Openers: Sachin Tendulkar/Jacques Kallis

There can be no doubt about this one. This season will be remembered for the master class batting put up by these two stalwarts of the game as they went head to head in the battle for the Orange Cap. And it was a see-saw battle till the very end. On the one hand there was Jacques Kallis who didn’t look like getting out in the first half of the tournament, while on the other, although Sachin Tendulkar did get out, he would only do that after making a sizeable contribution to his team’s cause. For Kallis, it was a matter of carrying on from last year where he came to grips with this format of the game. For Sachin, it was a matter of simply carrying on what he has been doing this last year – batting beautifully. With 1190 runs scored between them, it is a pity that only one will be going to the West Indies.

Middle Order: Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa

One was sorely tempted to put in the names Paul Collingwood, Mahela Jayawardene and Kevin Pietersen in here, but the rule of only four foreign players in the eleven has to be adhered to. On any other account, these three would have more or less walked into the side for the kind of performances they put up for their franchises – Collingwood held together a struggling middle order for Delhi, it was sad that their top order batsmen couldn’t contribute much. Jayawardene was the only bright spark for the Kings XI Punjab and it was clear that to carry the weight of non-performance by the other ten was a bit too much for him, and Pietersen chipping in with useful runs here and there.

The point with having these young Indian players is that this is the middle order that will be representing India in the near certain future. Raina and Rohit are expected certainties there and with each passing season, any doubts pertaining to that gets reduced. The only fallibility in this plan is Rohit’s mental make-up for it remains to be seen if he can apply himself in equal manner in all formats. Raina has all but taken care of his shortcomings if his handling of the short-ball in the IPL is anything to go by.

In Uthappa’s weird case, it all depends on him alone whether he is there or not. There are names like Manish Pandey and Saurabh Tiwary starting to do the rounds now, and it is indeed a sad story that Uthappa won’t be going to the ICC World T20. But Raina and Rohit are, and if India indeed are to replicate their performance on 2007, much will depend on them.

All-rounder: Kieron Pollard

While there is already one other all-rounder in Jacques Kallis at the top, there could only be place for one more in the eleven. And who better than the most expensive purchase this season. They say that his late coming to the crease was much the reason why the IPL crown went Chennai’s way, missed catches notwithstanding. There is a small measure of truth in that for his ten-ball burst proved as much and if he had stayed for another ten balls, probably the trophy would have stayed put in Mumbai. The fact that he can just come to crease and turn it on, along with his fine bowling and fielding makes one pretty sure that he will probably attract one of the highest bids when the fourth auction takes place later this year with huge new sums of money available to the ten franchises.

Wicket-keeper & Captain: MS Dhoni

There can only be one choice here, now. The kind of methodical cricket that MS Dhoni has put up in this season of the IPL is representative of his growth as a cricketer. Over the last couple of years we have seen him grow from an attacking player to some one who accumulates runs but still has all the shots in the bag. Off late, he has started to bring out those shots more often because any shift in your style of play needs time to get comfortable with. That’s why the big shots went missing last year because the confidence wasn’t just there. Now that everything seems to be working, after a minor blip in fortunes, he is back to what he does best: lead a cricket team to glory.

Bowling Attack: R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Dale Steyn, Doug Bollinger

Irrespective of the kind of track being played upon, two fast bowlers and two spinners ought to be the norm when you can rely upon the likes of Kallis and Pollard for bowling support. R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha have been the frontline spinners this season although one was tempted to slot in Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh or Amit Mishra in place of Kumble. Then it dawned that Bhajji doesn’t have the consistency that Kumble brings in and Mishra lacks the experience. But despite his fighting intensity which he brought again to the fore, it can be seen why the legendary leg-spinner doesn’t play for India anymore.

R Ashwin though is expected to have a steep rise towards India colors. He has the height of Kumble, the flight that Bhajji misses so often and add to that he can bowl the carom ball. The only reason that he hasn’t made the squad for the T20 World Cup is that the team was selected in early March.

