As it turned out it was once again The Dew Vs Mumbai Indians. The dew factor has scared. Harbhajan so much that once again he opted to bowl after winning the toss.
The Punjab Kings seeking to open their account in this tournament seized the opportunity with both hands.
A standout performance with the bat from Kumar Sangakkara ensured that the team could notch up a very challenging score.
When the Mumbai Indians came out to bat the prevailing belief was they had a good chance of chasing it down and winning, what turned their plan upside down was probably their memory of the match against Chennai and the ease with which they knocked down 200 odd runs but what they did not take into account was the difference in the bowling attack.
Punjab Kings had one Mr Brett Lee who had other ideas and in a fast and furious opening spell knocked over 2 wickets and conceded a meager 5 runs in 2 overs.
If the start was bad there was worse to follow for the visitors, Piyush Chawla who was introduced in the 7th over, strangled the duo of Dwayne Bravo and Robin Uthappa, who were doing a fair job of resurrecting the innings by bowling his 4 overs on the trot, picking up 2 wickets and conceding 16 runs.
Chawla’s introduction could be termed as a brilliant move on the part of the captain or a ploy to bowl him before the dew set in, whatever be the motive it broke the back of the visitors and from thereon it was a downhill journey for the Mumbai Indians and for the Punjab Kings the smiles emerged, broadened and remained.
The Punjab Kings displayed a lot more intensity especially Brett Lee, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena, this augurs well for the team as their young captain needs all the support he can get to take this team forward.
Yuvraj Singh is a fantastic batsman and brilliant fielder but has no record to show as a captain and commanding respect on the field from such a diverse set of players is a tough ask, the support of the overseas pros becomes all the more important in this context.
As Harbhajan said during the presentation ceremony “captaincy is tough when you are losing and not when you are winning”.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Royals triumph
A disappointing match if you are a supporter of the Hyderabad team.
The comment by the skipper that he is happy with the effort of the boys is vague and conciliatory. They had no business losing the match after claiming 7 Royals wickets and reducing them to the near impossible task of chasing 23 runs of the last over.
The aim is to play to win and not to pat yourself on the back that the effort was good or better than the previous outing and they lost because the opposition put in a better performance.
This team is not going for the jugular but is playing in fits and starts, Afridi & RP Singh bowled one good over, the debutant Kalyankrishnan had 2 good overs.
The Hyderabad team had the best chance to open their account, after the exceptional batting by Symonds powered them to a 200 + plus total, the pressure applied was not consistent and chasing appeared a breeze.
In the soul searching that the Hyderbad team will undertake it will help them a great deal if they analyzed the previous match between Chennai and Mumbai.
Reputations and past performance do not win matches but performance on the day does.
To repeat the obvious, Cricket is a team game and each individual needs to be told what his role is whatever his stature maybe and therein lies the role of the leader.
In stark contrast the Rajasthan Royals batted to a plan and despite losing wickets at the wrong time, came out worthy winners and have made everyone sit up and take note.
It has been a sad journey for the Deccan Chargers hailed by experts as the 2nd best team before the tournament commenced.
An interesting match coming up between the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, both teams have not opened their accounts.
- Mahesh Packiaraj
The comment by the skipper that he is happy with the effort of the boys is vague and conciliatory. They had no business losing the match after claiming 7 Royals wickets and reducing them to the near impossible task of chasing 23 runs of the last over.
The aim is to play to win and not to pat yourself on the back that the effort was good or better than the previous outing and they lost because the opposition put in a better performance.
This team is not going for the jugular but is playing in fits and starts, Afridi & RP Singh bowled one good over, the debutant Kalyankrishnan had 2 good overs.
The Hyderabad team had the best chance to open their account, after the exceptional batting by Symonds powered them to a 200 + plus total, the pressure applied was not consistent and chasing appeared a breeze.
In the soul searching that the Hyderbad team will undertake it will help them a great deal if they analyzed the previous match between Chennai and Mumbai.
Reputations and past performance do not win matches but performance on the day does.
To repeat the obvious, Cricket is a team game and each individual needs to be told what his role is whatever his stature maybe and therein lies the role of the leader.
In stark contrast the Rajasthan Royals batted to a plan and despite losing wickets at the wrong time, came out worthy winners and have made everyone sit up and take note.
It has been a sad journey for the Deccan Chargers hailed by experts as the 2nd best team before the tournament commenced.
An interesting match coming up between the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, both teams have not opened their accounts.
- Mahesh Packiaraj
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Super Kings do a Houdini
The best match of the tournament. It was riveting stuff and had all the ingredients of a nail biter with a fairy tale ending for the home team and its hordes of supporters.
What saved the day for the Super Kings was probably the dew.
Mumbai Indians won the toss and would have batted but for the threat of the dew, batting first against a team like the Chennai Super Kings gives the opportunity to go after their bowling which is their weak area and also prevent their strong batting from running up 200 + scores.
