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.

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, captain of the Mumbai Indians IPL team, is excited to be part of Twenty20 as it gives him an opportunity to take on colleagues Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and M S Dhoni, as well as team up with his India mates Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa.

Sachin Tendulkar said the IPL is going to be a challenge and after team owner and Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani spoke to him he was convinced to take it up.

Sachin Tendulkar also denied reports hinting that his side – Mumbai Indians – was one of the weakest teams, saying it had a nice blend of youth and experience.

Sachin Tendulkar said spinner Harbhajan Singh would be an asset to the team, revealing the hopes that he has pinned on the Turbanator.

A key aspect of Mumbai Indians is its option to have two of the most explosive opening bats on its side – Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya – and Sachin Tendulkar himself is delighted at such a prospect.
Sachin Tendulkar, a former India skipper who has taken ten thousand runs in both Tests and One Days, also fancies the prospect of facing Shane Warne. Shane Warne is the skipper and coach of Jaipur team.

Sachin Tendulkar also said the IPL opens a window of opportunity for young players like Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ajinkya Rahane and Ankeet Chavan to take on some of the game’s best players like
Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, Shaun Pollock, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Sachin Tendulkar would also celebrate his birthday in the middle of the IPL – he turns 35 on April 24.

But the only worry that is nagging him is his injury. Sachin admitted that he is not fully fit, though a final assessment on his ability to play will be taken later. It really would be a disappointment for all the Mumbai Indians fans if Sachin could not play – pray it doesn’t happen!

Bangalore Royal Challengers take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural DLF IPL Twenty20 tournament’s opening match in Bangalore on April 18, the clash will be between two former India skippers and two flamboyant personalities also — Rahul Dravd captains Bangalore Royal challengers promoted by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, while Sourav Ganguly is the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, promoted by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Pointer: At least on paper, the Kolkata Knight Riders are seen as having an advantage, partly due to the mix of the opposition team.

Bangalore Royal Challengers

The Bangalore Royal Challengers are seen more as a bunch of solid batsmen in the mould of skipper Rahul Dravid, with sound technique, but are not known as big hitters, with the exception of Jacques Kallis and Misabah-Ul-haq, their late catch, bagged in the second auction for $125,000. For starters, the big hitting Pakistani had almost snatched the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup trophy from the Indian Team in South Africa.

Jacques Kallis has played three international matches in Twenty20, scoring just 39 runs, but his strike rate, which counts most in this version of the game, is an astounding 108.33 — that means if Jacques Kallis can stay put in 3-4 overs in the crease, the opposition in in trouble. The other South African in the pack, Mark Boucher has played 9 matches, but his strike rate is a shade less at 89.93. But Boucher makes up for that by doubling as the man behind the stumps.

Skipper Rahul Dravid does not even figure in India’s Twenty20 squad, but the Indian batting mainstay is the only Indian apart from Sachin Tendulkar to have scored 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs — the message is that experience counts.

Rahul Dravid scored 1761 in calendar year 1999. That is the third highest by a batsman in a calendar year after Sachin Tendulkar (1894 runs in 1998) and Sourav Ganguly ( 1767 in 1999).

Rahul Dravid has an astonishing career ODI record — 329 matches, 304 innings, 39 not outs and 10,464 runs, with a highest score of 153, an average of 39.48 and a strike rate of 71.16. Twelve hundreds and 80 half centuries have been recorded in his name.

Pakistan’s latest find Misbah-ul-haq,31, has played only 27 ODIs for his country and scored 727 runs at an average of 36.35 with a strike rate of 77.84, figures which mask his utility as a match winner.

But when it comes to the nine matches he has played in Twenty20, his average shoots up to 50.20, scoring 251 runs. The key, however, is his phenomenal strike rate of 127.41, a pointer to the fact that this Pakistani can turnaround matches.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Sourav Ganguly’s Kolkata Knight Riders’ definite advantage is their explosive batting line-up starting from icon player Sourav himself. Sourav Ganguly, like Dravid, is not part of Indian twenty20 and is a former ODI skipper. In M S Dhoni’s scheme of things, Ganguly does not figure much, and hence been ignored from ODI and twenty20 versions of the national squad.

But Sourav Ganguly is among India’s most successful captains. In the 302 ODI matches he has played for the country, the Bengal southpaw has scored 11046 runs, which includes 22 hundreds and seventy half-centuries. His strike rate is 73.60, a tad better than rival Rahul Dravid. Sourav Ganguly can also chip in as a change bowler – he has taken 99 wickets in ODIs at an average of 37.65.

Kolkata Knight Riders have two formidable explosive bats in West Indian Chris Gayle and Australian skipper Ricky Ponting. Christopher Henry Gayle is another batsman who can just shatter any bowling attack and also do a bit of bowling.

In 173 ODI matches Chris Gayle has revelled with the willow, his average is just below 50 but his strike rate is a phenomenal 80.16. The point to note, however, is his Twenty20 strike rate, which is a hundred percent jump – 164.96 in five matches in which he scored 193 runs, including a Twenty20 best 127.

