Is this the same guy who owns the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL?

Vijay Mallaya went from one “I put my foot in my mouth’ moment to another in the inaugural season of the IPL. So much so, that a few awards were bestowed upon him. But now the ‘King of good times’ seems to have matured as a team owner.

Cheer up Royal Challengers. This calls for a few rounds of Kingfisher !!!

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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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IPL Daily Dose - 19/05/2008 - A new fan club and getting cheerleaders with a winning record

RCB finally have some reason to cheer. They were competitive till the 17th over of the game. All thanks to the Daredevils middle-order which remains as solid as the dugouts in the Eden Gardens (the ones which collapsed). They also managed to win all the post match awards (most sixes, MoM), except for the one that really mattered.

There was an interesting debate on the cricinfo match commentary about the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders not being a lucky mascot for their teams historically. Someone suggested getting the girls from the Dallas Cowboys instead. Tell you what – none of those teams have won a title for ten years. If you really want winners get the girls from the New England Patriots – winners of 3 Super Bowls in the last 7 years and a team which went 16-0 in the regular season this year.

A Cricinfo staff writer thought that this was not a must-win game for the Daredevils. I cannot understand how. Can someone explain to me how Delhi can even dream of making the semis with 7 wins? Rajasthan have already won 8 and Chennai and Mohali are on 7 with 3 and 4 games left respectively. So, is the writer counting on Mumbai to lose all their remaining four games? Does the writer know something that we don’t? ( The claim was made in the preview and was also there in the first -inning bulletin. Has been removed in the post game bulletin. Iam sure there are enough readers who read the preview and will vouch for me)

Pradeep Sangwan bowled 3 overs and each over went for 14 or more. Is that the worst bowling performance in the IPL? Wonder why Tillekratne Dilshan was given only one over (1/0/3/1)

Now for a quick quiz
Question: Guess who are the founders of the Shoaib Malik Fan Club?

Ans: Pakistani commentators – Aamir Sohail and Rameez Raja.

Sample this

After DD lost to KXP in the last game

Aamir Sohail: “How could Viru bowl himself ahead of Shoaib Malik?”

Delhi had Maharoof and McGrath available and Sohail could only think of Malik. Does he remember the over Shoaib bowled against CSK?

In the RCB Vs DD pre-game show today

Rameez Raja: “Anytime you pick a one-day side, Shoaib Malik is the first name on the team”.

Really!!! Wonder why none of the franchisees were going all out to secure Malik’s services.

Dude of the Day – Farvez Maharoof. Outstanding with the ball (4/0/13/2) and took the side home with the bat. I was shocked to see Goswami getting the MoM award.

Dud of the Day – Will spare Sangwan. He’s just 17. This award is still open. I have challenged the Cricinfo staff writer’s claim that this game wasn’t a must win for the Daredevils. I will be the Dud of the day if her claim is right. Else we will have the first female Dud of the Day in the IPL.

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IPL Daily Dose – 17/05/2008 - IPL improves TV ratings in Dhaka and why bookies were missing in Jaipur

RCB Vs RR

Rahul Dravid arrived at the crease at 31/4 and stayed on till 132/9, scoring 75 runs. Therefore, he scored more than 75% of the runs scored off the bat while he was at the crease. That is a tremendous achievement by the Bangalore captain and also a sorry reminder of RCB’s batting woes in the tournament.

Abdur Razzaq’s debut was the other notable point in the game. Was this move intended to increase TV ratings for the IPL in Bangladesh? I cannot see the cricketing reason for his inclusion. Vinay Kumar had figures of 3/0/15/0 and 2/0/11/1 in the last two games and was dropped for no justifiable reason.

Misbah-ul-Haq continues to make Dr Mallya look like an idiot. The owner had apparently fired Charu Sharma for not communicating his desire to play the Pakistani to the team management. Another failure (golden duck) later the decision to keep Misbah on the bench looks like a stroke of genius.

And by the way the Royals won again as expected. Were the bookies even offering any odds for this game?

KXP Vs DD

A game of two overs - both of which brought Mohali right back into the game, just when Delhi looked like gaining the upper hand. The cardinal rule for all rain truncated games is to bowl your best bowlers first. You never know when the overs could be reduced further and the quota for each bowler gets whittled down. Sehwags logic was flawed in multiple ways.

Bringing on a part time spinner (himself) just because a regular spinner (Amit Mishra) bowled well completely ignored the fact that Mishra was the most successful spinner in the IPL and Sehwag was close to the worst of the lot. Bowling himself well before Maharoof was even introduced into the attack and before McGrath’s quota was finished was foolish bravado and nothing else.

