Kolkata Knight Riders Lose Again
It hurts me to see King Khan's men fall the way they did last night. And that too, to a team that didn't look like winning anything in the Indian Premiere League.

The entire campaign for the Riders started on a wrong foot I think. SRK assembled an impressive star cast but then Shoaib Akhtar got banned, Chris Gayle got injured, and Ricky Ponting forgot how to bat.

Even though KKR have managed to win 2 games, one of them was McCullum's night and the other was when David Hussey decided to dig them out of a hole.

With the way they've played the last 2 games, maybe its time for SRK to don his number 12 shirt and take the field.

After having lost 2 matches, the Riders would be losing McCullum, Hussey, and Ponting. I know I did say that it would have a major negative impact on them but now I'm thinking that its probably a blessing in disguise.

The inclusion of Salman Butt, Brad Hodge, and Umar Gull will give the team a new and fresh look. SRK knows a thing or two about fresh faces. Look out for KKR to bounce back as their fresh international stars take their places on the field.

Since the Indian Premier League got underway I have read a number of comments made by English county chiefs and other English men who matter in their world of cricket about how it was they who invented cricket and then 20-20 cricket; that they have fallen behind in terms of progress of the 20-20 game; and that they need to do something to counter the IPL.

"I think the challenge is to respond to the IPL. We invented this game, it's our game and we should be leading." - This was what Rob Bransgrove, the Chairman of Hampshire, had to say to Paul Kelso of the Guardian. Read the full piece here.

"Considering that we invented Twenty20, they [India] should not have got there first. It is important that we act quickly." - this is what The Professional Cricketers' Association's new chief executive, Sean Morris, had to say when asked about the IPL.

These are examples of the kind of comments doing the rounds. I'm sure you all are aware of the talk of the EPL and Allen Stanford's involvement in it, so I'm not going to delve into that.

What I am going to delve into is what took place in Leicester, England in September 2005 - It was the International 20-20 Club Championship.

This was an idea that originated from Leicestershire with the backing of some Asian investors interested in cricket. The idea was to hold a 20-20 championship between the domestic 20-20 champions from around the world.

At that time (2005) only Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and South Africa had followed England and embraced 20-20 cricket as a part of their domestic seasons. Hence invitations were sent out to the 20-20 champions of these countries to take part in an international league.

In September 2005, Faisalabad Wolves (Pak), Chilaw Marians (SL), and Nashua Titans (SA) made their way down to Leicestershire where they were joined by the English champions, Somerset.

It was then and there that the first seeds of a domestic 20-20 tournament involving international and domestic stars were sown. And it was by the same men who invented the game of cricket and its 20-20 form.

Since the championship was Leicestershire's idea, a team from Leicestershire was also included along with the four 20-20 champions. Plus, to make the number of sides even, a "PCA Masters All Stars" was invited to take part.

The PCA Masters squad comprised of former England internationals, Domestic English players, and a few international cricketers. The likes of Phil Defraites, Martin McCague, and Chris Schofield (all Eng) were joined by the likes of Chris Gayle (WI), Javagal Srinath (Ind), and Craig Spearman (NZ).

And it was there and then that the first seeds of a 20-20 cricket team comprising of cricketers from different countries were sown. And it was by the same men who invented the game of cricket and its 20-20 form.

The Indians took the ideas from the English, put in a few millions into it, added some glits and glamour, and brought the ICLs and the IPLs to the world of cricket.

The English have nothing to complain about - they created the monster and they should have known that the slightest indication of success of such a format would result in the Indians embracing it in a big way. After all that is where the money in cricket is.

Thats all folks.

Links worth a look at:

The first news item announcing the International 20-20 Club Championship.
An article on implications of such a tournament.
The PCA Masters All Star Squad.
The final scorecard: Faisalabad Wolves win the first International 20-20 Club Championship.

For a look into all the news coverage, the squads, the points table, and the scorecards of the International 20-20 Club Championship, go here.

And that is where it all began.

Joginder Sharma continues to bowl the last over for Dhoni.

Dravid continues to leave Misbah out of the XI.

The Super Kings continue to remain the only unbeaten team, and the Royal Challengers continue to lose.

Maybe some things ARE predictable in the Indian Premier League.

I'm afraid the Royal Challengers Bangalore will not win till they include Misbah in their batting line up. Apart from Ross Taylor the other batsmen are players who need time to settle down and there is no way that the likes of Dravid, Jaffer, Kallis, Chanderpaul & Co. can chase or post 170+ totals in 20 overs.

I can't undersand how anyone can leave a player like Misbah out of a 20-20 team.

Here is a man who single handedly led Pakistan to the finals of the 20-20 world cup. His innings against Australia and India in the group stages were single minded efforts to lead Pakistan to victory or near victory. The way he batted in the final of the World Cup when all seemed lost and he had nothing but the tail for support just shows the kind of mind Misbah possess for the 20-20 game.

He is by far the most experienced batsman in this form of cricket having played in Pakistan for years. He led Faisalabad to the title in the first ever 20-20 competition held in Pakistan in 2004. The same year he led Faisalabad to victory in the 6-team 20-20 competition in England. In 2005 he led Faisalabad to the final of the domestic 20-20 competition only to lose to Sialkot.

Even before domestic 20-20 cricket began in Pakistan or England, Misbah and other Pakistani cricketers used to play this form of cricket for their clubs in annual night tournaments (20-20 in Pakistan has been played for over 2 decades now).

I don't have Misbah's record from those club games but in domestic 20-20 cricket in Pakistan, he has played 23 matches and scored 683 runs at an average of 56.91 and a strike rate of 134.2. His 20 innings have produced 1 century and 5 fifties.

His international 20-20 record is even better. 10 matches, 10 innings, 338 runs, average of 67.6, strike rate of 135.20, 3 fifties.

How do you leave a man like this out of your team?

Maybe RCB are looking to justify the near million they dished out for Jacques Kallis, but I highly doubt that the figure of $900,000 will ever be justified.

Plus if RCB keep looking like South Africa with Boucher keeping, Kallis at 1st slip, and Steyn attacking, they're not going to win anything.

Rahul, Vijay Mallya - you need Misbah.

14 matches of the Indian Premier League have been completed in 10 days - thats 25% of the 56 matches to be played over 40 days in the group stage.

I think this is a good time to take a look at the top performers of the IPL thus far.

Leading Batsmen
1. Brendon McCullum (KKR) - 187 runs at 93.50
2. Matthew Hayden (KXIP) - 176 runs at 88.00
3. Kumar Sangakkara (KXIP)- 172 runs at 43.00
4. Shane Watson (RR) - 162 runs at 81.00
5. Andrew Symonds (DC) - 161 runs at 80.50

85% of McCullum's and 72% of Symond's runs have come from 1 innings. Plus their averages are inflated because of those innings being unbeaten ones. Hayden, Sangakkara, and Watson on the other hand have been more consistent.

The international players have performed better than their Indian counterparts - the first Indian to appear in the list of leading run scorers is Yuvraj Singh at 7 who only has a single 50 plus score in 4 innings.

Uthappa, Sehwag, R. Sharma, Raina, Y. Pathan, and Abhishek Nayar are some of the Indians who have done well in bursts but none has matched the top internationals.

Sachin hasn't played yet and the other 3 of the famous Big 4 - Ganguly, Dravid, and Laxman - haven't done anything of note.

With the likes of Misbah, Gibbs, and Hodge coming in to the teams and Gilchrist and Greame Smith batting with form it will be interesting to see how the above table changes over the course of the IPL.

Leading Bowlers
1. Irfan Pathan (KXIP) - 7 wickets at 16.14
2. Ajit Agarkar (KKR) - 6 wickets at 10.50
3. Shane Warne (RR) - 6 wickets at 17.50
4. Shahid Afridi (DC) - 5 wickets at 15.40
5. Harbhajan Singh (MI) - 5 wickets at 16.40

Unlike the batting, 3 Indian bowlers dominate the top 5 wicket takers of the IPL. Thats a surprise.

Whats not surprising though is that 3 of the top 5 bowlers are spinners in Warne, Afridi, and Bhajji. Last year's 20-20 world cup showed that spinners in this form of the game are very potent attacking weapons and it is no surprise to see them high up in the list.

