IPL Daily Dose - 22/05/2008 - No cricket and rainy relief for Chennai

For once the folks in Chennai weren’t envying the rains in Delhi. Rather they were overjoyed. They have been lifted out of the grave they started digging for themselves in the game against Bangalore. We can no longer have a scenario where Delhi and Mumbai both have 16 points, making it necessary for Chennai to win both their remaining games. Chennai just have to win one game now and MS Dhoni and his boys will not have a sword hanging over their heads when they take on the Royals.

Mumbai’s Situation hasn’t changed though. Their run-rate is better than Delhi and they still need to either beat the Daredevils or win their other two games. And if it rains again in the DD-MI game, then Mumbai just need to win one of their two other games. The Indians are totally in control of their destiny.

The Rajasthan Royals are already through but their games against CSK, MI and KXP will determine the semi-final pairings. There will be no easy teams in the semis but Rajasthan know that Mumbai will have the added advantage of a raucous home crowd. It should be in their best interests to avoid them or eliminate them.

Delhi must be gutted. And to make matters worse for them the next game could be washed out as well. One point helps no one. Couldn’t we just have a bowl-out? Iam sure Dada and Viru would have preferred to take a chance and try and get 2 points rather than helplessly get knocked out of the IPL. Even a simple toss, with winner takes all would have been better. Can’t let the rain play such an important role. Surely some food for thought for Mr Lalit Modi.


Krishnamachari Srikanth was asked on Sun TV to unravel the mysteries of the Duckworth Lewis system for the benefit of the viewers

His reply – “I don’t think anyone understands the D/L system. It’s just understood by the computer which does the calculations. Even Messer’s Duckworth and Lewis who devised it don’t understand it.”

I don’t know who will be most aggrieved by this answer. Duckworth and Lewis, or the University where they devised this system as a course project, their project guide or the Sun TV fans who have to bear Srikanth. Here’s an explanation of the D/L system for Srikanth and anyone else who wants to know. And if this is not enough, I will arrange for the statistical modelling paper also.

Dudes of the Day – All the fans who turned up for the game in spite of the forecast. You truly love your cricket and your team.

Dud of the Day – Whoever is responsible for not foreseeing the possibility of rain and not planning for such an eventuality.

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IPL Daily Dose - 20/05/2008 - A special prize for Shah Rukh and why the Rajasthan Royals have fans all over India

The Knight Riders have been trying to persuade the NZL cricket board to make Brendan McCullum available for the semi-finals and have been willing to pay them USD 1 million for this special arrangement. I don’t know how it fits in the cap structure but this was surely a way of showing to the world that they were quite confident of making the semis. A very typical SRK stunt. Should have been quite a boost for the side ahead of a must win game.

The King Khan’s absence from such a big game, however, showed that this show of confidence was merely a filmy stunt. He had either already written off his team’s chances or had more pressing matters to attend (like Blogging against Aamir Khan). Wonder why all the fuss about getting an all access pass when he wasn’t going to be using it? He has to have it just because Preity Zinta and Vijay Mallya have it. I would love to hear from SRK, once KKR is finally knocked out of the tournament. Arun ‘Aryabhatta’ Lal thinks the Knight Riders still have a mathematical chance to make the semis.

The Bengalis had been highly aggrieved at the booing Dada received in Jaipur. It was a good chance to give chief culprit – Shane Warne some real stick. I was expecting a jam-packed Eden. Instead I saw a stadium which had enough empty space to seat the entire film community of Mumbai. Not just the ones who turned up to support SRK in Mumbai. The Knight Riders still have a long way to go before they can garner the kind of support the likes of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal enjoy.

Now here’s a new theory which I have.

The Royals come from Rajasthan, home of the Marwari community. This business community has a fair presence in all the major cities of this country. Wouldn’t this ensure that the Rajasthan side will always a decent number of supporters wherever they play? It’s similar to Indians being found all over the world; thereby ensuring that the Indian cricket team is never short of support in any venue in the world.

Quick Question 1

Ans: Who is the spinner’s biggest nemesis in the Kolkata batting line-up?

It should have been Dada till two games back. But not any more. Introducing Debabrata ‘his captain doesn’t know his name properly’ Das. Just check with Murali and Warne.

Quick Question 2

Who does Ajit Agarkar remind me of; every time he gets tonked for a four or a six, which is quite often?

Ans: Ranadeb Bose. Poor guy. Didn’t even get a chance to field in the IPL. Was he a worse option than Agarkar?

I have one last wish before KKR wind up their league engagements.

To see Laxmi Ratan Shukla bat higher up the order. I am tired of seeing him doing a salvage job all the time.

Dude of the Day – Yousuf Pathan. Gets the wicket of Kolkata’s best batsman and plays a blinder just when Kolkata were sniffing a chance. Also for speaking in fluent Hindi rather than trying to talk in broken English. No pretensions here.

Dud of the Day – Shah Rukh Khan. You can now frame the all access pass and hang it in your office. That’s your only prize from the IPL.

