IPL Daily Dose – The Final – The day Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar did battle on a cricket field

Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar are considered to be the two greatest generals of all time. A showdown between the two of them would probably have been one of the greatest battles in history. Two great leaders well versed in tactical warfare leading well trained and highly motivated armies in the definitive face-off. While historians can only dream and envisage, cricket fans got to see the cricketing equivalent of the ultimate battle between two outstanding generals in the final of the IPL.

Like Caesar and Alexander, Warne and Dhoni were inspirational getting the best out of their troops. They led from the front, were masterly in their tactics and showed remarkable composure in the heat of battle. The performance of their men was also heroic with each man rising to the occasion and doing his bit for the cause. The result was a roller –coaster which kept swinging back and forth till the very end.

In the end every man was a hero and there were no losers. This game was a celebration of team performance and the ‘Man’ of the Match award seemed unnecessary and pointless. Yousuf Pathan threatened to become the ‘Man’ and appeared to be kissed by destiny as he continued to get life after life. Raina’s direct hit reduced him to a mere mortal.

The run-out was one of the many incidents which had the potential to become a killer blow in another game. Not in this one though. On this day the two teams were unwilling to concede defeat and kept coming back at each other with renewed vigour. Kind of like the Rocky versus Apollo Creed match-up in the first Rocky movie.


Aamir Khan in Public

A public appearance made by the actor who only considered the Oscars to be worthy of his presence. So is the IPL big enough (a matter of pride for Lalit Modi) or was it simply to give company to Mr Mukesh Ambani. The two have been seen together quite often these days.

Can someone provide information on Salman Khan’s accent?

The actor’s accent reminds me of call centre employees who work the US shift. But he couldn’t have done that as he’s from a pre-BPO age. So did he go to school and college in America? Wonder how he gets rid of the accent when he mouths Hindi-film dialogues.

An Iceman who lost his moniker

At the Twenty-20 World Cup, Joginder Sharma bowled the last over and the media made him the ‘Iceman’. The IPL cruelly exposed his limitations. Forget an Iceman encore in the final, the poor guy was not even on the field and nobody seemed to miss him.

MS Dhoni finally lost but only just

Mahi’s winning streak as captain finally comes to an end. But no need to fret over it. It took an outstanding performance from a brilliant side to beat Dhoni’s team off the last ball of the match.

Dudes of the Day – The twenty – two players who lined up for the final. Thank you for a memorable game. The only guys who remember the two semis are the players of Delhi and Mohali

Duds of the Day – The people who planned the pre match song and dance program. The songs, the dances, the costumes and the performances were completely disparate. Even the third-rate film awards have better choreographed shows.

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IPL Daily Dose – 31/05/2008 – Night out for the IPL widows and making a case for India’s McGrath

The IPL has spawned a new breed of ‘cricket widows’ in India like the football widows in England. Poor women whose husbands have no time for them once the cricketing action begins. There is some good news for these distraught wives. IPL games now get over in an hours time (the competitive action that is). That leaves enough time for the man and woman to spend with each other. It gets even better when this happens on a Saturday night. The Chennai Super Kings saved a lot of troubled marriages last night and will have the good wishes of all the cricket widows for their final clash against the Royals.

Disclaimer – This does not include wives whose men were glued to the telly for the full game. I suggest they seek professional advice.

MS Dhoni stuck to the same modus operandi which has served his team well in the last few games. He gave an extended spell to his opening bowlers and let them do their thing.

Ntini and Gony first tie a noose around the batsman’s neck and then slowly tighten it. The batsman cannot take it after a while and in his struggle to break free chokes to death. Facing off against the most explosive batting line-up in the tournament, the two hit men were at their stifling best. KXP never got going and the game was as good as over after they lost their first 6 wickets cheaply. CSK’s opening pair can now lay claim to being the best opening attack in the IPL on current form.

Making a case for MS Gony

Check Gony’s figures in the last five games.

Semis - 4-1-13-2
DC - 4-0-21-1
RR - 3-0-32-0 (in a game which saw more than 425 runs scored)
RCB - 4-1-11-2
KKR - 4-0-17-0

When was the last time you saw an Indian bowler bowl impeccable line and length ball after ball, game after game. He is the closest thing we have had to a Glenn McGrath and has delivered against the most attacking of batsmen, bowling largely with fielding restrictions. He has been better than the other Indian bowlers on view and deserves a chance in the Indian side. If the BCCI is not going to consider such outstanding performances then what was all the rhetoric about unearthing new talent and giving them a chance.

