Friday 17 April, 2009

Team Preview - Rajasthan Royals

Performance in IPL 2008 

The Royals were considered underdogs and after their drubbing in the opening game against Delhi, not many would have given them a chance. But that loss was only a minor blip in an otherwise hugely successful campaign. The Royals won 11 out of their next 12 league games, losing only to Mumbai in the process as they notched up a streak of 6 wins on the trot. 

They crushed Delhi in the semi-finals, winning by a huge margin of 105 runs as Delhi were dismissed for an embarrassing 87 before clinching a last-ball victory in a nail-biting final against the Chennai Super Kings to lift the trophy. 

Who's in, who's out 

Like last time, Rajasthan were not very keen on the big guns. They shelled out a massive USD 600,000 for big hitting South African all-rounder Tyron Henderson and acquired Australian speedster Shaun Tait for USD 375,000. 

Other signings include Rob Quiney, Lee Carseldine and Shane Harwood - all of whom are from Australia. 

However, Rajasthan will be greatly affected by the loss of Sohail Tanvir, the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2008 and Kamran Akmal. Shane Watson, player of the series last year, will also be away on national duty and will only be available for the last two weeks of the tournament. 

Players to watch out for 

Shane Warne: Shane Warne played all his roles exceptionally well. He was the coach, took the most wickets by a spinner in the tournament and lead a side of relative unknows to the title. Ian Chappell went on to describe as the "best captain Australia never had". Warne proved that he is still a wily customer with the ball and a smart tactician on the field, not to mention capable of smacking a few lusty blows with the bat when the situation arises. 

Yusuf Pathan: The older Pathan has shown the world why he is made for the shortest format of the game. Pathan seeks to hit every ball out of the ground and usually succeeds, scoring at a frantic rate to take the game away from the opposition. A decent off-spinner as well, Pathan is capable of stemming the flow of runs when bowling. 

Swapnil Asnodkar: The 'Goa Dynamo' surprised one and all with his aggressive approach at the top of the order. Asnodkar was usually responsible for getting his team off to flying starts and his team will similar expectations of him. What remains to be seen, is how the diminutive batsman fares on the bouncy tracks in South Africa. 

Ravindra Jadeja: Jadeja is going through a purple patch. Not only did he chip in with all-round performances during the first season of the IPL, he went on to have a great domestic season in which he topped the wicket-taking list. He was eventually rewarded with a call-up to the national team and showed his mettle with a fifty on debut. One of Jadeja's strengths is that he never lets the pressure get to him. 

Trivia 

Shane Watson, who was the player of the tournament in IPL 2008, was the first to win three Man of the Match awards. 

Swapnil Asnodkar, who was nicknamed Goa Dynamo by his Rajasthan Royals teammates was the only player from Goa to feature in the IPL 2008. 

Rajasthan Royals were the only team in the IPL having same player as coach and captain - Shane Warne. 

Sohail Tanvir was the highest wicket taker in IPL 2008. He picked up 22 wickets from 11 games at an amazing average of 12.09. 

Sohail Tanvir is the only bowler in the IPL to have bagged 4 or more wickets in an innings more than once. 

Rajasthan Royals holds the record of chasing down the highest score when they made 217/7 while chasing against the Deccan Chargers. 

Only 3 teams won off the last ball while chasing in the IPL. Rajasthan did it twice, but it was done for the 1st time by the Kolkata Knight Riders. 

Rajasthan Royals happened to win 9 out of the eleven games in which they won the toss. 

Rajasthan Royals bowled the most number of dot balls in the tournament. The did not give any runs on 837 occassions. 

Current Squad 

Shane Warne (AUS), Aditya Angle, Swapnil Asnodkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Kaif, Kamran Akmal (PAK), Sumit Khatri, Taruwar Kohli, Robert Quiney (AUS), Lee Carseldine (AUS), Graeme Smith (SA), Yusuf Pathan, Niraj Patel, Dinesh Salunkhe, Ralphi Gomez, Shaun Tait (AUS), Shane Harwood (AUS), Morne Morkel (SA), Anup Revandkar, Mahesh Rawat, Shane Watson (AUS), Tyron Henderson (SA), Dimitri Mascarenhas (ENG), Siddharth Trivedi 

Coach - Shane Warne 

Assistant head coach - Harish Joshi

McCullum replaces Ganguly as KKR captain


New Zealand v India - 5th ODI

New Zealand's Brendon McCullum has replaced Sourav Ganguly as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, according to reports.

The Knight Riders take on the Deccan Chargers in Newlands on Sunday.

Weeks before, the Knight Riders' Australian coach John Buchanan had created a furore when he brought up the theory of multiple captains for his team for the second edition of the IPL in South Africa.

It remains to be seen whether McCullum stays as captain for the entire edition or on a rotational policy.

Thursday 16 April, 2009

Team Preview - Bangalore Royal Challengers

Performance in IPL 2008

The Royal Challengers, Bangalore had a miserable outing during the first season of the Indian Premier League, finishing a dismal seventh. 

Captained by Rahul Dravid, the team was touted as a Test side which was not capable of adapting to the swashbuckling cricket employed in the Twenty20 format.

After a torrid opening game against the Kolkata Knight Riders, the team from Bangalore was not able to settle down as a unit.

The Royal Challengers played 14 matches in their IPL endeavour and could only manage 4 wins.

The liquor baron's team lost some close games after being in a winning position:

A loss to Chennai Super Kings by 13 runs 

Losing to Delhi Dare Devils by 10 runs 

Defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 runs 

The four wins managed by the Royal Challengers came against:

Mumbai Indians at Mumbai

Home and away wins against the Deccan Chargers

Chennai Super Kings at Chennai 

Trade-ins and player acquisitions

At the start of 2009, Vijay Mallya acquired Robin Uthappa from the Mumbai Indians and had to let go of Zaheer Khan to them. This deal did not cost Mallya as it was a mutual exchange.

Bangalore also acquired Gaurav Dhiman from the Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan fast bowler Pankaj Singh from the Rajasthan Royals.