Pragyan Ojha is another who will not be representing India in the short term, vis-à-vis the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. It’s a pity really that the leading wicket-taker in a T20 competition will be sitting home rather than bowling his teasing left arm orthodox spin in the West Indies where conditions are expected to be on similar lines. The fact that Ravindra Jadeja – who hasn’t played cricket in eight weeks now – can bat a bit went in his favor seems to show the unilateral thinking of the Indian selectors, for if it comes down to Jadeja’s willow to save the day, then surely India are doomed.

Dale Steyn and Doug Bollinger form the optimum fast bowling pairing of the season. Quite clearly Steyn has worked on his T20 bowling and combined with his lethal self in Test and ODI format, looks set to reign over Zaheer Khan as the premier fast bowlers in the world. It is very much also the reason that Khan is not in this team. Bollinger on the other hand is the single biggest reason why Chennai Super Kings have won the tournament. He came in place of Jacob Oram and the sort of short-term impact he made, it is no surprise that Cricket Australia have rewarded him with a central contract and made him a permanent feature of the side. Suddenly Mitchell Johnson isn’t the best left-arm quickie in Australian cricket anymore.

Note: This article was first published at www.cricketworld.com.

The thinking behind his demotion being that the Mumbai side wanted to have as long a batting order as possible in chasing down the 160-plus target. That explains why Harbhajan and Abhishek Nayar were sent up the order whereas the more solid and destructive batsmen were kept for later. In keeping Pollard waiting was not the mistake but demoting Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu was the one wrong that couldn’t be undone.

You see this team has marched on to the top position in the league thanks largely to the efforts of these two young men. Tiwary has scored 419 runs in 16 games while Rayudu got 356 runs in 14 games. More importantly though, if we compare from the last two seasons we find that the stability these two brought in the middle order was missing earlier. The onus of scoring runs for the previous two seasons lay squarely on Sachin and Sanath Jayasuriya, and the management experimented with a plethora of players – Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Dwayne Smith, Ashwell Prince, Loots Bosman, Mohammad Ashraful, Graham Napier and Luke Ronchi. None of them could do what Tiwary and Rayudu have done this year. They even tried Shikhar Dhawan at one-down last year but he didn’t really excite any one before getting up to the opener’s slot as Jayasuriya began to fade.

It is in their fearless manner that they have provided the solidity to the Mumbai team and that is what was missing during the run-chase in the final. And that is where one also wants to point out where Sachin Tendulkar might have missed a trick to overcome his captaincy ghosts. A cricket writer friend of mine suggested that the reason why Sachin wasn’t as successful as captain is because he didn’t have quality players in the side like his successor Sourav Ganguly did. This is also a thought I have come across quite a lot during the research of my upcoming book on India’s greatest captains.

However true that might be, captaincy is an adventurous art that belies the surety of talent that Sachin Tendulkar possesses. It is the trait of people like Ganguly and MS Dhoni who know they are fallible and keep failure as a viable option. For Sachin that is not the case. It was written large on his face even as he tried hard to get runs with one hand. He orchestrated the batting order without any flexibility of situation which is quite ironical since he first changed the line-up keeping in mind the situation and that is what ultimately cost them the win, and not Pollard coming in late.

Yes, for all his achievements and great plays Sachin once again found out that cricket as a sport can be cruel, but didn’t we know that already?

But whichever way you look at it, the two semi-finals brought with them a few shocking conclusions and the mere thought of it all keeps one busy.

a) First up was the fact that people in Mumbai indeed did come to watch the matches, or for that matter return their tickets in Bangalore. Now the latter may have been inspired for the want of their money back, but the crowd gathering in Mumbai leaves me perplexed. For the last time, match fixing and widespread corruption in cricket was reported in such a grand scale, it took some time for the Indian fans to get back to the stadiums or even switch on their television.

Did the real cricket fan stay away then, and the stadium that was filled up and exhibited with pride by SET MAX full of people who only see the ‘paisa-wasool’ entertainment value in cricket nowadays? No would be the answer, for many I know watched the games with intent. Simply because after all the tomfoolery of the last two weeks thanks be to the heavens for some simple cricket!

b) Lalit Modi should be happy that he has created a league that is not only recession proof but probably also fixing proof. As the IT sleuths raid almost every nook and corner of his empire, he must be regretting using Twitter for his official announcements. Meanwhile it was good to see him subdued on TV for once and not looking like some one who implies ‘I own you just because you tuned in to watch my cricket’. Colorful character he is, kept us entertained for three years. Pity his time is up. We will miss him.

c) Finally for some cricket talk. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers both had gruesome games and that is the cruelty of knock-out games. The simple reason that these two teams lost out was down to their obsession with their batting starts.