Afridi is the highest wicket taker in all 20-20 internationals and he was also one of the leading wicket takers of the 20-20 world cup, which also got him the 'player of the tournament award'. He has been in brilliant form with the ball for the Chargers and I reckon he will end up as one of the highest, if not the highest wicket taker in the IPL. Shane Warne will as well.

Indian bowlers have done better than their batsmen as another 3 in RP Singh, Rajat Bhatia, and VRV Singh feature in the top 10 list. Who said India's batting is its strength?

Watch out for Dale Steyn who joins RCB this week and Umar Gul who joins KKR. Steyn wrecked the Windies with scorching yorkers in a 20-20 game earlier this year, while Gul finished top of the wicket taking list at last years 20-20 world cup.

Other Stats
Highest Team Score: 240-5, CSK vs KXIP.
Highest Individual Score: 158*, Brendon McCullum (KKR) vs RCB.
Best Strike Rate: 219.60, Virender Sehwag (DDD).
Most Sixes: 15, Brendon McCullum (KKR).
Best Bowling Performance: 3-17, Murali Karthik (KKR) vs DC.
Best Economy Rate: 4.00, Mohammad Hafeez (KKR).

I'll update these lists and stats in another 10 days after the next 14 matches as the IPL reaches its half way stage. Will these players continue their run of form or will others rise to out-perform them?

The next 10 days provides cracking battles with the likes of Delhi and Mumbai bringing their historical Ranjhi rivalry into the IPL, Warne's high spirited Royal taking on Ganguly's Knight Riders, Dravid's Royal Challengers taking on old friend and team mate Laxman's Chargers, and a whole lot more.

And it all starts today with Indian captain Dhoni's Super Kings going up against the man Dhoni took over from, Dravid's, Royal Challengers.

This will be the farewell game for Hayden, Hussey, Oram, and Taylor, so keep an eye out for top performances from them. Misbah and Steyn could play as soon as tonight, and if that happens, the favorites CSK could be in for a tough one.

As always, tonight at 230PM GMT.

The Indian Premier League match between Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indian started off with the mumbai crowd cheering on their new captain Shaun Pollock. Ravi Shastri even went on to say that it sounded like Pollock was the captain of India. I reckon Pollock probably never got cheered as much in South Africa.

Now thats loyalty to your city team.

The match ended with the Mumbai crowd cheering Adam Gilchrist's extraordinary innings that decimated Mumbai.

And thats the beauty of the IPL.

Loyalties have been changing, people have more than one team to support, the public is not sure who to back, the crowd cheers players from opposing teams, players are playing for cities they don't belong to, people are supporting teams of cities they have never been to. You get the gist. Illogical?

Its simple really - Everyone is supporting good cricket. Well, its not the good cricket as we know it but its entertaining stuff. Exciting stuff. The IPL bandwagon is marching on and everyone from the players, the commentators, the supporters are loving it.

The day Andrew Symonds smashed the Rajhastan Royals for a cracking century, 800,000 viewers from Australia were tuned in to watch the match. The involvement of Symonds, Gilchrist, Warne, and Watson definitely had something to do with that but 800,000 viewers from a country where the matches start during the wee hours of the night is an indication of the success of the IPL.

Last night when Gilchrist was on fire, the number of viewers from down under might have hit a million. The numbers aren't out yet but its performances like these that make the IPL what it is.

It was a super innings from Gilchrist. It was better than what Symonds did the other night. It was better than Hussey's unbeaten 116. And it was better than McCullums record score due to the manner in which it was played in - there were no edges, no dropped catches, no play and misses.

Gilchrist was on top from the word go and he remained there right till the end.

Rock on Gilly!

Oh and as Uncle J's support shifts from the Deccan Chargers to Delhi Daredevils to Kings XI Punjab, mine is shifting to and from Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils, and Deccan Chargers.

As I said, the beauty of the IPL.

Not me, the Aussies and the Kiwis are.

Both sets of players are taking a plane out of the Indian Premier League to prepare for their respective tours to the Windies and England.

Not all the players are happy though. Micheal Hussey said its a pity to be leaving so soon and Simon Katich mentioned that he would love to come back as soon as possible. Symonds said he is disappointed he can't end something he started and that he would stay in touch with the Chargers over the phone from the Carribean.

How many players do you reckon are leaving with mixed feelings?

I think all of them and I think it has nothing to do with the money.

For a change international cricketers are playing without the lingering pressure of the boards and selectors. They are enjoying good support from the crowds and amazing hospitality from the franchise owners. There has been no pressure of home crowds and national colours nor has there been the constant media speculation. They are loving the atmosphere in which they are playing. They are having fun, entertaining the public, and being entertained themselves - something they definitely deserve after the gruelling international calendars that they go through.

Definitely none of them want to leave early.

Here's a look at how the departure of some big names will impact the teams.

Kings XI Punjab

Out-Going: Simon Katich, James Hopes, Brett Lee, Kyle Mills, Shaun Marsh
In-Coming: Ramnaresh Sarwan, Luke Pomersbach

Mills and Marsh have not yet featured in KXIP's plans so their absence will go unnoticed. Hopes and Katich have played interchangeably and their departure will give either Sarwan or Pomersbach the chance. Either way this doesn't really weaken the batting that includes the likes of King Sanga, Jayawardene, and Yuvraj.

However, Lee's absence will be a major blow to KXIP. He has led the attack well and with Yuvraj's team just about finding their feet in the league its a bad time for Lee to leave. He would probably be replaced by either VRV Singh or the U19 fast bowler Ajitesh Argal, neither of whom provide the potency to the attack provided by Lee.

Overall Impact: Negative


Chennai Super Kings

Out-Going: Matthew Hayden, Micheal Hussey, Jacob Oram
In-Coming: Stephen Fleming, Albie Morkel, Makhaya Ntini

Hayden and Hussey are 2 of the leading scorers of the IPL thus far and their absence will hit CSK hard. Fleming is an able replacement at the top of the order but the sort of starts Hayden has provided will be difficult to emulate. Hussey's spot will probably go to one of the domestic stars, which means Suresh Raina will have to play with more responsibility unlike the gay abandon he has played with right now under the protection of Hayden's and Hussey's presence.

Albie Morkel will bring in hitting power and also strenghten the bowling. Oram's bowling though will be missed, which I reckon is ideal for 20-20. Ntini does not have a good record in the subcontinent and he could well be in for some stick.

Overall Impact: Highly Negative


Royal Challengers Bangalore

Out-Going: Ross Taylor, Cameron White, Ashley Noffke
In-Coming: Misbah-Ul-Haq, Dale Steyn

Apart from appearing in the first game for RCB, White and Noffke have been nothing but tourists. Ross Taylor showed some highlights of good form the other night but he is no Misbah. This is one team I reckon will become stronger after losing and replacing its international players. The best 20-20 batsman or not, Misbah is the world's most experienced 20-20 batsman and his presence is exactly what the doctor ordered for a mundane looking batting line up of the Challengers.

Dale Steyn will be joining the team soon and on current form he is the world's number 1 fast bowler. With him attacking with the ball and Misbah doing the same with the bat, RCB will look like an altogether new team.

Overall Impact: Highly Positive


Kolkata Knight Riders

Out-Going: Brendon McCullum, Ricky Ponting, David Hussey
In-Coming: Salman Butt, Brad Hodge, Umar Gul

Two 1st ball ducks in consecutive innings and Ganguly must have been thinking how to sit the Aussie captain out of the next match. Ponting has looked completely out of sorts and his departure may be a blessing in disguise for KKR as Brad Hodge, arguably the worlds best 20-20 batsman, will be replacing him in the team.

McCullum and D. Hussey's absence though will severely hurt KKR's batting line up. Salman Butt has been in fine form of late but he has a terrible 20-20 record and in no way can cover up for the two departing men. Umar Gul will strengthen the bowling but Gayle's injury means that the batting is set to become a worry for KKR. Ganguly will have to start playing the way he used to 7 years ago.

