Every match in the last few days has been close without any exception. Even today it went down to the wire in the Punjab Kings XI vs Delhi Daresdevils. Preity Zinta almost lost her bubbly smile as Yuvraj trekked back - till Irfan Pathan whacked those 3 sixes and got them over the line. With so many close matches this week i thought I'd not talk about the games as there's too much to say. Hence some trivia for the day.
First reply gets bragging rights:-) Hint:all the answers are somewhere in the blog.
1. Spot J. Kallis in the 'Picture of the week'?
2. Who are the youngest & oldest players in the IPL?
3. What is the single most visited cricket blog in the last 30 days?
4. Who was the purple cap winner last year?
I'll post the answers in the comments section of this post by the weekend but am hoping some of you get it before that. Till then...
Cliche - but cricket is the winner
What an unbelievable day at the IPL. Two super close games but nothing comes close to the Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals match. A critical make or break game for both teams.
1. Shane Warne vs Tendu/Sanath in the battle of the oldies (Victory to Warne in this round. Tendulkar lbw Warne, Sanath Jaysurya caught Pathan bowled Warne!!!)
2. Shipa Shetty vs Neeta Ambani in a battle of the owners.
The visual of Neeta Ambani sitting meekly in the dugout and Shipla animatedly in the box. Perhaps thats another example of where the X factor lies and ultimately the 'X' factor saw Rajasthan through.
Who would have thought that Munaf would bowl the last over and give only 1 run while 3 wickets will fall!!!!! What a game. I have to say i was torn throughout (particularly as the little master was rampaging) but at the bottom of my heart was willing on last year's champions and the underdogs to go through.
The line up is still wide open and makes for a really exciting run up to the close.
Prediction: It will go all the way to the Raj/KKR as well as the Blore/Deccan game before we know who makes it.
1. Shane Warne vs Tendu/Sanath in the battle of the oldies (Victory to Warne in this round. Tendulkar lbw Warne, Sanath Jaysurya caught Pathan bowled Warne!!!)
2. Shipa Shetty vs Neeta Ambani in a battle of the owners.
The visual of Neeta Ambani sitting meekly in the dugout and Shipla animatedly in the box. Perhaps thats another example of where the X factor lies and ultimately the 'X' factor saw Rajasthan through.Who would have thought that Munaf would bowl the last over and give only 1 run while 3 wickets will fall!!!!! What a game. I have to say i was torn throughout (particularly as the little master was rampaging) but at the bottom of my heart was willing on last year's champions and the underdogs to go through.
The line up is still wide open and makes for a really exciting run up to the close.
Prediction: It will go all the way to the Raj/KKR as well as the Blore/Deccan game before we know who makes it.
Mumbai - proving me wrong???
Well - mixed emotions. I am super happy that Tendulkar is finally hitting his stride. Its been too long. And as disappointed as i was with the Mumbai Indians, i am hoping that they prove me wrong. I'd rather eat my words and have them go all the way than have them lose just to be right. After all I'm a home boy. So where does that leave us for the semi finals.
1. Delhi and Chennai in very safe position
2. Deccan - if they can win 2/4 they are through; great odds as they play Punjab, Blore & Kolkatta. Who knows , maybe they pull it off against Delhi tomorrow. So most likely will take the 3rd spot
3. Punjab - have to win 3/3 to be safe. Tough opponents in Delhi, Deccan and Kolkatta
4. Blore - also need to win 3/3 ; Delhi and Deccan but also the beleaguered KKR.
5. Mumbai - have to win 3/3 to be safe but given the shared point due to rain, may squeeze with 2.
6. And finally Rajasthan - need to win 3/3 to be safe but may squeeze in with 2 due to the rain point.
So its really close - and i am going to be so torn when Rajasthan play Mumbai. Unless by some crazy miracle, they both make it.
Till then , hoping Sehwag comes back against Deccan tomorrow and 'trumps' the score...
1. Delhi and Chennai in very safe position
2. Deccan - if they can win 2/4 they are through; great odds as they play Punjab, Blore & Kolkatta. Who knows , maybe they pull it off against Delhi tomorrow. So most likely will take the 3rd spot
3. Punjab - have to win 3/3 to be safe. Tough opponents in Delhi, Deccan and Kolkatta
4. Blore - also need to win 3/3 ; Delhi and Deccan but also the beleaguered KKR.
5. Mumbai - have to win 3/3 to be safe but given the shared point due to rain, may squeeze with 2.
6. And finally Rajasthan - need to win 3/3 to be safe but may squeeze in with 2 due to the rain point.
So its really close - and i am going to be so torn when Rajasthan play Mumbai. Unless by some crazy miracle, they both make it.
Till then , hoping Sehwag comes back against Deccan tomorrow and 'trumps' the score...
A royal dose of bad luck
So i have to admit that i am beginning to get worried for the Royals. Its been a team that's always lived on the edge and frankly has never had huge star power. But it pulled off the impossible last year and i was very confident they would make it to the semi finals this year. Call it a passion for the underdogs, faith in Warne's leadership or the their pinch hitters(Yusuf, Dmitri, Asnodkar).
But today they have been hit hard(of course they also performed poorly).
