The last week scenario of IPL 2011 in context with KKR

The opening ones….

A match that was, the one which marked the beginning to 51-day entertainer, which showed great entertainment prospects, the southern chennai superkings led by the great captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni were pitched against the eastern Kolkata Knightriders led by the Wall Gautam Gambhir.

It started great with a desirable toss from both sides, Chennai chose to bat first and Srikkanth displayed his ‘Jalwa on crease’ with such a nice innings he played. He was very well helped by other team members as well, they managed to score a nice 153 on board.

Then came Kolkata with a nice beginning by Bisla and Kallis and they gave it a real nice start. Morgan, Tiwary, Shukla and Bhatia all tried to help but didn’t managed to chase the score with three runs remaining.

Chennai : what went right ? – The retainment of players helped the team, Their captain is well-known factor

needs to work on : Co-ordination

Kolkata : Wrongs : Why the hack didn’t they play with TenDoeschate, Gautam shouldn’t have come such late at all, poor Fielding

right ?? – Not yet, need to work hard

The Eastern Affair

With one day left for the dhamaka , Let’s have a look on the only team to handle the entire east single-handedly, the team associated with defeats but confidence at the same time, the team associated with Shahrukh Khan, the team which has seen Saurav Ganguly, the team which has emerged as one which never loses hope no matter how bad they look, the team which has been changed entirely this year, the team which has auctioned blindly, the team which has gautam gambhir, need i say more ………

Gautam Gambhir, the player to get the highest bid in this year’s auction, a player who needs no description, a player who is my favorite only after Sachin Tendulkar, a player who has always won some matches and that too important ones, a player who has been a successful captain as well, will lead the Kolkata Knight Riders this year. And with the help of the biggest striker in India at this point of time, Yousuf Pathan, We need not worry much, A team which is very well balanced has got some very nice all-rounders in the form of Jacques Kallis, Ryan TenDoeschate, Shakib Al Hasan which will prove very important for the team, With the sheer presence of Brett Lee, One can never lose hope, Then there is Brad Haddin, the best wicket-keeper in this year’s World Cup, and with a batsman like Eoin Morgan, we stand high. Though we may lack some bowling hands but we surely have the help of Unadkat, Balaji and Sangwan. Let’s see how they deliver when they are in hands of Wasim Akram. In addition they have got the best support staff in the whole edition.

Pros : Formidable Batting Line-up, Biggies, Motivated in the presence of great coaches and support staff

Cons: Weak Bowling Line, Absence of some big names for some matches

Rankings:

1. Chennai/Bangalore
2. Kolkata
3. Kochi/Deccan

The Southern Platter…….

Just two days left and for some of us who may not have yet looked up at how teams are and how they are placed in this year’s IPL when things will not remain the same………….

Let’s start with the most successful Regional team of India, the team which made their way to a semi-final, a final and a trophy in all the three editions of the game and with several other awards – stands high on the ranks and on the paper, the team from the land of heritage – Chennai Super Kings

With the supervision and the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the person who has shown his captaincy and has emerged as the most successful captain of all the three formats of the game, there is a benefit, a vast benefit to the team. Suresh Raina, who has always proved himself and has always faced the ball with a high, is a the person to look out for as he is going to be bombarding.Michael Hussey, an important rendition for Team Australia, the person who matters is going to do wonders.Albie Morkel, the man made for hitting sixes has to be the player which other teams will avoid facing.Styris and Bravo, the ones who make it impossible for Chennai to lose a single match if perform well. And with the strong bowlers such as Bollinger, Ashwin and Tyagi – this is one hack of a team.A player I am missing is going to be an X-factor – Saha, a brilliant batsman and wicket-keeper in case Dhoni wants to rest for some time……….

Plusses : An extra-terrestrial Batting Order, A great Captain, Team with high spirits and less clashes

Minusses : Bowling side is temperamental

A team from the land of the Biryani, A team which was considered to be a stone in the field of cricket, a take on the Deccan Chargers.

