CLT20: Highveld Lions get better of Mumbai Indians

It was dubbed as the champions taking on the underdogs, IPL 2010 runner ups and star studded Mumbai Indians were up against a rather unheard entity of Highveld Lions in the opening encounter of the second edition of Champions league T20. The media went gaga over a possible Mumbai Indians victory, and for others as well the Indians had to be the favourites. They had the legend Sachin Tendulkar, mighty Keiron Pollard, home boy JP Duminy, experienced Harbhajan Singh and what Highveld Lions had ? Just an Alviro Peterson and Neil Mcenzie with International exposure, and yet it could be fair to say, that  was all Highveld Lions needed to sprung up a surprise victory.

The lions put into bat by Sachin had a an ominous start as after 3 overs of rather silent cricket as compared to T20 standards, the Lions captain had to walk back to the pavilion in a bizzare run out that had put both the openers at the same end of the pitch. Shikhar Dhawan did well with the stop and the throw, though the rustiness and sloppiness of Mumbai Indians outfit was quite evident with the misfields and misjudgments. Sachin used his spinner Ali Murtaza before Zaheer Khan and the lanky 20 year old justified the decision bowling 2 tight overs darting the bowl into the leg stump cramping up the batsmen for room. He, in his thrid over got the reward for the consistent line as the hard hitting Richard Cameron miscued one to long on. By the end of 6 overs Lions were 39 for 2 with a RR of 6.50, not a cracking start but Lions still had the young Jonathan Vandiar who stepped on the gas smashing Harbhajan Singh’s first delivery with disdain to the extra cover boundary. He then plundered 2 fours of one Zaheer Khan over and a six and four of Duminy.and by the half way mark they were 78 for 2, well in position for a rather high score. Zaheer and Harbhajan were quite evidently uneffective and the array of slow bowlers that Sachin used were neither of much help. Malinga though was slinging those yorkers with conviction and had the best economy. Neil Mcenzie later joined the party and the experienced campaigner proved to be the perfect  foil for the vivacious and hard hitting Vandiar as Mcenzie relied more on timing and placement exposing the Mumbai team’s slapdash fielding effort. Vandiar played a superb T20 inning of 48 ball 71 before being holed out in the outfield of Malinga’s bowling. The final firework though came in the final over of Zaheer Khan as Both Mcenzie and de Bryun milked 17 of the over to end up with a highly competitive score of 186.

Batting has always come to the Mumbai Indians fore and here as well, Sachin and Shikhar started of strongly as R Frylinck and Ethan O'Reilly in order to get some purchase out of the pitch bowled a bit short to both the openers. And the rewards were quite evident, Ethan O’Reilly had Sachin plump but Umpire Ashoka De Silva  turned down the appeal. The Lions were clearly not overwhelmed by the occasion and had that exuberance and fervour which kept the Mumbai openers under check. The fielding as with any South African outfit was sharp and that probably was one of the highlights of the Highveld Lions performance. Sachin on the other hand was playing good pushing the ball into the gaps and cracking some Sachin special shots. The Highveld bowlers stuck to the basic without experimenting much and with some quality fielding the run rate was marginally mounting and by the half way mark Mumbai were 84 for 1 with RRR at 10.30. Sachin was batting with ease but at the other end the pressure mounted on, Ambati Rayadu scuffled across to a non existent single to get himself out. JP Duminy eased some pressure with some lusty blows but the real blow came in the 14th over when Shane Burger bowled a perfect yorker to knock of the Little Master’s stumps. The jubilation was something to be seen and for the first time Lions seemed to be a nose tip ahead in the match. Big man Keiron Pollard came in as Mumbai’s last hope and it was Shane burger who he decided to butcher with 2 mammoth hit over the ropes and a boundary in that over, Pollard definitely had his eyes set, but Burger had the last laugh as his pin point block hole delivery got better of the Trindidian.  Duminy got holed out in the deep in the 19th over, and Highveld Lions were on their way for an emphatic victory. Jonathan Vandiar and Shane Burger proving to be the standout performers in an immaculate team effort,A word for veteran Neil Macenzie as well.

And once again we were reminded what matters is the 22 yard strip and the team of 11 playing on it and not the 11 on paper.

