Indian Premier League Observer

Players from foreign countries are shining in the ongoing Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket matches. No surprise, they were bought specifically because they were much valued already.

However, most cricket fans expected Indian heroes such as Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, M S Dhoni and Wasim Jaffer failed sympathetically in the first three matches of the IPL.

Meanwhile, these matches saw tremendous performance by three foreign players such as New Zealand’s Brendan McCullum, Australian star batsman Michael Hussey and Australian paceman Glenn McGrath.

Brendan McCullum has given a terrific start for the Indian Premier League by smashing a world record-high 158 not out for Kolkata in the opening Twenty20 shootout in Banglalore. This gave Kolkata Night Riders a comfortable victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The team owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has many foreign players as its members. After a lavish ceremony to mark the launch of the league all eyes were on this opening fixture all eyes were on the performance of Kolakta Knight Riders.

The New Zealand wicketkeeper had scored 158 not out for just 73 balls, including 13 sixes - the highest individual score in the first match of IPL extravaganza. Unfortunately his teammate and captain of the team Sourav Ganguly could not thrill his fans as he managed to score only 10 runs in the opening match.

In comparison, team-mates Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting managed just ten and 20 runs respectively, but Brendan McCullum’s efforts were enough to give the visitors a comfortable and ultimately unassailable lead.

However for the Bangalore Royal Challengers, most of the stars including Captain Rahul Dravid and foreign players such as Mark Boucher, Jacaues Kallis and White disappointed 55,000 odd people assembled in the ground expecting home side victory. The Bangalore local hero and former Indian team captain Rahul Dravid managed only two runs in the opening match.

It was a superb century from Australia’s Michael Hussey, which has helped star-studded Chennai Super Kings to a 33-run victory in their match against Punjab. Hussey, the world’s top-ranked Test batsman, produced a stunning innings of 116 not out from just 54 deliveries in their opening match. Another Chennai star, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakara has scored a 54 in a thrilling smash. However Chennai Super King’s captain and Indian cricket team captain M S Dhoni failed and was able to take only two runs in the opening match.

Okay guys. Its a Sunday, we know all of you are at home watching IPl matches on TV. You don’t need our updates today to catch up on or to keep track of anything. So we are also taking it easy.

You know what happened today anyway. Deccan Chargers got it from Kolkata Knight Riders. After the first two matches, SRK’s team is looking like the team to beat. No one has looked so solid so far. If they stay in form, this is pretty much an unbeatable team, which will make all Bong hearts go all gooey. Deccan Chargers really were not any match for them. But then the pitch was like an extra player in the team, and you feel quite sorry for them too. Laxman, better do it next time.

In the other game, the Bangalore Royal Challengers put up a stiff fight and thwarted Mumbai Indians who were missing their home hero Sachin Tendulkar. Thankfully, Dravid did not wear his shaggy dog expression which is probably natural for him, and normal too, but makes me want to surrender in despair. Looking at him, I think he is going to throw down the bat and fall to his knees crying. Okay he has never done it. but Dravid, look brave. Please.

The pressure is now clearly on Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals after Kings XI Punjab after the first 3 days of IPL.

As we are too lazy to write anything today, feel free and click on the links below which are match reports and analyses from a pile of websites.

Boucher guides Bangalore to win over Mumbai

Bangalore Innings Scorecard

Mumbai Innings scorecard

Full scorecard

Boucher steers Bangalore home in humdinger

Hussey guides Knight Riders to a thrilling win

Knight Riders scrape together a victory

West Bengal government waives off the entertainment tax for Shah Rukh Khan’s show

Deccan Chargers to take on Knight Riders with a plan for McCullum

Robin Uthappa takes risks, and shines in Mumbai Indians vs Bangalore

IPL Twenty20: Favourite teams of bookies and their odds

Royal Challengers needs to tighten its attacks against Mumbai Indians on Sunday

Shah Rukh Khan, the bollywood actor and owner of Kolkata franchisee Kolkata Knight Riders had proposed to have an entertainment program before the inaugural match of Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens here on Sunday.

But, the Left government had told Shah Rukh that he will have to pay the entertainment tax for the ten minute program that he had scheduled before the match. SRK then strongly cam against this demand saying the show is just a 10 minute show, not a three hour one where a viewer should pay an extertainment tax to the government. SRK had said that he would not pay the entertainment tax for the government for the program, which would have taken the ticket prices close to Rs 250.

