I selected an IPL XI last year, so I thought I would repeat the excercise this time round as well.

My criteria is the same as last time:

1. Pick the 4 Non-Indians
2. Pick an U-23 player (last year it was an U-19)
3. Pick players according to best for a position, rather than just the leading performers

Picking the 4 non-Indian players, putting them in their positions, and building a team around them is the easiest way to select an IPL XI in my view.

The 4 Non-Indians: Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Lasith Malinga, AB De Villiers

Hayden was the top scorer and leagues ahead of other batsmen in the IPL, while Malinga was the highest wicket taker among the non-Indian bowlers this year.

Gilchrist was also an automatic pick considering he was the player of the tournament, or the "Golden Player" or whatever it is that Lalit Modi called it.

I picked AB as the 4th overseas player because there were more Indian bowlers among the highest wicket takers than there were Indian batsmen amongs the run scorers.

This way I've got my openers as well as a wicket keeper.

Hence what's left to do is the middle order, an allrounder, and the bowling attack.

Middle Order: Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik

Raina was the leading run scorer among the Indians, while Rohit Sharma gives me my under-23 player. He may be the oldest looking under-23 year old as Leela says, but the IPL chose him as the best under-23 performer, hence who am I to argue.

Which makes me wonder, isn't Raina under-23?

Plus, Rohit was the 3rd highest Indian run scorer in the IPL.

Sachin Tendulkar was the 2nd highest (surprise, surprise), but I decided to ignore him because I already had my openers, and Sachin doesn't really like to play 20-20.

It gave me no joy in picking Yuvraj, but then I guess not captaining a side will be a blessing for him. And he was 4th on the list of run getters after Raina, Sachin, and Rohit.

Since Raina, Rohit, and Yuvraj provide ample bowling options, I decided that I didn't really need an allrounder at 7; I thought a batsman would be better instead.

This was the toughest choice for me. Do I go for MS Dhoni who was next on the list of runs after Yuvraj, or do I go for Dinesh Karthik who has played some attacking late order knocks for Delhi. As a number 7, I felt DK was the better choice.

That leaves the bowling, which pretty much picks itself.

Bowling Attack: RP Singh, Anil Kumble, Ashish Nehra

The top 3 wicket takers in the IPL this year.

Here's the IPL XI 2009: 1. Matthew Hayden 2. Adam Gilchrist (captain, wicket keeper) 3. Suresh Raina 4. AB De Villiers 5. Yuvraj Singh 6. Rohit Sharma 7. Dinesh Karthik 8. Anil Kumble 9. Ashish Nehra 10. RP Singh 11. Lasith Malinga

The IPL XI 2008: 1. Shaun Marsh 2. Gautam Gambhir 3. Suresh Raina 4. Shane Watson 5. Yusuf Pathan 6. MS Dhoni (wicket keeper) 7. Ravindra Jadeja 8. Irfan Pathan 9. Sohail Tanvir 10. Shane Warne (captain) 11. Sreesanth

Raina is the only one who made it to my team in 2008 and does so this year as well. I must really like him.

It could be quite a match pitting these two teams against each other. Raina can bat for both.

Jrod gave the IPL XI 2008 the name BLINGY KINGS, keeping with the tradition for royalty in the IPL.

So what do we call the IPL XI 2009?

This is how the IPL teams stack up after 2 years of the Indian Premier League.

Its good to see the Rajasthan Royals at the top of this table since they were far ahead of all the teams last year.

They also have an IPL trophy to show for that.

On the other hand you have a Deccan Chargers, who have almost the lowest win %, and have lost the most number of matches among all IPL teams.

Yet they have an IPL trophy to show for that!

How cruel is this game of cricket?

Chennai, Delhi, and Punjab should be kicking themselves up their backsides. They have surely been the stronger and better sides, but on the days when it has mattered, they have not been up to the task.

Not to take anything away from the Chargers however.

They have just completed what probably was one of the best turnaround stories, if not the best, in cricket history.

Yes I know you have heard it everywhere, but I want to say it again - from the bottom of the table, to the top of the pile!

Last year it was the team with the lowest odds that won the final; this year it was the same.