What makes MS Dhoni such a winner?

He seems to have a Midas touch. The Twenty-20 World Cup, the Tri-series in Australia, the Pakistan series and now the IPL. Can’t really put a finger on what makes him such a winner. Is he a master tactician, an inspirational leader, captain cool or simply a lucky guy? Whatever it is, let’s not bother as long as he keeps winning.

Superman edges ahead

Shane Watson now leads Shaun Marsh in the ‘Best Player of the IPL’ race. Sadly for Marsh his failure on the big stage will undo all the good work done previously. Any other contenders? I would think Yousuf Pathan is a dark horse depending on what he does in the final.

Dudes of the Day – Ntini and Gony. At least the first semi-final was interesting till about 25 overs. These guys made this one a non-contest ten overs in.

Dud of the Day – Arjun Rampal. Saw his anguished face after Marsh was dismissed. He had disappeared after taking a victory lap with SRK to celebrate KKR’s victory over DD in Kolkata. Who does he really support? Is he the president of the ‘Support the Filmy IPL owners’ Club.

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IPL Daily Dose - 21/05/2008 - an eventful day and an out of fashion hairstyle

21st May 2008 will probably go down as the most eventful day in this edition of the IPL

First Mumbai lost a humdinger to Mohali by 1 run. They were coasting with 34 needed off 24 with seven wickets in hand and Sachin at the wicket to guide them home. They just had a bout of complete madness. The 2 points dropped here could be the difference between a semi final spot and an early exit in the IPL for the Mumbai side.

Then there was Mohali captain Yuvraj Singh shooting himself in the foot. His side had just won a great game and he had played a key role in it. But rather than celebrate his teams brilliant performance, he chose to berate the Mumbai crowd for being too one-sided and not showing respect for the ‘Indian players’ in the Mohali side. Grow up Yuvraj. This is exactly what home support is meant to be. If you want to be cheered for whenever you play in India, please stay away from the IPL or any other league.

What Yuvi also forgot was the fact that the semis and the final of the IPL will be played in front of the same crowd. By riling the boisterous Mumbai crowd, he has ensured his side has little support when they come back to Mumbai to play the knock-out rounds. Yuvraj needs to either learn to talk sensibly or talk like Mohd Azharuddin – so that no one can understand him.

And then to round the day off, Chennai lost a game which looked so winnable at 80 odd for 3 in 13 over that I left the stadium early to avoid the monotony of Chennai going through the motions of winning the game (and the post match traffic).

Chennai’s defeat has given new hope to both Mumbai and Delhi – two teams whose net run rate is far superior to that of the Super Kings. What that means is that Chennai must have at least one more win than each of those two sides to make the semis. It is no longer assured of a semi-final spot with 8 wins. Delhi and Mumbai could easily end up with 8 wins each; ensuring that they edge CSK for a semi-final spot.

Therefore, CSK needs to win both remaining games including a difficult one against RR to be absolutely certain of a semi –final berth. Finishing the job today would have saved all the uncertainty that surrounds the Super Kings now.


Quick Question 1

Which hairstyle is going to become unpopular in India very soon?

Ans: The striped corn rows of Robin Uthappa. People will avoid it unless they want the Robin Uthappa reference which changed from the ‘guy who won the game in England’ to the ‘guy who cost the Mumbai Indians a vital game’ or the ‘guy who ran Sachin out’

Quick Question 2

I was not surprised to see four specialist wicket-keepers in the RCB Vs CSK game. Why?

Ans: Because we could see more than 4 wicket keepers play a game very soon. Bangalore will continue to select more wicketkeepers to do the batting as their glovemen (Goswami, Boucher) are more reliable run -getters than their batsmen (Misbah-ul-haq, Virat Kohli, Bharat Chipli, Cameron White and Jacques Kallis)

Dude of the Day – could have gone for Yuvraj if not for the post game remarks. Award goes to Anil Kumble for coming back from a dropped catch and a scolding from the skipper to script a remarkable win for RCB. Second good bowling effort from Jumbo. RCB suddenly looks a good bowling unit. Ominous signs for the Mumbai Indians?

Dud of the Day – MS Dhoni. He promoted himself up the order and got out carelessly. He dismissal set the tone for the collapse. Very atypical of Mahi. His effort spares Uthappa for today.