At last, the Left Bengal government has said that Shah Rukh Khan will not have to pay the entertainment tax for the ten minute show. Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta has already approved Khan’s proposal. “I have no problem in waiving off the tax,” said Dasgupta.

But Dasgupta also set some conditions before Shah Rukh before waiving off the entertainment tax. Shah Rukh will have to promise the politician that the profits from the game would be used for the development of poor people in the state.

If the government had not gone back from its stand of imposing the entertainment tax, then Kolkata Knight Riders tickets would have been almost Rs 30 of what it cost now.

Sachin Tendulkar, the captain of Mumbai Indians, inspected the Wankhede pitch in the early  hours of today morning. Sachin’s Mumbai Indians will face off with Royal Challengers at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai here on Sunday.

As per the latest news, Sachin is unlikely to play in the inaugural match of Mumbai Indians against the Bangalore franchisee Royal Challengers. Sachin is nursing a groin injury. In the absence of Sachin, the team will be led by Harbhajan Singh.

It is expected that Sachin’s absence is a boon for the Royal Challengers, which were embarassed by Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match of the DLF IPL on April 18. Royal Challengers, led by Rahul Dravid, will also be happy with the presence of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the veteran West Indian who will add more strength to the batting line up of the ROyal Challengers.

If Sachin is missing from the Mumbai Indians squad, the cricket fans in Mumbai would surely be unhappy. But, Sanath Jayasurya and Robin Uthappa will surely add the much needed fireworks for a Twenty20 match.

The main weakness of Mumbai Indians is that they dont have many T20 specialists in the side, though Robin Uthappa is an exception. Although, the absence of SAchin Tendulkar would be a blow to the Mumbai Indians, the fact that they are facing a low-on-confidence Royal Challengers would act as a big morale booster to the Mumbai Indians.

Kolkata will witness the home team Kolkata Knight Riders’ first home match against the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers team here at Kolkata on Sunday. Last match of Kolkata Knight Riders saw Aussie batsman Brendon McCullum exploding with his bat and giving out a handsome defeat to the Royal Challengers team owned by VIjay Mallya.

Obviously, Deccan Chargers captain VVS Laxman is impressed with the batting performance of Brendon McCullum. Laxman said when they get to the field today to lock horns with Knight Riders in Kolkata today with the home team, they would have a plan in hand to contain the explosive McCullum.

Laxman said, “I think it was an amazing innings. One of the best innings I have seen in this format of the game. The way he played he took away the game from the Bangalore Royal Challengers.”

Laxman and his team would keep in mind the Aussie’s performances, but they would mainly concentrate on the match situation, he said.

The Indian test batsman said, “We’ve got our plans worked out for him. But one has to keep in mind the fast-changing situations in Twenty20 cricket. You may have a plan one or plan two. But you have to keep judging by the situation you are in.”

Laxman seemed too impressed with the explosive Aussie. “I’m sure you will see more and more contributions from McCullum as the tourney progresses. The game became one-sided because of his brilliance.”

The match is still on. But Uthappa put up a very strong performance to take 48 runs off 38 balls. Extremely risky batting, Sachin would definitely have to talk to him about it.

Whether all that was worth it, we will know soon as the match is going to take another hour to end one way or the other. Bangalore Royal Challengers would try hard; they are still smarting from their collapse to the Kolkata Knight riders.

Yesterday, Robin Uthappa said that the youngsters in the side would benefit a lot by playing alongside the likes of greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Shaun Pollock and Sanath Jayasurya in the DLF IPL which kickstarted on Friday April 18. Uthappa had contributed a lot with his bat and was very useful in the lower middle over in India’s T20 World Cup win this year.

Robin Uthappa said, “It will be exciting and a lot of fun. We will learn a lot from the top international players of the team. Sachin and Sanath can also bowl well and we have a lot of all rounders. At the moment I don’t see any weaknesses in the team.”

Mumbai Indians would be led by Sachin Tendulkar itself and had been bought by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries for an astronomical figure, thus making it the most expensive IPL team among all the franchisees. Mumbai Indians will also have Master Card as the team’s founding sponsor.

Ashish Nehra, who had been out of the Indian team for a while, is also looking for making a comeback. “It’s good to be back after 18 months after not having played much cricket (during the period). I am pretty excited.”