Last year it was a purple cap winning left arm pacer that led his team to the title; this year it was the same.

Last year it was a retired Australian who captained his team to victory; this year it was the same.

Last year it was the Royal March; this year it is the Deccan's Charge!

Both the IPL finalists won the toss in their respective semi finals and elected to field.

Both of them restricted their opponents to chaseable targets and then went about their business with ease.

The targets were chased down without a problem.

On one hand there was the awesome belligerence of Adam Gilchrist and the finishing touches of Andrew Symonds, while on the other there was the youthful exuberence of a Manish Pandey (for some reason I feel like Harsha Bhogle as I say that) and the calm of a Rahul Dravid.

What happens tonight?

Will both the Deccan Chargers and the Royal Challengers come out with the same strategy of looking to chase?

The Rajasthan Royals did that last year. They chased and won the IPL.

With 2 resurgent teams, experienced captains leading from the front, both hungry for the title, along with a similar strategy, it all points towards a gruelling contest.

Lets hope that is what we get.

I'll be going LIVE with my comments along with the rest of the crew at BCC! - Naked, SP, Som, Achettup, John, Ankit & Ankit, Ottayan, and many others.

Do join us!

Who would have thought that the final of IPL 2009 would be contested between the Deccan Chargers and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Did you?

Yeah, I thought so.

Call it irony, call it coincidence, call it a little bit of fixing, call it what you may; its surely caught a lot of people off guard.

Just a week ago, no one would have thought of this, but here it is.

The Final of the IPL 2009: Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

What is the History: Bangalore won both their matches against Deccan in 2008, while in this year's IPL it stands at 1-1.

What is the Present: Bangalore are on a 5 match winning streak that includes victories against all the teams that made it into the semi finals. Out of the 9 matches that Anil Kumble has captained, Bangalore have lost only 2.

Deccan are the dark horses here having had an up and down group stage winning 7 matches and losing just as many.

Some Thoughts: Adam Gilchrist holds the key for the Deccan Chargers. If he fires tomorrow, which he is likely to do since its a big game, then he could take the match away from Bangalore very quickly.

On paper, Deccan is the team with the better batting line up and bowling attack, but Bangalore have surprised a lot of better teams, including Chennai and Delhi.

It has the potential to be a cracker this battle of the bottom 2, or top 2, which ever way you look at it.

What is the Future: In my semi final preview, I was spot on in calling both Deccan and Bangalore. Hence I'm going to stick to the team that I want to hold that trophy - The Deccan Chargers.

Some facts that may or may not interest you:

- RP Singh has pretty much sealed the purple cap, unless he doesn't pick any wickets and Anil Kumble takes atleast a 5-for.

- Matthew Hayden has been leagues ahead of a lot of batsmen in the IPL, but his former opening partner Adam Gilchrist is not that far behind. Another 78 runs in the final tomorrow, and Gilly walks away with the Orange cap.

- A purple cap holding left arm pacer from the subcontinent took his team to the finals last year. Another one has done it this year.

- If Deccan wins tomorrow, everyone will say that an Australian captain won the IPL in both years; if Bangalore wins, they'll say a leg spinner captain did.

- If Deccan wins tomorrow, both the IPL seasons will be about the teams with the lowest odds to win the tournament, actually winning it! - Irony, fairy tales or fixing?

Karma - Bottom 2 from last year, top 2 this year.

Battle of the top 2 - Australia vs South Africa. Gilchrist, Symonds, Harris up against Kallis, Boucher, and Van Der Merwe. Not to forget, Lehmann vs Jennings.

Balls - Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers were the only 2 teams who had the balls to emulate last year's champions by appointing retired international cricketers as their captains.

They are in the IPL Finals!

Who would have thunk.

They have turned it around full circle.

From bottom of the table to a shot at the Cup.

If Rajasthan Royals were a fairytale last season, Deccan is one this season.

Delhi lost it after the mid-way tactical bullshit. Just could not get the ball away.

Then the Adam Gilchrist show kicked in!

And what a show it was.

More on that later.

Till then, rejoice the Deccan Charger's Charge!

