As the 4th day of the test in Chennai began yesterday, England started to pile up their lead.

The overnight batsmen, Strauss and Collingwood reached their centuries and India's target kept increasing as the day went by.

Somewhere later in the day England's innings lost momentum and the lead instead of piling up started crawling slowly.

England's innings went no where after Strauss departed and that was the first time I sensed that England might be losing the plot.

Instead of attacking for fast runs after what Strauss and Collingwood had done, England went back on to the defensive.

Why?

I don't really know.

That is where they lost it I believe.

I hopped on to some cricket blogs at that point and was surprised to see that the Indian fans didn't really think that India had a chance.

Leela suggested that coach Kirsten was on dope for suggesting that "India can do anything".

Over there I commented that this was India of the new and any history of not being able to chase runs held little signficance.

Initially I suggested India being able to fight for a draw.

When the target was set I reckoned that India could win it.

Over at Scorpicity's, I read about England having the full grip of the test, where again I suggested that a draw was possible.

Only Ottayan seemed to agree with me that a win was possible.

As Sehwag smashed his way to a rollicking start last night I wrote an energy filled post over at the BCC!

I talked of India of the new.

India who CAN do anything.

If you walk over to the comments there were suggestions that India of the new was such due to Sehwag and Gambhir.

Again I differed and suggested that Sachin might be the one to take India over the line.

And he sure was!

This is not about a Sehwag or a Gambhir.

Nor is it about a Dhoni.

It is about the New World Order.

The order being set by India.

Team India!

Chasing 387 in the 4th innings on a 5th day pitch of a ground in India is not only difficult but mission impossible.

A ground that has never seen more than 155 runs scored in the 4th innings to win a test and a country that has never hosted a test where more than 276 runs have been scored in the 4th innings to win a test goes to show where this Indian win stands.

Over and above them all.

Sure Sehwag provided them the start but every single member of the Indian team contributed to this win and it was not about any one man.

Sachin, Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Mishra, Zaheer, Ishant, Gambhir, Dhoni, Laxman - each one of them played their part.

Sure Dravid hardly contributed, but India managing a comeback win like this without the Wall doing anything of note goes to show the will and power of this Indian team.

If you're still not convinced, try and digest this - it took Sachin Tendulkar 155 tests and 254 innings to dish out a first ever 4th innings match winning 100!

Thats not an achievement for Sachin, that is an achievement for India.

This is India dammit, they can do anything!

Anything!

For they are at the forefront of the New World Order.

The day before the match, Geoff Lawson stated that he wants Pakistan to beat India by 150 runs.

What was the point of that statement?

Did Lawson not know that Pakistan may not win the toss and field first instead?

Who does Lawson think he is, Shoaib Akhtar? Only he has the ability to say things he would do and then end up not doing them.

Was Lawson underestimating India or was he only being over confident of Pakistan's chances?

Lawson was right about the victory margin though - a 140 run victory. Albeit, for the other team. India!

Lawson's statement was nothing but pointless.

There were a lot of other pointless things.

Going into the match, Pakistan boasted of a 12 match winning streak. Pointless.

Lawson actually talked about equalling Australia's 21 match winning streak. Pointless.

Pakistan's fielding and catching was worse than a domestic side playing in Cambodia. Pointless.

Sohail Khan sat on the bench as Rao Iftikhar bowled to Sehwag & Co. Pointless.

39 extras. Pointless.

Younis Khan bowled the 50th over and gave away only 2 runs. Pointless.

Kamran Akmal hit a full toss straight to mid on. Pointless.

Younis Khan faced 1 ball more than he did against Bangladesh. Pointless.

Mohammad Yousuf was caught plumb in front and then looked at the umpire as if he had no idea how that was out. Pointless.

Shoaib Malik scored 53. Pointless.

A day before the match I did a the "Real Role Play" write up where I talked about what each Pakistan player would need to do to challenge India. Go back and read that again and you'll see that none of them did anything remotely close to that.

Somebody said to me that it wasn't that Pakistan played badly, but India played well.

I disagree.

There is no doubt that India is the stronger team and Pakistan was never going to challenge them after giving away 330 runs.