The second IPL auction witnessed an aggressive bid by all teams to get hold of the South African born English cricketer Kevin Pietersen. Eventually, Mallya bagged him for a record $ 1.55 Million. Kevin Pietersen also replaced Rahul Dravid as the new RCB captain.

The left handed New Zealand sensation Jesse Ryder was also included in the Bangalore team for a price of $ 160,000.

Players to watch out for

Kevin Pietersen: With a whopping $ 1.55 Million tag and the responsibilty of leading the team, Bangalore fans would look to Pietersen to revive the fortunes of the team.

Jesse Ryder: With a dream season against the Indians in all forms of the game, the Royal Challengers would expect the Ryder magic to continue in South Africa.

Rahul Dravid: The 'Wall' of Indian cricket had a successful test series at New Zealand. Being the most successful RCB batsman during the first season and with the burden of captaincy no longer there, the seasoned campaigner would look forward to an engaging stint.

Dale Steyn: This exciting South African pacer had won praises from cricketers all round the world. RCB would bank on this fast bowler to rattle the opposition in conditions well suited to him where he will be even more lethal.

Trivia

Kevin Pietersen, along with Andrew Flintoff (Chennai), was the most expensive player of IPL 2009 at USD 1.55 million.

Bangalore Royal Challengers roped in Washington Redskins - a world famous cheer-leading squad from the US for the IPL 2008.

Abdur Razzak of Bangalore Royal Challengers was the only Bangladeshi to feature in IPL 2008. He only played one game for his team.

Anil Kumble took 3 for 14 in the match against the Chennai Super Kings - it was his best performance in the twenty-over format of the game.

Five of the Bangalore batsmen were dismissed for a duck in the match against Punjab - a record for the most ducks in an innings in the IPL.

B Akhil of the RCB scored 27 runs at a strike rate of 385.71 against the Deccan Chargers, the highest strike rate for an innings

Misbah-ul-Haq hit the 1000th four of the IPL

Misbah-ul-Haq, who turned 34 on 28th May, will want to forget his 34th birthday in a hurry - he was dismissed for a first ball duck against Mumbai.

Current Squad

Kevin Pietersen (ENG), Ross Taylor (NZ), Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Jesse Ryder (NZ), Mark Boucher (RSA), Shreevats Goswami, Dillon du Preez (RSA) , Jacques Kallis (RSA), Roelof van der Merwe (RSA), Cameron White (AUS), Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Balachandra Akhil, Dale Steyn (RSA), Nathan Bracken (AUS), Pankaj Singh, Anil Kumble, Tinu Yohannan, Vinay Kumar

Coaches

Head Coach: Ray Jennings (RSA)

Assistant Head Coach: Vijay Bharadwaj

Team Preview - Deccan Chargers

Performance in IPL 2008

Despite being termed as a team to win the cup, a string of poor performances and controversies taunted the Hyderabad team throughout the first season of the IPL. An injury to the team's captain VVS Laxman during the series had the former Australian wicket keeper Adam Gilchrist fill in as the captain. 

A massive storm struck the team when the Pakistani dasher Shahid Afridi pointed out that VVS Laxman's was incompetent to lead Hyderabad and was responsible for the team's poor show during the inaugural season of the IPL. A momentary ceasefire was called before the flames resurfaced. The team management stepped in and terminated the IPL contract of Afridi.

At the end of the season, Hyderabad could manage only two wins in the 14 matches played by them, finishing at the bottom of the table. Their victories came against the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings thanks to powerful batting performances by Adam Gilchrist.

Who's in, who's out

Who's in?

After a miserable campaign last time around, some sweeping changes have been made.

Before the start of the second auction, the Queensland all-rounder Ryan Harris was signed by the management after a strong recommendation from the Hyderabad coach Darren Lehmann.

They also got hold of 6 new players from the domestic circuit - Jaskarandeep Singh, H.S. Bansal, T.Suman, Abhinav Kumar, S.M.Shoaib and M.S.Bisla.

The West Indian Fidel Edwards (USD 150,000) and Dwayne Smith (USD 100,000) were the international players bought at the auction.

Even the logo was not spared. The new logo has a silver background as opposed to the gold one which they had last year. They will also be sporting different kits on the field.

Who's out?

While the classy VVS Laxman was replaced by Adam Gilchrist as the captain, Shahid Afridi was shown the doors for speaking against Laxman. Herschelle Gibbs was up for sale due to his poor show but was not purchased by any of the teams.

Players to watch out for

Adam Gilchrist: While Gilchrist was good in patches during IPL-1, Hyderabad would want a more consistent performance from this dashing Australian wicket keeper to revive the team's prospects during the second season.

Herschelle Gibbs: After a forgettable campaign during 2008, Gibbs would bank on his powerful batting skills to fire during 2009. He is stil lightning quick on the field and batting on home turf would certainly work to his advantage.

Rohit Sharma: A consistent performance from Sharma during the first edition of IPL was perhaps the only saving grace for Hyderabad. He was the second-highest run-scorer for the Chargers last time around and remains a vital cog in the middle order.

Venugopal Rao: Venugopal Rao had a quiet tournament to begin with but came into his own during the second half of the tournament, taking his team to the brink of victory on many occassions. A heavy-scorer in domestic cricket, Venugopal will need to better his performance this time around.

Trivia

Andrew Symonds was the most expensive bowler for Deccan Chargers - he was hit for 30 in one over by Sehwag and 17 in the last over of a match by Warne.

Adam Gilchrist of Deccan Chargers scored the fastest century of IPL 2008, doing so in just 42 balls against Mumbai Indians.

Not only did the Deccan Chargers finish last, they disappointed their fans by not winning a single home game in the IPL 2008.

The highest partnership for any wicket in the IPL is 155 between Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman in the match between Hyderabad and Mumbai.

RP Singh of the Deccan Chargers gave away 59 runs in his 4 ovs against KKR thereby making him the bowler with the worst economy rate in a game.