The Daredevils now need to win all their games to keep their hopes alive. And even that might not be enough. If Mumbai win 3 of their 5 remaining games (quite possible even if they lose to DD) and Chennai beat RCB and DC (shouldn’t be too much trouble) then we could have the possibility of an 8 win team missing out on a semi-final berth. Rajasthan and Mohali should win more then 8 and qualify for sure. Net run-rates are going to be extremely important.

The game also showed that the Kings of Punjab have the most explosive and the deepest batting line-up in the tournament. All their batsmen are attacking players and collectively they offer no respite to opposition attacks. Every batsman has also played at least one important innings in this tournament so far. They didn’t flinch when they lost Shaun Marsh and Yuvraj early. Mahela’s performance was like a cold blooded assassin’s which showed that he had been suffering from lack of opportunity and not lack of ability.

Dude of the Day – Close call between Mahela and Dravid. The award goes to Dravid. This guy has been under immense pressure and answered his critics in the best possible manner. At least the ones who questioned his batting and fighting abilities.

Dud of the Day - Cannot include the entire RCB side. The villain of the day is Virender Sehwag. Forget his fifty; his decision to bowl himself will haunt him when he is watching the IPL semis on television.

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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 Day – Dale Steyn. The biggest bowling star in the RCB ended up with the poorest figures in the match by some distance.

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Dr Mallya can become the 'King of Great Sackings'. Here's how

Finally the reason for Charu Sharma's sacking is known. He committed the major blunder of not communicating Dr Mallya's wish to include Misbah in the playing eleven to the team management. And although it was Dravid's decision to bench the Pakistani, Charu really deserved it. After all what is sport without a few scapegoats. Dr Mallya deserves a lot of kudos for not having the balls to take his 'icon' player on.

The team has responded well to the sacking by being consistent in its performance. The skipper led from the front. Dravid's efforts to 'get his eye in' during the middle overs was a crucial moment in the game. His handling of Ganguly ensured that Bangalore continued to separate itself from the rest of the pack.

The pressure is again on Dr Mallya. The skipper has run out of excuses for his 'test team's' splendid run in the IPL. The owner needs to make a few more sackings to justify his team's performance to the fans. As of now the coach is safe and the captain untouchable. Having removed the big kahuna last time, Dr Mallya can now move to the bottom of the food chain. He should sack the guy who handles the team cricket equipment. After all the team's cricket bats haven’t behaved well so far.

And then he can move to the others. Sack someone after every defeat. The conditioning coach for not ensuring the bodies were moving perfectly. The assistant coaches for the team's batting, bowling and fielding. The bus driver for....well, we will think of something after he gets sacked.

The team has six games to go and we could be set for an interesting finale after the team's final game. Dr Mallya should top everything he has done so far by sacking himself. That would be one sacking that no one is going to complain about.

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Vijay Mallya is now the Herb Kohl of the IPL

Owning sports teams is a hobby only the super-rich can indulge in. The IPL finally created such a club in India. Amongst its prominent billionaire members was one Dr Mallya. He had tasted blood through his part-ownership of Force India, but owning the Bangalore IPL franchise was the real deal – a chance to compete for bragging rights like only the super-rich can.

He spent an exorbitant amount of money to buy the franchise and the players and also on the entertainment. Most of the money has been badly spent. The team was ill-suited to the format and lies at the bottom of the pile. The novelty of the cheer-leaders has worn off and the Force India F1 car sits like an orphan in one corner.

But all that is pardonable. There are other teams performing horribly and the entertainment efforts generally stink.

What is not pardonable, however, is the disgraceful manner in which Mallya has sacked his CEO – Charu Sharma. No reason has been given for the move – typical of tyrannical sports owners –they are accountable to none.

That captain Rahul Dravid was given a free-hand to pick the side is a well-known fact. And I am sure Mallya planned all the entertainment action. So, what is Charu’s fault? I don’t like him as a commentator and as a host but he hasn’t done anything to be treated this badly.

With this move, Mallya has a strong case to be anointed as the first ‘bad owner’ of the IPL. My heartiest congratulations. We need all kinds.

What defines bad owners is their knack for irrational and dictatorial moves - Hiring and firing the wrong guys at the drop of a hat. Charu’s unexplained sacking makes Mallya’s resume look complete. Giving Charu only 7 games to make winners out of RCB and that too with his hands tied to his back has to be considered a move worthy of membership.

I am tempted to compare Mallya to George Bush (a hopeless owner with the Texas Rangers in the MLB) but I’ll stick to the NBA. After all Lalit Modi has learnt the most from that league.

So I will call Mallya the Herb Kohl of the IPL. Herb is a senator like Mallya and spends a lot of money on his home-town team - the Milwaukee Bucks. But for all the money, the team stinks. They give big contracts to mediocre player (again sounds familiar, right) and change coaches and GM’s as a man changes his clothes.

A word of caution for Coach Venkatesh Prasad. Expect to be fired when you least expect it. You have a bad owner as a boss.

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