Friday, May 16, 2008

The Mother of all Crackers!

Shahrukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shoaib Akhtar, Saurav Ganguly, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mukesh Ambani.

Put these men together in any location in India and one can be sure to get cheers that will bring the house down.

Put these men together in Mumbai and the crowd's cheers will surely bring the entire neighborhood down!

That is what you can expect today at the Wankhede Stadium when the Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Mumbai Indians.

What a match its going to be.

KKR and MI have turned the tables in the last 10 days or so and both are currently on a winning streak - KKR have won their last 3 matches, while MI have won their last 4.

One of the team's streaks will come to an end today.

No team in the Indian Premier League has thus far won more than 5 matches in a row - Rajhastan Royals' 5 match winning streak was halted by MI, while Kings XI's 5 match winning run hit the road blocks against the Chennai Super Kings.

Will MI also make it 5 in a row? Or will KKR put an end to their streak?

Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly are arguably the best opening pair India ever had in ODIs. They are also one of the most successful opening pairs in world cricket (ODIs).

Today though, they are up against each other leading not only their respective teams, but their respective cities in this crucial IPL match.

Will Ganguly outscore Sachin on the latter's home ground? Or will Sachin choose this occasion to fire?

Shoaib Akhtar made an impactful return in KKR's last match. Today, he will be up against Sachin Tendulkar, who also returned to cricket in the previous match, and Sanath Jayasuriya, who scored a rattling century of a mere 40 odd deliveries in his last match.

Shoaib with the ball. Sachin and Jayasuriya coming out to bat. The thought of watching this contest sends shivers down my spine.

Will Shoaib silence the Mumbai crowd? Or will we see his deliveries being dispatched over the point and the 3rd man region?

Sachin is revered like a God in Mumbai. But Shahrukh Khan is no less, he is their King Khan, their Baadshah.

Who is Mumbai going to back?

This is definitely an intriguing one.

Only if SRK donned the #12 shirt and took the field, how would Mumbai react?

How would the react to SRK supporting a team other than Mumbai?

This match is also a very crucial one in the context of the RACE to the Final Four.

If KKR win today, they will leave the Daredevils, Super Kings, and Kings XI behind and jump to 2nd spot on the points table.

If MI win today, they will join the Daredevils and the Riders on 10 points each and that too with a match in hand.

With so much at stake, two similarly balanced teams who have been on a winning run, come face to face tonight.

You can expect the mother of all crackers of matches!

Make your pitch on this post...



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25 Pitched:

  1. straight point said...
     

    its getting hot by match...

    i think MIs have more depth with SRT returning to their side while KKR showing the habit of getting stalled in middle overs...

    infact KKR got lucky in their last both matches against DC and 3D...if they need to be competitive they better show some urgency in upping the tempo...

  2. Anonymous said...
     

    I agree with you SP, If Ganguly gets out early then they Stall,
    lets see if Hafeez's inclusion can help their batting a bit he is going to open today.

  3. Q said...
     

    Butt and Chopra are opening again, Hafeez will come at 5, which makes sense cos theres no point in Chopra batting lower down.

    I feel MI have a heavy top order with Sachin, Jaya, and Uthappa. Theres no one after that.

    While KKR have Butt, Ganguly, Hussey, Hafeez, Saha, Shukla - def stronger.

  4. Anonymous said...
     

    Its 27 for 3,Pollock has decimated the top order,Hafeez is also gone,now its 28 for 4.

    Poor display of batting by KKR, it was a good toss to win by MI.

    Ganguly needs to bat till end.

  5. Q said...
     

    Man this will hardly be the mother of all crackers.. wat a downer. 29-5!

  6. Anonymous said...
     

    Its 29 for 5 now,Saha is gone,poor display of batting by KKR,their batsmen apparently do not know how to play seam bowling.

    Q looks like I have jinxed the KKR.

  7. Anonymous said...
     

    I thought the mother of all crackers was Eve.

    (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

  8. Anonymous said...
     

    LOL, Henry.

    I think KKR will bundle out for less than a 100, its 35-6 now.

  9. Q said...
     

    Hahaha!! good one DS. Great one in fact ;-)

    I think we'll stick to Eve, this match is hardly that unless Shoaib runs through Mumbai.

    We both jinxed it Wasim.

  10. Anonymous said...
     

    Looks like it will be all over in 5 overs.

  11. Homer said...
     

    5 down 7 to go

  12. Q said...
     

    5.3 to be exact Wasim.

  13. Q said...
     

    Homer, the other day a friend of mine said - "Mumbai is the most expensive team, it is bound to win the IPL"...

  14. Homer said...
     

    Q,

    Royal Challengers as runners up?

    Cheers :)

  15. Anonymous said...
     

    Q it was Mumbai's day, the toss was cruicial, and the Pitch suited a bowler like Pollock who bowled a clinical spell, on a flat pitch he might not be this effective and KKR's batting might not fold that easily.

    Hafeez disappointed me,he got enough chances now.

    A defeat like this can shatter your confidence KKR will need a lot of psychological help to re group.

  16. Homer said...
     

    wasim,

    they have just the man in John Buchanan :)

    Cheers

  17. Trideep said...
     

    It was a poor show by KKR. They should have batted lot better than this. The pitch was not that bad a demon. Jayasurya showed exactly how to bat in that pitch. Agree the KKR bowlers were not as good as Pollock. But 67 in this pitch is unacceptable.

  18. Anonymous said...
     

    Brad Hodge will be joining KKR probably in their next match Clarke has made himself available again. Thats good news for KKR.

  19. Anonymous said...
     

    jsuriya murdered them yet again

  20. Trideep said...
     

    Surya is in prime form again. With sachin back the pressure on him has eased and he is able to play naturally. Watch out for Surya in the coming matches folks!!!

  21. Q said...
     

    Homer, Mallya doesn't have the same influence as the Ambani ;-)

    Haha, JK buddy.. no hard feelings.

  22. Q said...
     

    Jayasuriya has definitely hit the form of 1996... the way he murdered shoaib yesterday, it reminded me of what he did to Waqar back in 1996 during his then fastest ODI hundred.

    He did say that Sachin's presence has given him the license to go at it.

    Imagine Sachin and Jaya firing together. That wud be some sight!

  23. Q said...
     

    Wasim, I don't see how thats good news. Hodge hardly did anything in the matches he played.

  24. Anonymous said...
     

    Potential humdinger, eventually humdrum...tsk tsk tsk

  25. Anonymous said...
     

    Q thanks for correcting me, I thought Hodge hasn't played a match so far, but you are right in three matches he has scored only 10 runs, he was hardly visible.

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