"I don't think he is worried about his game; he's more worried about golf and practices more golf than cricket"

That is what Virender Sehwag said about Glenn Maxwell, his Kings XI Punjab teammate who has lit up this year's IPL.

You wouldn't think that is someone who has knocked scored of 95, 89, 95, 15, 6, 45, 90, and 22 in his 8 innings at the IPL.

Maxwell's tally of 460 runs is the highest in the IPL so far, and it is over a 100 runs of the next best tally.

He has smashed 29 sixes in those 8 innings, which means that almost 40% of his runs have come in hits over the boundaries.

Add to that the 43 fours he has hit and you get a whopping 346 runs in 8 innings from 4s and 6s - 75% of his total runs!

The record for most runs scored in an IPL season is 733 - Chris Gayle in 2012 and Mike Hussey in 2013. With another 6-8 games left for Maxwell coupled with his current form, that tally seems like a cakewalk for the Big Show.

600 runs or more have been scored only 7 times in an IPL season, and Chris Gayle has managed it thrice! The other 4 times it has been managed by Hussey, Kohli, Tendulkar, and Shaun Marsh.

Glenn Maxwell is well on his way there and he could become the first batsman to score 800 runs in an IPL season.

His impact on this year's IPL has been so significant - Kings XI Punjab have lost only 1 game and find themselves firmly placed at the top of the table.

Maxwell's batting seems so effortless. He clears the boundaries with ease, hits deliveries from outside off over the midwicket fence with minimum effort, and races away with the game every time he bats.

He has been completely unstoppable, as have been the Kings XI who are surely the favorites to win the IPL for the first time this year. Betting guides, such as completebetting.com will tell you that the odds are totally in favor of the Kings XI.

If Maxwell continues to hit them the way he has been, there is going to be no stopping the Kings XI.

Six years ago when the IPL was first established, it was like a dream come true. It was the world's best cricketers and the world's biggest stars coming together, it was cricket and bollywood entertainment combined into one extravagant package.

For a fan like me, it didn't get better than that. It was entertainment at its best.

For the first time this year, IPL came to my town. It came to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, the place I grew up watching India vs Pakistan matches.

Thanks to a friend, I got my hands on two passes for the Super Saturday IPL matches: Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab.

It was going to be a day where I could watch Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers, Yuvraj Singh, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Jacques Kallis, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, and the big show Glenn Maxwell live in action!

And then there was the prospect of Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Shilpa Shetty being there.

The cricket itself was quite boring. The Royal Challengers were bowled out for 70 odd and Rajasthan Royals took their sweet time to get there. Punjab were bowled out for 133 and KKR could manage only 109. I saw only half a dozen sixes being hit throughout the day, and the highest score by a batsman was 37 by Sehwag. Maxwell, Kohli, Watson, Kallis... no one got going.

Despite that, there was ample entertainment on display. One can never be bored at an IPL game, that is for sure. Here are some highlights of my first day at the IPL:

1. Vijay Mallya's box was right behind where we were seated, while Shilpa Shetty was seated a few boxes away. Between the two innings, Shilpa Shetty paid Mallya a visit, and the crowd around us went ballistic. They merrily clicked away as the security had a tough time controlling people standing at the edge of Mallya's box.

2. Once the first match ended, the Punjab and KKR teams took to the field for some drills as the presentation was ongoing. At the end of the presentation, Shane Watson walked up to greet his Australian mates who were part of the Punjab XI - Bailey, Maxwell, and Johnson. They chatted for a good 10 minutes; your guess is as good as mine regarding what they chatted about.










































Cricket Bats - Fordham Sports

3. A representative from KKR came into the crowd and distributed KKR hats and flags to everyone. 15 minutes after he left a rep from the Kings XI came there and announced that whoever gave him the KKR flag or hat would get a Punjab one in return. I made sure I had something from both the teams to keep!



4. Maxwell's practice drill was the most interesting. A member of the Punjab contingent threw some balls at him and he played them straight down. He did that to 3 deliveries and then he proceeded to practice his switch hit / reverse sweep / reverse slog, whatever you want to call it. He must have played two dozen hits, including one that caught the top edge and sailed into the crowd. The crowd started cheering and asking for him to hit them their way, which Maxwell politely obliged. Every single switch hit from then on was hit into the crowd with perfect aim towards a row of people who would catch them. It was probably the most entertaining practice drill I had ever seen. It was also no surprise to see Maxwell hit the same shot off Narine for four as soon as he walked out to bat.

5. Wasim Akram was the first person to walk up to the pitch once it had been rolled and was ready for the KXIP vs KKR match. He knocked a few punches into the surface and then walked over to Gautam Gambhir to have a chat.

6. Preity Zinta and Juhi Chawla arrived together to the ground and walked into the Royal Box. Juhi took a seat there while Preity asked for where the Punjab box was. Lucky for me, it was right behind us, next to Mallya's box.



7. The security was tighter this time around Preity Zinta's box and walking up to her to take pictures was impossible, but watching her expressions throughout the match from 10 feet away was more than I could ask for. Having seen all the histrionics on TV for the past 7 years, it was a treat to watch it all from up close.