AGAINST THE SPIRIT

Cricket came into being in the 17th Century and from the time WG Graceand Don Bradman donned those cricketing whites and took that willow in the Test format, a kind of subtleness was associated with the game. But amidst this subtleness, cricketing history is quite replete with the instances which, in no way can be categorised as gentlemanly.

Suraj Randiv's ‘deliberate No ball’ is just another example in the long list of events which has marred the so called ‘spirit of cricket’. The most famous or rather infamous fiasco going against the spirit of cricket was that of Trevor Chappell’s underarm bowling against arch rivals New Zealand. Interestingly the batsmen against whom the underarm action was used, Brian McKechnie was reprimanded because he threw his bat on the field and thus had shown misconduct.

 

It was one of the lows of cricket and it forced the cricketing fraternity to think hard about their complex rules. But again at that time it was not illegal as such because such a rule did not exist. Even in the case of Suraj Randiv one can’t really hold him accountable as it was a no ball anyone could have bowled and according to the law, the run of the ‘no ball’ was counted. But it was the spirit of the game which was overlooked, Randiv knowing that the fate of the game has already been decided could have given the chance for Sehwag to score a century, but allegedly he didn’t.

There was an instance where, the great Sunil Gavaskar playing his penultimate game was on the verge of making his maiden one day international (ODI) century against New Zealand and the New Zealand bowlers respecting the great man bowled him loose delivery to allow him get to his century. There was no big fuss about it, but the point is this was how the game was played a decade back.

Now with the level of competition and the increasing frequency of the games it is quite obvious that the spirit of the game is declining or players quite evidently are giving it a miss. Maybe the players are forgetting about certain morals, values or integrity associated with the game and they don’t seem to care at all. Mark Waugh had once famously said, “Millions of Australians want us to win the World Cup. I don’t know anything about the spirit of cricket.”

 

Well his point seems fair enough and to validate this very point of Waugh, there are some grey areas which need to be attended at by the cricketing apex bodies, if they intend to ensure the spirit of cricket does not die. Like for example sledging as such is really against the spirit of any sports, one can’t abuse or intimidate other for the sake of the game alone and yet for some weird reason the cricketing apex body does seem to allow the sledging to carry on.

What I am trying to come to is the fact that one talks about the conduct or moral or integrity or spirit of the game, it is very subjective and if International Cricket Council tries to keep every other cricketing body happy, then positive changes can not be expected.

TOP 10 ICONIC FOOTBALLERS

Football, famously put as the game of two halves has captivated us like none other. A civilization has lived with it and with this deep roots it obvious that we would have a lot and lot to talk about. And like any other sport its the players who make the sport .Players who go on to become greats then legends and attain the levels of immortality. Here I am trying to put in numbers , the best ever players, the most influential, the most iconic footballers. Its definitely a tough ask and there will be thousands who will disagree but there will a hundred thousand who will also agree with me. Am trying to put in the 10 most iconic players and I have divided the list into two. The top half will be legends who played an era or two ago and the other half will be the greats and potential greats who still are around.

Pele

Ask anyone, even those who are completely devoid of any kind of knowledge on football; ask them who is Pele. Most of the answers will have the adjectives like great, brilliant, one of its kind. This is the aura of Edison Arantes do Nascimento, popularly known as Pele. He is an icon for the entire football fraternity. Be it of the field or on the field the name Pele demands respect.

Diego Maradonna

There are no two opinions on whose the best ever footballer Latin America has ever produced and there will only be few contradictions on Deigo Maradonna being the greatest footballer of all time. But what has brought him to this list is his iconic stature.1986 world cup is synonymous to Deigo Maradonna. .His infamous “Hand of God” goal and the best ever strike in any World cup are very few of what this great player has achieved. Weather it was with Barcelona, Napoli or Boca Juniors, he brought success where ever he played.

Frranz Beckenbaur

The best defender of all time, Franz was a man of integrity and his nickname Der Kaiser ("The Emperor") indicates how highly he is rated. Franz was a versatile player and inventor of sweeper position in football. Franz's international carried was studded with victories at highest level. A world cup win as a captain in 1974 then as a Manager in 1990 is a feat none other have achieved.