Sure Sehwag and Gambhir batted really well and Yuvraj was good in the middle, while Raina finished the innings with some big hits, but it was really the opening partnership that laid the platform for such a big total.

The opening partnership was 152 runs more than it should have been and it lasted 21 overs more than it should have.

The culprit was Younis Khan who dropped Gambhir in the very 1st over of the match.

Younis dropped Gambhir again in the 9th over when the score was 64.

Then Akmal joined in the fun and dropped Sehwag in the 13th over when the score was 91. Sehwag scored 45 more runs.

The way India's middle to lower order batted, Pakistan could have restricted them to a lower total, only if they had held onto their catches.

I say drop the dropper please as Younis Khan's position in the ODI team is truly pointless.

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.

Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils.

The only 2 teams with comic book inspired names.

The only 2 teams with 8 points from 8 matches.

The only 2 teams that haven't played each other yet.

Only 0.045 separates them (Net Run Rate).

2 of the 3 teams fighting for the 4th Semi-Final berth.

All that will change today.

After 25 days and 34 matches of the Indian Premier League, the Knight Riders and the Daredevils come face to face TODAY!

How apt is it that they meet when there is little separating the two and the winner will go ahead in the race for the semi finals.

Perfect setting for a potentially cracking match.

Whats more, its at the Eden Gardens where you can expect over a 100,000 capacity crowd.

Its Saurav Ganguly's home crowd and he's up against a man who has always supported him - Virender Sehwag. Both have played for India, both have opened together, today they will be captaining 2 opposing teams.

If the Daredevil's ambassador Akshay Kumar turns up, it will be 2 of Bollywood's biggest superstars up against each other: Shahrukh Khan vs Akshay Kumar.

Ishant Sharma is from Delhi. He plays under Sehwag for Delhi. Today he turns out for Kolkata and will bowl at his Delhi team mate and openers - Sehwag and Gambhir. Some match up this is.

David Hussey has been in prime form and with every game he is showing the world why this man sang so many praises about him. Watch out for another cracking innings.

Shoaib Akhtar is expected to make his IPL debut today and if that happens and the Daredevils play Mohammad Asif, its going to be Pakistan's new ball attack on opposing ends. The organizers will do well by keeping bats away from Shoaib's sight.

If Ganguly continues his form of the past few days, the Daredevils will find it difficult to stop the Riders. But the Riders have only beaten RCB and DC, twice each. Those 2 are the bottom 2 teams on the table.

Delhi have lost their last 2. But they are one of the strongest sides in the IPL.

Whose going to take the lead in the points table?

If Shoaib Akhtar plays, I say go KKR!!!

A potential cracker tonight. 230pm GMT!

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.

The Chennai Super Kings don't look all that Super anymore without Hayden and Hussey.

They posted their lowest score last night and their batting, which had been their strength so far, doesn't look strong anymore.

Fleming, the man who replaced Hayden, got bowled twice in the space of 4 deliveries. Albie Morkel looked good for the little time he was there but he's no replacement for Hussey senior. And why did Suresh Raina come so low down the order? He's looked brilliant in his last few innings and to hold him back for the last 3-4 overs is gross injustice.

Dhoni has to do some thinking now. And the champion that he is, he probably will.

Delhi are looking stronger by the day. They have won 2 matches by 9 wickets and last night they did by 8 wickets. Their batting has looked really strong thus far with the top 3 scoring heavily. Plus it just got stronger with the arrival of AB De Villiers. And Shoaib Malik is yet to fire. It looks ominous for them.

Whats more, their bowling is led by McGrath and Asif!

Dhoni saw his own 20-20 openers in Sehwag and Gambhir take the game away from him. Mixed feelings?

Shikhar Dhawan knew better than to leave the winning runs for the last over, which would have been bowled by Joginder Sharma, the man with the golden arm. Dhawan has looked very impressive in all his innings. His straight drive for 4 of Murali was a top shot and he looked every inch the international batsman.

Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan - India's future? Add in Mohammad Kaif and Yusuf Pathan and the future looks very bright.

For the first time in the Indian Premier League the Super Kings are not at the top of the table. The Daredevils are, only on the basis of run rate though as they have the same 8 points as the Super Kings and the Rajhastan Royals. Kings XI Punjab are 4th but could by displaced if the Knight Riders manage an upset today.

