Indian Premier League Observer

Shoaik Malik, the Pakistan skipper, does not foresee any problem in playing in Hyderabad, despite his long legal battle with an Indian family. A person living in Hyderabad had alleged long time back that his daughter had been married to Shoaib on telephone and that Shoaib has been refusing to divorce his daughter ever since. Shoaib Malik is now playing for Delhi Daredevils.

The claim was made by the Siddiqui family and said that the marriage with his daughter Aisha took place in 2002.

After the allegation erupted, Shoaib said that he never married an Indian Muslim girl. He also later accused the family of trying to cheat him by showing a fake photo of another girl.

Shoaib Malik is in Hyderabad now to play for the DLF IPL. Delhi Daredevils, the Delhi franchisee of the DLF IPL, had bought him at the IPL player auction two months back.

But it seems that the Pakistan skipper is not showing any nerves. Before leaving for India, Malik said, “If you know there are two legal notices with the Siddiqui family that I have sent them to retract their claims and apologise for trying to defame me, and they have kept quiet on the notices.”

Malik continued, “If I had anything to hide or was afraid, I would not go to Hyderabad for the IPL game.”

Delhi Daredevils will face Hyderabad Chargers at Hyderabad today. Since Delhi already boasts of eight foreign players in the side, the presence of Shaaib Malik making an appearancce in the team is doubtful and is in the hands of Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag.

Malik said, “We are professional cricketers and we have a playing life span of around 12 to 15 years. So we have to remain committed and perform to the best of our abilities. For me, the IPL is as important being a professional as playing for Pakistan.”

Taking a cue from the huge success of IPL, other cricket playing nations are also contemplating similar cricket events. Cricket Australia is considering such an avenue.

They are now watching the Indian Premier League and England’s answer to it for clues as to whether a franchised competition would work in Australia.

There are enough hints that the Cricket Board in Australia would come out with a number of Twenty20 internationals in the next summer. Cricket Australia general manager, Michael Brown, said that a franchise system would be considered in Australia if it could help attract new fans to the game.

The new plan by the Board will be incorporated in the remodeled program for 2008-09 to be released shortly. It is said that Australia is determined to keep its head as cricket’s new revolution, Twenty20, gains pace.  Australians have voted with their feet and their remote controls to endorse the shortest form of the game, said an office bearer of Cricket Australia. The fixture for Twenty20 would be within International Cricket Council guidelines. As many Australians players are taking part in the ongoing $1 billion IPL , it has gained lot of momentum among Australian viewers.

Though English players were prevented from taking part in the cash-rich IPL, the tournament is being enthusiastically followed in England.

It is learnt that a Texan billionaire Allen Stanford is considering backing a franchised league, similar to the IPL. It is learned that Cricket Australia is now in discussion with some investors interested in franchise model of cricket clubs.

There are also chances that other prominent cricket playing nations such as New Zealand, South Africa, Srilanka and Pakistan would soon explore options to start franchisee-based Twenty20 matches.

Even as the IPL starts off with a bang, it is dogged with complaints from many players that they have not received the initial Indian Premier League fees.

Reports said that two Australian players have not received payment after the first IPL auction held in February. Considering complaints from different corners, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations chief executive Tim May has begun an enquiry into the complaints. May has reportedly said that players, who haven’t received the payments could walk away from their contracts, if the problem is widespread.

A major concern for the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations is the absence of crucial documents and financial transfer associated with the contract. High competitions for the players had created a situation had led to mar transparency of the incidence in the sector. “There is a worry that some players have not been paid nor received their signed copies of contracts,” May has been quoted as saying. The association has not yet fully documented about the depth of the problem. They have only received a limited number of complaints till now.

David Hussey, who sold for US$625,000 in February, is one of the Australians who have not received the 15% payment of the auction price. He was expected to get the price before April 1, 2008. “It’s been an absolute nightmare in terms of the paperwork required to get the players there,” Hussey’s manager Rick Olarenshaw said. It is said that payment is delayed due to enormous paperwork associated with contract.

Shah Rukh Khans Kolkata Knight Riders top DLF IPL points table

Shah Rukh Khans Kolkata Knight Riders are on top of the table winning both their matches, netting 4 points and a net run rate of 3.764. of the other three teams which played two games, Rajasthan Royals jumped into the fourth spot ahead of Bangalore Royal Challangers, though both have 2 points, on the basis of a better run-rate, mainly assisted by Shane Watson’s heroics. Yuvraj Singh’s Kings XI finds themselves at the bottom of the points table with two successive losses and a negative net run rate of –1.365.

Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings are comfortable positioned with a win from a match and a positive net run rate, while Mumbai Indians are below Bangalore Royal Challengers, mainly due to their defeat against the former.

Net run rate is the total number of runs divided by the number of overs played and it comes into play if the points table is tied.

Big hitting Pakistani Shahid Afridi will be the man to watch out for Deccan Chargers in the IPL tournament.
Shahid Afridi holds the world record for the fastest century in all forms of the game – he has scored one in 37 balls. VVS Laxman would be breathing a sigh of relief, we guess.

And Afridi is keen to outsmart Brendon McCullum’s 73-ball 158 in IPL. McCullum took 53 balls to score his hundred against Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Shahid Afridi admits that it is not going to be an easy task but doesn’t hide the fact that he wants to give it a try. His skipper Shoiab Malik would play against him when Delhi Daredevils takes on Deccan Chargers.

But you know that cricket has a way of destroying such plans. Twenty20 can be exciting to watch, but the extra risks batsmen take make it tough for them to live long. We have to see how Afridi handles the pressure.

Matthew Hayden is excited about the prospect of taking on arch rival in Wednesday’s IPL Twenty20 match , when his Chennai Super Kings takes on Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.

Hayden said he has had serious run-ins with Harbhajan and such a contest on the field would be electrifying for the whole world.

Matthew Hayden also said the IPL Twenty20 format brings back memories of Kerry Packer’s breakaway league which threatened to split cricketing fraternity, but said cricket as a game would benefit immensely from IPL.

But what happens as the Australians are to pack their bags from IPL in the first week of May for their training camp against West Indies?

Hayden does not seem perturbed. He says the big hitting Albie Morkel from South Africa can replace him in the Chennai squad.

Hayden is also all praise for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying the Ranchi-lad has a fine cricketing brain.
Matthew Hayden also said big scores would be the order of the day in IPL.

Dhoni seems to be comfortable in his own skin with the Chennai team – especially if you see the Tamil ads he features in for Sonata Watches. Despite initial apprehensions, having foreign players in city teams have not seemed to matter much at all – except that they are much mroe consistent tan our local players and take away the shine.

Is there a real advantage for Chennai Super Kings when they play vs Mumbai Indians?

As an euphoric Chennai Super Kings led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni welcomes Mumbai Indians for the home match, both the teams will have plans knit around the presence or absence of one man – Sachin Tendulkar.

In their first match against Bangalore Royal Challengers, Mumbai Indians may not have missed Sachin Tendulkar as a batsman, but the absence was evident as a skipper, and of course his aura, which would have pumped in an extra dose of adrenalin into the Mukesh Ambni-owned side.

True opening batsman Luke Ronchi did not last long in the Mumbai stadium, but the big hitting Australian can be pardoned for this was his first match in the Indian sub continent. And Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka, who first mastered the art of hitting over the top while field restrictions are in place, did not let Mumbai Indians team down.

But imagine the prospect of Sachin opening with Sanath Jayasuriya for Mumbai Indians. That is one thing which even the agile thinking of Indian ODI and Twenty20 – and now Chennai Super Kings – captain MS Dhoni and the master cricketing brain of Chennai Kings coach Keppler Wessels would not relish much, even though they would have thought of umpteen plans to tackle such a scary scenario.

Mumbai Indians did fall short of another ten fifteen runs against Bangalore Royal Challengers but Robin Uthappa showed his prowess to be dangerous.

Thronley got retired hurt with more than a dozen stitches, which means he is almost out of the Mumbai Indians squad. This also means Sachin Tendulkar can make a quiet entry into the squad without much of a reshuffle. Sachin Tendulkar can also chip in with Sanath Jayasuriya for a spell of bowling, who went for 39 runs in his four overs, to give some variety to the bowling attack.

Abhishek Nayar showed that he is an exciting prospect with his willow as well as some stunning catches.
Bowling would be Mumbai Indians’ main worry and Sachin Tendulkar needs to do some damage control and may be try and bowl his entire quota without much damage. India discard Ashish Nehra was wayward, but he was taking the field after a huge gap.