Punter Ricky Ponting is among the most hated figures as far as Indian cricket fans are concerned but his record as a player is par excellence. Ricky Thomas Ponting has scored 11,096 runs in 297 ODIs, and is just 24 short of the 10,000 mark in Tests. Ponting’s strike rate is exactly 50 in ODIs, which jumps to 138.16 in Twenty20. But Ponting hasn’t been that successful in Twenty20, scoring just 98 runs in ten matches. But his massive utility would be as a scheming and thinking cricketer, which Sourav Ganguly should be able to exploit.

Mindgames

With former Aussie coach John Buchanan donning the role of Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach, it is a sure bet that Kolkata Knight Riders would have five strategies lined up for the match, but New Zealander Martin Crowe would not be found wanting in strategic pitches for Bangalore Knight Riders.

Key players, issues and forecast

South African pace sensation Dale Steyn, who was instrumental in handing India a drubbing in the Ahmedabad Test, would be the key bowler in the match as Kolkata Knight Riders Shoaib Akhtar is unlikely to be included in the Kolkata Team following as ban imposed by Pakistan Cricket Board.

Steyn’s menacing pace and nagging line would be difficult to tackle for Kolkata Knight Riders. He would be ably backed by Indian test skipper Anil Kumble. The key for Sourav Ganguly would be to come down the order and display his prowess to throw spinners out of gear and safeguard himself from Steyn’s promised chin music. Gayle and Ponting should be left to tackle Steyn and create some chaos in Bangalore Royal Challengers famed bowling attack, which also has stingy Aussie bowler Nathan Bracken.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ another issue is that Ricky Ponting would be available only for two weeks as he has to report to the Australian training camp by the first week of May, but that wouldn’t be an issue in the first match against Bangalore Royal Challengers. Indian pace sensation Ishant Sharma can be a dangerous bowler to tackle for Bangalore Royal Challengers. Despite being a quality Twenty20 side, Kolkata Knight Riders have now only a slight edge in the initial match against Bangalore Royal Challengers on April 18. Chances of a win for Kolkata Knight Riders against Bangalore Royal Challengers are 51:49 and the margin of error in a Twenty20 match is anybody’s guess.

This would be the most highly anticipated match being the inaugural one. Red Chillies is actually fronted by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan – just by being the owner, he has ensured millions of rupees worth of publicity for the Kolkata Knight Riders. The Knight Riders team is being captained by the Prince of Kolkata Sourav Ganguly.

Here is the Kolkata team players list. Remember that only four foreign players can be part of the playing eleven – so we do not know who will actually feature in the match.

Batsmen

David Hussey
Ricky Ponting
Salman Butt
Akash Chopra
Cheteshwar Pujara
Rohan Banerjee
Yashpal Singh
Debabrata Das

All rounders
Sourav Ganguly (Captain)
Tatenda Taibu
Wriddhiman Saha
Brendon McCullum
Chris Gayle
Ajit Agarkar
Mohammad Hafeez
Iqbal Abdulla
Laxmi Ratan Shukla

Bowlers

Ishant Sharma
Shoaib Akhtar
Murali Kartik
Umar Gul
Siddarth Kaul
Ranadeb Bose
Sourashish Lahiri

The Bangalore Royal Challengers is owned by liquor baron, airline owner and Formula One team owner Vijay mallya. The team is captained by former India captain Rahul Dravid.

Rahul Dravid (Captain)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Wasim Jaffer
Misbah-ul-Haq
Ross Taylor
Arun Kumar J.
Appanna K. P.
Bharat Chipli

Mark Boucher
Shreevats Goswami
Devraj Patil
Jacques Kallis
Cameron White
Sunil Joshi
Akhil B.
Virat Kohli

Anil Kumble
Zaheer Khan
Nathan Bracken
Dale Steyn
Praveen Kumar
Abdur Razzak
Vinay Kumar R.

There has been criticism that the Bangalore Royal Challengers team looks more like a test team rather than an aggressive Twenty20 side. Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble (the current Indian test captain) have both rubbished the cirticism, and emphasized that the team can take on any of the other contendors.

We shall see at the inaugural match between Knight Riders and Royal Challengers in just a couple of weeks from now.

The Indian film fraternity is being actively woed by the franchises as the Indian Premier League (IPL) dates approach. The latest to join the crowd is Akshay Kumar, who has just been appointed brand ambassador for Delhi Daredevils captained by Virender Sehwag.

In a bid to give new vigour for the parting teams, the owners of IPL franchises have already appointed high- paid film stars to endorse their brands. The owner of the Chennai Super Kings, India Cements started the trend by roping in south Indian matinee idols Vijay and the sexy Nayanthara as their brand ambassadors. These stars are now in the frame to popularise the Indian one day team captain Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings. The stars were heavily paid by the India Cements for endorsing the team.