A six used to be a rare commodity in cricket, hence it was always met with a lot of excitement.

Sixes in the IPL, however, have come in abundance, which has to a certain extent taken away the excitement that used to be associated with a six.

Moreover, commentators screaming "DLF Maximum", coupled with a six being hit every other ball, have collectively played a part in taking away the excitement of a six.

Despite this, I have seen some amazing hits for six throughout this year's IPL.

Matthew Hayden has shown why he was considered a bully by bowlers around the world. During the IPL, he has hit some of the best sixes that I have ever seen.

Adam Gilchrist hasn't been far behind his former opening partner. Some of his flicks over deep square leg have been awesome to watch.

As I write this, Adam Gilchrist has played two great shots, sending the ball high over mid wicket for 2 consecutive sixes! What hits!

I thought of the awesome sixes I have seen this year in the IPL after watching Kolkata Knight Riders' innings against the Deccan Chargers.

Brendon McCullum today played one of the fiercest pull shots I have ever seen, pulling RP Singh out of the ground. What a hit for six that was!

And David Hussey! Boy, he can hit them far!

Hussey hit a few good sixes today, but none better than his shot over extra cover off Andrew Symonds.

That was one of the best sixes I have ever seen.

So the excitement over seeing a six being hit may have been taken away from us, but the IPL has definitely shown us a few great hits for six.

This post should have really come up a couple of days ago as the actual quarter of the IPL is at 14 group matches, but Dubai Sports City was keeping me busy.

Here are my quarterly reports from last season: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4.

This update comes after 18 of the group matches have been played with half the teams appearing in 5 games each and the other half in 4.

Some games have been washed out so all the batsmen, except those from Bangalore Royal Challengers (5) and Mumbai Indians (3) have had 4 innings each.

Leading Batsmen
1. Matthew Hayden (CSK) - 215 runs at 53.75
2. Herschelle Gibbs (DC) - 183 runs at 91.50
3. AB De Villiers (DDD) - 176 runs at 88.00
4. Sachin Tendulkar (MI) - 163 at 81.50
5. Adam Gilchrist (DC) - 163 at 40.75

Hayden has been in smashing form this season stroking 2 fifties in his 4 innings and scoring at a strike rate of almost 163.

In fact, Hayden was in similar form last season as well and at this stage (end of Q1), he was the second highest run scorer behind Brendon McCullum.

Hayden had an impact in only a handful games last year. His availability for the entire tournament this time round could land him the Orange Cap that Shaun Marsh took home in 2008.

Who said 20-20 was a game for the younger ones?
Both members of the Deccan Chargers opening pair are among the top 5 run scorers. No wonder they are the only unbeaten side thus far.

Its taken them more than that though; as initially Symonds and later Rohit Sharma were among the leading run scorers at various stages of the league in 2008, yet they hardly managed to win a game.

Sachin Tendulkar has been awesome. His partnership with Jayasuriya at the top of the order has set the IPL alight. By this time last year, Sachin had not appeared in any game; but this season he has ensured that Mumbai Indians get off to a flying start.

Two 50s, a strike rate of 130+, and flowing strokeplay has resulted in a petition that wants Sachin to be a part of the World 20-20!

AB De Villiers walked into the IPL on the back of a very strong season for South Africa; he has continued the same form for the Delhi Daredevils. He is the only centurion this season and has the 3rd highest strike rate among all batsmen that have scored more than a 100 runs.

Unlike last year, McCullum, Sharma, Raina, Sehwag, and Gambhir have not got going yet.

While much was expected of Kevin Pietersen, who is the most expensive player in the IPL, but all he has managed is a mere 80 runs in 5 innings with a best of 37.

Leading Bowlers
1. Lasith Malinga (MI) - 9 wickets at 5.00
2. RP Singh (DC) - 9 wickets at 10.88
3. Pragyan Ojha (DC) - 8 wickets at 9.12
4. Yusuf Abdullah (KXIP) - 7 wickets at 13.00
5. Munaf Patel (RR) - 7 wickets at 14.14

Malinga has no doubt been the pick of the bowlers, managing those 9 wickets in only 3 matches. He has bowled with pace making early breakthroughs for Mumbai and also striking late blows with brilliant fast bowling.