Food for thought - the bottom 4 teams in the points table are captained by India's big 4 - Sachin, Dravud, Saurav, and Laxman.

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.

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.

What is the relevance of 319?

Its quite high if you are the only triple century scorer of your country and hold the record for the highest test score by a test batsman from your country.

The relevance is even higher if its your second triple century that places you in the same league as Sir Donald Bradman and Brian Lara.

And finally, it puts you at an entirely different pedestal if with that score you hold an Indian batting record and you don't have the surname Gavaskar, Tendulkar, or Dravid.

Thus 319 is of great relevance to Indian cricket as well as Virender Sehwag who smashed those runs in a mere 304 balls. Fastest ever triple century, 10th consecutive century above 150, and all mentioned above is what was special about Sehwag's innings. Definitely a treat to watch.

Uncle J has even mentioned all that he could have left to watch that innings LIVE. It was THAT good.

But how good is Sehwag really?

Apart from his first 4 test centuries, all the rest (10 of them) are 150+ scores, a fact that has been well documented over the last few days. These 10 centuries have come in a span of a bit over 4 years between December 2003 (195 vs Australia) and March 2008 (319 vs South Africa).

Less than 3 test centuries per year - does that place him among the greats?

Sehwag scored 151 against Australia in his previous test. But there was a gap of 7 tests and 13 innings between the 151 and the century before that - 180 against the Windies at St. Lucia. He had only 2 fifty plus scores in those 13 innings with a best of 65.

Between the 180 against the Windies and his previous century - 254 against Pakistan - there were 6 tests and 11 innings during which he scored only 1 fifty, an unbeaten 76. Plus, between the 254 and his previous century, also a double (201) against Pakistan, he played 9 innings in 6 tests scoring only 1 fifty.

Sehwag definitely scores big when he gets to a 100 but his centuries are few and far in between. They are quite dispersed and the scores are inconsistent in between the 100s. Compared to his 14 centuries, he has only 13 fifties, which highlights the inconsistency of scores between the 100s, but at the same time shows his ability to score big, really BIG when he does.

Despite being inconsistent can he be considered as a great?

Moving on, I think that there is one fact that goes entirely against Sehwag. Sachin has been criticized in the past for not playing enough match winning innings for India. I'm afraid that the same can be said about Sehwag.

India have won only 1 out of the 10 tests in which Sehwag scored over 150. While India drew 6 of those 10 tests, they lost 2 of them - to Pakistan in Bangalore when he scored 201 and to Australia in Melboune when he scored 195. The current one will in all probability end in a draw.

Have Sehwag's innings been of importance to the team? Not exactly.

They haven't secured wins for India apart from in Multan when he scored 309 against Pakistan. Nor have they been 2nd innings match-saving type knocks - all of them have come in the first innings.

Definitely an entertaining batsman with the ability to keep on scoring once he gets set, but is he one of the greats as Sanjay Manjrekar has described?

Special he is, no doubt about that. But great? Not really. What's your call?

NOTE 2: List of batsmen with highest number of 4s in career sorted by highest percentage of runs through 4s

What surprises me is that 2 wicketkeepers top each of the lists. Adam Gilchrist can be expected to be at the top, but Alec Stewart? Does anyone even remember him?

I know this not an accurate reflection so I randomly picked some players whom I thought would have a high percentage of runs in boundaries. Here's what I found:

Considering these, Salman Butts 58.5% in test matches is not as remarkable as his 52.9% in ODIs. Virender Sehwag was the only other batsman I found who scores more than half his runs in boundaries (excluding 6s) in ODIs. Even Salman's 58.5% is on the very high side when looking at the other percentages above.

More runs through boundaries in ODIs could also be termed as a weakness of not taking the quick singles or converting 1s into 2s and 2s into 3s, which probably explains why the Australians (apart from Gilchrist) have low perentages of runs in 4s - Hayden (41%), Ponting (35%), Symonds (35%), M. Clarke (34%), MEK Hussey (32%).

