Monday, May 19, 2008

IPL Daily Dose – 18/05/2008 - A new super-hero and a cool team in the IPL

MI Vs DC

Sachin Tendulkar is the biggest star in Indian cricket. Every venue in this country greets him with a raucous cheer and wildly applauds every single run he scores. Usually, silence descends when his wicket falls. Today the Hyderabad crowd cheered loudly when Tendulkar was dismissed. Indian crowds have truly passed the local loyalty test. No more blind support for Indian players. This is a great sign for the future of the franchisees and the league in general.

Robin Uthappa is a very straight player. He always looks to play in the ‘V’ – behind the wicket that is. His propensity for the sweep and the late cut will cut his international career real short.

Venugopal Rao reminds me of a regular guy who became a super-hero one fine day. He’s either met ‘Jadoo’ like Krrish or been bitten by spider like Spiderman or probably hit in the head by a cricket ball to become a ‘BatsMan’. A stroke less misfit to start the tournament, he is now one of the most explosive and most consistent players in the tournament.

Quick question – Which team would you rather want to end up last in the IPL - the Chargers or the Royal Challengers?

Without a doubt it is the Royal Challengers. The Chargers keep fighting till late in the game. RCB only makes an effort to win the toss. And if that is not enough, the Royal Challengers are owned by Dr Vijay ‘cry-baby’ Mallya

CSK Vs KKR

A crucial game for both sides more so for the home side, tantalizingly poised and finally decided in the most anti-climactic manner. KKR have every reason to feel hard done by.

As per the Duckworth- Lewis rule for T-20 games, only a minimum of 5 overs are required for a result. So there is scope for greater absurdity in this tournament.

Ntini grabbed the third hat-trick of the tournament. Suddenly taking a hat-trick doesn’t seem such a difficult thing to do.

Chennai have won 7 out of 11 games and Delhi and Kolkata have won 5 out of 11. Still the southern side has an inferior net run-rate as compared to those two sides. The Super Kings have won every close game they have played and their losses have come in games where they have hardly been competitive. Is this the sign of a lucky side or a side which manages to keep its cool better in the tight games?


Dude of the DayDwayne Bravo. He injected new life into the Mumbai’s innings just when things seemed bleak at 96/4 in 13 overs. He then returned to stifle the likes of Gilly and Rohit Sharma contributing to their early fall. And he had three key wickets of his own. What a send-off. Andre Nel has big boots to fill.

Duds of the DayMesser’s Duckworth and Lewis. They wouldn’t have known that their system would make a mockery of Twenty-20 games. Heck, the format didn’t exist when the system was born. But someone needs to bear the brunt for today’s disappointing end to the game.

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8 comments:

Unknown said...

Ntini and hat-trick? Who told you that? Must check your facts before you begin writing as if you were really a know-all of cricket.
Then, how did you get the impression that the crowd celebrated Sachin's dismissal? Were we -you and I- watching the same telecast? Yes, there were a few with 'local' loyalties who clapped as he got out, but as the camera panned, one could see disappointment writ large on almost every face. And, did you, dear friend, hear all those loud cheers when he was batting? Why, do you think, a 'local' crowd would cheer Sachin? He would always get cheers because he transcends all such narrow considerations. Even in Pakistan, Sachin always was a hero of mythological proportions.
Incidentally, even Jayasuriya got very, very loud cheers right throughout his knock. I considered myself divinely blessed to have seen Sachin and Jayasuriya opening together and, for a short while, both of them clicking! No one can have enough of them even singly, and together, they are the ultimate batting duo.

Unknown said...

Hey Subodh

Even cricinfo thinks Ntini got a hat-trick.
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ipl/content/current/story/351475.html

And I think they surely are a know-it-all

As far as Sachin is concerned. I dont think I said that fans didnt cheer for him. I said that fans also cheered when he got out.

Unknown said...

Wrong again, Avnish. It went like this: Over 16.1 : Das out; 16.2 : D Hussey out; 16.3 Shukla plays, NOT OUT.
Anyway, both of us are cricket-maniacs: thats what really matters. Cricket Zindabad.

Unknown said...

Fellow cricket maniac

Please read. Also taken from cricinfo commentary

4.6 Ntini to Ganguly, OUT, timber! Ntini switches to over the wicket for Ganguly and fires it on a good length on middle stump line, Ganguly exposes all his stumps to cream it over the infield but plays far too early, the middle stump is flattened and the stump microphone is a mess
SC Ganguly b Ntini 2 (8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 25.00

Then like u said wickets off the first two balls of the 17th over.

That is a hat-trick my friend. Its called a discontinuous hat-trick or something

Unknown said...

Dead right!
I am eating the humble pie with great relish!

Unknown said...

Look forward to hearing more from you

Vanjul said...

avnish... another gr8 article frm your kitty... yes indian fans hv truly accepted the city bound loyalty... n if anyone disagrees let him see KKR Matches in kolkata, they celebrate each 4 n 6 as loud as whn hit from indian team bat n a dead silence prevails whn any player of KKR gets out... their loyalty has awaken the other city people n they r now getting their vocal cords out... n the best example was when shoaib got sehwag out, even a deaf could hv heard the noise made by the eden garden crowd... simply IPL is not supporting Indain players but your city!!! n this a gr8 sign for future....

Aneesh K Deepak Naidu said...

Avnish can't be wrong....

Check out this mail sent to god for more info.

http://mailstogod.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html