Bangalore experimented again with Rahul Dravid opening with Jacques Kallis. First things first, the semi-final of a high stakes tournament isn’t where you do that. And second, if they just had to experiment, why not send Robin Uthappa up? For a sedate, solid start wasn’t needed chasing 180-plus in front of a hostile Mumbai crowd. Sure, if Kallis gets out, replace him with Dravid by all means. But to get the both of them to open in a bid to keep wickets in hand is just making it difficult for the latter batsmen.

Deccan were bogged down because their top order simply hasn’t fired. They ought to have been happy that they were chasing just 140-odd and therefore could take time getting a start. But Chennai’s bowling has been looking the part over the latter half of the tournament and a slowish start which was rocked by regular loss of wickets meant disaster.

The biggest shocker though was Mumbai Indians winning, for Sachin Tendulkar got only 9 runs. They went on to get 180-plus, and then bowled and fielded as if their backsides were on fire. Rather, it was the presence of ‘Big Boss’ Mukesh Ambani in the house that must have gotten to them. The big question is: can they do it again on Sunday with the probability of Sachin not playing due to injury?

Oh by the way, Bhajji watch out and better perform in the finals. You just don’t go and airlift the richest Indian’s wife without any consequences!

Despite fanatical Kolkata fans desperately hallucinating situations on Monday wherein their team would qualify magically, it was only as late as Sunday that we got to know who the four teams will be. Mumbai Indians were the only ones assured until then. Bangalore Royal Challengers managed to shoot themselves in the foot on Saturday and were dependent on Chennai beating Punjab, and nearly eliminating Kolkata Knight Riders. And then there were Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils – both hell bent on gifting each other the last semi-final spot.

In the end, as it turned out, their shoddy play in their last league match was enough for Bangalore to qualify. Thanks in no less terms to MS Dhoni who realised in the last over at Dharamsala that he could still hit the ball miles. Later Deccan almost committed hara-kiri, setting just 140-odd as target before Delhi beat them to it – the suicide that is.

After all the drama of the last couple of weeks – the on-field one – it is right to say that the four most consistent teams have gotten into the semis, if not the four best on paper. Except for maybe Mumbai Indians whose form has been soaring from day one, the others had it pretty mixed up with Delhi, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. When the table is bunched up so close, consistency is what matters and the three teams who didn’t make it will agree that is one aspect where they were lacking.

Delhi just couldn’t get a consistent run of form from their top order; Yusuf Pathan was the only threat Rajasthan ever had this season and if he ever becomes consistent, then bowlers may as well collectively retire; and, Kolkata – well what can you say about a side that scores 200 in 20 overs and cannot defend it, that too at a fortress that is the Eden Gardens? Probably that they don’t deserve to be in the semis, just like the Kings XI side who also ‘achieved’ a similar feat.

While these three teams were busy tripping themselves up, Bangalore had the time to sort out their mess in team selection and going forward will realise that playing Kevin Pietersen in the eleven is always going to pay more dividends than one Cameron White, especially when foreign players are at a premium. Deccan Chargers deserve to be in the semis on the back of their five-match winning run alone, while Chennai – although in patches – did manage to find the confidence and form that took them into the last four for the last two years. And here they are again.

The semis can be a lottery though and there have been suggestions that this doesn’t help a side like Mumbai who have done all the hard work over the past two months and could lose it if they have just the one bad day. But then again, hasn’t it been about being consistent enough to not let such days affect you? As aforementioned, the semi-finals’ stage is set.

This article was first published at www.cricketworld.com.

It couldn’t have been the pitch. Anil Kumble called it unfit for T20 cricket but that sounded like sour grapes after his side failed to chase 180-plus in 20 overs. Yes, on the same pitch, Delhi had racked up that big a score. And against Kings XI too, they were 40-odd in only 4 overs before two quick run-outs destroyed their innings. It couldn’t have been the pitch, no.

