IPL 2009

The second edition of Indian Premier League has been a resounding success both in South Africa and in India. Almost 58% of the round robin matches had been played by the 8 city based teams. There has been certain surprises and misses when compared IPL 2008.  The competition has been more or less evenly matched between the bat and the ball. A score of 160 is turning out to be quite competitive if you have the bowling ammunition to stop the rampaging opposition players. The bar for high priced players was raised in this year’s auction.  There was no letup in the excitement quotient also with the matches being held in South Africa, the arrival of English players and the calypso kings from west indies.  The fake ipl player was the perfect icing on the cake as far as excitement buzz was concerned.

 

The notable absentees of this year was the aussie’s and Pakistan players. The former players putting national duty (defending the Ashes in the summer) above IPL led by punter pointing. The latter players couldn’t participate thanks to the high  sensitive time in India especially after Mumbai blasts. I am sure the organizers and the team owners would have allowed the paki players to take part had they envisioned this year’s IPL in South Africa rather than in India.

 

Form guide for the teams: (Total / Wins / Loss / No Result)

 

Rajasthan Royals: (8/4/3/1)

The defending champions didn’t quite have a flier of a start. Lost the opening match and in the second match the points were shared. Not the kind of start Warnie might have planned. They quite don’t have the moment behind them, since they have been winning and losing alternate matches. The major problem is have not been getting the kind of blazing start from the top order. Graeme Smith is woefully out of form and the local Indian players haven’t quite adapted to the bouncy pitches of South Africa. They win whenever Yusuf pathan plays a big little cameo coming late in the order. Whether they can qualify for the finals depends whether Shane Warne can recreate his man management magic like last year.

 

Chennai Super kings: (8/4/3/1)

Last year runner up didn’t have the best of starts. Lost the opening match, not the auspicious start Dhoni would have liked. All the batsmen were in fine form and were hitting huge sixes at will. The two biggest problem was they had no credible partnerships during the first phase of the round robin and Dhoni was woefully out of form. Andrew Flintoff, the second highest signing of this year was a leaking ship. He couldn’t quite live up to the demands and nuances of T20. Thanks to CSK, he got injured and the team got its composition right and was back to its winning ways. They have won last 3 consecutive matches and have the momentum behind them which can potentially earn them a semifinal berth. Since 7 out of 8 teams are closely tied up in the standing expect the Net Run Rate(NRR) to play a huge role in deciding at least 2 semifinal teams. CSK have the most positive NRR for this year.

 

Delhi Daredevils’: (7/5/2/0)

Last year semi finalist, have been to rousing start to this year IPL . With Sehwag and Gambhir, they have the most dynamic opening pair in modern day cricket. Winning the first 3 matches on the trot with the right mix of aggressive batting and some intelligent bowling led India discard Asish Nehra  and the orthodox left arm spinner Daniel Vettori. With the current form, this the team to watch out for. Having played 1 match less than the other teams they have the maximum number of points. This is the bowling lineup which is unable to get a berth for Glenn McGrath. It is a shocker but we have to believe this, McGrath is warming the bench and their team is not missing his services.

 

Deccan Chargers:(7/4/3/0):

IPL -08 was no show for this highly talented bunch of individuals. They just couldn’t bind together as a team. But IPL -09 was completely different. Under a new captain, Gilchrist they were off to a blazing start in the tournament, the best for any team. The opening dynamo of Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs often provided the perfect platform for the middle order to capitalize. A rejuvenated RP Singh will stifle the opening opposition batsmen by sticking to the basics, line and length bowling. As team the chargers were a excellent fielding unit, which easily saved 30-40 runs per match.  

 

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) :(8/4/4/0)

A team labeled as ‘Test’ team in T20 matches last year. Its Owner liquor baron Malaya vowed to infuse the fighting spirit in the team and was determined to shed the tag of ‘Test’ team. He had the honor of signing the highest bid player, Kevin Peterson(KP). With couple of signings from New Zealand players, on paper at least the team had a dynamic look. Under a  new captain they just couldn’t cobble together a win. Once when KP left for his national duty, the captaincy was handed over to Kumble, Mr. Gentleman of cricket. Under a new captain, the RCB has managed to stitch together 3 consecutive win. They have the momentum behind them.

 

Kings XI Punjab: (8/4/4/0)

Last year semi finalist, Kings XI has not been able to get the momentum behind them. They are very good team under the captaincy of Yuvraj Singh but just couldn’t get going in this version. Right now they are under the danger of being not qualifying for the semifinal. From here on they have win all the matches and hope the other teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings fumble and Mumbai Indians continue to play the way they are playing.

 

Mumbai Indians :(8/3/4/1)

Led by the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and the pride of Mukesh Ambani, the owner of Mumbai Indians. The costliest city team they boast of a battery of batsmen who can demolish the opposition on their day. The opening thunder works are provided by courtesy of Sachin and Sanath. No other team can claim such a talented and experienced set of opening pair. Their bowling rest in the safe hands of Zaheer, Harbhajan and Malinga. Yet this team has blown hot and cold, like the Pakistan national cricket team. We never quite know what to expect from this team. They have to blame themselves more so specific their lack of ability to channelize their collective talent. Right now they are languishing second from the last.

 

Kolkata Knight Riders:(9/1/7/1)

No team can evoke emotions within their base city like the KKR. This team lost the plot even before they left the Indian shores. First their coach came with a weird concept of 4 captain theory. T20 is like a war, in war you just cant 4 generals to lead your army. The decisions have to be taken in the spur of the moment, not by consensus. Sacking of Ganguly in the south African shores was the last thing this team needed. This has decisively created a gap inside the team, which has been exposed to the media friendly fakeiplplayer, an insider who was smart enough to guess he will warming the bench throughout the tournament. This was indeed a butterfly moment as his blog created a huge sensation among many of IPL fans, including yours truly. He has promised to reveal his real identity when the tournament comes to an end.  

 

My prediction for the semi finalist : Delhi, Deccan, Chennai & Rajasthan.