Among the Mumbai Indians bowlers, Shaun Pollock was spot on with an amazing 4.17 runs per over rate, at one point bowling five dot balls to Bangalore Royal Challengers’ skipper Rahul Dravid, but The Wall would rather fend him off than try cut loose and throw his wicket.

This time also, Chennai Super Kings would not do some thing foolish, but the likes of Matthew Hayden and Dhoni would definitely try and upset Pollock’s rhythm early on, lest he unleashes his nagging accuracy and make life difficult.

Shaun Pollock did play a cameo 28-run knock of 12 balls while batting for Mumbai Indians, and the South African would be mighty pleased and eager to carry on from were he left.

After the initial success of getting Rahul Dravid when he was looking dangerous, Mumbai Indians bowler Harbhajan Singh did well to get another key man Jacques Kallis, but the pressure of captaincy did show. If Sachin Tendulkar comes into play, Harbhajan Singh would have a different take and might relish reviving his love-hate relationship with Matthew Hayden.

Mumbai’s Dhaval Kulkarni also did a decent job with the ball, though he would be getting pearls of wisdom to improve his approach to the game from coach Lalchand Rajput, Sachin Tendulkar and Shaun Pollock himself as the tournament progresses.

Chennai Super Kings are riding on a wave of success unleashed by Michael Hussey and and Matthew Hayden, M S Dhoni and Suresh Raina to it apart from Parthiv Patel and you know why they have emerged as bookies’ favourites.

Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttaiah Muralitharan would have to do more than the job of containment and he is capable of that also. Jacob Oram, M Goni, Amarnath and Sharma weren’t impressive at all during the high scoring match against Kings XI, but they have time to make amends.

In the absence of a testing bowling attach, Chennai Superkings would want to bat anyway and put up a mammoth total on board before hoping for the Mumbai Indians to buckle under pressure.

So the role of Hussey, Hayden and Dhoni is vital for Chennai Super Kings. But you cannot expect Michael Hussey to perform another big innings simply going by the law of averages and also because that was a sort of once in a lifetime exploit. It can’t be repeated every other day.

But Hussey would undoubtedly want some big hits for himself and would not allow himself to be bogged down. Its either a hit or a walk back as the Aussie doesn’t trust dot balls.

Dhoni has so far failed to perform with his bat, and this is the big match for him to unleash his hard-hitting fury. Chennai Super Kings needs a valiant effort from the Indian Twenty20 skipper.

Suresh Raina played a cameo and he will be expected to do that again or may be even promoted up the line-up if Parthiv is dropped. Stephen Fleming may also get a look in.

The verdict is that there is no clear edge for Chennai SuperKings vs Mumbai Indians as is perceived.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni, Muttiah Muralitharan, Jacob Oram , Albie Morkel , Suresh Raina, Matthew Hayden, Stephen Fleming, Michael Hussey, Parthiv Patel, Joginder Sharma, Makhaya Ntini, Nuwan Zoysa, R. Ashwin, S. Anirudha, Sudeep Tyagi.

Mumbai Indians
Sachin Tendulkar,Sanath Jayasuriya, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Shaun Pollock, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Loots Bosman, Ajinkya Rahane,Abhishek Nayar, Yogesh Takawale, Pinal Shah, Ashwell Prince.

Rajasthan Royals bounce back, beat Kings XI Punjab by 6 wkts

Shane Watson smashed a blistering unbeaten 76 to steer an inexperienced Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket victory over a star-studded Kings XI Punjab in their Indian Premier League match at Sawai Man Singh stadium here on Monday night. More…

Watson stars in Jaipur’s Royal victory

A magnificent unconquered 76 by Shane Watson steered the Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over the King’s XI, Punjab in the sixth match of the inaugural IPL tournament at the Sawai Man Singh stadium here on Monday. More…

Watson stars in Rajasthan Royals’ win

A belligerent 76 not out by Shane Watson helped Rajasthan Royals score their first win in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Monday night. More…

Scorecard

At the moment, as DLF IPL goes on, Kolkata Knight Riders, the Kolkata franchisee team led by Saurav Ganguly and owned by Shah Rukh Khan is riding high with two back to back victories from two matches against the Bangalore Royal Challengers and Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.