The other IPL teams are also thinking about roping in big personal brands in film field to popularise the game and promote themselves. There is news that actors Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone might endorse the Bangalore IPL team, Royal Challengers.  Rahul Dravid, former Indian captain, is the captain of Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The Delhi Daredevils team is owned by infrastructure developer GMR Group. Akshay Kumar belongs to Delhi and has big star value in the Hindi heart land. The Virender Sehwag-led Delhi team will now get a new face to promote their brand in the coming Twenty20 matches. Gautum Gambhir, Mohammed Asif and Shoaib Malik are also members of the Delhi IPL team.

Shah Rukh Khan’s ownership of Kolkata Knight Riders automatically lends it publicity. Preity Zinta on the other hand has given a new face to her Mohali IPL team by appointing Daler Mehndi, and music duo Sajid-Wajid to endorse the team. They will come out with a new album promoting the Mohali team. SRK’s Kolkata Knight Riders has signed up Vishal-Shekar and dance master Ganesh Hegde for its promotional activities.

It is expected that IPL will become a big business and additional revenue source for film stars as the cricket war enters the next phase. Different companies and individuals owning IPL franchises are ready to spend as much as money possible to popularise the IPL tournament and reap the financial rewards.

M S Dhoni , who won the highest bid of $1.5 million from Chennai Super Kings in the DLF IPL Twenty20 player auction, said the team’s 2-0 win over Australia is an evidence his policy has worked.

M S Dhoni’s remarks came after Sourav Ganguly hinted he was keen on an ODI recall.
Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly are the only Indians apart from Sachin Tendulkar (Bombay Indians) to score over 10,000 runs in ODIs.

Dhoni said he took the important decision to stick to youth but was criticised by many.
The 26-year-old M S Dhoni was made captain after Rahul Dravid stepped down as skipper saying he wanted to concentrate on his batting. Dhoni then captained the side which won the Twenty20 inaugural World Cup in South Africa.

But many former players, including Bishen Singh Bedi, have made veiled attacks on Dhoni, saying the seniors too contributed to the team’s success. Sachin Tendulkar, the lone player above 30 in the ODI squad in Australia, has also said the seniors’ contribution should not be forgotten. Was that a veiled warning to Dhoni not to go overboard on his new-found success? Only time will tell, but the senior vs junior fight in Team India has been rekindled.

The Vijay Mallya-owned Bangalore Royal Challengers IPL promotional video would see Bollywood stars Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone with team skipper and icon player Rahul Dravid. (That should be interesting – good boy Rahul Dravid always looks a bit self-conscious and earnest in ad videos.) Kartina Kaif, bollywood actress, is riding a string of light hearted hits in Bollywood, while Deepika Padukone is riding high on the success of Om Shanti Om with SRK. Deepika was recently linked with Yuvraj Singh romantically by the media.

Mumbai-based Sanjay Gupta has been contracted by Vijay Mallya for the promotional video for Bangalore Royal Challengers, reports say.

Rahul Dravid recently said that he thinks that his team can perform as well in the Twenty20 format as in tests. There has been criticism that the Bangalore IPL team looks more like a test side.

Vijay Mallya is not stopping there. The UB Group chairman also plans a promotional music video and team anthem. That will be pretty much following on the lines of Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders’ theme song and video.

Allan Amin (Dhoom) would organize the action scenes. Rahul Dravid has almost finished the shoots.

Bangalore Royal Challengers captain Rahul Dravid was instrumental in Martin Crowe’s appointment. Martin Crowe would work with team strategy as well as offer tips on brand building for Bangalore Royal Challengers. Crowe will also act as a batting coach, while Venkatesh Prasad will look after the bowling department.

Bangalore Royal Challengers’ first match in IPL will be against Kolkata Knight Riders in Bangalore on April 18.

The Bangalore IPL team, Christened Royal Challengers, is promoted by liquor baron Vijay Mallya of the UB Group.

Rahul Dravid told a news agency that people expect top class cricket in the IPL matches and the Twenty20 competition’s success depends on whether the domestic and international players provide that to viewers.

Rahul Dravid, who will earn around 4 crore rupees, also said he was not sure whether IPL would boost the fortunes in the long run or affect it adversely.

Rahul Dravid says only time will tell how IPL boost cricket’s fortunes, adding the price of players did not reflect the players’ capabilities.

For example, Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting, who would play for Kolkata IPL team promoted by Shah Rukh Khan, would earn less than rookie Indian pacer Ishant Sharma.

Every IPL team can have only four foreign players in the playing eleven. Moreover, teams with icon players like Bangalore (Rahul Dravid) and Mumbai (Sachin Tendulkar) were also at a disadvantage at the players’ auction as icon players had to be paid 15 percent more than the top priced player in the respective teams.

But Rahul Dravid is also elated at the immense opportunity which IPL throws open to the domestic players and the experience they would gain by playing alongside and international stars, apart from the financial benefits.