Current Squad

Adam Gilchrist (AUS), Rohit Sharma(Vice-Captain), Chamara Silva (SL), Herschelle Gibbs (RSA), V.V.S.Laxman, Arjun Yadav, Venugopal Rao, D.B.Ravi Teja, T.Suman, Abhinav Kumar, Dwayne Smith (WI), Scott Styris (NZ), Andrew Symonds (AUS), Ryan Harris (AUS), Halhadar Das, M.S.Bisla, R. P. Singh, Fidel Edwards WI), Chaminda Vaas (SL), Nuwan Zoysa (SL), D.Kalyankrishna, Pragyan Ojha, M Sarveesh Kumar, H.S.Bansal, Jaskarandeep Singh, P. Vijay Kumar, S.M.Shoaib

Coaches

Head Coach: Darren Lehmann (AUS)

Assistant Coach: Kanwaljit Singh 

Team Preview - Kolkata Knight Riders

Performance in IPL 2008
Kolkatta were being touted as the best team after their first two wins but their performance nose-dived as the series progressed.
Kolkata's performance was as unpredictable as their speedster, Shoaib Akhtar at times.
At times they pulled off thrilling victories, like they did against Punjab, scoring 70 in the last four overs to seal victory.
Against Mumbai, they set the record for the lowest score in the tournament, being bundled out for 67. Against Delhi, they pulled off a remarkable victory, winning by 23 runs despite only scoring 133 runs - thanks to a blistering spell from Shoaib Akhtar. Ultimately, Kolkatta weren't consistent enough and had to settle for sixth place.
Financially, the Knight Riders were easily the most successful franchise in the IPL, achieving a profit of Rs. 13 crore.
Whos in, whos out
Kolkata Knight Riders was among the least active franchises during the off season, with no player trades. However, the team signed Mohnish Parmar during the off season and also re-signed Ajantha Mendis for a long term deal. The most notable personnel move for Knight Riders came during the 2009 IPL Auction, where the team signed Bangladesh all-rounder Mashrafe Mortaza. Kolkatta spent a massive 600,000 dollars at the auction for this Bangladeshi import and it will be interesting to see if Mortaza can live up to the expectations.
Kolkata will bemoan the loss of it's Pakistani players - Umar Gul and Salman Butt - both of whom performed notably last year. Ricky Ponting joined the list of Australians who pulled out of the IPL due to a hectic international schedule. Mohammad Asif will also be missing from action.
Players to watch out for
Sourav Ganguly: Ganguly might not have the agility demanded of a Twenty20 player but he proved why he is still among the best as he finished on top of the run-scoring charts for his team. He also chipped in with his gentle medium pace and ended up as the most economical bowler for his side. Still a force to reckon with.

Brendon McCullum: Nicknamed 'Baz', McCullum's game is perfectly suited to the Twenty20 format and his brutal innings of 158 not out against Bangalore last season is testimony to that. McCullum is coming of some good batting form in the recently concluded series against India, which will do his confidence a world of good.

Chris Gayle: Gayle exemplifies Caribbean flair and his nonchalant and no-fuss approach to batting is a treat to watch. On his day, Gayle can massacre the best of attacks, putting away even the good balls. Gayle and McCullum are potentially the most lethal opening pair in the tournament and if they can get going the crowd will be in for some real entertainment.

Ishant Sharma: Ishant had a very ordinary tournament last time around but batsmen could find him difficult to hit in conditions where the lanky seamer will be able to extract movement and bounce. He will be keen to prove his detractors wrong this time around.

Trivia
The duo of Vishal and Shekar, of 'Om Shanthi Om' and 'Jhankar Beats' fame composed the anthem song of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Sourav Ganguly, captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, was the first player to win back-to-back Man of the Match awards.
Chris Gayle did not play a single game for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2008 as he had a groin injury.
Ishant Sharma, who was snapped up at USD 950,000 by Kolkata Knight Riders was the most expensive bowler at the IPL auction.
Umar Gul of KKR had the highest strike rate amongst the batsmen with 205.26. He scored just 39 runs in the tournament however.
The only match in the IPL which was abandoned without a ball being bowled was the match between Delhi and Kolkata at Delhi.
Kolkata have the record of scoring the least runs in an innings in the IPL doing so when they were dismissed 67 in the match against the Mumbai Indians.
Laxmi Ratan Shukla picked up 3 wickets in the only 5 balls he bowled against the Daredevils making him the bowler with the best strike rate in an innings.
Brendon McCullum scored 158 against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the opening game of the IPL - the highest individual score in a Twenty20 match.
Brendon McCullum of KKR holds the record for the most number of sixes in an IPL innings with 13 against the Bangalore Royal Challengers
The highest margin of victory by runs is 140 happens achieved by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match of the IPL against Bangalore

Current Squad:
Sourav Ganguly, Ajit Agarkar, Rohan Banerjee, Sanjay Bangar, Mark Cameron (AUS), Aakash Chopra, Gaurav Chabra, Debabrata Das, Ashok Dinda, Shatrunjay Gaekwad, Chris Gayle, Moises Henriques (AUS), Brad Hodge (AUS), David Hussey (AUS), VA Indulkar, Iqbal Abdulla, Murali Karthik, Saurasish Lahiri, Charl Langeveldt (SA), Brendon McCullum (NZ), Mashrafe Mortaza (Bang), Angelo Mathews (SL), Ajantha Mendis (SL), Mohnish Parmar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Laxmi Ratan Shukla

Coach - John Buchanan (AUS)
Assistant head coach - Matthew Mott (AUS)

