Tuesday, May 13, 2008

IPL Daily Dose - 12/05/2008 - The BCCI has a genius of their own and a new excuse for Mallya

Kings XI Punjab have walloped the Royal Challengers from Bangalore. Don’t know what Dr Mallya is going to say now? "That I was sloshed after having 10 bottles of Royal Challenge, when I decided to bid for the franchise."

Rahul Dravid was gracious in defeat. He accepted his team’s shortcomings and was full of praise for Shaun Marsh and gang. That’s the Dravid we have all come to love and admire. Thank God he’s back.

There’s not much a bowling captain can do when the game is over with almost five overs to go. But I cannot understand why both Praveen Kumar and R Vinay Kumar were not given their quota of 4 overs. Their figures of (2.4/0/15/0) and (2/0/11/1) respectively were outstanding in the context of the game and the format. But no more criticism of Dravid. He’s been through enough already.

Now for some praise of Tom Moody. He continues to excel wherever he goes. And he’s got an eye for talent as well. The likes of Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach might be relative unknowns in the cricketing world but Moody saw enough of them during his time at Western Australia to select them for Mohali. And he must’ve had a say in getting Sangakkara and Mahela as well. It’s a blessing to have a well-travelled coach for an international league. Guys like Moody also end up doing the de-facto job of chief scout. His experience in England will come in handy when the English players join in.

And come to think of it that when Moody came to interview for the India job, some Einstein in the BCCI questioned his credentials on the basis of his mediocre record as a player. Will the great man be kind enough to show his own resume?


Dude of the Day – Unquestionably it has to be Shaun Marsh. Not many guys would have smashed Steyn the way he did; in any form of the game.

Dud of the DayDale Steyn. The biggest bowling star in the RCB ended up with the poorest figures in the match by some distance.

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1 comment:

Rajesh said...

Avnish,

This just shows the importance of getting proper people in - which is key for success anywhere. Ravi Nedungadi and co run UB brilliantly enough that Mallya to jet set around the world.

In the case of his ill advised IPL venture - he seems to have surrounded himself with idiots of the highest order. He should have brought in someone like a Moody and asked him to advise on the team. (As you said Moodys pick look bang on target other than Mahela - and his role might be more like glue in case the batting collapses). Marsh seems brilliant and in control of his game.

BRC seems like a shoddy outfit - worst theme song and video (when has Sanjay Gupta made anything of significance). At least the KKR have a catchy song and video. :D