Overall Impact: Majorly Negative


Deccan Chargers

Out-Going: Andrew Symonds
In-Coming: Herchelle Gibbs

Normally Gibbs would be the first name pencilled in for the XI of an ODI or 20-20 game but with Gilchrist, Symonds, Afridi, and Vaas in the team, Gibbs has been unable to break in. He is the ideal man to replace Symonds in the batting order and brings the same kind of batting strength that Symonds provides. It will also be a blessing in disguise that the Chargers won't have to think about giving the ball to Symonds.

Overall Impact: Neutral


Rajhastan Royals and Mumbai Indians are not losing any players, while the Daredevils will lose only the Kiwi captain, Daniel Vettori, who has played just 1 match for them. These 3 teams remain unaffected by this early departure of the transtasman players.

Players like Hayden, McCullum, Hussey, Lee, and Symonds who have set the IPL on fire will be going away. Does that take away a considerable dosage of entertainment?

It sure does but the likes of Misbah, Steyn, Gibbs, Albie Morkel, Ntini, Gul, and Pomersbach are capable replacements. For the cricket and for the entertainment.

The IPL will march on and Well Pitched will keep you posted.

No I have not run out of steam previewing and reviewing the IPL.

It was a hectic weekend (Friday and Saturday in the Arab world) involving lunches and dinners and get togethers and movies et all. Between Thursday evening and Saturday night I went to about 4-5 different restaurants, visited 3 friends, and went to a couple of sports bars around Dubai.

The common thing between each place was the Indian Premier League. Either a match was being shown live, or the highlights were on, or a news channel was reporting the days happenings, or some experts on the game were discussing the league; and in places where there was no TV, every soul was discussing the IPL.

Its been a week since the start of the IPL and I can safely say that within the UAE and Pakistan, people are loving it. From what it seems, people in India are loving it too. The crowds are coming in and bollywood movies are taking a beating due to people staying home to watch the games. It has taken this region by storm.

How about the rest of the world? Is it the same in Australia? England? South Africa? Sri Lanka? West Indies?

In between my weekend's social activities, I managed to catch some parts of the 4 matches that were played over the last 3 days. Some ramblings from these games:

• Warne vs Gilchrist never happened but Warne vs Symonds did. And what a battle that was!
  


• Symonds finally showed why he was auctioned for $1.35 million. And soon after he also showed why he shouldn't have been.
  


• What was Laxman thinking giving the final over to Symonds? He had gone for plenty in his previous overs, and even more in the last few matches. Sehwag had taken him for 30! Sure Warne is no Sehwag but it doesn't require Einstien to figure that Symonds could give away 17.
  
  
• Laxman is the dummy captain. In the first few matches he was doing as Gilchrist was telling him. Now he's doing as Afridi says. Does anyone know what Laxman actually thinks?
  


• Warne is the MASTER. He's turned the Royals into a champion outfit. Yuvraj and Laxman need to take lessons from him.
  
  
• Don't count the Deccan Chargers out. Its way too early to count anyone out - the chargers have 11 matches to go. Anything can happen.
  


• The Cheerleaders didn't seem to bother Afridi when he was bowling. And what was he thinking throwing verbal volleys at Warne?
  
  
• The Kings from Punjab finally won. Yuvi still didn't look like a captain. Don't count them out either. They also have a dozen matches left.



• Sanga is King, be it test cricket or 20-20.



• One man can definitely take you to a decent total in 20-20. Apart from King Sanga, no one crossed 20.



• Nehra looks in fine form.



• Bhajji finally took wickets and that too against his home Punjab side. He even slapped a member of his home side. But he wasn't Punjabi though. Was that the reason?



• Mumbai is missing Sachin. We are as well.



• Punjab's pace attack finally delivered what they had been promising on paper thus far.



• A smiling Lee gets a hug from Priety Zinta, a crying Sreesanth doesn't. A hint for all you who want those hugs.



• Don't count Mumbai out either. It doesn't take much to turn fortunes around in cricket. Just a few thinking heads.
  
  
• Shahrukh Khan didn't turn up and the Kolkata Knight Riders lost their first game. Juhi Chawla wasn't enough.
  
  
• Ricky Ponting won't be missed.
  
  
• Hayden and Hussey will be missed.
  
  
• Joginder Sharma bowled the last over even when the Super Kings bowled first. I stand by it - Dhoni is superstitious.
  
  
• Poor Laxmi Ratan Shukla - bad sportsmanship Dhoni / Parthiv / Joginder. Oh and Laxmi did what Misbah couldn't do in the last over. The Misbah shot for 4 off Jogi.
  


• The Super Kings are definitely the favorites. Hayden and Hussey gone will hurt them though.
  


• McCullum, Oram, and now Ross Taylor. The Kiwis are turning it on. New Zealand should be a kick ass 20-20 team.
  


• I can't believe Dravid left out Misbah. You can't leave that man out of a 20-20 team.
  


• Don't count Royal Challengers Bangalore out either. 11 matches to go and Misbah will play all of them.
  


• Moment of the match: Warne bowling to Boucher and Greame Smith at 1st slip. What a kodak moment!
  


• Dravid on the field looks as clueless as he did as India's captain.
  
  
• Why do both the Bangalore and Jaipur teams have "Royal Challenge" printed on their shirts? Same sponsor for both teams? Why? How? Who?
  


• The Rajhastan Royals are looking like the team to beat. Everyone has roles, they are playing like a team, they are enjoying their cricket, and the spirit looks amazing. Did you see their catching? Did you see Smith guide the batsmen? Warne is the MASTER.
  


• Who said 20-20 is loaded in favour of the batsmen? Senior citizens McGrath, Warne, and Kumble along with Asif have shown what good bowling in 20-20 can do. Bowlers need to stop cribbing and pick up their game.

And finally, here is my semifinal line up: Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajhastan Royals, and either one of Deccan Chargers / Kings XI Punjab / Chennai Super Kings.

On current form CSK look like it but Hayden and Hussey are going. As I said DC and KXIP still have a dozen or so matches left. Lots can happen.

As always, stay tuned for IPL action on Well Pitched.

If common sense prevails in another 3 years there will be a premier global twenty/2o competition that involves winners of the respective twenty/20 club competitions from all over the world. Allen Stanford while dissing the IPL for moving too fast, too soon, has gone on to say on BBC that:

Twenty20 has the potential to be the most popular team sport in the whole world in maybe less than 10 years.

But it's going to take a highly organised, highly efficient management team to run this show

While I agree with him that twenty20 cricket will keep growing in popularity and stature, I think it will take more than just an efficient management team to run the show. I think that the way forward is to have a series of country specific leagues like the IPL (no rogue leagues please) which play out simultaneously culminating in qualification for the world league championships. This isnt unlike the football champions league in Europe. In the end simple common sense will be required to overcome some of these hurdles:


- Summer cricketing calendar in the Southern hemisphere is filled up with the triangular series in Australia as well as prolonged test series. Spring/Summer in the northern hemisphere (read, India) means its too cold down under. When will the leagues occur in parallel? or do they even need to?

- Does it make sense to have regional competitions, eg ICL winners, IPL winners, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh twenty20 leagues champions play for Asian championships. English play with the closest counry which is turning out to be the West Indian Stanford 2020.

- How (if at all) will the twenty20 brand be diluted if rebel leagues keep popping up? Will the ICL and IPL every conerge?

- How many teams from each country's league will be allowed?

- Different leagues wil have different regulations inless fixed. What this means is that Jamaica may have foreigners for all 10 of its playing eleven. On the other hand if IPL teams only have 4 international stars at a time, they will feel aggrieved. Roman Abramovic are you listening?

- How will revenue be divided? We have seen so much bickering for media rights in India... multiply that 2-4 times and how much more bickering will you get at the world level? Maybe that can spawn off another league on its own :p It may be a good idea to hold the finale at a place that can use the inflow of cash to develop the game of cricket. Miami would be great!

- Finally, will it even work? With a very international, hetergenous mix of players - what gives Delhi a character different from a Sydney, London or Jamaica. If the final was between the Royals and a Sydney team and n Sydney, how would the create react to Warne?

Anyway, just some stuff to think about. Btw others are also getting distracted by the cheer leaders. Afridi is a happy man.