Team Preview - Mumbai Indians

Performance in IPL 2008
Mumbai had a disastrous start, losing their first four games to Bangalore, Chennai, Punjab and Hyderabad but bounced back remarkably well before ultimately failing to make it to the semi-finals.
After four successive defeats, Mumbai won their next six games on the trot - the best streak of the tournament- as they appeared to peak at just the right time.
Mumbai will rue their 1-run defeat to Punjab since it not only ended their winning streak but also their hopes of a semi-final berth as the team seem to lose momentum. Two more defeats followed before Mumbai beat lowly Bangalore to finish in fifth position.
Who's in, who's out
Mumbai shopped for South African sensation Jean-Paul Duminy in this year's auction and splashed out an eye-popping USD 950,000 to acquire the stylish southpaw.
New Zealander Kyle Mills (USD 150,000) and Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful (USD 75,000) were part of their signings.
Mumbai was also involved in two swaps, trading Robin Uthappa for Zaheer Khan with Bangalore and Shikhar Dhawan for Ashish Nehra with Delhi. Jaydev Shah was also added to the roster while Dwayne Smith, Dominic Thornely and Ashwell Prince were released from their contracts. Shaun Pollock will not return as a player after taking up the role of the coach.
Mumbai also signed Graham Napier and Ryan McLaren, both prolific all-rounders in the English Twenty20 competition.
Players to watch out for
Sachin Tendulkar: Sachin Tendulkar is loved the world over and will be cynosure of all eyes in South Africa as well. He missed the inital games last season but is expected to be available for the entire duration this time around. Not only has he been among the runs for India, he has amassed his runs in a manner which reminds us of the Tendulkar of the nineties. Tendulkar on song will be vital to Mumbai's success. 
Graham Napier: The cricket world stood up and took notice of Napier's talent after he blasted a 52-ball 158 for Essex in a Twenty20 game. He scored runs heavily and quickly last season and is a decent medium pacer, capable of bowling the yorkers in the death overs.
Zaheer Khan: Zaheer Khan has led the Indian attack superbly in all conditions in recent times. Zaheer will enjoy the conditions in South Africa and his recent form suggests that batsmen will find it difficult against him.
Shikhar Dhawan: Dhawan scored consistently for Delhi, notching up four fifties in last year's IPL and Mumbai will be hoping he picks up from where he left off. A batsman in the classical mould with shots all around the wicket, Dhawan is the ideal number three.
Trivia
Dhawal Kulkarni of Mumbai bowled 3 wides in a row in his last over against Chennai, thus becoming the first bowler to have such a dubious record.
Sanath Jayasuriya of Mumbai Indians, the oldest player in the IPL, holds the record for the most sixes - 31.
Sanath Jayasuriya hit more fours than anyone else in the IPL. He hit a total of 57 boundaries.
Mumbai won their match at home against the Kolkata with a staggering 87 balls to spare, the highest margin in terms of balls remaining in IPL 2008.
Mumbai Indians used as many as three captains - Shaun Pollock, Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar - in the 14 games they played.
Tendulkar holds the record for the most number of catches in an IPL match with 4 catches in the match between the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth after Mumbai lost to Kings XI Punjab in a tense game following which Harbhajan was banned from the remainder of the tournament.
5 of the Mumbai Indians batsmen got run out in the game against the KKR. This is a record of a sorts for the IPL.
Current Squad
Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Bravo (WI), Shikhar Dhawan, Jean-Paul Duminy (SA), Harbhajan Singh, Dilhara Fernando (SL), Sanath Jayasuriya (SL), Zaheer Khan, Ryan McLaren (SA), Dhawal Kulkarni, Lasith Malinga (SL), Kyle Mills (NZ), Graham Napier (ENG), Chetanya Nanda, Mohammad Ashraful (B'desh), Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohan Raje, Luke Ronchi (AUS), Jaydev Shah, Pinal Shah, Rahil Shaikh, Yogesh Takawale, Saurabh Tiwary 
Coaches
Head Coach: Shaun Pollock (SA)
Assistant Head Coach: Pravin Amre

Team Preview - Delhi Daredevils

Header: Performance in IPL 2008

Delhi Daredevils began their IPL campaign on a good note by winning four of their first five matches. With the exception of Daniel Vettori, the Delhi team could utilize the services of all its international players through out the season. The team mainly banked on its powerful opening duo of Gambhir and Sehwag. They were well complemented by the ever reliable McGrath and the lanky Sri Lankan Maharoof in the bowling department.

However, the team had a downslide in the latter part of the tournament when they lost 5 of the remaining 9 matches in the round robin stage with one match against the Kolkata team washed out.
The Delhi side scraped through to the semi finals only to be demolished by the Warne led Rajasthan side. The Daredevils lost the semi finals by 105 runs.
Overall, Delhi looked a good team during 2008 but could not maintain their momentum during the second half.

Who's in, who's out
Who's in?
The Australian trio of David Warner, Dirk Nannes and Andrew McDonald were signed by the Delhi management after their successful T20 stints with New South Wales and Victoria.
The left handed pacer Ashish Nehra was the only domestic inclusion for the 2009 season with Delhi swapping the pacer for Shikhar Dhawan with Mumbai.
The Daredevils got their share of English players when they signed Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah, both for USD 275,000.