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Care for some cricket chit-chat-II

Sri Lanka have appointed Trevor Bayliss as their new national team coach. Australian coaches have done a world of good for them and the board looks to continue with their successful formula. The selection was done purely on the guy's coaching credentials, which are excellent, and the two year term reflects the confidence of the board in their new coach and their long term vision. Why don’t we get these guys to run our board as well?

Post the appointment of Bayliss, the Sri Lankan board secretary said that, “When we knew how good he was, we signed him up immediately because there are a lot of countries head-hunting for coaches at present." Tell you what Mr. Secretary, the other countries (India and Pakistan) are so hopelessly pathetic, that you could have appointed Bayliss three months from now, and sent him to stay with Gavaskar and Powar in the interim period and still not lost him. I think the prospective coaches in our country will have to clear a seventh round interview with the sports minister, then an eighth one with the PM and then qualify for the final round of BBC Mastermind, before their offer letters are printed. Even the hopeless English have a new coach in place.

The High powered selection committee have selected Chandu Borde to manage the Indian Team, after driving away Graham Ford with their offer of a one year contract. It seems they were sure, that they would need a replacement after a year’s time. And where did they find Borde? In a flea market? Or was he researching new coaching techniques in the Himalayas. Also special thanks to committee member, Mr. Gavaskar, who outdid the media, by airing his personal views on the candidates, before the final decision was taken.

Shivanarain Chanderpaul continues to single-handedly defy the English attack. Is he the best batsman in the world on current form? No, the answer is Sachin Tendulkar, who was much better against Bangladesh.

Bhajji and Sehwag have finally been given the boot. Thank God for making men like Dilip Vengsarkar. Expect a few incidents of violence in Najafgarh and Punjab soon. Does anyone have Navjot Singh Sidhu's comments on this?

Dhoni is now a vice-captain. Can the board please take a look at the record of one previous vice-captain - one Mr. Virender Sehwag; another guy who was thrust into the role before he was worthy and then went from hero to zero in a flash.

How many of you watched the Afro-Asia cup? Is this the best side Africa can come up with? Would this side even make the finals of the South African domestic competition? These were international games. What is the point of having this tournament if no one wants to play?

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When Dhoni scored a duck

I went to the same school as Mahender Singh Dhoni. It is the only trivia question , which can be asked about me.Needless to say , Iam a diehard fan.

Our man had already been a match winner on numerous occasions in One day cricket. And when he came to the crease at the fall of Yuvraj's wicket against SriLanka , I was harbouring hopes of an encore.There was an encore , yes, of his duck against bangladesh.As India fell further down the mire, it was a feeling of deja vu for me.

Flashback to 1995. Mahender Singh Dhoni was the superstar batsman of the school team.On the day of the inter-school final against Kendriya Vidyalaya Hinoo , I was bunking classes to see the match. DAV batted first and Dhoni , the youngest member of the team, was sitting on the lap of a fellow player, waiting for his turn as the one down batsman.

The first wicket fell fairly quickly and me and my fellow bunking buddies were suddenly giddy in anticipation of the pyrotechnics that were to follow.Our man strode to the wicket full of confidence ,completely ignoring the dismissed opener.Took his guard , surveyed the field placings and got ready to take strike.

The first ball was down the leg side.Dhoni went across to play a leg glance and as he did so, he lost balance, falling forward and dragging his back leg out of the crease.The bails were off in a flash and he was given out immediately. The Dhoni show was over.There was a sudden hush among the DAV supporters as we sat in complete disbelief.

The match was as good as over for me. DAV had lots of other stars and were expected to romp home anyways.There wasn't any fun in watching the lambs get slughtered.

More shocks were in store. Our star studded line up was bowled out for less than 75 and the so-called lambs finished the game in a canter, with more than 20 overs to spare and 8 wickets left. Shades of India -Bangladesh.

Next year , I was busy with my 12th boards and hardly followed the inter-schools tournament.Well almost, till they got to the finals.It was DAV vs KV once again.It was a time for revenge.We were hoping the guys delivered this time,just to set the record straight.

The revenge was of mammoth propotions. Dhoni opened and carried his bat for around 240 unbeaten , putting on an unbroken stand of 360 in 40 overs. KV were bowled out for less than 100 and the revenge was complete . This was the defining moment of Dhoni's school career.The beginning of a journey ,which has made him an India Superstar.

Back to March 2007.The journey is not over with another duck. Trust me , Dhoni can repeat the entire "DAV- KV" story all over again. He fits the bill perfectly for a modern day power cricketer. He was the first guy to score a double century in schools cricket and dont be surprised if he becomes the first one in one dayers as well.

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