Then it surely must have been demons in the minds of Gautam Gambhir’s men, confirmed by their miss against a nearly half-rested Mumbai Indians side. It should have been an easy haul of two points and progress through to the semis. Instead they now sit on twelve points with five other teams and with everything to play for. By the way, one of their matches is at Delhi against the Deccan Chargers and the pitch curator at the Kotla might already be fearing for his job.

An interesting statistic was thrown up on television as Mumbai batted at the Brabourne stadium. Sachin Tendulkar averages 69 when his team has won this season and only in the thirties when they lost. He got out for an exact 30 on the day and Delhi would have felt good about it indeed. So good that for nineteen overs they controlled proceedings in a manner that suggested they could chase 160-plus. That is until Kieron Pollard decided this was the moment when he would pay back the Ambanis’ investment.

45 runs off 13 balls – 25 of them coming in the last over meant that 160 became 183 and the momentum was lost. The chase seemed okay until the seventh over when the twin departure of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag spoiled it all, and there was no recovery from there on. Come to think of it, this has been the story of the Daredevils’ tournament – their strong batting line-up has just not lit up this IPL. The names of Tilakratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers along with Sehwag and Gambhir are missing from the top run-getters chart.

If Delhi were dealing with devils, the Kolkata Knight Riders probably had monsters in their minds. Sourav Ganguly had let it rip after their last defeat that the side didn’t merit a place in the semis the way they have bowled and fielded so far. Today their batsmen joined the list in showing how inconsistent play cannot get you any further than the league stage for three years running now. The game was all but over when the first four wickets fell for a mere 19 runs on the board and Chennai cantered along just fine in the chase of 140.

What helped their case was the absence of Kolkata’s frontline spinners on a turning pitch – Ajantha Mendis and Murali Kathik – both having impressed in the earlier matches. The fast clip at which Suresh Raina scored meant that although the Super Kings do have 12 points like Delhi, Bangalore, Deccan and Rajasthan, they are now second in the table thanks to a killer run-rate. All teams have two more matches each to play and so the battle for semis is not over by any chance. Just so you know, with all permutations and combinations possible, run-rate is going to play a major factor from here on and Chennai have done themselves a huge favor while Delhi seem lost at the moment.

This article was first published at www.cricketworld.com.

The problem with playing a team at the bottle of the table is that if they do turn up on any particular day, the opposition’s chances will be badly hit. In other words Kings XI are the perfect party poopers at the moment with their own chances of making the semis very slim indeed. On any other day a score of 200 for three would suffice against them but not this day as Mahela Jayawardene unleashed a second IPL century in two days, shocking Kolkata with ten balls to spare.

Kolkata have only themselves to blame as they were clearly about thirty runs short of what they should have had. They were 46 for no loss in five overs and at the end of ten overs, the score was 69 for one. That run of five overs where only 23 runs came is where the game, two important points and probably a place in the semis was lost by Ganguly’s team.

The other match of the day was truly an intriguing one, between Delhi Daredevils and the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. At stake was the second place in the table and a bit of pride as well. Delhi’s three game winning run had begun at Bangalore and since then the Royals have been looking a bit shaky. This was the ideal way to pick some revenge points and be the second best team out there that they really are.

However they made one big mistake. They fixed what wasn’t broken, making too many changes and relying heavily on bowling all-rounders to do the job as they dropped regular opener Manish Pandey and bowlers Dale Steyn and Praveen Kumar. That was a recipe for disaster and Delhi made sure they took full advantage after having drafted in Daniel Vettori.

Paul Collingwood and David Warner again rescued the Daredevils from a poor start and even so 184 for five seemed an on-par target for a deep batting side like Bangalore. But there is something about Vettori’s presence that spurs on Amit Mishra as the bowling spun around Jacques Kallis and company who after a sedate start were never able to break the shackles.

The points table this season shows the teams bunched up closer ever more than the last two years. Mumbai Indians lead the way with 14 points, Delhi have 12 now and Bangalore have ten. Then there are three teams with eight points – Chennai, Rajasthan and Kolkata with Deccan on six points. Kings XI have now gotten four points with their second win of the season.

