IPL Daily Dose – 30/05/2008 – IPL version of the Hare and the Tortoise and why I stopped making predictions

Remember the story about the Hare and the Tortoise. The one where the hare lost a race to the tortoise because he had no focus, no concentration, was over-confident and had no luck as well.

Now try imagining the same race with a different hare. A hare who was extremely motivated, totally focussed, had the race well planned out and could count on a little bit of luck if needed. What a one –sided washout it would be? Just like the Rajasthan –Delhi game last night, right. Absolutely!!!

The hare would have started out fast and continued to build on his lead. Similarly, Rajasthan batted well in the beginning, in the middle overs and at the end. They bowled well at the start, bowled well in the middle overs and then bowled well towards the end. As for their fielding, even guys like Sohail Tanvir were taking outstanding catches.

The number of things I was wrong about (and Iam sure so were many others)

1. Delhi had a better chance if they bowled first – doesn’t matter if you are outplayed in both innings of the game

2. Delhi’s experience could be the key in a knock-out game where there is more pressure – I am an idiot. Should have learned from the Rajasthan – Mumbai game. On a day when McGrath, Sehwag and Gambhir crumbled and Munaf and Asnodkar fired, experience was the last thing that mattered.

3. Delhi’s bowling could make the difference on a bouncy pitch - wrong again. All the Delhi quicks were taken to the cleaners. And Rajasthan’s bowlers gave a clinic on line and length.

4. The game would be decided by one great innings from one of the many power-hitters on display – this was a game which was the epitome of the word ‘collective’. RR were collectively great and DD were collectively bad. No need for individual feats.

Superman Returns

After meeting kryptonite against Mumbai, Shane Watson gave a display which would have made Superman proud. Could have won two separate MoM awards – one for batting and one for bowling.

A display which would have made the great Indian spin quartet proud

On a day when bats were flying at every delivery, Amit Mishra added to his growing reputation. Rather than cower down and start bowling defensively, he showed the full range of his arsenal. He continued to toss it up in a manner which would have made Bedi and Prasanna proud. The wicket of Pathan was a perfect example. We need to see more of this guy. He’ll do us proud in other forms of the game as well. I hope we don’t need another IPL to find his whereabouts. Are the Indian selectors watching?

A day when Sohail ‘Purple Cap’ Tanvir was the weak link in the bowling

The Rajasthan bowling was so damn good that Tanvir’s extremely decent opening spell of 2-0-16-0 was made to look bad. His economy was the worst and he was the only one who went wicket less. Don’t think Sohail will mind a repeat in the finals.

Dude of the Day – Extremely difficult to judge when you have so many heroes. So award goes to Shane Watson for doing what two heroes can do. How soon before we see him doing a dozen ads on Indian Television.

Dud of the Day –Yours truly for the 4 reasons mentioned above. And all the others who thought of at least three of the 4 reasons. I am not going to be making any predictions anytime soon.

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IPL Daily Dose - 24/05/2008 - A day when history was almost made and a candidate for Indian coach

The great Marathas could never capture the crown of Delhi in their proud history. On 24/05/08 they laid siege again under the leadership of the new Chattrapati – Sachin Tendulkar and it looked as if history was in the making. They were thwarted, however, by the troops recruited from the South (Karthik and Maharoof). Sachin and his men were glorious even in defeat; quite unlike the last big battle the Marathas fought for control of Delhi – the humiliating defeat in the third battle of Panipat.

Virender Sehwag and team have kept their semi-final hopes alive and have good reason to feel confident of making the next stage. For them to get knocked out now, the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings will have to win all their remaining games.

The Daredevils have other positives to take from this game. Their middle and lower-order finally fired and delivered in a situation where they generally tend to crumble and roll over. This win was also their first against somebody who is not a minnow (RCB and DC) in their last 9 games. The team will be in a very positive state of mind should they line up for the semis.

Mumbai lost a thriller for the second game running and have every reason to feel despondent. They also have the harder task of needing to beat both the Royals (quite a proposition) and the Royal Challengers in their two remaining games. Bu they have been playing good cricket overall and a little bit of luck or pluck could see them through. The veteran presence of Sachin, Sanath and Shaun will come in extremely handy

I wrote in the Daily Dose of 18/05/2008 that somehow Chennai manage to win all their tight games. They were either super lucky or simply super cool in pressure. Whatever it was, they are no longer the same. For the second home game running, they lost a match they were in control of till a very late stage. They have the easier task of just beating the last-placed Chargers but the Super Kings have lately developed a habit of making life difficult for

A mouth watering match-up in the making

Forget Warne against Sachin, I want to see Sohail Tanvir go against Jayasuriya and Tendulkar. Tanvir has been ‘awkwardly’ outstanding and extremely difficult to get away; at the beginning or at the end of the innings. Jayasuriya is back to his 1996 World Cup best. This contest will set the tone for this high stakes game.

Note to the BCCI

Please keep a close watch on Shane Warne. He continues to get the best out of his guys. Kamran Akmal and Pankaj Singh came in for this game and made their skipper proud. Employing him in some capacity with Indian Cricket should be priority number one. And make him the coach when Gary Kirsten gets sick of the Indian board. If anyone can make India true world beaters, it is Shane Warne. He’s managed to get even Munaf Patel motivated and kicked up.

A special word of praise for the Mumbai Indians Management

Getting Dwayne Smith and Andre Nel as late additions has been quite a coup. Compare that to the reinforcement jobs done by the CSK (Kapudegara), DC (Chamara Silva) and KKR (Brad Hodge). Getting the big guns is the easier task. Making key additions late in the season is the hallmark of well-run teams. Just check the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA – 4 time winners in the last 10 years.

Dudes of the Day – The Delhi middle-order with the exception of Dilshan. Dinesh Karthik was the man of the moment but key contributions came from Tiwary and Maharoof also. In a do-or-die game when the big three failed, these guys got the job done.

Duds of the Day - the Chennai Super Kings. They are hell-bent on giving their fans sleepless nights. Home game, player of the tournament Shane Watson sits out, 35 required off 18 with Dhoni and Morkel at the wicket and they still lose. MS Dhoni’s superstar status in Chennai could take a real beating if these guys miss out on the semis.

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