Who's out?
Mohammed Asif and Shoaib Malik will not be available for the Daredevils this season.
Players to watch out for
Virender Sehwag: The Nawab of Najafgarh has instilled fear amongst bowlers around the world with his swashbuckling batting. A good batting display during the recently concluded ODI series in New Zealand would increase Sehwag's confidence and the Delhi team would bank on its captain for explosive starts.
Gautam Gambhir: Gambhir has been a revelation during the past year. He has acted as the perfect foil for his opening partner Sehwag and together they have earned a reputation as the best opening pair in the recent times. Sturdy and solid batting displays during the New Zealand series earned him the title 'The Second Wall'. Gambhir would look at extending his good run in the second edition of IPL.
Glenn McGrath: Mcgrath had a tumultuous time surrounding his wife's death. With two children to look after and a cancer foundation started by his wife now in his care, he continued his battles. The fighter that he is, McGrath extensively worked on his fitness and is ready for the IPL show. Every batsman's nightmare, Mcgrath's unnerving line and length would hinder any team's chances against Delhi.
Farveez Maharoof: Sri Lankan cricketers have always been a great pick for the IPL teams. After being the second-highest wicket taker for Delhi during their first IPL season, Maharoof would be seen as the ideal pace partner to McGrath during Asif's absence. Maharoof is also a useful lower order batsman.
Trivia
Glenn McGrath was one of the only two bowlers to bowl two maiden overs in a match.
McGrath bowled the first wicket maiden over in the IPL in their first game against the Rajashthan Royals.
Tejaswi Yadav, son of Indian railway minister Laloo Yadav, was a member of the Daredevils team. However, he did not play a single match.
Pradeep Sangwan (Delhi) was the youngest player of the IPL. The left-arm pacer was all of 17 years and 179 days when he made his IPL debut against Chennai.
Amit Mishra took 5 for 17 against the Deccan Chargers - the best bowling performance by a spin bowler in the IPL.
Amit Mishra was one of the three bowlers to take a hat-trick in the IPL.
David Warner, who was snapped up by Delhi, became the first Australian since 1877 to represent his country without having played a first class game.
Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag scored the most number of runs for the first wicket in the IPL 2008.
Current Squad
Virender Sehwag, Owais Shah (ENG), David Warner (AUS), Gautam Gambhir, Manoj Tiwary, Andrew McDonald (AUS), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL), Paul Collingwood (ENG), Farveez Maharoof (SL), Rajat Bhatia, Mithun Manhas, AB de Villiers (RSA), Dinesh Karthik, Glenn McGrath (AUS), Daniel Vettori (NZ), Dirk Nannes (AUS), Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh, Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan
Coaches
Head Coach: Greg Shipperd (AUS)
Assistant Coach: David Saker (AUS)

Team Preview - Kings XI Punjab

Performance in IPL 2008

Punjab started their campaign poorly, having lost to Chennai and Rajasthan but things in fell in place for them after that. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore were humbled as Punjab went from strength to strength, winning 5 games in a row.

Punjab lost only two more matches in the league stage - against Kolkata and Chennai. They entered the semi-finals as one of the favourites to lift the trophy after their consistent performance.

However, they were not able to beat their nemesis Chennai, to whom they had lost both their league games. Punjab were dismissed for 112 and Chennai chased down the total rather comfortably.

Who's in, who's out

Who's in? Punjab had a more or less settled team and their only big catch for this year was England all-rounder Ravi Bopara (USD 450,000). Punjab also signed New South Wales rookie Burt Cockley, a fast medium bowler.

Punjab had also bought Jerome Taylor (USD 150,000) at the auction but with the West-Indian quick not available after being injured in a car accident, the Mohali Team were quick to sign on Yusuf Abdulla, a left-arm fast bowler from Durban, who recently made his T20 debut for South Africa.

Who's out? As many as three Australians from Kings XI Punjab - Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh and James Hopes - have been named in Australia's squad for their series against Pakistan, meaning they will only be available for the second half of the tournament. Shaun Marsh was the leading run-scorer of the tournament last year and his presence will be sorely missed.

The bowling will be spearheaded by Irfan Pathan since S. Sreesanth has been ruled of the tournament with a stress fracture in his back.

Players to watch out for

Yuvraj Singh: Though Yuvraj Singh did not have a great series in New Zealand, his heroics in the T20 World Cup in South Africa should serve as a confidence-booster. It is only a matter of time before this stylish left-hander comes good.

Ravi Bopara: Ravi Bopara is one of the most exciting talents in England. He possesses all the strokes in the book and then more. A master of improvisation, he has scored heavily in T20 cricket. A useful medium-pacer, Bopara is also an agile fielder.

Irfan Pathan: Pathan has not enjoyed much success of late but helpful conditions in South Africa will aid his bowling. He will also be expected to play a major role with the bat.

Kumar Sangakkara: Sangakkara might not be the quintessential Tweny20 batsman but he scored his 320 runs at a healthy strike rate of 161 with his classical array of strokes. A master strategist, he is one of the most experienced players in the squad and is likely to feature in most games for his side.

Trivia

Irfan Pathan was one of only 3 bowlers who bowled two maiden overs in a match.

James Hopes became the 1st bowler to concede more than 50 runs in a 4-over spell.

Kings XI Punjab scored at an average run-rate of 9.05 in the tournament, the best among all teams.

Luke Pomersbach of Punjab ended up with the highest average in the IPL with an average of 152. He was helped by four not outs though.

Shaun Marsh of Punjab holds the record of scoring more 50 plus scores than any other player in the IPL with 1 hundred and 5 fifties.

Kumar Sangakkara was one of the three batsmen to have got out in the nineties in the IPL.

S Sreesanth is the bowler to have conceded the most extras in the IPL. He bowled 21 wides and 4 no balls.

Irfan Pathan is one of 2 players to have inflicted 2 run outs with direct hits in the IPL.

Kings XI Punjab batsmen hit a total of 95 sixes in the IPL, the most by any team.

Kings XI Punjab also conceded the most number of sixes with a total of 93.

Shaun Marsh happened to be the best buy in the IPL among the batsmen. At USD 30,000 he cost around $48 for every run.

Current Squad

Yuvraj Singh, Shaun Marsh (AUS), Mahela Jayawardene (SL), Simon Katich (AUS), Luke Pomersbach (AUS), Sunny Sohal, Karan Goel, Tanmay Srivastava, Sahil Kukreja, Yusuf Abdulla (SA), Ajitesh Argal, Ravi Bopara (ENG), Piyush Chawla, Burt Cockley (AUS), James Hopes (AUS), Uday Kaul, Brett Lee (AUS), Wilkin Mota, Ryan Ninan, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Kumar Sangakkara (SL), VRV Singh, Sreesanth, Jerome Taylor (WI)

Coaches

Head Coach: Tom Moody (AUS)

Assistant Head Coach: Trevor Penney (SA)

Team Preview - Chennai Super Kings

Finally Lets come to our home team....
The South Indian team from Chennai began their IPL 2008 campaign on a successful note with victories against the Punjab, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore sides.

After a good start, the team had a minor setback when players such as Hayden, Hussey and Oram had to leave to fulfill their international duties.

Eventually, the team adjusted by making up the batting gaps left by the Aussies with major contributions from Dhoni, Raina and Morkel. The bowling department was secured with the arrival of Ntini.