This team has lost its flavor and fervor and has changed  entirely, With a new team and new players, one can never tell what they are upto. Sangakkara, the captain is very successful as a batsman and as a captain but after the loss of world cup, he may not show the hundred percentage of what he can. In addition are some of the great batsman (in form) , the match-winners in themselves, Michael Lumb, Kevin Pietersen, JP Duminy and Cameron White but Indians ??? – with loss of players like R. Sharma, Gilchrist, Symonds, Gibbs and Laxman – this team is going to have to face odds – No big Indian , Is this a strategy or a mistake is the question to watch out for. With equally suspended Bowling hands, they will have to work hard.

Plusses : Big International names, presence of some class players

Cons : No Indian legend, Very experimental Bowling side, They forgot the max. 4 foreign players rule

The new addition from the God’s own Country is the team with many owners – the Kochi Tuskers Kerala

Is this an experimentation ground or they thought it to be an All Australian, New Zealand, Sri Lankan affair. They may look very odd to eyes but It may be noted that they have that potential.Jayawardene, Shah, Laxman, Mccullum and Brad Hodge – the players who hold high potential and the bowling legend – Muralidharan, they lack any quality bowler and no player holds the sheer responsibility to win them matches. Maybe, they will have the brains and experience after this one…..

Pros : Nice batsmen, subcontinental affair

Cons: Sreesanth and Powar says it all

And the last ones are from the class city of Bangalore, the city which bangs by the bangman – Vijay Mallya and with the mentor like Kumble, Let’s have a look at RCB

The one of the best spinners and the New-Zealander legend, Vettori and his captaincy may prove wonders for the team, With the presence of AB De Villiers on their side, the team needs noone else more on the field, Virat Kohli, the player who promises to deliver and deliver like anything is going to be the bombardment from their side, Is that all ? no Dilshan, the man to score the highest in the cup that counts is as well on their side,. Bowletrs – Zaheer Khan the most wickets are on his name again in the 2011 world cup, Dirk Nannes – the one of the best bowlers in the previous seasons of IPL, now you know , what I am talking about

Pros:Awesome team, some of the best players, highly balanced, no overstocks

Cons : A little dependent on luck, Will they get along is the question ?

After all this , I may conclude that while Chennai and Bangalore are ready to strike, the other two fail in givinag an impression on paper atleast – My rankings : 1.Chennai 2.Bangalore 3.Kochi/Deccan

A month that was…….

How should I express the historic and totally magnificent win of India over the world cup 2011 after a large span of 28 years.

I mean should I cry, or should I smile, should I dance or should I celebrate because the words are not at all enough. I mean even if I use every appropriate adjective in the dictionary, that even would become short to express my feelings. We started with the best batting order, a weak bowling side and an improved field and most importantly with the hope that this time, it is all ours.

It all started with Bangladesh, had a nice win, Sreesanth disappointed but Sehwag strengthened the batting side.

Then came England, another favorites to win the cup, though Sachin made a century, Gautam and Yuvraj both made halves, the bowling side didn’t live upto the expectations and we had to bargain for a tie.

Then was the turn of the underdogs- Ireland and Netherlands who were performing really very well but Yuvraj’s halves in both the matches gave us a clear win and made us the supreme in the table.

South africa – the team to watch out for was our next opponent and when we batted, It surely looked like we will win as Sachin made a century and Sehwag and Gambhir helped the man too but the problem was will our bowlers put similar efforts and It kind of clicked the country when we lose that match just because of weak and poor bowling performances .

Sehwag’s injury was not at all wanted but Yuvraj’s century helped us win the match against west-indies and that too very effortlessly, thanks to the change in bowling squad.