He has been a sight.

RP Singh was amongst the highest wicket takers in IPL 2008, as was Pragyan Ojha, and both of them have scripted the Chargers' success this season along with their opening pair and Fidel Edwards.

Yusuf Abdullah is enjoying his home conditions and looks extremely lively. Much more than what his run up and action suggest. He's much quicker and surely makes Priety smile.

Munaf Patel, similar to last year, is looking lethal under Warne. He has bowled some unplayable deliveries and has picked up wickets regularly. If only Warne could captain India; they would have a three-pronged quality pace attack!

Deccan Chargers, undoubtedly, have been the dominant team in the IPL winning all their games, which is already double the number of matches they won in 2008!

I'm not sure if sports betting is legal in South Africa, but if I was a gambler, my money would be on the Chargers.

It would have been last year as well given the team they had, but this season they are truly displaying their worth and potential.

Speaking of betting, any idea why Lalit Modi may have said no to the services of the ICC's Anti Corruption Unit? Does the IPL have its own unit? Is the IPL immune to corruption? Is there no betting taking place on IPL matches? Is Modi indulging in some IPL cricket betting? Which one is it Lalit?

Other Stats
Highest Team Score: 189-5, DDD vs CSK.
Highest Individual Score: 105*, AB De Villiers (DDD) vs CSK.
Best Strike Rate (min 100 runs): 171.57, Adam Gilchrist (DC).
Most Sixes: 11, Adam Gilchrist (DC).
Best Bowling Performance: 5-5, Anil Kumble (BRC) vs RR.
Best Economy Rate (min 8 overs): 4.35, Lasith Malinga (MI).

This year the scores have been generally lower than they were in IPL 2008. That might have something to do with the pitches in South Africa, but despite the relatively lower scores, the matches have been one sides besides just a few.

Last season, there were many more closer matches, or is that just my imagination.

Malinga is not only the highest wicket taker, but also has the best economy rate - that is saying something for a fast bowler.

Who says 20-20 is not a game for the pacers?

Anil Kumble's 5-5 was pure magic and it was a great sight to witness him with the purple cap along with Dravid with the Orange. Sadly that was short lived; as was Bangalore's winning start.

I'll have the next update after the next 10 games so that I have the results of the first half, i.e. after 28 group matches.

It will be interesting to see where these players stand then and how the first half of IPL 2009 compares with that of IPL 2008.

In the first edition of the IPL, last year, Deccan Chargers were the favorites and were tipped to take home the trophy.

With Gilchrist, Symonds, Gibbs, Afridi, R Sharma, they definitely had the biggest power hitters in their ranks, and hence the high expectations.

Their campaign, however fell flat and all they managed was 2 wins out of 14 matches!

Yes only 2!

But this season, when no one gave them a chance, the Chargers have managed to win 4 out of 4 and are sitting happy at the top of the table.

So what is different this year?

1. For starters they've got a new uniform, which is a whole lot cooler than what they wore last year.

2. They've got a captain whose playing and leading from the front and not sitting injured in the dressing room.

3. Herschelle Gibbs is actually firing on all cylinders unlike last season.

4. They've got a genuine attack bowler in Fidel Edwards.

5. Afridi and Symonds are busy in the desert.

6. Rohit Sharma is not the only one doing the scoring.

7. Som, I just put the 7th down for you - you can fill the blanks.

They were the team I was supporting last season.

They were the favorites last season.

Their team had the best name in the IPL last season.

Well, they still have the same name, but they have come to the party a year too late.

Doesn't matter. I can still put my weight behind them. So what if Afridi is not there!

A semi final spot at the moment looks a sure shot, while the trophy very likely.

Go Chargers!

"There used to be a bloke who gave himself out by walking when he'd hit the ball. The popularity of that within his team-mates may be shown by the fact that since his retirement, they no longer reply to any emails, phone calls or text messages."

Poor Adam Gilchrist feels left out.

But maybe the Aussies are just too buy trying to plot the Indians' downfall to reply to you Adam. What makes you think it has anything to do with your walking?