The team won 8 of their 14 league matches to set up a semi-final affair against the Kings XI Punjab.

Consistent bowling and steady partnerships at the top saw the Chennai team beat the Punjab side. Given a target of 119 to score, the Super Kings cruised to victory in less than 15 overs earning a ticket to the final game against the Rajasthan Royals. 

In what turned out to be an exciting final, Chennai batted first and posted a competitive total of 163 on board. However, the Rajasthan team were upto the task and a last ball finish saw them pinch the trophy from Chennai.

Whos in, whos out

As a team without any iconic players, the Chennai team is full of promising youngsters rubbing shoulders with experienced war horses.

The Tamil Nadu batsman Murali Vijay has been included into the team, following his Test debut last year. Sudeep Tyagi joins him after missing out on the 2008 season because of an injury

Chennai only bought three players at this year's auction. Apart from Thilan Thushara (USD 120,000) from Sri Lanka and George Bailey from Australia (USD 50,000) the Super Kings ensured that the Andrew Flintoff entered the Dhoni-led team as they spent a staggering $ 1.55 million to acquire the English all-rounder. This price puts Flintoff along with Pietersen as the highest paid IPL cricketers.

Who's out

Chennai Super Kings will be without Michael Hussey this time around after the Australian pulled out of the IPL due to exhaustion. Hussey, however, will be available for the knock-out stage should Chennai qualify.

Kiwi all-rounder Jacob Oram who was a doubtful starter has deemed himself fit and is currently with the team in South Africa.

Players to watch out for

MS Dhoni: He had a magical beginning as a captain with the Indian cricket team. Knowing the methods to get the best from his players, Dhoni would look at securing the IPL title which slipped from his fingers during the first season. 

Albie Morkel: Albie Morkel has become an integral part of South Africa's team and for good reason. Morkel is a brilliant all-rounder who is capable of hitting big sixes and a wily customer with the ball. Batting in the lower middle order, Morkel is more than capable of turning the game around and would be difficult to control in conditions he is so familiar with.

Mathew Hayden: The Australian opener might have retired from international cricket after an incredible career but his stats in the first edition of the IPL are as intimidating as his bulky frame. Capable of unleashing some brutal strokes, Hayden got Chennai off to great starts last season and he is sure to be a big part of Chennai's plans with him being available for the entire duration of the tournament.

Manpreet Gony: Gony had a successful outing during the 2008 season, impressing the selectors with his tight line and sharp bounce. However, his performances at the international level were not quite up to the mark. He would be eager to put up a good show in South Africa to ensure that he is given another go at the highest level.

Trivia

L Balaji was the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the IPL. 

Suresh Raina holds the record for the most catches in IPL 2008 with 10 catches. A total of 410 catches were taken in the tournament.

Chennai Superkings holds the record for posting the highest total. They scored 240/5 against Punjab in their opening game.

Albie Morkel holds the record for hitting the biggest six in the DLF Indian Premier League - 128 metres

Parthiv Patel was the only batsmen to have been dismissed on the first ball of the innings in the match between Chennai and Rajasthan.

Chennai Super Kings hit the most number of sixes in an innings in the IPL. They did this in the match against Punjab by hitting 16 sixes.

Manpreet Gony of the Chennai Super Kings bowled 3 maiden overs in the IPL. No one managed to bowl more maiden overs than him.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the unluckiest captain, winning just 5 tosses in 16 matches that he played in the IPL.

Current Squad

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Matthew Hayden (AUS), Suresh Raina, Michael Hussey (AUS), Anirudha Srikkanth, Subramaniam Badrinath, George Bailey (AUS), Arun Karthik, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Abhinav Mukund, Murali Vijay, Andrew Flintoff (ENG), Jacob Oram (NZ), Albie Morkel (RSA), Parthiv Patel, Shadab Jakati, Viraj Kadbe, Suresh Kumar, Napolean Einstein, Muralitharan (SRI), Joginder Sharma, Makhaya Ntini (RSA), Thilan Thushara (SRI), Ravichandran Aswhin, Manpreet Gony, Laxmipathy Balaji, Palani Amarnath, Sudeep Tyagi

Stephen Fleming - Coach

Venkatesh Prasad - Bowling Coach

Kings XI leaves behind Rand 4,50,000


Kings XI Punjab

A South African businessman returned Rand 450,000 to Kings XI Punjab on recovering it in one of the hotel rooms.

In a good samaritan act, He returned the amount he recovered in one of the hotel rooms the IPL team occupied.

According to a report in 'The Times', Stephen Blewett, the chief of Altech Autopage Cellular, found a bundle of Rand 4,50,000 (nearly Rs 2.5 million) cash in his hotel room which later turned out to be Kings XI Punjab's.

Blewett discovered the money in Rand 100 notes in his hotel room's safe on Tuesday night after which he reported the matter to the hotel authorities.

It later emerged that Kings XI had left the money, which was their allowances for food, drinks and other expenses, in that room as they had been using it for team meetings ahead of their IPL campaign.

"It is not common for us to carry that amount of money but we have a lot of costs and the money was not yet distributed to the players," the team's liaison officer Arvinder Singh.

Foreign players will boost KKR


SRK waves

With more foreign players available in second season, KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan feels his team will be more competitive this time.

The Kolkata franchisee made a blistering start last year but could not continue the momentum after some foreign players left for their national duty, which eventually led to their sixth place finish in the inaugural IPL.

This year also Australia skipper Ricky Ponting decided to skip the Twenty20 event and preferred to take rest in the wake of the forthcoming Ashes series but Shah Rukh feels the availability of other international players will boost Knight Riders' chances of a better finish.

"We have the whole team"

"Internationally, I think the players will be more available, so we have the whole team to begin with," Shah Rukh told a press conference after arriving here.

"We'll have Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum, and then David Hussey will join us when Gayle has to leave. Brad Hodge is here, and so is Sourav Ganguly. Everyone has been practising over the past 10 days.

"We are working on amazing plans, including the captaincy issue, which has been a controversy over the past month. I think overall we are very well prepared.

