order rather than in the middle order.
MATCHES TODAY:
RR v KKR: In the first edition, Shane Warne was unimpressed when Sourav Ganguly questioned a catch claimed by Greame Smith to dismiss him. It created a controversy. In the last season, Ganguly hit 13 runs of 1 ball from Munaf Patel (a six of a no-ball followed by a six of the free hit) to ensure a tie and then Yusuf smashed Mendis to finish the game. With Chris Gayle available, another cracking performance by the KKR can be expected. I am not sure that RR has the ability or the composure to match them.
MI v RCB: RCB's first ever win in IPL was against MI in Mumbai. This time, both teams are coming off two consecutive wins. Mumbai have a very strong bowling attack. For RCB, Kallis is yet to be dismissed. This one is going one cracking contest. I am really looking forward to this one. Sachin Tendulkar v Anil Kumble. Awesome!