Mumbai Indians will face off the Royal Challengers team, the IPL franchisee of Bangalore which is led by Rahul Dravid and owned by businessman Vijay Mallya, at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, today.

After corporate giants and Bollywood stars, it is the bookies’ turn to exploit the riches of the cash-rich IPL-based bets.

Taking cues from the strengths and weaknesses of the teams on paper,

Bookies are rooting for Hyderabad based Deccan Challengers as the team to win the coveted tournament.
International betting houses like Ladbrokes have also entered IPL betting fray and reportedly are making good business, a media report said.

Chennai Super Kings have emerged as the second contender after it posted a mammoth total against Kings X1.

But Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians are also closely watched. Rajasthan Royal Challengers are perceived to be the most unlikel team to win the contest.

Hyderabad Deccan Challengers: 4:1

Chennai Super Kings (Odds not known)

Mohali Kings XI Punjab (13:2)

Mumbai Indians (7:1)

Kolkata Knight Riders (15:2)

Delhi Daredevils (8:1)

Bangalore Royal Challengers (8:1)

Jaipur Rajasthan Royals (12:1)

NB: The standings were before the inaugural matches and may have changed.

The VVS Lakshman-led Hyderabad team has the most solid batting line-up in DLP IPL Twenty20

After an out-of-the box assault by Brendon McCullum against Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL opening clash, Kolkata Knight Riders now take on the most solid team on paper in the DLF IPL Twenty20 tournament – Deccan Chargers led by VVS Laxman.
A team which has Andrew Symmonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi, VVS Laxman, Chaminda Vaas and Scott Styris, Deccan Chargers are the most formidable side in this competition, at least in paper.
So Sourav Ganguly and his Kolkata Knight Riders have a task cut out.
Take McCullum’s heroics out of the last match and you would find hardly any difference between the two teams. Sourav wasn’t at his best and Ponting was too far way from convincing. Of course the bowling department did well, thanks largely to the insurmountable total put out by McCullum.
In the event of McCullum getting out early, Kolkata Knight Riders will have to have a Plan B. Law of averages doesn’t favor McCullum performing yet another heroic display, but any thing can happen in Twenty20.
Chris Gayle, who is the top scorer in Twenty20 (internationally recognised matches; IPL is not recognized officially by ICC as an international tournament), would not play due to an injury.
So the Kolkata Knight Riders are heavily dependent on Sourav Ganguly himself and Ricky Ponting.
A packed house is expected at Eden Gardens and that puts pressure on the home team itself, a lot more than Deccan Chargers. That is the burden of expectations that Sourav Ganguly should deal with. The huge crowd will also likely to be antagonistic towards Aussies like Andrew Symonds and to a lesser extent Adam Gilchrist, but these are top performers who have dealt with crowds through out the world. On the captaincy front, Sourav Ganguly has a huge benefit of a superb start as well as the solid backing of strategist and coach John Buchanan and another master skipper in Ricky Ponting. VVS Laxman on the other hand does not really fit the bill having lead Rest of India and Hyderabad teams only, without much to boast about.
Going by the past matches the team winning the toss prefers to bat first and put a solid score on board to defend.
In only one match,  Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals, have the chasing team won so far. So toss would be vital.
The interesting contest of the match would be between new Indian pace sensation Ishant Sharma and Australian Andrew Symonds. Remember they are just out of a keen tussle Down Under.
Hyderabad also would miss a big hitter in Heschelle Gibbs, who is tied with a domestic tournament back home.
The Eden track is set to favour batsmen and since the line-up favours Deccan Chargers Kolkata Knight Riders would have to have another McCullum-like performance from some one.
Hyderabad Deccan Chargers have the edge in this contest, bookies say.

Teams:
Deccan Chargers
VVS Laxman, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Nuwan Zoysa, Rohit Sharma, Scott Syris,  Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, R P Singh, Haldhar Das, Pragyan Ojha, P Vijay Kumar, Sarvesh Kumar, Arjun Yadav, D Kalyan Krishna, Y Venugopal Rao.

Kolkata Knight Riders
Brendon McCullum, Sourav Ganguly, David Hussey, Ricky Ponting, Mohammad Hafeez, L R Shukla, Ishant Sharma, Ajit Agarkar, Murali Kartik, Siddharth Kaul, Iqbal Abdulah, Wriddhiman Saha, Rohan Banerjee, Aakash Chopra, Debabrata Das, Sourashish Lahiri, Cheteshwar Pujara, Prasanta Saha, Tatenda Taibu, Yashpal Singh.  
 