The 3rd Quarter of the Indian Premier League is over. In 30 days, 42 matches have been played.

Initially, when I started doing these quarterly reports (Q1, Q2), I did not know that the matches were evenly distributed with 14 games over every 10 days. But thats how it has perfectly panned out and it only seems logical to compare how each of these 10 days were.

RR, RCB, and DC have had consistent quarters in the IPL, while the fortunes of the other teams have fluctuated throughout. KXI and CSK strenghtened their positions during Q3, while MI continued its strong resurgence by becoming the only team to win 6 consecutive games in the IPL.

KKR and DDD who began their campaigns strongly are dangerously lingering in the 5th and 6th positions, yet the RACE to the Final Four remains open. S. Rajesh of Cricinfo pointed out a possibility that even at this stage, RR can miss out.

Thats how open and unpredictable this tournament has been and thats why the viewers have been hooked.

Some people questioned that the length of the tournament, 45 days to be exact, would be taxing on the viewers who would lose interest. Nothing like that has happened and Q3 was witnessed with the same packed crowds and large number of TV viewers as Q1 and Q2.

With Q4 expected to be the most exciting quarter of the IPL, and the RACE to the Final Four in its concluding stages, expect the interest of the viewers to remain high, if not higher than the preceding quarters.

Here's a look at the top performers of the IPL at the end of Q3.

Leading Batsmen
1. Gautam Gambhir (DDD) - 465 runs in 11 innings at 46.50
2. Virender Sehwag (DDD) - 338 runs in 11 innings at 37.55
3. Rohit Sharma (DC) - 337 runs in 10 innings at 37.44
4. Sanath Jayasuriya (MI) - 336 runs in 10 innings at 42.00
5. Adam Gilchrist (DC) - 335 in 11 innings at 33.50

The top 3 batsmen remain the same as Q2, however Gambhir and Sharma exchange places. Gambhir has looked impressive throughout the tournament and now has over a 100 run lead over Sehwag, the 2nd highest run scorer in the IPL.

Jayasuriya breaks into the top 5 for the first time, while Gilchrist drops from 4 at the end of Q2 to 5. I reckon Jayasuriya in the last 3 games has batted the way he did in 1996, which by far was his best cricketing year with the bat.

Its interesting to note that only a single run separate each of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th ranked batsmen. And only 2 runs separate the 5th from the 6th (Shane Watson, 333), which is separated by only a run with the 7th (MS Dhoni, 332).

Graeme Smith, Shaun Marsh, and David Hussey make up the top 10. Marsh has batted only 6 times for his 297 runs, which is quite remarkable.

While Gambhir is leading by quite a big margin, there isn't much difference between the other batsmen in the top 10.

Leading Bowlers
1. RP Singh (DC) - 15 wickets in 11 matches at 23.86
2. Shane Warne (RR) - 14 wickets in 10 matches at 18.78
3. Irfan Pathan (KXIP) - 13 wickets in 10 matches at 18.69
4. Sreesanth (KXIP) - 13 wickets in 10 matches at 22.61
5. Zaheer Khan (RCB) - 13 wickets in 10 matches at 24.61

Irfan Pathan, who topped the charts at the end of Q1 and Q2 drops from the top spot down to number 3, which he shares with team mate Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan.

The Indians continue to dominate the bowling list as they did in Q1 and Q2, with RP Singh over taking his Indian team mates to the number 1 spot at the end of Q3.

From the list at the end of Q2, Ashish Nehra drops out, while Sreesanth breaks into the top 5 for the first time. The slap has definitely done him a lot of good.

Shane Warne, who had dropped from 3rd to 5th between Q1 and Q2, is now in the 2nd spot. My bets are on him topping the charts at the end of Q4.

The 6th in the list, Watson has 12 wickets, while the bowlers from 7th to 11th (Tanvir, Kulkarni, Bravo, Chawla) each have 11 wickets apiece.