As we entered into the Quarter-finals, the tension rose and the nail-biting was on as we had to face the 3 time world champions and the world cup specialists – Team Australia and you would want it the last thing to happen in the knock-outs. We had to bowl first and with a nice start by Ashwin, we managed to have the early wickets as well but who could have thought that the out-of-form captain Ricky Ponting would do wonders for Australia and we managed tu put them to an end at a decent 260. The bats started to speak and with the help of Sachin , Gasutam and Yuvraj’s half centuries, we were still struggling to win the match – It was in the form of our new addition Raina, that we won the match and that saw an end to the Australian Reign.

The next thing was the biggest, the best and the hardest. It was not a match, it was a war. A war that both countries wait for. The war that both countries strive to win. A war that is not between two nations, two squads but between the prides, the egos and the self-respects, A war which means much more than the cup itself, which includes no blood, but sweat, no weapon but bats and bowl, no shields but gloves and helmets. It was no smaller than a military war – Yes it was a match between Indian and Pakistan, everyone took a leave, left the work just to watch their side win and then will be the time for the biggest celebration. Everything was at stake, it was the matter of 1.2bn Hearts of India and finally It started – We batted first and with Sehwag’s massive opening and Sachin’s eccentric 85 , it was again Raina who helped reach us the score of 260 which was the score we chased last time and won. Air was full of worries and tension but a miracle, I would say as the bowlers did exceptionally well when they took wickets at an interval and broke partnerships and each bowler took a double, and that was a beginning of the festival in India.

We are in finals and the happiness of the last win was still in our hearts and the odds were much against us when we lost the toss, we bowled and we bowled well but when it came to Jayawardene, he took the task and he played the powerplay so well to reach the total score of 275 and that was the score we had to chase, tough but still heads were high, minds were calm and the hearts were all cheering INDIAAAAA INDIA!!!!, but to the surprise of every Indian, we lose two early wickets in the form of the seniors, the legends, the biggest openers- Sehwag and Sachin. But just due to the intelligence of Gautam Gambhir and his seriousness, Virat Kohli and his youngistan on his shoulders and The cool Dhoni and his calmness, we won and we won with a bang.

I mean I am so fortunate to have seen this happen, 1.2 billion people united together, only this could have done this. After a generation, We lifted the cup and that too with Sachin. Everyone helped in this – Whether, it’s Sachin or Sehwag, Gambhir or Raina, Yuvraj or Dhoni, Bhajji or Zaheer, Kohli or Ashwin, Patel or Nehra and with the help of Gary Kirsten we achieved a new feat in world cup. Nothing could have made a country happier. Anything, Anything will be less to encourage, to appreciate this squad comprising of the young brigade of soldiers, soldiers of the fourth military unit – CRICKET.

Millions of people had tears in the eyes, and smile on their lips and had goosebumps watching the players celebrating this biggest festival and becoming sentimental, Tears of the god of Cricket, Sachin will never be forgotten in ages to come……….

IPL can now be enjoyed with full fervour and thrill. So let’s start cheering the next two months of cricketing action…………..

When India remains closed for 51 days……..

Get your television sets repaired and your recliners prepared and get ready to sit in front of your television sets for non-stop 51 days, you may have to deny for all the over times or get punished for leaving your home work as

the IPL is back !!!! and that too with a bang !!! yahoooooo….

10 teams , 74 matches, 123 auctioned players and the prides at stake will take all your hearts away as they compete to win the biggest cricket festival in India and in World – the bigger, the better, the 4th edition of the Indian Premier League.

We all have already heard about the addition of two new teams – Sahara’s Sahara Pune Warriors and Rendezvous’ Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

With this, the matches have also increased in number from 59 to 74 and that too with a new format which will be discussed later.

For now, just have all my eyes on how the world cup 2011 passes and who the winner is, how the IPL teams present themselves with their promotional strategies and how the audience reacts.

So just wait for some more days to discuss the IPL and pour your hearts out to support your favorite teams and to criticize the evils.

After 6 days, I will present to you a brief of each team, their strategies, their connection, the squad, the hopes and the chances as per the papers.

So get excited and pump your adrenaline up as much as to last the bombarding 51 days starting just after 18 days from now….