8. Juhi Chawla has the best smile in the business!



























9. Shahrukh Khan arrived during the second half of Punjab's innings. He came with Sheikh Nahyan and sat in the royal box. For the next 3 hours, it was a Shahrukh Khan show. Every Punjab wicket, every boundary hit by KKR was followed by SRK standing on his feet, clapping, waving, and asking the crowd to cheer louder. That man cannot stay away from being center stage.


Once again, I ws lucky to be about 10 feet away from him and managed to experience what I have seen all this while on TV in person.

The name "Shahrukh" was probably screamed every second during that time as fans tried to get his attention.

There was more focus on Shahrukh Khan then there was on the match.

It was a sight!



10. At the end of 11 overs, KKR were 50-3 and it seemed that they would reach the target. Just then Preity Zinta got up from her seat and walked to the edge of her box to speak to someone. At that same moment, Chris Lynn was clean bowled. Someone from the Punjab contingent asked Preity to stay there and not move till the end of the game.

While Preity stood there at the edge of her box, KKR lost 6 wickets in the next 7 overs, and with it the match.

The superstition regarding people's positions in the dressing rooms, dugouts, and elsewhere, which is quite common in the Indian dressing room, surely worked for Punjab that day.

The cricket was dull and boring, but the entertainment around the ground was top notch.

Nothing like it!

The race to the IPL semi finals, the revelation of the Fake IPL Player, the announcement of the Ashes squad - all this is hardly news.

This is what is News!

Ness Wadia and Mohit Burman, co-owners of the Kings XI Punjab, flagpoling the daughter-in-law of Ajay Gupta, an influential industrialist in South Africa.

And Burman ending up with a black eye.

Yes, a real fist fight at a cricket match. That's a first for sure.

Looks like some of the owners took that 1 run Punjab victory over the Deccan Chargers a bit too seriously.

Where was Priety Zinta when all this was happening?

I forget, hugging the players ofcourse.

But what were Wadia and Burman up to?

Flagpoling!!?

Lalit Modi, the Godfather that he is, had to play mediator between the Punjab owners and Ajay Gupta, who is so influential that he had his own team of security guards that bashed up Wadia and Burman!

And how did the Fake IPL Player miss this scoop?

1. How Chennai SuperKings will get there

By beating Kings XI Punjab. Its quite simple for them - win the game and get to 17 points, which no other team can get.

If they lose, then they will probably also get there.

Even if Kings XI get to 16 by beating CSK, and Deccan get to 16 by beating Bangalore, CSK will be at 4th with 15.

The Royals can get to 15 points by beating KKR, but to get their Net Run Rate from -0.36 to beyond +0.93 maybe mathematically possible, but it is practically impossible.

Hence, CSK, their fans, Leela - You got nothing to worry about. In a way it might also be good that their shocking loss came before the semis.

2. How Rajasthan Royals can get there

For starters, by winning their match against the Kolkata Knight Riders. If they lose they will surely be out.

But only winning will not get them there, other results will also have to go their way - either one of the Kings XI or Deccan will have to lose their last match.

If both of them win, the Royals are out irrespective of their result against KKR.

3. How Royal Challengers Bangalore can get there

I think they have the most chances to get there, but they have 2 tough games against the Delhi Daredevils and the Deccan Chargers.

If RCB win both their matches, then will surely be through, no matter what the result of the other matches. They have a better NRR than Kings XI and victories will make that even better.

There's a possibility though that they can get to the semis even by winning 1 of their 2 matches.

For that to happen, the Royals will have to lose to KKR, and the Kings to CSK.

That way RCB will be tied on 14 points with the Kings and with a better NRR to let them through.

4. How Kings XI Punjab can get there

They can get there even if they lose but also not get there even if they win.

See how confusing this is.

If they lose to CSK, then they can get there if the Royals lose to KKR and RCB loses both its matches.

If Kings XI beat CSK, then they could still be knocked out if RCB wins both its matches.

They've got it quite tough I reckon.

5. How Deccan Chargers can get there

If they beat RCB then they will surely be through.

But if they lose, then they will be able to get to the semis if Kings XI lose to CSK and the Royals lose to KKR.

Actually, even if one of the above results holds true, then Deccan can get their despite losing to RCB, provided that RCB had lost to Delhi.

See how intense the final few days of the group stages are?

No one will be slacking for sure.

Its going to be intense!

Delhi lot, you have nothing to worry about besides thinking who you would like to play in the semis. Maybe you can manipulate some results and make money while you're at it - Banjo Cassim is around I hear.

Well according to this it can only be Ranadeb Bose.

Gulu Ezekiel (what an interesting name!) gives a description of the Fake IPL Player, which makes it very easy to figure out who he is.

That is if Gulu is correct.

Gulu talks of a bowler who made the tour of England in 2007 but did not play an international.

According to the India squad of 2007, the only uncapped player in there is Ranadeb Bose.

Then Gulu mentions that the same bowler was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad in the last season of the IPL but was not included in the final squad and was told to pack up and leave the hotel.

Ranadeb Bose was one of those 5 players who were asked to do that, and from this report it clearly shows that he was bitter when that happened.