Q's coverage of the IPL has been legendary if anything else. Hats off to him and everyone for frequenting WellPitched and making the IPL so much more interesting with your comments

Something that has been highlighted on this blog is the interesting player-player rivalries and endless fascinating combinatorics. Warne to Gilchrist... Asif alongside McGrath and so on.

But what about captaincy? What about seeing captains that we never saw or never will see at the international level?

Lets start first with players that we see in action but have never played at the international level. God is witness that Im a huge fan of Manchester United (Arsenal and Chelsea fans - please no throwing stones at my house) and Ryan Giggs. If you dont know already, Giggs is from Wales and has the unenviable distinction of never having played in the World Cup - simply because his Wales team never qualified. What a pity for football at the international level - but thats the way life goes. The same goes for George Best, arguably one of the best football players ever.

If we come back to cricket and the IPL we dont yet have this issue yet, but it could well raise its head. What about some amazing 34 year old Misbah-like batsman who is too old to play for his country but is amazingly well suited for 20/20 cricket? He gets discovered through the IPL but never gets to play for his country. What about one of the many local Indian players - is it possible some of them are world class but will never play at the international level? Possibly but highly unlikely (Sami may bowl swinging yorkers before)

But moving on from individual players we are now seeing captains in the IPL that you have never seen and will never see at the international level. We now know that Laxman is a poor captain - some may argue he is a misfit in 20/20 cricket but Im sure being a natural captain (or lack thereof) has something to do with it too.

What about Warne? He has shown himself to be a true natural leader while captaining the Rajasthan Royals. He has used his players well by making Yusuf Pathan bat up the order, leading from the front by smashing 2 sixes of the last 2 balls to beat the Deccan Chargers. He has also captained Hampshire from 2005 - 2007 in the not so distance past. But due to reasons we are all aware of, he never made it as an Australia Test captain.

I know its too premature to talk about his greatness as a captain in the IPL, but I want to put this out there - is Warne the greatest captain who wasnt? Or would you downgrade him to be one of the better captains in the IPL? Do you have any other players in mind who would have made great captains but never did due to circumstance?

Let us know...

Two days ago, Adam Gilchrist faced up against Glenn McGrath in what could have been a battle of the giants in the on going Indian Premier League. However, Asif snared Gilchrist in the 2nd over and not much of Gilly vs Pidge was on display.

Tonight, if Gilchrist manages to get through the new ball attack of Munaf Patel and Shane Watson, he will come face to face with Shane Warne!

Just imagine - Gilly rips apart Patel and Watson. The Chargers race to 60 of 6 overs. Warne takes the ball in his hands. Gilly on strike. Warne on his run up. Will Gilly smash Warne all round the park? Will Warne get the better of Gilly? Which Aussie will come out on top?

This is an even bigger battle than the Gilchrist vs McGrath one.

Its common knowledge that Warne and Gilchrist didn't see eye to eye on a number of issues. It was Gilchrist to whom Warne lost the vice captaincy of the Australian team. And we all know that Warne has always held that grudge against the former Aussie stumper.

There is a lot of mutual respect between the two though, and both have come together hundreds of times to dismiss batsmen from around the world. Tonight however, the 2 come face to face as the Deccan Chargers take on the Rajhastan Royals.

The Chargers have one of the most dangerous batting line ups in this competition, but they haven't fired yet and the team from Hyderabad has lost both its matches. Gilchrist, Symonds, Afridi, R. Sharma, and Laxman on their day can destroy any attack - will they be up to the mark today against Warne's men?

The Royals have won 1 and lost 1. The team has been united and inspired under Warne's captaincy. Warne shouting out for the the young Ravindra Jadeja to pat the boy on the back after his match winning knock against the Kings from Punjab, just shows how Warne is as a leader.

They may seem like an Aussie outfit with Lehmann and Watson helping out on the field, but the young Indian stars are made to feel as much a part of the team as the others. Warne's confidence in the leg sipnner from no where, Dinesh Salunkhe, is what this team is all about.

The Royals have been strengthened with the arrival of Greame Smith and Younis Khan, but only one of them will play instead of Lehamnn probaby as Warne, Watson, and Akmal are sure starters.

Kamran Akmal keeping to Warne with Afridi on strike and Warne bowling to Symonds are other things to watch out for today.

But one that beats all is that Greame Smith will in all probability take the field under Shane Warne tonight. Both have crossed paths before in opposing sides and there have been plenty of verbal volley thrown at ach other. Tonight, however they both come together to try and script a vitctory for the Rajhastan Royals.

Where else will you get this?

No where but the IPL!

Its tonight and its at 230pm GMT. Don't miss it.

THE CHEERLEADERS !!!

What else can explain his batting failure in the Indian Premier League match between the Chargers and the Daredevils 2 days ago.

The mad man, Boom Boom Afridi, has blamed the cheerleaders for his poor stroke against the weakest man in the Daredevils' bowling line up. On a ball which could have easily been deposited over midwicket or even straight over the bowler's head, Afridi tried to sweep it to fine leg and was caught plumb in front for only 2 off 7 deliveries.

Afridi has come out and said that the cheerleaders should be removed as they are distracting the batsmen.

I wonder how exactly they are distracting him. Don't they have their fronts facing the crowds? I think they do. So what exactly does Afridi have his eyes on?

After bad pitches, lack of form, brute of a ball, bad umpiring, rush of blood, bad shot, pressure, lack of concentration, and others the batsmen have one more excuse now for their failures.

The Cheerleaders.

Intriguing.

It started at 20-20 World Cup in September last year.

It was the semi final. Australia needed 22 of the final over. Hussey and Haddin were at the crease and 5 wickets were in hand. Dhoni threw the ball to Joginder Sharma. Jogi gave away 6 runs, picked up 2 wickets, and India went through to the final.

Then it was the final of the same tournament. Pakistan required 13 of 6. Misbah was on strike and it was the last wicket. Dhoni threw the ball to Joginder Sharma. Jogi bowled a wide, a dot ball, and then got hit for 6. Next ball he had Misbah caught of the infamous scoop shot. And India became the 20-20 champions.

No one heard of Joginder Sharma again even though Indian played two 20-20 internationals against Australia, home and away, between October and January.

Then the Indian Premier League auctions took place. Dhoni got bagged by Chennai and so did Joginder Sharma.

The next time Jogi was seen in action was in 2nd IPL match earlier this week between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab.

Though the Punjabi Kings had 6 wickets in hand, they required an impossible 43 of the final over. What did Dhoni do? Thats right, he threw the ball to Joginder Sharma and the superior Kings won the game.

Tonight Chennai played their 2nd match of the IPL against the Mumbai Indians. Set a stiff target of 209, Harbajhan and Abhishek Nayar got Mumbai to 19 runs off the last over. 3 wickets in hand with Nayar, batting on 35 off 15, on strike. Guess what Dhoni did. Yep, he threw the ball to Joginder Sharma and despite 2 boundaries, a no ball, and a free hit, Chennai scraped home by 6 runs!

Is he the man with the Golden Arm? Or the last over specialist?

With an economy rate of over 8 runs an over in 20-20 cricket, one wouldn't really trust Joginder Sharma with the final over of the innings. Especially not when the runs required are gettable. So why does Dhoni have so much faith in him?

And why does Jogi disappear once the 20-20s are over?

Matthew Hayden and Harbhajan Singh, the 2 who went head to head over the Australian summer when monkeys, bastards, and obnoxious weeds were the order of the day, come face to face again tonight.

But its not Australia taking on India. Its the Chennai Super Kings against the Mumbai Indians.

Whats even more intriguing is that Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was instrumental in pumping Bhajji up for his assault on Hayden, will actually be on Hayden's side this time around.

Well into its first week and the Indian Premier League continues to dish out lip licking match ups.

There's another great contest on the cards tonight, and if it happens during the match, it will surely be one of the major highlights of the game. Its Sanath Jayasuriya taking on Muttiah Muralitharan. One has tormented bowlers the world over and the other has bamboozled batsmen the world over. Both have done it for over a decade for Sri Lanka, but today they will be on opposing ends. Who will come out on top?

Sachin is a doubtful starter, but if he does walk out for the toss he would be doing it against the boy he recommended for India's captaincy - Dhoni. One a failed former Indian captain and the other a successful current one. One the only senior Dhoni wants in his Indian team, and the other who has nothing but admiration for Sachin. It will be an intriguing battle.