"Unfortunately, we do have injuries but we'll be there, one hundred per cent trying to do much better than last year," he said.

With many English players debuting in the Twenty20 extravaganza this time, one would expect the Kolkata franchisee to have some of them but Shah Rukh said they are too expensive and beyond KKR's reach.

"We have gold and black as a uniform, but the gold is not real," Shah Rukh quipped.

"We are a poor team and English players are very, very expensive. We would really like to have had them, but the auction rules and it's down to how much money you have."

The Bollywood superstar said they are planning to woo the youngsters as public image is very important for the team.

"I don't know about cricket but we are coolest-looking team," he said.

IPL gets underway with grand parade


Glamour never gelled better with business

IPL got off to a rousing start on Thursday with some of the best cricketers and Bollywood actors lending sheen to the gala event.

Two days before the actual action gets underway, IPL got off to a start.

Colourful tableaux of eight IPL franchisees passed the city centre with fans lining up either side of the roads to get a glimpse of the cricket and entertainment glitterati who converged here for the 59-match carnival starting on Saturday.

"It was a huge challenge"

Having arranged the logistics in just three weeks' time after the event was shifted out of India, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said he was happy to have overcome the challenge.

"It was a huge challenge but we turned it into an opportunity. The South African government and the cricket board went out of their way to help us and made it a national event," a beaming Modi said.

"We got approvals in minutes, not even in hours. Everything went extremely smooth and it's amazing to put everything in place in such a short time," he said.

Celebrity team owners Shah Rukh Khan (Kolkata Knight Riders), Preity Zinta (King's XI Punjab) and Shilpa Shetty (Rajasthan Royals) raised the glamour quotient of the carnival while the players seemed thoroughly impressed.

Delhi Daredevils' new recruit David Warner was amazed by the reception and the explosive Australian said he could not wait to get going.

"It's an amazing city with amazing people. This is completely unbelievable.

"For me, this is a golden opportunity to play with people I looked up to and I can't wait for it to start," he said.

Rhodes excited about IPL

Former South African Test player Jonty Rhodes, now a fielding coach with Mumbai Indians, said the entire country was looking forward to the event.

"As a South African, I'm really excited that IPL is taking place here. A great deal has been happening in the country and we all are looking forward to it," he said.

Mumbai Indian pacer Zaheer Khan too shared his enthusiasm and said, "I can sense there is a lot of excitement here and it's always great to play in a different country."

Sourav Ganguly, who led Kolkata Knight Riders last year, said it would be difficult to match last year's frenzy but felt people would come in large numbers to watch the matches.

"It would have been altogether different had it been in India but I think people will come in good numbers for one month of entertaining cricket," said the former India captain.

We'll play well, says Ganguly

Asked what fans can expect from the Knight Riders, Ganguly said, "We'll play well and try our best to entertain the Indian and South African fans."

Retired Australian Adam Gilchrist, who led Deccan Chargers for major part of last year's event, was also impressed by the huge response and promised a better display this time.

"We were clearly not at our best last year but we learnt from it. This year, we have brought some enthusiastic youngsters and all are eager to do well here," he said.

"South Africa has always been the perfect host and this is yet another opportunity for them to host a world class event," Gilchrist observed.

Sunday 29 March, 2009

Longer ad breaks in IPL

Glamour never gelled better with business

The BCCI will introduce a five-minute "strategy break" after every 10 overs in IPL to give advertisers more air time.

The following move will provide advertisers with 600 extra seconds of air time. This is part of a renegotiation deal with Multi Scree Media (MSM, earlier Sony Entertainment).

"It is true that as part of the new contract inked between the IPL management and MSM, after every 10 overs, there will be a five-minute commercial break," a senior BCCI official told a national business daily.

Totally, the broadcaster will now be able sell 2600 seconds of commercial airtime as opposed to 2000 seconds last year.

It is learnt that MSM will not be pressurised to increase ad rates. The broadcaster has maintained its rates of Rs 3-4 lakh for a 10-second slot so that even advertisers affected by the economic slowdown can be attracted.

BCCI has reportedly told the broadcaster that starting 2011, there could be more matches and more teams, which would help the broadcaster hedge its commercial risks over the 9-year period.

Incidentally, BCCI had charged MSM with breach of contract on various fronts, one of which was including too many commercial inserts during matches and replays during Season 1.

MSM had shelled out a record $1.63 billion (Rs 8,200 crore) for IPL's broadcast rights for nine years.

Sangakkara likes Buchanan's concept

Player of the match Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka smiles after the Commonwealth Bank Series One Day International match between Sri Lanka and India at the Adelaide Oval on February 19, 2008 in Adelaide, Australia.

Newly appointed Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara gave a thumbs up to John Buchanan's concept of multiple captains.

Sangakkara feels it will open up endless possibilities for the game.

Former Australia coach Buchanan, who is in charge of the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the Indian Premier League, proposed more than one captain for the side which has sparked a furious debate in India with Sourav Ganguly fans claiming this was a move to sideline the former India skipper.

Ganguly meets SRK after controversy

A thoughtful captain

Sourav Ganguly and KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan met in Mumbai after coach John Buchanan announced the multi-captain theory.

It was last season's permanent skipper Ganguly and Shah Rukh's first meeting after Buchanan expressed his desire to have four captains in the second edition of the IPL starting April 18 in South Africa.

The Australian said he decided to have four captains this season to keep up with the changing demands of the game.

The decision, however, did not go well with Ganguly, who has already made his opposition known to Buchanan's plan.

But Buchanan denied any rift in the team and said the decision to have multiple captains has nothing to do with Ganguly's performance or fitness.

"The decision has got nothing to do with Sourav's performance. Chris Gayle (West Indies), Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) and Ganguly will all captain KKR. There will be a nominated captain for each game," he had said.

IPL in South Africa- Schedule Unveiled

While Cape Town is going to host the inaugural ceremony, the Wanderers at Johannesburg will stage the grand finale of IPL Season 2. The Proteas are going to see some high- voltage, high- profile cricket encounters during the league over the span of five weeks! Here is the full schedule of the upcoming cricket tournament.