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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 Day – Dwayne 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 Day – Messer’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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IPL Daily Dose - 16/05/2008 - The 'gaddars' of Mumbai and why India leads the world in gender equality

Sachin Tendulkar scored a duck in this game. But his post-match smile was a lot wider than the ones he’s sported after most of his tons. He couldn’t have helped it. His team had just achieved the most one-sided win in the IPL.

The Mumbai Indians now have the best net run-rate and the greatest momentum in the IPL. Chennai’s position is no longer safe and Kolkata have just gone from being biggest winners to the biggest losers in the tournament. No points for guessing what it has done for their net run-rate. The race for the semi-final spots gets more intense with every passing day.

With only 20 odd overs of cricket to talk about, we’ll utilize the space to handout two special IPL awards.

The Award for the ‘Best object/prop/accessory to show support for your team’ goes to the blue flags of the Mumbai Indians. While it’s not in the league of the giant flags and the scarves in European Football, it’s easily the best in the IPL. Actually the only thing around. Wonder why the others including SRK didn’t think of anything?

The Award for the ‘Best proof that India is far ahead of the world in gender equality’ goes to the male cheerleaders in the IPL. Many countries now have female heads of State. But no nation has thought of semi-clad male cheer leaders. Who said there was no future for male strip-tease artists?

Most disappointing moments of the night – hearing ‘Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re’ blaring in the stadium every time the Knight Riders had a good moment in the game. And not hearing ‘Duniya Hila Denge’ even once. Was this match really in Mumbai?

Dudes of the Day – Shaun and Sanath. One was unplayable as a bowler and the other was un-bowlable to as a batsman. If you just looked at their performances, you’d be left wondering whether the pitch was batsmen friendly or bowler friendly.

Duds of the Day – All the film stars who turned up in KKR jerseys to support the Kolkata side. And that too at home in Mumbai. Most of them were born and brought up in Mumbai and all of them are what they are because of the film city that is Mumbai. These ‘gaddars’ took ‘chamchagiri’ (for SRK) to a whole new level.

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IPL Daily Dose – 13/05/2008 - Dada the great fielder and why the Daredevils are similar to Roger Federer

On this day Sourav Ganguly made history. He picked the ball one handed and hit the stumps directly. But jokes aside, the Knight Riders have now defended scores of 133 and 129. In a tournament where the batsmen have done all the talking, this is an outstanding achievement.

Questions were asked of Kolkata’s ability to beat the big boys. Seems we overlooked the fact that 3 of their 4 defeats happened away from the Eden Gardens. The stadium looked every bit the cauldron that forces visiting sides to self -destruct. Kolkata have 3 more games in the cauldron and look good for 3 wins.

Delhi’s quest for their fifth win in the tournament is beginning to look like Roger Federer’s attempt to win the French Open. No matter what they try, they still end up losing. The changes - like bringing in Maharoof and Mishra have worked but victory still remains elusive.

The only thing that Delhi can do now is to juggle their batting a little. They desperately need some experience in the middle. Right now they open with their two most seasoned campaigners. One of them needs to come in at 4 and hold things together. AB de Villiers or Shikhar Dhawan can move up to open. Moving to his customary opening slot might also bring out the best of de Villiers, who has shown little of the form that made him the player of the tournament in South Africa’s domestic twenty-20 competition.


Dude of the Day – Shoaib Akhtar. Quite easily the most destructive spell in the IPL so far. Even better then the six-wicket haul of Sohail Tanvir.

Dud of the Day – The top six batsmen of the Daredevils. Made a complete hash of a paltry target. The chase was made respectable by the lower order

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IPL : The Delhi Daredevils have a schedule advantage against Kolkata and Mumbai in the home stretch

Rajasthan, Mohali and Chennai are favourites to make the semis of the IPL. The fourth spot is poised to become a shoot-out between Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Mathematically, Hyderabad and Bangalore are still alive but going by their latest displays, the two southern sides have already thrown in the towel.

Amongst the three contenders for the last semi-final spot, Delhi’s current form is the worst having lost 3 games in a row. Kolkata and Mumbai are riding a winning streak of 2 and 3 games respectively. But as we have seen umpteen times in the tournament, teams have blown hot and cold. Therefore, not much can be read into the form the teams are carrying into the home stretch of the tournament.

What might be a little more relevant could be coming schedule of games. So let’s break down the coming set of games for each team.

Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata side has been unstoppable against the minnows from Bangalore and Hyderabad, winning both home and away games against them. Unluckily for them, they don’t have any more game scheduled against either of those teams. Except for Delhi who they haven’t played so far, all of Kolkata’s games are against sides they have lost to so far in the tournament. What changes the equation somewhat in their favour is the fact that 3 out of these 4 games are at the Eden Gardens.

Their games against Delhi and Mumbai would be extremely crucial. They are unfavourably placed for these encounters as 2 out of 3 games are away.