The batting line-up did justice to their reputation and ran up yet another 200 + score and from thereon Mumbai was on the back foot. Despite this it was a fantastic effort from the Mumbai team with their stand in captain infusing his teammates with the never say die spirit he is known for.
Mumbai was also in the hunt due to the paucity in the Super Kings bowling attack.
Bowling is an important component, even in T20 cricket, as was amply demonstrated by Shane Warne for the Rajasthan Royals and then Mohammad Asif and Rajat Bhatia for the Delhi Daredevils in the last couple of days.
The Chennai team was found wanting in this area.
A team needs more than 5 regular bowlers.
In today’s match 3 of the 5 Super Kings bowlers bled runs, Murali averaged 11 runs per over, Jacob Oram 14 and Palani Amarnath 15, Chennai had no choice but to bowl their full quota as the sixth or seventh bowler were the likes of Raina and Badrinath who can bowl off spin but the conditions would not have favored them.
The Chennai think tank needs to quickly address this if they are to book a place in the semis.
- Mahesh Packiaraj (The Viper)
What saved the day for the Super Kings was probably the dew.
Mumbai Indians won the toss and would have batted but for the threat of the dew, batting first against a team like the Chennai Super Kings gives the opportunity to go after their bowling which is their weak area and also prevent their strong batting from running up 200 + scores.
The batting line-up did justice to their reputation and ran up yet another 200 + score and from thereon Mumbai was on the back foot. Despite this it was a fantastic effort from the Mumbai team with their stand in captain infusing his teammates with the never say die spirit he is known for.
Mumbai was also in the hunt due to the paucity in the Super Kings bowling attack.
Bowling is an important component, even in T20 cricket, as was amply demonstrated by Shane Warne for the Rajasthan Royals and then Mohammad Asif and Rajat Bhatia for the Delhi Daredevils in the last couple of days.
The Chennai team was found wanting in this area.
A team needs more than 5 regular bowlers.
In today’s match 3 of the 5 Super Kings bowlers bled runs, Murali averaged 11 runs per over, Jacob Oram 14 and Palani Amarnath 15, Chennai had no choice but to bowl their full quota as the sixth or seventh bowler were the likes of Raina and Badrinath who can bowl off spin but the conditions would not have favored them.
The Chennai think tank needs to quickly address this if they are to book a place in the semis.
- Mahesh Packiaraj (The Viper)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Daredevilry to the fore
Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi a team which can boast such a line-up should be putting up an emphatic batting display and not what happened at Hyderabad against Sehwag’s Daredevils.
So what is going wrong for the Deccan Charger’s and what is going right for the Daredevil’s?
The DareDevil’s bowling is managed by Glen Mcgrath and Mohammad Asif, probably the best in business when it comes to accuracy and the toughest to take to the cleaner’s.
Complementing this duo they have the likes of Maharoof and emerging quickies YO Mahesh, Pradeep Sangwan and the steady bowling of Delhi player Rajat Bhatia. The good news for the Daredevils fans does not stop here they also have one Mr Daniel Vettori in their armoury.
The Batting line-up is almost Indian with the exception being Shoaib Malik and this strategy could be a winner as the competition is being played on Indian pitches.
Though the Delhi batters have not been stretched, Shikhar Dhawan the Delhi left-hander has been most impressive and could become a player to watch and if he continues his good showing he could well be in the running for the opener’s slot in the national team which neither Jaffer or Gambhir or Uthappa have cemented.
The biggest let down for the Deccan Charger’s would be the batting.
Either Shahid Afridi or Rohit Sharma could partner Adam Gilchrist.
The bowling lacks teeth…barring Chaminda Vaas there is no else who is intimidating. RP Singh alternates between the brilliance and the mediocre and the back up is with the likes of Sanjay Bangar, Andrew Symonds, Pragyan Ojha and Afridi….not at all reassuring if you are a DC supporter.
It could be tough going for the Chargers……
- Mahesh Packiaraj (The Viper)
So what is going wrong for the Deccan Charger’s and what is going right for the Daredevil’s?
The DareDevil’s bowling is managed by Glen Mcgrath and Mohammad Asif, probably the best in business when it comes to accuracy and the toughest to take to the cleaner’s.
Complementing this duo they have the likes of Maharoof and emerging quickies YO Mahesh, Pradeep Sangwan and the steady bowling of Delhi player Rajat Bhatia. The good news for the Daredevils fans does not stop here they also have one Mr Daniel Vettori in their armoury.
The Batting line-up is almost Indian with the exception being Shoaib Malik and this strategy could be a winner as the competition is being played on Indian pitches.
Though the Delhi batters have not been stretched, Shikhar Dhawan the Delhi left-hander has been most impressive and could become a player to watch and if he continues his good showing he could well be in the running for the opener’s slot in the national team which neither Jaffer or Gambhir or Uthappa have cemented.