Now there are four teams highly capable of going on a run and garnering enough points to push into the top four. Deccan though are on a ledge and a couple more losses would leave us with the bottom two rather than just the bottom one. However, that bottom one team – Kings XI Punjab – seems to be the one having a convincing say in who goes through to the semis.

This article was first published at www.cricketworld.com.

It would be harsh to say none, for they did get David Warner, Virender Sehwag and Paul Collingwood out, and these were the batsmen in form for the hosts. From here on, all you need is a couple more wickets and you would be chasing a sub-100 total when playing Delhi for their middle order is quite well known in the IPL circles for its weakness. Not anymore though it seems. The team think-tank, with Gautam Gambhir at its head, has found a new solution and balance for the team which allows Warner to open and Gambhir himself to anchor the innings later on.

In the last match against Kolkata Knight Riders, this task was performed by Collingwood as Warner blazed his way to a ton. This day was a bit different though as Gambhir first went about resurrecting the innings and then late on Dinesh Karthik peeled off the bowling in inimitable style. Rare are these days for the second-choice Indian stumper but when they do come, it is for every body to see why he was considered to be the best thing happening to Indian cricket before MS Dhoni came along.

That Karthik has grown as a player is sometimes hotly debated but if anything, there was indeed a moment in this game which would suggest that the critics have gotten it wrong. Going for a quick single, the bowler Warne back tracked right onto his way and there was a bit of touch and push moment. For a second one thought it was nothing and indeed it wasn’t. But expect the Australian players to get stuck in nevertheless and we had the Royals’ captain questioning Karthik on national television over an incident which didn’t really matter.

Or so we thought. Karthik unleashed an array of shots straight from the belligerent book, comfortably taking Delhi past 160 and then even above 180. Once that had transpired it was clear to every one who would be the most important Rajasthan batsman to walk in. Gambhir confessed as much in his post-match briefing when he said that they only feared Yusuf Pathan and no one else. Pathan did walk in to bat but only after four wickets had gone down and that is not the ideal way to chase a target when over nine runs an over are required from the start.

Now that the return leg of the tournament is under way, where do the teams go from here? Delhi are looking more fearless by the day and that can happen when all your jigsaw pieces start to fit and you only need to fear one player in the opposition. Quite clearly this might be the time for them to go on a little run and get into the semis. For Rajasthan though the task is a little edgier for they know they can be pulled back easily by any more such mid-table teams. And there are three out there – Deccan Chargers, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings – all boasting atleast more than one player whom the opposition ought to fear.

This article was first published at www.cricketworld.com.

David Warner gives the appearance of how Popeye would look if he ever came alive to play cricket. Those bulging arms seem to pack a punch, spinach or no, and they were used to good effect on the day as he rode his way to a century (107 off 69 balls). It is always ridiculous when a batsman scores a ton in a game where there are only 120 balls stipulated for the whole side to play, but this innings was incredible at the same time. In the sense that Delhi skipper Gautam Gambhir had shaken off his hamstring injury and Warner would have been looking at a drop if he didn’t fire in this game. Atleast that isn’t going to happen anytime soon!

It rounds off a good week or so for the Daredevils. Ashish Nehra is almost back from injury and Paul Collingwood has joined them as well, lending much needed steel to the side. Daniel Vettori will be on his way soon and this will be a solid base to build on from, having beaten Bangalore Royal Challengers away and now Kolkata. Probably it might be the start of coming afore of the real Delhi team, the one we have known for the past two seasons. For it is a crucial stage of the tournament where all the middle rung teams will look to gain some semblance of momentum and to have a problem of plenty at this stage will be the dream of every captain.

It is happening for Kolkata as well. Chris Gayle, Shane Bond and David Hussey have already come in and Brendon McCullum will be on his flight shortly. However the bigger problem facing them is the patchy form they have displaying, hinged more on a lack of killer intent. Playing safe isn’t a term you would want to associated with a team led by Souarv Ganguly but seeing that the purple-attired team isn’t hitting a patch of the same hue, it makes you wonder if age has finally caught up. From 38 for 3, Delhi were able to set up 177 and win the match means the last ten days have yielded only one win in four games. Shah Rukh Khan wants more than excuses from his players and he rightly says so on Twitter!