Other players to watch out for today are:

• Micheal Hussey who hammered an unbeaten 116 in the Super Kings' first match.
  
• Suresh Raina whose strokeplay in the same game was unmatched.
  
• Robin Uthappa who stood out in Mumbai's 1st match with swashbuckling 48.
  
• Shaun Pollock who was miserly in his 1st match and smashed a few 6s lower down the order.
  
• Luke Ronchi whose 2 hits to the fence the other day showed that on his day he could be a destroyer.
  
• Dwayne Bravo who could make his debut for Mumbai today.

It all goes down at Chennai tonight at 230pm GMT.

The Delhi Daredevils are Very vEry veRy verY VERY strong.

2 matches, 2 wins, and no one below number 3 has got a hit in the middle yet.

This is due to the exact same reason I pointed out right after the Indian Premier League auctions - the Daredevils have managed to pack their side with a powerful Indian batting line up. With Sehwag, Gambhir, and Dhawan in the top order followed by Kathik and Tiwary in the middle, very few bowling line ups will be able to contain these men.

I haven't even talked about the International recruits yet.

Glenn McGrath didn't take any wickets today but the 2 men who consider him to be their idol, Mohammad Asif and Ferveez Maharoof, wrecked the Deccan Chargers' top order with 2 wickets each. The 4th international player Shoaib Malik wasn't even required to do anything.

This is the strength of the Delhi Daredevils.

Mixed Feelings
5 days into the tournament and I am experiencing the first feeling of mixed loyalties associated with the IPL.

Thus far I have pledged my support to the Knight Riders solely based on my support for King Khan and the excitement associated with Ganguly, Ponting, Gayle, Ishant Sharma, and Shoaib Akhtar being in the same team. Akhtar hasn't arrived and the Daredevils have decided that Malik and Asif are starters in their XI.

The Daredevils are playing outstanding cricket and with Sehwag in the kind of form that he showed today in a 41 ball 94, its hard not cheer them on.

So am I shifting loyalties?

Nope. I'm rooting for a Daredevils vs Knight Riders tie for the finals. And I'm also rooting for more exciting cricket from both.

There were some more mixed feelings during the match as well. I didn't like it when Rohit Sharma smashed Asif over long on for 6. But when he did it to Mahroof, I didn't really mind it and actually enjoyed his decimation of the bowler. The same happened when Sehwag hit Afridi for a 6 over long off and then went on to destroy Symonds with a patterned sequence of 4,6,4,6,4,6!!!

But then thats the excitement associated with the IPL.

Skippers Need to Inspire
The Deccan Chargers along with Kings XI Punjab have lost both their matches. Along with Mumbai Indians, they are the only teams yet to win a match.

Before the tournament started, the Chargers and the Punjabis looked like one of the strongest teams on paper. However thus far, the matches have shown that putting together a bunch of international stars does not make a team. Their key problem, in my view, has been the uninspirational leadership of Laxman and Yuvraj.

To make a mark in the tournament, the captains will have to lift their teams. There are a lot of matches left in the league stages but both teams need to make an impact sooner rather than later. Both will lose key players in Symonds, Hayden, Hopes, and Lee for the last 2 weeks of the league, which will make it tougher for them to come back in the later stages.

At least Yuvraj needs to do something. I don't want to see Priety in tears.

Another Big One
The IPL extravanganza marches on tomorrow with the Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai's Super Kings. Its Sachin's team against the team of the man he recommended to the selectors as India's captain - Dhoni!

More on this tomorrow. Stay tuned.

He became the first bowler in history to pick up 3 wickets in his 1st over in international cricket and yet this fact went completely unnoticed at the end of Bangladesh's innings on Sunday.

Kamran Akmal took a jet plane to arrive in time for the Royals' match against the Punjabi Kings last night. Less than 24 hours before donning the keeping gloves for Warne's team, Akmal was doing the same for Pakistan against the Bengalis.

Following Akmal, the rest of the Pakistanis taking part in the Indian Premier League have also landed in India. Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Asif, Misbah Ul Haq, Younis Khan, Umar Gul, and Salman Butt have all joined their respective teams and are ready for IPL action.

Three of them - Malik, Afridi, and Asif - would possibly be seen in action as early as tonight when the Delhi Daredevils take on the Deccan Chargers.

Both the teams have extemely strong batting line ups and a high scoring match is expected unless the curators throw in another shocker ala the Eden Gardens. I doubt that though after what Laxman had to say about the Kolkata pitch.

While the Daredevils have an all Indian star cast in Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhiwan, Tiwary, and Karthik; the Chargers have the Aussie power of Gilchrist and Symonds to support Laxman, Rao, and Rohit Sharma. Add Styris in there as well.

If the Pakistanis play tonight, Malik will bolster Delhi's batting line up, while Afridi will do the same for the Chargers.

Afridi has already made his presence felt by announcing that he's eyeing Brendon McCullum's record of 158 and will have a go at it if he gets to bat up the order. He seems to be confident about his abilities with the bat, however I feel the Chargers' will benefit more from his bowling.

Afridi is currently the highest wicket taker in 20-20 international cricket along with Pollock and Bracken.

What to watch out for tonight:

• Glenn McGrath opening the bowling with his Pakistani clone, Mohammad Asif - Its a dream attack and it gives the Daredevils the edge. Afridi's dream of batting higher up and breaking McCullum's record will have to wait.

• Glenn McGrath bowling the 1st over of the innings to Adam Gilchrist! I wouldn't miss this for anything. How would Gilchrist fare? Would McGrath face the wrath bowlers world over have faced? Will McGrath be able to keep Gilchrist Quiet?
  
  
• Sehwag handing over the ball to Asif and thanking God he's not the striker.
  
  
• Symonds and Afridi batting in the middle. We could in for a treat if the 2 are on song. Will the Daredevils be able to stop them?
  
  
• Asif bowling to Afridi - the last time I saw this was in the nets at the Sheikh Zayed cricket stadium in Abu Dhabi. I witnessed Afridi launch Asif into the stands on at least 6 occasions in the space of 10 deliveries. Will Asif know how to tame the crazy pathan?
  
  
• Afridi bowling to Malik / Malik bowling to Afridi - till some time back there was tension between the 2 as Afridi felt he should be captaining Pakistan. Since then Malik has somewhat settled in to the role, and Afridi has back him to the end. Will the tension come out when they come face to face?
  
  
• Daniel Vettori bowling to Styris - a battle of the minnows between the giants mentioned above. This could be interesting though.
  
  
• Afridi to Gambhir - after their mini battle and a few verbal exchanges during Pakistan' tour of India last year, the two come face to face again.

The IPL is dishing out a cracker of a match today throwing out everything and the kitchen sink our way. I would advise everyone to block their schedules at 2:30pm GMT for this one. You won't be disappointed.

After 6 matches of the Indian Premier League, in which all 8 captains failed to fire, with some failing more than once, today's Kings XI Punjab vs Rajhastan Royals finally saw both the captains play key roles.

Shane Warne picked up 3-19 and Yuvraj Singh knocked a 34 ball 57 thanks to Darren Lehmann and Mohammad Kaif.

Have I mentioned how great it is to watch Shane Warne bowl again. The Champion was at his best today. He led from the front and picked up 3 huge wickets - Hopes, King Sanga, and Yuvraj. He would have had Yuvraj even earlier had Lehmann held on.

Today's IPL match involved many a battle.

• It was a battle between the monarchs: The Kings of Punjab against the Royals from Rajhastan.
  
• It was a battle between the brothers: Irfan Pathan against Yusuf Pathan.
  
• It was a battle between the Aussies: The retired duo of Warne and Lehmann along with Shane Watson taking on Lee and Hopes.
  
• It was a battle between the friends and old team mates: Yuvraj and Kaif.

Besides these individual wars, there was drama aplenty in today's game, which showed that:

• An international line up of Yuvraj, King Sanga, Jayawardene, Lee, Pathan, Sreesanth, Hopes, and Chawla can't win u a 20-20 match against retired cricketers, Indian domestic players, players ditched by India and Australia, and a Kamran Akmal.
  