1. Their top bowlers get 'chucked' out (kamran and Amit)
2. Their star bowler and captain has a suspect hamstring and may be out of action for 10 days.
3. Shane Watson - last years player of the year - is denied permission by the Australian board on fitness grounds. Just a few days after playing Pakistan.
4. And what can you call Graeme Smith's (non)performance on his home turf except a terrible run of bad luck for the Royals!!!!!
So now the royals are with their backs to the wall. This calls for a change of tactics and teams. Warne needs to drive from the backseat and change the teams. Get back Dmitri & Tyrone , move Yusuf & Jadeja up the order and shame Smith (sledge him from his own dugout :-)) into scoring.
They need to win 2 out of 3 at least and i am praying that they pull off a last minute Houdini act. Perhaps their luck will turn when they face their final opponents in the last game - the only team that has created their own (bad) luck. The Kolkatta Knight Riders.
It's time for the 'owners' to motivate the team...Halla Bol
But today they have been hit hard(of course they also performed poorly).
1. Their top bowlers get 'chucked' out (kamran and Amit)
2. Their star bowler and captain has a suspect hamstring and may be out of action for 10 days.
3. Shane Watson - last years player of the year - is denied permission by the Australian board on fitness grounds. Just a few days after playing Pakistan.
4. And what can you call Graeme Smith's (non)performance on his home turf except a terrible run of bad luck for the Royals!!!!!
So now the royals are with their backs to the wall. This calls for a change of tactics and teams. Warne needs to drive from the backseat and change the teams. Get back Dmitri & Tyrone , move Yusuf & Jadeja up the order and shame Smith (sledge him from his own dugout :-)) into scoring.
They need to win 2 out of 3 at least and i am praying that they pull off a last minute Houdini act. Perhaps their luck will turn when they face their final opponents in the last game - the only team that has created their own (bad) luck. The Kolkatta Knight Riders.
It's time for the 'owners' to motivate the team...Halla Bol
Fantasy cricket - IPL
Ok , this one is for me.
Many of you may have participated in cricinfo's fantasy league for cricket which has about 40,000 entries. How do i know that? - well, just enter a team today and you'll be bottom of the barrel and will rank somewhere around the 40,000 mark.
So as we enter the closing phases - I've ranked number 25 among that pool at the moment. Just feeling good and hence this post :-) Purely self indulgent. Here's the list of the top 30 with the San Jose Marathas at 25!!!
Anyway, hoping that Pathan does well in the Rajasthan vs Deccan game tomorrow - after all he is my trump for the day!!!!
Many of you may have participated in cricinfo's fantasy league for cricket which has about 40,000 entries. How do i know that? - well, just enter a team today and you'll be bottom of the barrel and will rank somewhere around the 40,000 mark.
So as we enter the closing phases - I've ranked number 25 among that pool at the moment. Just feeling good and hence this post :-) Purely self indulgent. Here's the list of the top 30 with the San Jose Marathas at 25!!!
Anyway, hoping that Pathan does well in the Rajasthan vs Deccan game tomorrow - after all he is my trump for the day!!!!
Powerplay
Delhi continues its total powerplay demonstration for this IPL. And its amazing that they continue to do so well without playing Sehwag, Vettori and McGrath. The rock solid De Villiers and Dilshan combined with new find Nannes (if Sehwag rates him fastest faced and hardest to hit , he's got to to be something) and solid performances from Amit Mishra and Nehra. Its interesting that Delhi was always a top contender for this IPL before the tournament but largely due to the players who aren't playing (and Gambhir who hasn't fired). I cant but help worry if their dreams will come crashing down with one bad day in the office in the semi-finals. Perhaps the format of this IPL may come into question then but that's the story of another post.
The KKR - what can one say except that their horror run continue unabated. Its reached a point where one almost feels sorry for the team. Certainly for Brendon McCullum who has the task of answering intelligent questions from Rameez Raja like "so whats really going wrong - is it the foreign players or the local players or what?". Between Shahrukh, Buchanan and Dada , poor McCullum has been stuck and never really had a chance. Its all chronicled in the fakeiplplayer blog (which i think is going downhill now - very average behind the scenes insight now) so i wont go there. It is however a classic case of professional vs. owner managed businesses. (with a crazy coach). Move over Vijay Mallya , you've just been spectacularly unseated this season.
Maybe just maybe , a couple of the knight rider's last games will be very interesting in as much as the fact that they could determine the team that makes the 4th semi final slot. At least they can leave the tournament feeling like they made an impact on the outcome.
Till then, its just a knightmare....
The KKR - what can one say except that their horror run continue unabated. Its reached a point where one almost feels sorry for the team. Certainly for Brendon McCullum who has the task of answering intelligent questions from Rameez Raja like "so whats really going wrong - is it the foreign players or the local players or what?". Between Shahrukh, Buchanan and Dada , poor McCullum has been stuck and never really had a chance. Its all chronicled in the fakeiplplayer blog (which i think is going downhill now - very average behind the scenes insight now) so i wont go there. It is however a classic case of professional vs. owner managed businesses. (with a crazy coach). Move over Vijay Mallya , you've just been spectacularly unseated this season.Maybe just maybe , a couple of the knight rider's last games will be very interesting in as much as the fact that they could determine the team that makes the 4th semi final slot. At least they can leave the tournament feeling like they made an impact on the outcome.
Till then, its just a knightmare....
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