Sachin Tendulkar unlikley to play, in which case Harbhajan Singh will lead Mumbai Indians 

Another battle between two former Indian skippers is on the cards when the Reliance owned Mumbai Indians captained by Sachin Tendulkar takes on battered Bangalore Royal Challengers led by Rahul Dravid.

Only this time, Sachin’s presence is not guaranteed as he is fighting injuries. A decision on whether or not Sachin will play will be taken just before the match, but odds are that he will sit out.

But that does not give any breather to Rahul Dravid’s Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Explosive batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, who can tear apart any bowling attack, will most certainly open with Robin Uthappa, the Bangalore lad whom Dravid and Mallya would have rued not to get in the player auction.

The dazzling Uthappa can be as dangerous or even better than Sanath Jayasuriya and therein starts the woes of Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Luke Ronchi is another prolific big hitter that they would have to contend with in the batting line up. Ronchi’s larger than life exploits in Australian league had earned him a call from none other than Sachin Tendulkar, an honour that he will look to repay with the willow at Wankhade stadium on Sunday.

South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock comes with a vast array of experience and the immaculate ability to bowl on the spot. This means that he have the opportunity to trouble Bangalore Royal Challengers with the bat as well the ball.

Dilhardo Fernando and Ashish Nehra would ably back Pollock as they try and check the run flow and take wickets.

And the man who would lead them all in the probable absence of Sachin Tendulkar is Harbhajan Singh, who was bagged by the Mumbai Indians for a whopping $850,000. Harbhajan’s experience in volatile, high-profile contests would come to the fore as Mumbai Indians’ coach Lalchand Rajput knits his strategy to tame the Bangalore Royal challengers.

The pressure clearly is on Vijay Mallya promoted Bangalore Royal Challengers and its skipper Rahul Dravid.

Lasith Malinga has been ruled out due to injuries, but Mumbai Indians have roped in Dwayne Bravo to replace him. The West Indian, however, is not likely to play the match against Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians’s second match against Chennai Super Kings is likely to see Bravo taking the field.

Rahul Dravid has been at the receiving end of a barrage of criticism for selecting a team, which resembles more of a test side than even a one day side, while the requirements of Twenty20 is clearly more unique than even ODIs. The Bangalore skipper has his own logic and game plan and a sound cricketing brain, but that needs to be converted into a win at any cost to settle down in the tournament.

Bangalore Royal Challengers has a formidable bowling attack, but its is yet to take off in the absence of Anil Kumble and pace spearhead Dale Steyn.

Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, fresh from his last over exploits against Sri Lanka, has arrived but he is unlikely to play in the Mumbai match.

Zaheer Khan, who would have a better idea about the Wankhade stadium pitch, would have to ensure that he doesn’t get hit initially.

Many think a wayward Zaheer’s first over cost India the world cup final against Australia and also Bangalore Royal Challengers first match against Kolkata Knight Riders. But if he gets into the groove, Zaheer can be menacing.

Misabah-ul-Haq’s absence is a major issue for Bangalore Royal Challengers, as there aren’t many who can hit the red cherry out of the ground in the Team.

A pitch favouring the batsmen makes Bangalore’s Royal Challengers’ task more difficult. Jacques Kallis will have to cut loose if they are to put up a decent total. Mark Boucher can be deployed to tackle Harbhajan Singh as the South African is a able player of spin.

Praveen Kumar emerged as the best bet for Bangalore Royal Challengers in both batting and bowling. Praveen Kumar was the only one to reach double digits in the mach against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Virat Kohli would have another opportunity to show that his Under-19 skills can be elevated to the international level.

Mumbai Indians are the clear favourites and Bangalore Royal Challengers would have to come up with some astonishing performance to lift their own spirits and bury the ghost of Brendon McCullum.

Teams

Mumbai Indians

Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Sanath Jayasuriya, Robin Uthappa, Shaun Pollock, Dilhara Fernando, Luke Ronchi, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Dominic Thornley, Musavir Khote, Dhaval Kulkarni, Pinal Shah, Sorah Tiwary, Siddarth Chitnis, Swapnil Singh, Vikrant Yelligeti.

Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Zaheer Khan, Cameron White, Ashley Noffke, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Sunil Joshi, Ross Taylor, Sunil Joshi, K P Appanna, Sreevats Goswami, J Arunkumar.