Kolkata Knight Riders are leading the points table of the DLF IPL tournament with two wins from two matches.

The Knight Riders team is confident of maintaining their winning momentum to win the DLF IPL tournament.

According to Kolkata captain Sourav Ganguly, “We have started well and hope to continue this trend.” Owner Shah Rukh Khan is also of the same opinion. He says, “We have to continue to do well in the coming matches.”

In the opening match of the DLF  IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders squashed Bangalore Royal Challengers by handing them a 140 runs defeat in the match played at Bangalore. Bangalore Royal Challengers is owned by liquor barron Dr Vijay Mallya, who is also the owner of Force Indian F1 team. Bangalore Royal Challengers is led by Rahul Dravid, who is absent from the Indian one day team at the moment. Royal Challengers came back into the tournament with a win over Mumbai Indians on Sunday, I am sure much to the relief of poor Rahul Dravid.

In the second match of Kolkata Knight Riders, the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers had to bite the dust, the Hyderabad franchisee owned by the Deccan Chronicle on Sunday. Okay, it was not an easy victory for Kolkata, but they won it in the end. The two victories are keeping the team up in high spirits.

Shah Rukh Khan said, “Our coach has told the players that they have to deliver the best to succeed in the tournament. The team has to work hard.”

Looking at the matches so far, the only team which seemed to have a considerable advantage over their opponents is the Chennai Super Kings led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is having a good run of luck. One can say the same about Shah Rukh Khan. It will be interesting to watch whose luck holds out.

Before the start of the DLF  IPL, cricket experts had termed the Deccan Chargers, the Hyderabad franchisee led by VVS Laxman would be the winning team in the tournament. Everyone except the captain VVS Laxman was of Twenty20 material, it was said. Now, they have shown that the team is of course a good combination of youth and experience by putting up a good show against the mighty Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday. The second match of the Deccan Chargers would be held tomorrow against the Delhi Daredevils.So what if they lost, it was not a tame defeat by any means.

Since the match would be played in Hyderabad, the Deccan Chargers could well have the so-called home advantage, playing in front of the home crowd. The most important thing to be noted here is the presence of Shahid Afridi, the explosive batsman from Pakistan joining the side for tomorrow’s match against the Delhi Daredevils.

The batting line-up of Deccan Chargers looks good on paper consisting of Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Y Venugopal Rao, Rohit Sharma and Ranji players D B Ravi Teja and Kalyan Krishna. Though captain VVS Laxman is not exactly Twenty20 material, one can expect him to score some runs, if he comes to bat in the middle rather than open the batting.

Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds, the Aussie batsmen, are both aggressive and can well score some useful runs for the team. Considering the astronomical figure he got during the auction, Symonds would be readying up to live up to the expectations laid upon him.

Another batsman that could come to the rescue of Deccan Chargers is Shahid Afridi, the explosive Pakistani batsman who can take the match away from the opponents anytime.

Even the bowling line up of Deccan Chargers is quite strong with the likes of  Scott Styris, Chaminda Vaas, R P Singh and the locay boy Pragyan Ojha, who was instrumental in his team’s efforts against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Delhi Daredevils, the Delhi franchisee of the DLF IPL and being led by Virender Sehwag, will have A B de Villiers, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Asif, Tillakratne Dilshan and Abdul Razzak as the main batters.

The final teams for the game will be selected from:

Deccan Chargers: VVS Laxman (Captain), Scott Styris, Adam Gilchrist (WK), H Gibbs, Andrew Symonds, Sanjay Bangar, Rohit Sharma, Chamara Silva, Y Venugopal Rao, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Haldhar Das (wk), D Kalyan Krishna, Pragyan Ojha, DB Raviteja, PM Sarvesh Kumar, R P Singh, P Vijay Kumar and Arjun Yadav. Coach: Robin Singh

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Manoj Tiwari, Daniel Vettori, Shoaib Malik, Dinesh Kartik, Glenn McGrath, Mohammed Asif, Ferveez Meharoof, Pradeep Sangwan, Brett Geeves, Rajat Bhatia, Shikar Dhawan, Yo Mahesh, Tillakratne Dilshad, Abdul Razzak, Mithun Manhas, Mayank Tehlan, Amit Mishra, Tejaswi Yadav, A B de Villiers and Yogesh Nagar. Coach: Greg Shipperd.