Countdown has begun - twenty one days to go before overseas IPL takes off in South Africa. It doesn’t matter that the upcoming twenty-20 tournament is taking place away from home - armed with the right set of information, you can still stay tuned to the developments through the various stages of the league. We bring to you the full schedule of the upcoming cricket extravaganza. So start stuffing your cupboard with packets of popcorns, start staying back late in the office to cut good impression on your boss so that he/she grumbles less when you slip out of the office early during the IPL days or better even start surfing the internet for hunting out the most convincing excuses for taking sudden leaves!

Indian Premier League in its inaugural season was runaway hit; in the second season it is going be relegated into one of Indian television’s reality shows. Even then cricket lovers in the subcontinent are all set to cheer for their favorite teams at real time. Mr. Modi and his associates in South Africa took just a couple of days to come out with the final schedule of IPL 2009. This year’s shortened tournament commences from April 18 and the opening match will be played at Newlands in Cape Town. This quiet South African suburb is going to experience some unprecedented excitement of live cricket on that day when last year’s champions, Rajasthan Royals take on to the Bangalore Royal Challengers and the runners-up Chennai Super Kings strike against the Mumbai Indians in two back to back matches at the same venue.

The real nerve-wrecker however has been slotted for May 24; the final match will be played on that day at Wanderers in Johannesburg. The eight cities that have been short listed for the 59 matches include: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, East London, Kimberly, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth. 16 matches are to be held in Kingsmead in Durban, while 12 ties will be staged at Centurion Park in Pretoria. Seven matches will be hosted by St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, and four matches by Buffalo Park in East London. Apart from the finals, the Wanderers will host seven other matches, while Newlands will stage eight matches in total. OUTsurance Oval in Bloemfontein and De Beers Oval in Kimberley have been handed over least number of matches; they will host two matches each.

Now coming to the most important aspect of the schedule – “The Match Timing: All matches will be held at 12.30pm and 4.30pm local time. That means Indian audience will be able to catch them up live on television at 4.00pm and 8.00pm respectively. So IPL chief kept his promise by bringing the mega event to the Indian television audience at the prime time.

THE TEAMS AND THE FIXTURES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Rajasthan Royals (RR), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Delhi Daredevils (DD), Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Deccan Chargers (DC).

ALL MATCHES ARE HELD AT IST(INDIAN STANDARD TIME)

IPL Season 2 Schedule (IPL 2009 in South Africa)

Date

City

Matches

April 18

Cape Town

1. RR vs. RCB (4 pm)
2. MI vs. CSK (8 pm)

April 19

Cape Town

1. KKR vs. DC (4 pm)
2. DD vs. KXIP (8 pm)

April 20

Port Elizabeth

1. RCB vs. CSK (4 pm)

April 21

Durban

1. RR vs. MI (4 pm)
2. KKR vs. KXIP (8 pm)

April 22

Durban
Cape Town

1. DD vs. CSK (4 pm)
2. RCB vs. DC (8 pm)

April 23

Port Elizabeth

1. KKR vs. RR (4 pm)

April 24

Johannesburg

KXIP vs. RCB (4 pm)

April 25

Cape Town
Durban

1. KKR vs. CSK (4 pm)
2. DC vs. MI (8 pm)

April 26

Cape Town
Port Elizabeth

1. RR vs. KXIP (4 pm)
2. RCB vs. DD (8 pm)

April 27

Cape Town
Durban

1. KKR vs. MI (4 pm)
2. CSK vs. DC (8 pm)

April 28

Pretoria

1. DD vs. RR (4 pm)

April 29

Durban

1. MI vs. KXIP (4 pm)
2. KKR vs. RCB (8 pm)

April 30

Pretoria

1. DD vs. DC (4 pm)
2. RR vs. CSK (8 pm)

May 1

East London
Durban

1. RCB vs. KXIP (4 pm)
2. MI vs. KKR (8 pm)

May 2

Johannesburg
Port Elizabeth

1. RR vs. DC (4 pm)
2. CSK vs. DD (8 pm)

May 3

Durban
East London

1. MI vs. RCB (4 pm)
2. KXIP vs. KKR (8 pm)

May 4

Port Elizabeth

1. DC vs. CSK (4 pm)

May 5

Durban

1. DD vs. KKR (4 pm)
2. KXIP vs. RR (8 pm)

May 6

Pretoria

1. MI vs. DC (4 pm)

May 7

Pretoria

1. KXIP vs. CSK (4 pm)
2. RCB vs. RR (8 pm)

May 8

East London

1. DD vs. MI (4 pm)

May 9

Bloemfontein
Port Elizabeth

1. DC vs. KXIP (4 pm)
2. CSK vs. RR (8 pm)

May 10

East London
Johannesburg

1. KKR vs. DD (4 pm)
2. RCB vs. MI (8 pm)

May 11

Bloemfontein

1. DC vs. RR (4 pm)

May 12

Pretoria

1. RCB vs. KKR (4 pm)
2. KXIP vs. MI (8 pm)

May 13

Durban

1. DC vs. DD (4 pm)

May 14

Durban

1. MI vs. RR (4 pm)
2. CSK vs. RCB (8 pm)

May 15

Kimberley

1. KXIP vs. DD (4 pm)

May 16

Port Elizabeth
Johannesburg

1. CSK vs. MI (4 pm)
2. DC vs. KKR (8 pm)

May 17

Kimberley
Johannesburg

1. RR vs. DD (4 pm)
2. KXIP vs. DC (8 pm)

May 18

Pretoria

1. CSK vs. KKR (4 pm)

May 19

Johannesburg

1. DD vs. RCB (4 pm)

May 20

Durban

1. CSK vs. KXIP (4 pm)
2. RR vs. KKR (8 pm)

May 21

Pretoria

1. DC vs. RCB (4 pm)
2. MI vs. DD (8 pm)

May 22

Pretoria

Semi Final 1

May 23

Johannesburg

Semi Final 2

May 24

Johannesburg

Final

 
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