• The Royals are like a retired Australian team - all field discussions happened between Warne, Lehmann, and Watson. Lehmann and Watson were involved in a crucial partnership. And Warne seemed to take all the wickets.
  
• Sreesanth doesn't need an Aussie to spur him on - He was giving Kaif the stares.
  
• The IPL has turned Kamran Akmal into a wicketkeeper - a catch, a stumping, and a runout - Thats more than he's done for Pakistan all year.
  
• Catching balls hit by your brothers and friends are most difficult to catch - Kaif dropped Yuvraj and Irfan dropped Yusuf.
  
• A 6 in these IPL matches can be hit with broken bats. Maybe Ottayan is right about the insigificance of 6s in this tournament. Shane Watson hitting them is quite insignificant actually.
  
• Who said leg spinners were rare? As many as 3 played in this IPL match. And that too after Pakistan's debutant leggie picked up 3 wickets in his 1st ever over in international cricket against Bangladesh yesterday.

And you still say the IPL doesn't interest you?

I have just heard reports regarding the TV ratings of the IPL coverage in India. The ratings for the first 2 days of the competition are higher than all ratings achieved during the 20-20 world cup, and higher than that of all 20-20 matches played thus far. (This is for India only)

Now thats something.

There's a potential cracker of a match coming up tomorrow - The Deccan Chargers taking on the Delhi Daredevils. Two of the strongest teams of the league. If the Pakistanis in these teams take the same jet Kamran Akmal used, tomorrow's match will have a number of interesting battles on display.

More on that tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Till this morning I though I was the blogger who was most excited by the Indian Premier League. I thought I was the only one giving you all the match previews and match reviews. I thought I was covering the IPL more than any other cricket blog.

I was wrong.

Thanks to Uncle J Rod, I have found my ally. I have found another man who is optimistic about the IPL. I have found another blogger who has previewed and reviewed the league and the matches. I have found D.S. Henry.

Check his impressive coverage on the IPL on Outside the Line.

I got this from Cricinfo's ball-by-ball update of the Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and the Deccan Chargers.

I followed the 1st half of the match on Cricinfo from work and the man updating the site every ball had asked fans to comment on which team they were supporting and why. The few that I caught were all quite interesting.

See what these guys had to say:

"It is difficult for me to decide where do i belong. I am punjabi. Born in Bengal. Studied in Chennai and working in Hyderabad. And My favourite player is Sachin Tendulkar. I am yet to decide which team I support."

Poor Jagdeep Singh is a confused man.

"I am from Madras, so I root for the 'Super Kings'. I also support Kolkata Knight Riders because I am a very big fan of Dada. However, it's bit of a quandary for me as I can't stand SRK."

Uncle J Rod will like this man, Arunan. Oh no he likes Ganguly despite not liking SRK.

"I am from Punjab and there is noway i will support any other franchise even if they have better sides. Go Kings XI!"

Amit Talhan has no doubts whatsoever.

"We enjoy & cheers all the runs scored and all the wickets falling. Our favorite players in all the team....it is very diffcult to be with One team....Just Enjoyment."

Jaufer is surely being entertained. Way to go my man, I'm with you.

"My heart is with Kolkata 'cause -- Bengali is my mother-tongue, lived in New Zealand for 4 years and Shah Rukh khan is my favourite actor."

Alright Shameem Haque!! SRK is also my favorite actor and KKR is my favorite team.

"To hell with this franchisee stuff.. i always support Tendulkar.. whichever team he is in..."

Rohit Sen speaks like a true Indian.

"Unless you support a team , the enjoyment doesn't continue long. after the initial hype people will have a better alternative for entertainment."

Karthik feels the novelty of the IPL will die down soon.

"I'm watching this match from Virginia, US. It's early morning here and raining heavily.A smoking cup of coffee, the sweet sound of pittar-patter rain-drops on the window panes and the Knight Rider's run chase on the sopcast..aha, this is what life is all about?"

IPL has broken all barriers and attracted viewers from the US of A. Surely Joydeep is more excited than the Indians even.

"I wish for a team from my native place, Kerala - cochin thunderbolts!"

Mr. Lalit Modi, are you reading? Sandeep Sathyan has a request for you.

"I want to support each and every team and congratulate the winning team. One thing I have noticed even the foreigh players are getting along with each and everyone. Example, the match between Knight riders and Banglore RC, ishant got the wicket of dravid and Ponting was the first one to congratulate him and ruffling his head. This is sportsmanship and spirit of the game. I love it."

Shankar Iyer - I am with you Sir!

Who are you supporting and why?

Yesterday's Indian Premier League matches showed a different side of 20-20 cricket than what was on display during the first 2 days.

There were no 200+ scores, there were no smacking 50 ball centuries, and both the games were close encounters with the result determined only in the last 2 overs.

The first match between the Knight Riders and the Deccan Chargers was played out in front of a packed Eden Gardens stadium that was as loud as a WWF crowd in Madison Square Garden cheering Hulk Hogan in the 80s and early 90s.

But the crowd did not get what they came for. Sure the home side won thanks to a magnificent innings by David Hussey, but the curators got it completely wrong with the pitch. On a day when a belter should have been the order of the day to entertain a vociferous crowd of about 90,000, the curators threw in a shocker.

Even though it was the lowest scoring game of the IPL thus far, it provided with the potential scene of the tournament. It was the SCENE STEALER in my books.

The Chargers' Andrew Symonds was at the crease and Ishant Sharma had the ball in his hand. At the start of his run up before he started his run to bowl, Ricky Ponting approached him. Ponting uttered a few words to Sharma before moving back to his position, and in ran Sharma to deliver to Symonds.

Here I would like to quite Archana Puran Singh from Zee TV - "Wah Kia Scene Hai!!".

Translated that means, wow what a scene, and indeed it was.

What do you reckon Ponting said to Sharma?

Did he say - "Just do to him what you did to me in Australia mate".

Or did Ponting reveal some unknown secret about Symonds' batting weakness?

Intriguing to say the least. This is what the IPL is all about!

He's the man who made his debut for Pakistan in the 5th ODI against Bangladesh.

He's the 32 year old who looks younger than the 28 year old Afridi and the 30 year old Younis Khan.

He's the one who was awarded the best batsman of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2007-08 for his 949 runs in 10 matches at an average of 63.26 with 4 centuries and 3 fifties.

He's the batsman who was the 3rd highest leading scorer in first class matches this season (2007-08) - 15 matches, 1,235 runs, average 53.69, 4 100s, 5 50s.

He's the right hander who justifiably made the squad for the 5th ODI against Zimbabwe earlier this year but unjustifiably didn't get to play.

He's the number 3 batsman who walked out at the fall of the 6th wicket in the 5th ODI against Bangladesh, when 2 overs of Pakistan's innings were left.

He's the debutant who did not get a knock when Pakistan lost its 2nd wicket at 207 in the 35th over.

He's the Karachi-ite who will not play for Pakistan again.

Three T20 matches will be played out today and the cricket fan will be spoilt for choice.

Here's a brief preview of the 3 matches.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers
Indian Premier League Match 4, 10:30 GMT, Eden Gardens, Kolkata

The Knight Riders will be playing their first match at home. I would like to see if their performance in the 1st game can bring a 100,000 people to the Eden Gardens. Can you imagine the atmosphere if they do? After demolishing a weak Bangalore side, they go up against the mighty Deccan Chargers led by VVS Laxman who will be making his IPL debut on his favorite ground.

The Knight Riders will probably go in with the same line up as Gayle and Umar Gul still haven't arrived.

The Chargers are one of the strongest IPL line ups I reckon. Gilchrist, Symonds, Styris, Rohit Sharma, Laxman - thats some batting power there. Even without Afridi and Gibbs, their batting looks very strong. Their attack lacks variety though with 3 left arm seamers in RP, Vaas, and Zoysa and McCullum may be licking his lips after what he did to Zaheer Khan.

This has the potential to be a cracker of a match. For the bloggers, this match pits my favorite team, the Knight Riders, against Uncle J Rod's. That surely is an intriguing battle.