This fact about Salman Butt was just an observation that led me to do this post - maybe I've missed out some big 4 hitters in these lists, but if Salman can go on to become even half as good as the names above, Pakistan wouldn't have to worry about who to open their innings with.

Who else comes to your mind when you think of batsmen who seem to hit a 4 of every ball?

Come tomorrow and the 8 IPL franchisees will be getting together to bid for the cricketers they want in their teams.

Sounds fun doesn't it? - after all the only thing required is a suitcase full of dollars and knowledge about the players available. That can't be difficult can it? All 8 franchisees have truck loads of dollars and they know their cricketers.

But its not as simple as it sounds. There are certain restrictions in place which have given this IPL player auction the image of a mathematical problem rather than a selectorial headache.

You have to spend a minimum of $3.3 million but can't go above $5 million.

You have to choose 8 international players

You have to choose 4 under 22 players

You have to choose 4 players from the local catchment areas

You can choose as many Indian players as you like

You cannot have more than 2 Australian players in the same team

You cannot choose Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid, or Yuvraj unless you are Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, or Mohali respectively. The same is being requested for Laxman (Hyderabad) and Sehwag (Delhi).

The above mentioned Icon players will earn 15% more than your highest paid cricketer

1. It pits the reigning ODI world champions against the world cup runners up and the 20-20 world champions. The best 3 ODI teams in the world? I see the Proteas objecting.


2. In Sachin, Hayden, and Jayasuriya, each team possesses one of the best openers the ODI game has seen. The best ODI openers ever? I hear Greame Smith protesting.


3. The best wicketkeeper batsmen in the world are on display - Gilchrist, Sangakkara, and Dhoni. Now Smith is joined by Boucher in the protest.


4. Each team has atleast one left arm quick worth watching - while Vaas is in the twilight of his career, Pathan is back to his best and Johnson rapdily building a reputation for himself. South Africa don't have a left arm pacer do they?


5. Two of the fastest bowlers in the world, Lee and Malinga, will be consistently clocking 145ks throughout the series. Maybe Sreesanth will do the same each time he sees Symonds at the batting crease. Proteas can't protest about this, Donald's retired.
   

6. All the batsmen likely to score centuries during the series - Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Hayden, Gilchrist, Ponting, Jayasuriya, Jayawardene, Sangakkara - you can bet that each one will do it at a strike rate of 1oo+. I hear Smith saying that even he has himself, Gibbs, and DeVilliers.


7. With Yuvraj, Gilchrist, and Jayasuriya playing you can expect a record number of sixes in one competition. Gibbs is thinking why his 6 sixes in an over against the dutch is never recognised as a big feat while Yuvraj gets ferraris for his in a 20-20 game.


8. Trevor Bayliss and Tim Nielsen, a New South Welshman and a South Australian are coaching 2 of the teams vying for supremacy, while the 3rd team's South African coach is waiting for his contract period to get underway.


9. All 3 teams are carrying forward rivalries, whose seeds were planted by future hall of famers Steve Waugh, Arjuna Ranatunga, and Saurav Ganguly. No Smith you are not a future hall of famer and Pollock is no where close.


10. If Warne and Kumble were still playing ODI cricket it would have been a "who is the best spinner" battle with Murali in the mix, and the Proteas would have nothing to complain about.


11. And the final reason for why I think the CB series will be a cracker is because of the possibility of an All Asian Final in Australia with the Aussies fuming over their losses and the South Africans wondering why they can't ever do it.

Enjoy the series people. I hope the rest of the games don't get spoilt by the rain like the first one. I'm looking forward to some nerve wrecking ODI games after a long time. I hope I'm not disappointed.

Match is underway. Both teams have dropped a spinner each - Kathik and Rehman. But whats interesting is that India have strengthened their batting by bringing in Sehwag, while Pakistan have strengthened their pace battery with Sohail Tanvir coming into the side.

And as I write Saurav Ganguly has been cleaned up by Shoaib Akhtar with the 3rd delivery of the match afer being hit for a boundary.

What do u people think? My bet - 1-1 at the end of today.

Lets discuss the game on this blog.

The 2nd ODI between Pakistan and India starts in less than 3 hours. Here are some interesting pics from their training session yesterday. What do you think is going on in the minds of these players?