Gulu also mentions that the bowler who could be the Fake IPL Player is playing in this season of the IPL for a side from the North.

Well Ranadeb Bose is playing for the Kings XI Punjab this season!

And how does he get his information from the KKR camp?

Gulu points out that none other than Saurav Ganguly is the source.

If that is true, this will be HUGE.

Either way, we will soon hear officially about the identity of the Fake IPL Player.

Till then, I think we can safely assume that its Ranadeb Bose.

This is what the best graded assignment looked like:

Kolkata Knight Riders team mates Ricky Ponting and Chris Gayle walked out to the middle for the toss. Gayle won the toss and sent Australia in, a decision that soon backfired.

Just before the start of play Shahrukh Khan, owner of the Knight Riders, was seen discussing with his captain, Saurav Ganguly, about how he felt captaining 2 international captains in the IPL.

Shaun Marsh, the Kings XI opener and leading run scorer of the IPL, made his much awaited debut in Australian colors.

He opened the innings with Shane Watson, who was the IPL player of the tournament and one of the backbones of the Rajasthan Royals' successful IPL campaign.

In the absence of Matthew Hayden, who is missing the Windies tour due to an injury sustained during his stint with the Chennai Super Kings, Marsh and Watson provided Australia with a cracking start posting a run a ball 75 run opening partnership.

Watson fell in the 13th over, after scoring 31 of 27 balls, as he was trapped in front to an incoming delivery by Dwayne Bravo, the Mumbai Indians allrounder who flew in at the start of this series in Mukesh Ambani's private jet.

Marsh though continued from where he left of in the IPL scoring a 97 ball 81 on debut that had Kings XI owner Preity Zinta jumping for joy in front of her 60" Plasma screen in her Mumbai residence.

Marsh later confirmed that he had recieved hugs and kisses via SMS from Ms. Zinta and when we spoke to her she mentioned that when she saw Marsh's majestic straight drive in the 1st over and exquisite cover drive in the 3rd, she knew she was in for something special.

Marsh was unlucky to miss out on a debut 100, which would have been a first for an Australian ODI debutant, as he was caught by the Knight Riders' Gayle off Darren Sammy, who hasn't yet attracted an IPL franchise.

Ricky Ponting, who had joined Marsh at the fall of Watson's wicket, continued from where he had left the Knight Riders - with single figure scores and wretched form as he dragged Taylor on to his stumps.

His deputy, Micheal Clarke, who had given the IPL a miss so that he could spend quality family time, also failed with the bat, as Sammy had him caught behind the wicket.

At 140-4 after 30 overs with the top 4 back in the pavilion, Micheal Hussey of the Chennai Super Kings, and Brad Haddin, who has replaced the Deccan Chargers' Adam Gilchrist as Australia's #1 wicket keeper, cashed in with a 5th wicket partnership of 91 at over run a ball.

Haddin holed out to long off in the 45th over after a well made 50 off 52, while Hussey soon followed in similar fashion off Gayle for 44.

SRK was later seen pleased with Gayle's bowling and pondered how different the Knight Riders IPL campaign would have been had Gayle not been injured.

The last few overs of Australia's innings saw Preity Zinta with a lot of mixed emotions.

Initially she was joyed to see Sarwan bowl a googly cum flipper that got the wicket of Cameron White, who had had a miserable time with the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

In the same over Preity's joy for Sarwan changed to a mixed bag as Brett Lee smashed his Kings XI team mate for 6.

The joy and mixed joy soon turned into a frown as Kings XI opener James Hopes failed to accelerate at the end and fell to Mumbai Indians' Dwayne Bravo dragging the ball on to his stumps.

Australia's innings ended on 273-8 setting the West Indies an imposing target.

The West Indies' innings began in disastrous fashion with Marshall, Gayle, and Sarwan back in the pavilion within the first 10 overs.

Kings XI pacer Brett Lee bowled a hostile opening spell that rewarded him with the wickets of Marshall, caught behind by Haddin, and his Kings XI team mate Sarwan, caught at 2nd slip by the Super Kings' Micheal Hussey.

Preity Zinta was seen in a confused state yet again.

The other wicket to fall was that of the Knight Riders' Gayle who was trapped in front by Nathan Bracken, whose injury made him miss the Bangalore Royal Challengers failure in the IPL.

The West Indies innings couldn't get going as they folded for 189 in under 40 overs with Bracken picking up 4-31 in 6 overs.

Mumbai Indians' Bravo top scored with 33, while some resistance was shown by Ramdin (31) and Sammy (33) before they were bowled by IPL player of the tournament Watson and Bracken respectively.

Brett Lee's 2-37 saw him get some congratulatory SMSes from Preity Zinta, while Sarwan was sent a comisseration SMS. Hopes was told to do better in the next game, and Marsh received more hugs via SMS as he got the man of the match award.

The Kings XI from Punjab dominated the 1st ODI between Australia and the West Indies, while the Kolkata Knight Riders, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, and Mumbai Indians all had some representation.

Australia leads the 5-match series 1-0, with the next match on Friday at St. George's.