Other Stats
Highest Team Score: 240-5, CSK vs KXIP.
Highest Individual Score: 158*, Brendon McCullum (KKR) vs RCB.
Best Strike Rate (min 100 runs): 204.34, Brendon McCullum (KKR).
Most Sixes: 20, Sanath Jayasuriya (MI)
Best Bowling Performance: 6-14, Sohail Tanvir (RR) vs CSK.
Best Economy Rate (min 10 overs): 5.77, Saurav Ganguly (KKR).

The highest team and individual scores, and the highest strike rate have remain unchanged since Q1. Plus it took 2 quarters for someone to surpass McCullum's number of sixes, all of which were hit during Q1.

Sohail Tanvir's figures remain untouched, even though Balaji, Mishra, Ntini, and Shoaib Akhtar have come close. Overall there was better bowling on display during Q3 than the preceding quarters.

Ganguly is a surprise with the best economy rate - he has bowled 17 overs for only 104 runs, and he's picked up 5 wickets as well.

Another 10 days to go for the group stage. Another 14 matches, which will not only decide the RACE, but also the top performers.

Stay tuned for Q4 results.

27 matches of the Indian Premier League have been completed in 20 days. Every team has played the other team apart from KKR vs DD - apart from these 2, all teams have played 7 matches each.

Match 28 and 29 are today and another 29 matches will be played over the next 20 days before the knock outs.

The results have been unpredictable as I highlighted in the post below.

Here's a look at the top performers of the first half of the IPL.

Leading Batsmen
1. Rohit Sharma (DC) - 258 runs in 6 innings at 51.60
2. Virender Sehwag (DDD) - 247 runs in 6 innings at 49.40
3. Gautam Gambhir (DDD) - 225 runs in 6 innings at 45.00
4. Adam Gilchrist (DC) - 223 runs in 7 innings at 37.16
5. Robhin Uthappa (MI) - 211 runs in 7 innings at 42.20

At the end of Q1 there were no Indians in the top 5, however now 4 of the top 5 run scorers are Indians. Moreover, all of them who are part of the international ODI and 20-20 side.

At the end of Q1 results, I pointed out that Sehwag, R. Sharma, and Uthappa have done well in bursts but haven't been consistent to be in the top 5. Now they are all there.

Interesting to note that 2 of the top 5 are from a team who have won only 2 matches out of 7 in the 1st half of the group stages.

Brendon Mcullum and Matthew Hayden who topped the charts during Q1 have since left the IPL, as has Symonds who was in 5th place at the time. Kumar Sangakkara and Shane Watson who were at 3rd and 4th at the end of Q1, have dropped to 7th and 6th respectively.

Despite not having played the last 3 matches, Hayden and McCullum remain in the top 10 highlighting the lack of runs from other big names still playing.

Leading Bowlers
1. Irfan Pathan (KXIP) - 12 wickets in 7 matches at 14.50
2. Zaheer Khan (RCB) - 12 wickets in 7 matches at 17.66
3. Ashish Nehra (MI) - 10 wickets in 7 matches at 16.80
4. RP Singh (DC) - 10 wickets in 7 matches at 19.00
5. Shane Warne (RR) - 9 wickets in 7 matches at 19.22


Just like the batting, the bowling charts are also dominated by Indians with the top 4 wicket takers all Indian internationals. What more they are all left arm pacers!

Irfan Pathan continues his run at the top at the end of Q2 - he was there at the end of Q1 as well. And you can't leave Shane Warne out of any top 5 bowling list, however he drops from 3 at the end of Q1 to 5.

Ajit Agarkar, Shahid Afridi, and Harbhajan Singh who were 2, 4, and 5 at the end of Q1 are now at 10, 15, and sitting at home respectively. Agarkar was definitely not going to continue his run at the top, while Afridi has just taken 2 wickets during Q2 compared to his 5 in Q1.

There are another 2 Indians in the top 10 in Manpreet Gony and DS Kulkarni. And there's another left armer as well in Sohail Tanvir sitting at number 8. Shane Watson at 6 makes up the top 10.

Shane Watson at number 6 in the run charts and the bowling charts! Who would have thought. Surprising some part of his body hasn't twisted, torn, pulled, or broken yet.