Besides the IPL, the Indian team for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean was announced. The good part is that the selectors have decided to go for experience rather than raw talent. Thus picking players who have all represented India – be it some two years ago, like Piyush Chawla or like revolving doors ala Rohit Sharma. They have even gone for Ravindra Jadeja who is not playing the IPL and is cracking knuckles at home, thanks for want of more money. Poor form, return from injuries, inconsistency and lack of match fitness are columns that can be ticked against the names of all the fifteen selected, and that is the bad news for Indian fans.

This article was first published at www.cricketworld.com.

Aussie speedster Brett Lee played his first match. But he was hit for three fours in his first over by West Indies captain Chris Gayle. Kings XI Punjab tasted success in the third over when Gayle was dismissed. It was 45/2 with young Hardeep Singh being held at mid-on. Ganguly and Tiwary resurrected Kolkata Knight Riders innings with a 79-run stand for the third wicket. Ganguly completed his half century but was out at the same score, spooning a catch to long off. Leg spinner Piyush Chawla, who has been selected for the World Twenty20 championship, bagged the wicket of Australia hard-hitting batsman David Hussey, who was beaten in the flight to be bowled. Kings XI Punjab looked liked containing the Kolkata Knight Riders for a below 150 target. But Tiwary changed the script with his lusty hitting in the last two overs.

When Kings XI Punjab began the chase, Yuvraj Singh came out to open with Ravi Bopara. But Kiwi Shane Bond struck with the second ball of the innings to claim England opener Ravi Bopara. Yuvraj Singh (24 off 16 balls) struck three fours and one six before he was brilliantly caught by Manoj Tiwary at deep mid-wicket off Ajit Agarkar. The former Indian medium pacer claimed his second wicket and this time David Hussey held a low catch at mid-off to dismiss Manvinder Bisla. Playing in his first match, Agarkar captured two wickets in two overs.  Mahela Jayawardene (16)  fell to a poor shot to be bowled by his Lanka team mate Angelo Mathews. Skipper Kumar Sangakarra followed his former Lankan skipper, stumped while playing a clumsy pull shot for 30, and Kolkata Knight Riders were on course for victory.

Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.

Orange Cap holder Jacques Kallis looked shaky today. His run-spree finally ended when he was dismissed for a 17-ball 19 in the fifth over.  Chennai Super Kings who started off very well, lost the way from the 15^th over, thanks to Robin Uthappa, who single handedly changed the script with some bold batting. Royal Challengers Bangalore blasted 41 runs in the last two overs with Uthappa all guns blazing. The hard-hitting Uthappa, dropped at 5 and 25, made most of those chances, when he went berserk in the 19^th over, clouting 4, 6, 6, 6 as medium pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji leaked as many as 24 runs in that over. Uthappa’s blitzkrieg overshadowed off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan, Sudip Tyagi and Albie Morkel splendid bowling. Muralitharan was outstanding as he scalped the wickets of Rahul Dravid (bowled), Manish Pandey (caught in the deep) and Virat Kohli (stumped) to finish with figures of 3/25. But Muralitharan snatched the Purple Cap for his performance, from his fellow countryman Chaminda Vaas (Deccan Chargers) to emerge as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with nine wickets.

The Chennai Super Kings batting fell apart chasing 172 runs for victory. Swing bowler Praveen Kumar dismissed Parthiv Patel in the first over. But Royal Challengers Bangalore dealt a severe blow to Chennai Super Kings’ hopes in the 10^th over when Rahul Dravid ran out the dangerous Mathew Hayden for 32. It was a brilliant throw from short covers to the non-striker’s end that caught Hayden off guard. The impressive Vinay Kumar made it 59/3 in the same over by packing off Tasmanian George Bailey (18). The medium-pacer scalped his second wicket by having Chennai Super Kings skipper Suresh Raina caught at deep third man. The match slipped further away from Chennai Super Kings’s grip when leg spinner Anil Kumble sent back Murali Vijay (74/5).  Chennai Super Kings could never recover to lose their second match in succession.

Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.