$1.2m for 1 run!

$1.2m for 1 run! That's what both the finalists might have thought just before the last ball of the match.

What a final! It could not be better than that. This happens when two much worthy team reaches the final. Just like T20 World Cup. And the full credit goes to the captains of both the teams - Shane Warne and MS Dhoni. They both have been fantastic in making quick decisions and being very open to their team mates. They clearly understand that this format of the game is more about committing fewer mistakes than the opponent rather than just doing right.

Of course both the team performed to the best of their abilities and it was a neck-to-neck competition; if not for Chennai's batsmen forgetting to take singles till the 15th over and some poor display in fielding as well, the match would have a different finish.

But I still feel, Dhoni's leadership skills are way ahead of any other captain of present day. His straight attitude, cool headedness, knowledge of the game, decision making power and aggression is just perfect. Throughout the final match there was not a single moment when the match looked imbalanced. If it is just the last ball making the winner then only for the record's sake Rajasthan Royals' will keep the trophy; Chennai, too, well deserved it.

No one has ever seen a loosing captain in the history of cricket gathering his players together immediately after the loss to appreciate their efforts and telling them they have fought well; that is a sign of great leadership.

Having said all that, Royals are the champions and their consistent record throughout the long tournament was only justified by this final win; hats off to Warne and the boys!

The best captain have lost it to the best team.

- Kumar

 

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)

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)