Other battles to watch out for:

1. Ponting batting while Gichrist keeps wicket.
2. Symonds bowling to Ponting.
3. Ishant Sharma bowling to Laxman.
4. Prince of Kolkata (Ganguly's home) taking on King of Kolkata (Laxman's 287).

Pakistan vs Bangladesh
Only T20 International, 1:00PM GMT, National Stadium, Karachi

After being whitewashed 5-0 in the ODIs the Bengalis would be looking to save some face and go back home with something positive. They are an exciting T20 team and should be able to give Pakistan a tougher fight than they did in the ODIs.

Who am I kidding? This will be another one sided match I think with little interest from the viewers. I believe everyone will watch this he way I will - flipping to the channel during an IPL commercial break.

The only interesting thing here is that the PCB have yet again dropped Mohammad Yousuf from the line up. And Younis Khan continues to be there.


Mumbi Indians vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Indian Premier League Match 5, 2:30PM GMT, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

After a mauling in their first match, Rahul Dravid's men will be looking to put up a better performance against Sachin Tendulkar's Indians. I wonder how Jayasuriya, Pollock, Luke Ronchi, Dwayne Bravo, Loots Bosman, Dilhara Fernando, Ashwell Prince, Dominic Thornely, and Malinga feel playing for a team called the Indians. Hmmm.

The opening combination of Sachin and Jayasuriya is an explosive one and I can't wait for the 2 to take the field together. Sachin is still doubtful but I hope he plays. With Steyn and Bracken still missing the Royal Challengers will have a tough time containing these 2. With Uthappa and Bravo in the line up as well, the Indians could post a huge total.

Bangalore's batting would be stronger today with the in form Chanderpaul joining them but I think they have another tough day ahead.

Battles to watch out for:

1. Pollock bowling to Kallis and Boucher.
2. Praveen and Zaheer bowling to Sachin.
3. Harbhajan bowling to Dravid.
4. Pollock batting and Boucher keeping wicket.
5. Bravo bowling to Chanderpaul.

Have a good day T20 lovers. Keep coming back for more on the IPL.

Pakistan played Bangladesh today in the 5th and final ODI of the series.

But everyone I know, including myself, were watching the Chennai Super Kings take on Kings XI Punjab, and later Rajhastan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils.

Salman Butt was playing a magnificent innings, but Micheal Hussey was playing a better one.

Would it have been different had Pakistan been playing Australia? Probably not. ODIs are a dieing form of the game. The fact that the 2 Indian Premier League matches had more TV viewership than an international one day match is an indication of cricket's future.

I'm not going delve into why ODI cricket has become increasingly uninteresting, but following are some the reasons why the first 2 days of the IPL have been appealing to me.

• Ganguly informing McCullum to be careful against Praveen Kumar as he nips the ball sharply.
  
• Boucher's stares at Kumar and Noffke when they bowled wide ones down leg.
  
• Zaheer subtly showing Ganguly the way and celebrating with Kallis.
  
• BRENDON MCCULLUM !!! 158 of 73 balls in any form of the game against whatever opposition is a remarkable achievement. As is 13 sixes.
  
• David Hussey c White b Noffke. An Aussie Threesome.
  
• SRK, Gauri Khan, Juhi Chawla, Karan Johar, and Arjun Rampal in the Knight Riders' kit supporting their team.
  
• SRK and Rampal bowing down when McCullum got to his 150.
  
• Ishant Sharma uprooting Dravid's stumps.
  
• Ganguly getting his revenge and bowling Zaheer and celebrating with Ponting.
  
• AB DINDA. Only the name would send shivers down the batsmen's spines.
  
• Greg Chappell at the toss with Dhoni and Yuvraj.
  
• Hayden thumping Lee for 4 straight down the ground.
  
• Lee going through Hayden's defences (didn't get the wicket though, it was a FREE hit).
  
• Hayden hitting his Queensland team mate James Hope for a 6 and a 4.
  
• MICHEAL HUSSEY !!! Lee, Sreesanth, Pathan, and Hopes is nothing less of an international quality pace attack. Hussey ripped them apart.
  
• Yuvraj hugging Hopes after he trapped Dhoni right in front.
  
• Suresh Raina's strokeplay - it was the same form that he displayed when he first played for India.
  
• Hayden back slapping Murali after the Sri Lankan made an amazing attempt at a catch at mid off.
  
• Priety Zinta cheering her team on.
  
• Murali bowling to Sangakkara. Dhoni keeping. Hayden at 1st slip.
  
• James Hopes - What power play!
  
• Delhi Daredevils uniform - Red and Black by Adidas!
  
• Daniel Vettori and Glen McGrath chatting before McGrath's first delivery.
  
• McGrath's 1st ball - Doesn't look like he's been retired from internationals for a year.
  
• Taruwar Kohli, India's U19 world cup winning opener, charging McGrath on the 4th ball of the innings and being beaten for the 4th time. Kohli must have been in his diapers when McGrath made his international cricket debut.
  
• Kohli smashing McGrath for 6 over the covers of the final ball of the same over. McGrath getting Kohli 3 balls later.
  
• McGrath smiling at Watson after he leaves his 1st ball to him. McGrath doing the same when Watson hits him for 4.
  
• The look on Watson's face after being hit for 3 consecutive 4s by Sehwag.
  
• Shane Warne - the oohs and aahs and the deliveries. Its all there. Great to see him bowl again.
  
• None of the 6 high profile captains in the 3 games played made any impression.

Great batting, power hitting, good bowling, sharp fielding, 200+ scores, capacity crowds, international cricketers, Indian stars, Bollywood stars, cheerleaders, mascots, its all been there. The IPL is underway, and its looking great to me.

I didn't like Lalit Modi being chummy with Priety Zinta but then not everything about an event can appeal to everyone.

I'm still unsure about the loyalties of the Indian fans to their city teams, but for the global audience the interesting pairings and match ups the IPL promises between cricketers is its USP in my opinion.

This is exactly what has appealed to me besides the exciting cricket.

Has it appealed to you?

The IPL is here and the Kolkata Knight Riders have smashed the Bangalore Royal Challengers to smithreens - not much of a challenge given that the Black and Gold turned the challengers black and blue... What fireworks for the opening, showcase game from Kolkata - Shahrukh khan must be proud. In the end Kolkata scored 223/3 and Bangalore started poorly, falling behind by 140 runs.

Brendan McCullum, what an innings! I saw the brief highlights at this link on Youtube... as the commentators are very right in saying that his whole innings looks like a highlights reel while others fell around him.



In terms of the match itself, it did live up to the excitement - we got a record total score in 20/20 and a record individual score as well of 158 not out from McCullum. In fact he ended up carrying the bat. This is a good example of good captaincy and great use of the resources at hand by Kolkata.

Sam, one of our regular visitors has left some good analysis in the form of comments... once again great comments. here is what he had to say:

SRK’s Kolkata Knight Riders have defeated Malia’s Royal Challengers by 140 runs,it was expected that the KKR’s will prevail over RC’s but nobody predicted or expected such a rout, Brendon Mccullum decimated the RC attack by a highly entertaining knock of 158 off just 73 balls,it was said by many pundits that Vijay Mallya has paid too much to Kallis and Zaheer, his batting line up is not suitable for a T20 match even the batting order was not right,in my opinion Boucher or Cameroon White should have opened with Jaffer, their batting will get a boost when Misbah will join them and their bowling line up will cetainly get boosted when Steyn,Bracken and Abdur Razzazk will join them, but lack of fire power in their batting lineup will still remain a major concern for them.

Kolkata is well balanced but if they don’t get Shoaib it might hurt them in the long run

Did you watch the game and are you planning on watching the upcoming ones? Who are you supporting? Please weight in with your comments

The glittering opening ceremony for the IPL is underway.

Shankar Ehsaan Loy are performing.

The stadium is PACKED! I don't see a single empty seat.

42 days? I reckon, all round India they could do this 365 days a year.

In an hour or so former Indian captains Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid will walk out for the toss under spotlights in the dark.

In an hour and a half Kolkata Knight Riders and the Bangalore Royal Challengers will kick off the Indian Premier League.

Apart from Ganguly and Dravid, Ponting, Kallis, Boucher, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, McCullum, David Hussey, Cameron White, Virat Kohli, ad Chris Gayle will be seen in action today.