Other Stats
Highest Team Score: 240-5, CSK vs KXIP.
Highest Individual Score: 158*, Brendon McCullum (KKR) vs RCB.
Best Strike Rate (min 100 runs): 204.34, Brendon McCullum (KKR).
Most Sixes: 15, Brendon McCullum (KKR) / Adam Gilchrist (DC).
Best Bowling Performance: 6-14, Sohail Tanvir (RR) vs CSK.
Best Economy Rate (min 10 overs): 5.80, Sohail Tanvir (RR).

I don't see these lists changing much between now and Q3 or even Q4, but stranger things have happened. Maybe Misbah will score a 150 or David Hussey will hit 2 back to back centuries and show the world what he is capable of. Maybe Cameron White will score a run too.

Steyn could pick up a 5 wicket haul, maybe batsmen will start going after McGrath and he'll pick up a bunch of wickets. Umar Gul has played only 2 matches for his 5 wickets so his next 8 could produce another 20 or so. And Shoaib Akhtar will start his campaign soon.

Here are the end of Q1 results. I'll be back with an update at the end of Q3 in another 10 days.

Do you know what it feels like to be Adam Gilchrist?

Matthew Hayden sure does.

Back at the training camp for Australia's tour to the West Indies, Hayden feels that a shift in gear would be required for the tests after his short stint at the Indian Premier League.

Hayden said that he would need to adjust to the longer version of the game. His exact words were:

"Jaquesy and I have to graft away for four-and-a-half hours before we get a chance to express ourselves, in Twenty20 it's a great relief for opening batsmen to feel like you have a licence - you feel like Adam Gilchrist."

Well what can one say when Gilly's long time opening partner felt relieved to feel like him. I wonder if Hayden also wants to be like him. Be the cricketer that Gilly is. Be the man that Gilly is. I don't know what I mean by what I've just said but I felt like taking a dig at Hayden.

Besides Hayden; Ricky Ponting, Micheal Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Shiv Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo will all be returning to the test fold after 20-20 stints with the IPL.

Will these batsmen suffer from an IPL hangover? Will the adjustment to tests be a difficult one for them? Or are they good enough batsmen to adapt easily?

They are good enough I think, but I sense that the likes of Micheal Clarke, Phil Jacques, Jamie How, and the Marshall brothers will upstage the IPL members of their test sides.

The tests are coming up and it will be great to watch.

Before the start of the Indian Premier League the prospects of watching a team led by VVS Laxman and including Gilchrist, Afridi, Gibbs, and Vaas taking on a team led by Yuvraj Singh and comprising of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, and Irfan Pathan would have been nothing less than a Clash of the Titans.

The Deccan Chargers and the Kings from Punjab though have had less than ideal starts to their campaign.

Both teams lost their first few matches but have picked up recently with the Chargers winning their last one convincingly and the Kings winning their last two.

Its a downer that both teams have lost Symonds and Lee since the 2 going toe to toe, or for that matter, Lee bowling to Gilchrist would have been gruelling contests to watch. And Sreesanth also misses his chance of a bowl to Symonds.

But the match still involves some exciting stuff to watch out for:

• Adam Gilchrist and Herchelle Gibbs opening the batting - Pathan & Co. will be trembling at just the thought of this.


• Vaas bowling to the Lankan batting supremos - King Sanga and Jayawardene.


• A battle of the Indian bowling attack - Pathan on one side, RP on the other. Both have attacked for India before. They have for the U19 team as well. Here they are on opposing sides.


• Ajitesh Argal, India's U19 pacer could come in for Lee - he is an exciting prospect.


• RP bowling to Yuvi with Sanga behind the stumps. And Vaasy bowling to Sanga and Gilchrist behind the stumps.


• Will Sreesanth get into Gilly's face? Or is he a changed man after the slap?


• Everyones been waiting for Afridi to fire. After watching Symonds and Gilchrist blaze away, Afridi is raring to go. We could be in for a treat of he fires after Gilly and Gibbs.

This and Preity Zinta and a whole lot more at 2:30PM GMT.

(one of our readers and an ardent admirer of Ms. Zinta pointed out that I had been spelling her name wrong. I made a conscious effort to get it right this time round)

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.

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.