The biggest let down for the Deccan Charger’s would be the batting.
Either Shahid Afridi or Rohit Sharma could partner Adam Gilchrist.
The bowling lacks teeth…barring Chaminda Vaas there is no else who is intimidating. RP Singh alternates between the brilliance and the mediocre and the back up is with the likes of Sanjay Bangar, Andrew Symonds, Pragyan Ojha and Afridi….not at all reassuring if you are a DC supporter.
It could be tough going for the Chargers……
- Mahesh Packiaraj (The Viper)
Who will you put your money on for the semis?
Watching the Rajasthan Royals get the better of a star studded Punjab Kings I was reminded of a conversation with a fellow cricket aficionado. In any tournament predicting winners is an integral component. The IPL has 8 teams and most of them are well balanced at least on paper with the Rajasthan Royals appearing the weakest of the lot. So we looked at other factors which could differentiate the also-rans from the winners.
Our list for the semi is Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Rajasthan. We picked these ahead of the rest on the basis of their leaders. To use an often abused cliché, its all about leadership, be it business or sports.
These 4 teams are headed by aggressive and street smart individuals and 2 of them have proved themselves at the international level and the other 2 were always touted as brilliant captaincy material but did not get an opportunity to prove their skills
Leadership in the IPL context is more of a challenge as the incumbent does not have the luxury of leading a set of people with a common denominator….same state or country. The IPL outfits are a heady mix of high caliber, high visibility international stars from different climes and unknown local players, getting them to work together as a unit is in itself a challenge in leadership.
Additionally both Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni are known for their ability to pick players with potential and give them the room to perform and deliver a key attribute which assumes added importance in the context of picking a local player over an international star.
The other two Sehwag and Warne are unknown’s in the realm of leadership at the international level but in the limited chances they have had have amply demonstrated they belong to this league.
So here’s to the semis and to the prediction and above all here’s to an exciting time ahead.
- Mahesh Packiaraj (The Viper)
Our list for the semi is Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Rajasthan. We picked these ahead of the rest on the basis of their leaders. To use an often abused cliché, its all about leadership, be it business or sports.
These 4 teams are headed by aggressive and street smart individuals and 2 of them have proved themselves at the international level and the other 2 were always touted as brilliant captaincy material but did not get an opportunity to prove their skills
Leadership in the IPL context is more of a challenge as the incumbent does not have the luxury of leading a set of people with a common denominator….same state or country. The IPL outfits are a heady mix of high caliber, high visibility international stars from different climes and unknown local players, getting them to work together as a unit is in itself a challenge in leadership.
Additionally both Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni are known for their ability to pick players with potential and give them the room to perform and deliver a key attribute which assumes added importance in the context of picking a local player over an international star.
The other two Sehwag and Warne are unknown’s in the realm of leadership at the international level but in the limited chances they have had have amply demonstrated they belong to this league.
So here’s to the semis and to the prediction and above all here’s to an exciting time ahead.
- Mahesh Packiaraj (The Viper)
Saturday, April 19, 2008
New features: Team standings, personalization, updated team logos
We have added a new feature today. There is a new little box (we call them portlets) for team standings. It displays the points table. It's sorted by points. So the leader is always at the top.
This change also appears in your 'My Team' window as seen below.
We have also added few personalization features. When a user logs in or sets his home team, some parts of the site will be personalized. At the moment the personalization is restricted to highlighting your team in the list of other teams. For example, see the following screen shots.
We have also updated the team logos. Now we have better quality logo's for all teams.
That's all for today. Let us know what you think. We are working hard to improve the site. We'll publish as and when we complete them. Stay tuned.
This change also appears in your 'My Team' window as seen below.
We have also added few personalization features. When a user logs in or sets his home team, some parts of the site will be personalized. At the moment the personalization is restricted to highlighting your team in the list of other teams. For example, see the following screen shots.
We have also updated the team logos. Now we have better quality logo's for all teams.
That's all for today. Let us know what you think. We are working hard to improve the site. We'll publish as and when we complete them. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
We've launched!
We've launched IPLeague.in at last! Ahead of others. That makes us the first full-fledged professionally developed portal dedicated to IPL. The site is not 100% complete yet in terms of functionality. But nonetheless the site contains a lot of useful information. It contains details about the teams, their prices, owners, players, coaches, and fixtures. It also lets you register and choose a home team.
Our goal was to launch it as soon as possible. In fact we wanted to launch it as early as April 10th. Barely 3 weeks from start. But there was too much to be completed. We had to cut down on our feature list to launch. Anyway here it is. Please give it a try and let us know what you think. We'll do our best to make this site a useful resource for IPL fans.
We'll continue to add more features in the coming days to make the site more useful.
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