Quite a star cast that is.

At this point, I take you back to an old post where I rated the bidders in terms of the IPL teams they selected.

Here is what I had said about Kolkata and Bangalore:

Team Kolkata
Franchisee: Shahrukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment
Being the King of entertainment Shahrukh Khan made sure he fills his side with entertainers in Shoaib Akhtar, Ponting, and Gayle - all more than able cricketers. Led by Ganguly, the prince of Kolkata and SRK's managed the players who can fill up the 100,000 plus seats at the Eden Gardens. Shoaib sharing the new ball with Ishant Sharma followed by Umar Gul's toe busting yorkers looks like a solid pace attack on paper which can be ably supported by the spin of Gayle and Murali Karthik. They also gambled by paying a pricey $675K for arguably Australia's best T20 batsman in David Hussey. Add McCullum as the keeper to the mix and Kolkata looks like a well balanced side that could be one of the favorites as well as one of th most entertaining side of the competition. SRK bagged the best bargain in the auction with Ponting, Akhtar, and Gul but may have overpaid for Ishant.
Bidometer: 9/10

Bangalore Royal Challengers
Franchisee: UB Group
Vijay Mallya had Rahul Dravid by his side during the auction but even he could not help Bangalore pick suitable men for the T20 game. Dravid, Kallis, Chanderpaul, and Wasim Jaffer look more like a test batting line up than one for a T20 match. Moreover, they spent as much as $900,000 for Kallis, who was dropped by his national team for the T20 World Cup played in his own backyard. On the bowling front however, with Steyn, Bracken, and Zaheer they probably picked up the best pace battery out of all franchisees and all at very good prices. They got a very good deal for the best keeper in the world, Boucher, and they gambled half a million on Cameron White. With the 3 pacers, White, and Kumble; Dravid has managed a varied and dangerous attack but the batting is on the weak side and apart from home boy Dravid, Bangalore haven't really managed any crowd pullers.
Bidometer: 5/10

This rated the bidders and apart from the teams' crowd pulling power it was also based on the type players they selected keeping the 20-20 format in mind so in a way it is also an indication of team strength.

Based on the Bidometer, I say Kolkata Knight Riders will register the first victory of the IPL.

Its besides the point, that I want them to.

Last month I made my first trip back home to Pakistan since launching WellPitched. I had a burning desire to interview my childhood heroes for the blog. We do see regulars like Sarfaraz Nawaz, Imran Khan and Ramiz Raja feature prominently in the media but I was intrigued by the prospect of my heroes from Imran's many teams living normal lives after their cricketing ones. My mouth watered at the prospect of running into Salim Yousuf (still my favourite keeper) or Iqbal Qasim at the street corner and asking them what it was like to be part of a great team. But there is only one person who's appeal spans generations and who's hero value is up there with Imran's and that is Javed Miandad.

So on getting to Karachi I started hustling for an interview with the great man himself. Despite my efforts it appeared that the interview would not occur but on the day before I was supposed to leave I got a call from my aunt (thanks and thank you Lodhi sahab) at 10pm that Miandad was waiting for my call :) Wow! I picked up the phone and was very thankful to him that I got to chat for about 20 minutes. Thank you Miandad sahab - it was a pleasure talking to you.

Full Disclosure:
I am not a journalist and I wasnt even prepared for this interview. The interview was conducted entirely in Urdu, I have done a translation from my notes to the best of my abilities. Any mistakes or discrepancies you see can be due to my poor shorthand and bad handwriting.

Anyways, lets get on with it

Thoughts on the ICP/IPL:
No clear picture has emerged yet. While ICL has started for the second time around it isn’t clear what the ICC’s role will be moving forward. Also boards of other countries cant ban their players from playing in IPL. Players do get banned if they play in the ICL and as a result the cricketing cream is taking early retirement, which is not good for cricket

In terms of the role cricketing boards should play - no board should object to their players playing in these leagues. A national team consists of 12-14 players, all of whom have a limited lifespan as professional cricketers. If a cricket board cares for the financial wellbeing of the players, it should not object to players playing for leagues such as the IPL and ICL. There is nothing new about such a league – after all there was the league started by Kerry Packer in my days. There are two interesting points to note, firstly that there are two versions of the same sort of league, the ICL and the IPL, with only the latter having official support. Secondly the PCB doesn’t look after the players the same way other boards do (such as Australia) – hence due to the large amount of money involved, the impact on Pakistan will be interesting if not beneficial for the players. A complete ban by the board on this form of cricket will have a bad impact on players, especially the ones not managing to make it into the national team (Authors note: do consider the large number of debutants in recent years who haven’t held their spot in the team).

Obviously the main motivating factor for players to join IPL or ICL is a financial one – we should look into the reasons for this. The sport does not get financial backing in Pakistan whereas in other countries professional athletes (not just cricketers) are assured of a financial, medical and other forms of support from an early age.

As an example of what can happen when the proper support is there, take a look at the state of sports in Pakistan in the 90s. Jahangir and Jansher Khan were both at the top of their game in squash and just two years after Pakistan won the Cricket World Cup in 1992, Pakistan also won the Hockey World Cup in 1994.

In the end a player always prefers playing for his country over financial reward but earlier with departmental sponsors players knew that they had a guaranteed income. The IPL and ICL are filling this gap now.

On ball tampering and reverse swing:
This issue is out in the open now and everybody knows how reverse swing works. This doesn’t mean that everybody can reverse swing the ball. Reverse swing is an art and not every country can practice it. In addition you also need the right conditions for reverse swing and Pakistan is a perfect place for it where the dry rough pitches and outfields cause the ball to rough up. You get reverse swing after 50-60 overs in such conditions

Sledging:
Sledging has been happening in the past and it is not anything new. The ICC should not interfere and should instead let the players continue with the game. On the other hand the players should also be mindful that they don’t hurt someone’s feelings. This is because players are role models and younger fans and players look up to them. Also stumps now have microphones making it possible for everyone to hear what players are saying. Finally cultural differences also complicate matters. For example in many western countries standup comics use language that is considered offensive in the subcontinent.

On ex-players and their role in Pakistan cricket:
Ex-players are not being used at all and are going elsewhere – there is no life for players after cricket in Pakistan. Cricketing institutions like the PCB are being headed by “chamchas” when in fact good ex-sportsmen should be heading it. The PCB head should be a good administrator, should at least know something about cricket and should also surround himself with good competent people. Currently there is no system for appointing the PCB head due to which cricket in Pakistan suffers. The PCB head should also be an elected official with a clear set of goals for which he is accountable. These goals should be monetary ones since there is a lot more money in the game now compared to my time. In my time the only revenue came from grounds fee which was also used to pay the players.

On coaching Pakistan:
A player cant argue with a coach and at the same time the coach should also treat a player who’s played 50 tests differently from one who has played 10 tests. More senior players are set in the technique and it is not possible to change it at this level – Afridi is a case in point. At the international level it is more about tactics than fixing a players technique. Also our talent comes from gali cricket so a coach should be someone who has played in the galis himself and understands this form of cricket

On the future of cricket in Pakistan:
Organized cricket doesn’t exist at the grassroots level. If you look at the birth of Pakistan cricket, Kardar started off by selling tea to support his cricketing career. He was the one responsible for bringing departmental cricket at the domestic level in 1982. People like Waqar and Inzamam were brought through departmental cricket where they joined up with national players and learned from them. Salim Malik, Mushtaq Ahmed, Waqar, Inzamam are all products of departmental level. This form of cricket is required in Pakistan due to one main reason. In countries like Australia you have state cricket or academies which act as nurseries and polish the players. It is not possible to improve or fix a player at the national level because it is too late at that point. Kardar summed it up nicely when he used to say that we don’t need players who can score 50’s at the national level – we need players who can score 100’s

On being misunderstood and any last words:
I am always available for help and to serve the country. Cricketers should not be selfish, they should teach others and should keep the interest of the country at the top. In the end if cricket does well in Pakistan then the whole country is happy.

Simple, but powerful words from a man who has given so much to Pakistan cricket


Please leave any comments that you have and let us know which Pakistani cricketer would you like us to interview next?