Mumbai Indians

The Indians have completed an exact set of games, having played all the 7 teams exactly once. They have won 2 out 4 at home and 1 out 3 away. They are marginally better at home and hence a schedule of 3 out 7 games at home is slightly unfavourable. Luckily for them, 2 of the away games are against Bangalore and Hyderabad. Although the Chargers and the Royal Challengers won away against Mumbai, they will be low on motivation for the home fixtures and that should help Mumbai.

As for the games against their closest rivals, Mumbai play Delhi away and Kolkata at home - an even situation

Delhi Daredevils

The Daredevils started with a bang but have slumped off late. As they bid to put their semi-final challenge back on track, they couldn’t have asked for a more favourable schedule. They have 6 games to play but none against the mighty Royals or the Super Kings and have two against the whipping boys from the South. For a side with 2 wins in the 3 home games so far, having 4 out of the next 6 at home is quite an advantage.

Delhi also has a home ground advantage against Kolkata and Mumbai. They play Kolkata home and away and Mumbai at home.

Going into the final stretch of games, Delhi quite easily has the most favourable schedule even though their current form is not the best. Kolkata on the other hand has the most difficult road ahead. Now it’s up to Sehwag and his boys to make the schedule count for them

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IPL : Jingoism takes a back seat and objectivity is in

Sydney, Dec 2007

Harbhajan and Symonds got embroiled in a racism controversy. India was hard done by bad umpiring calls. There was clear lack of sportsmanship from the Australians.

Entire India gets behind Bhajji and condemns the Australian cricket team. Even the Australian media and fans express disapproval of their national team.

Mohali, April 2008

Sreesanth is at his obnoxious best and gets ‘one tight slap’ from national team-mate Harbhajan. The two try to diffuse the matter but Bhajji ends up getting banned for 11 games and Sreesanth is let off with a warning

Most cricket lovers welcome the move and wonder why Sreesanth was let scot-free.
His antics against Mohd Kaif earlier in the tournament were also in bad taste. A ban on the Malayalee, similar to the one imposed on Marco Materazzi for provoking Zinedine Zidane would have tempered his mad streak to some extent.

Quick question 1 – what would have been the reaction had Bhajji slapped Symonds and gotten a ban and fine in return?

Iam sure Indian fans and the cricket board would have pooled enough money to cover the spinner’s financial losses. And he would have become a cricketing martyr at par with the likes of Bhagat Singh.

Quick question 2 – what would have happened if Sreesanth had infuriated big André Nel to the point that the burly South – African hit him with a beamer and got banned for a year?

Sreesanth would be hailed as the second coming of Javed Maindad – a master of the mind games and looked upon as future captain and high-performance trainer.

Jaipur, May 2008

Shane Warne calls out Sourav Ganguly for violating the spirit of the game. He accuses Dada of delaying tactics and for refusing to accept the fielder’s word on a clean catch. The fielder is South- African captain, Graeme Smith. Ganguly retorts with a ‘Look who’s talking’, questioning Warne’s right to make a statement like this in light of the spinners colourful and controversial past.

A case of an Australian and a South- African pitted against one of India’s biggest cricket stars.

Expected reaction from an Average Indian cricket fan pre- IPL – blind faith in Sourav and criticism of both Warne and Smith.

Reaction from Bengali fans and media – How can an Australian (Warne) accuse Sourav of lack of sportsmanship, when they (the Australian test side) themselves were found short of it in Sydney?

Iam a great admirer of the Bengali intellect but this excuse is as pathetic as they come. Aren’t they aware of the fact that Shane Warne is long retired and wasn’t a part of the Australian side at Adelaide. You cannot classify every Australian in the world as unsportsmanlike for something done by a group of eleven. Going by that logic, Saurav and every other Indian cricketer should be as ill-tempered as Harbhajan and Sreesanth. Ironically, the leader of the ugly Australians – Ricky Ponting was a member of the Kolkata side. Wonder why no one brought that up?

And what about Graeme Smith’s word? Have they clubbed all the residents of the Southern hemisphere together now?

As for Dada being late for the start of both innings, this is not even a debate. We all know this is second nature to him.

Reaction from the Jaipur crowd – Rather than being jingoistic and supporting the Indian against the foreigner, the Jaipur crowd showed loyalty for their local team by loudly booing Sourav Ganguly. There is pride in identifying with a franchise, which doesn’t have a single star from Rajasthan. Their biggest hero is Shane Warne – a man who has inspired the so-called whipping boys to four straight wins.

Thanks to the IPL, the fans are no longer obsessed with members of the Indian cricket team. We have started noticing their flaws more than ever before. Jingoism is out and performance is all that matters. The league levels the playing field and everyone has to perform to be loved. The absence of a competitive domestic structure has been made up to some extent by the IPL and the ICL. Guys like Shikhar Dhawan, Yousuf Pathan and Manpreet Gony are slowly becoming household names.

Some folks, however, are incorrigible. The recent performance of their team is a just reward for their loyalties.

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