John Cryuff

Football's first ever complete player, he is a legend in Netherlands and a definite icon to world. He showed to the world what free flowing attack means .He was a striker but could very well swap his position into the wings and with amazing dribbling skills and swiftness there was not stopping him in the 1970s. The charismatic player of Ajax Amsterdam put the club from Netherlands into the World Map with 3 European championships on the trot. He later went on to become a great coach putting in his strategic mind at work.

Micheal Platini

This Frenchman is a three time European player of the year. Do you need anything else to question this man's place in this list? He was the icon of Les Blue (France) and Juventus in 1970s and 1980s. He was the original play maker and still is regarded as the best passer in the games history. He was an all round talent. Playing in the midfield he top scored for Juventus on 3 different seasons proving his might as a Talisman for the Italy based club.

NOTE: I would love to put the Portuguese goal machine Eusebio at par with Platini and in the list just because of the sheer number of goals he has scored for Benifica and he is regarded as an icon in Portugual.

ZinadineZidane

Well my personal favorite,  Zizou, was a player possessed, a player blessed, a player with the birth right to play football. He was the magician who mesmerized every football fan from 1990 and still continues to do so . He took the act of Dribbling to new heights and with due respect, he made likes of Romario and Pele look novice. He was the ultimate  playmaker but eventually he became the play himself. If there is an icon for the 21^st century lets proclaim Zizou to be that.

Luis Figo

 Seldom there are great players who play in the same era,But Luis Figo and Zidane played against each other and with each other. Figo was the original Galactico,A national icon of Portugal , his lazy running and pin point passing were a contradiction and he lived on this contradiction becoming a legend. He was the unending source brilliance on field.

Ronaldo

Many might well disagree on this specific choice but  the impact this Brazilian had on  the world was something special. Yes he was a great goal scorer, though one might argue  that he was blessed with the best bunch of midfielders to provide him with the opportunity. And opportunity is what he grabbed all the time. His first touch was so immaculate that there was no need for a second. His playing style was not at all of Brazilian flamboyance but it was pure simple; kick the ball into the target.

David Beckham

David Beckham is probably the only player in the list who is a pure icon, not the greatest of players but a sporting icon nevertheless. Be it any kind of sport, you need a presentable face for the game to be popular and well. Beckham was perfect. Not to ignore his astounding free kicks, he was the dream footballer. He was the face of football.

Lionel Messi

An amazing player, great one in the making and has every possibility of attaining the stardom every other player on this list has achieved. The similarities are just too obvious. He is a fantastic dribbler like Pele, has the charisma like Maradonna, has a strong character like Beckenbuer, is a team player like Cruyff, a total playmaker like Platini and Figo, has a dash of brillance like Zidane and Ronaldo. Well he might not have the looks of Beckham but what the heck, he will be a legend for sure.

NOTE:  I seriously hope that he does not fizz out like Ronaldinho did.

 

  

TOP 10 STYLISH PLAYERS IN TENNIS

Tennis is the absolute sport of panache and ingenuity, a duel of character and tranquility. It has been conquered by many by skill and talent, by courage and grit and by passion and fervor. But few have been able to annex the sport through their savior-faire  and grandeur..From the time Tennis  came into being in the Victorian era, style has definitely been its customary accessory. Be it before the Open era or after it, many  personalities have graced the Tennis courts with the dash of elegance and the taste of vogue. And here am selecting a few who stood out not necessarily  because of their style of play but surely due to their own style.

1. Andre Aggasi

The ultimate style icon of the Tennis court has to be the great Andre Agassi. As if the Tennis world was going in to the morally right class were noblemen prevailed,there came a rebel, a savior of sorts in the 1990s. With his bright colored outfit and neon glow shoes and of course the famous mullet hairstyle ( which was a wig) , Andre Aggasi became the wildest thing on the Tennis court . Aggasi was style icon who never-backed out from exhibiting himself on the field, be it the emotions or his dress, they were always true and definitely had a lasting impression on everyone who witnessed him.

2. Anna Kournokova

This  Russian babe was the ultimate beauty of  the tennis court. The 15 year old in the 1996 US Open made some heads turns and she became a regular of fashion magazines and various “hot” lists. But it was not only the the sublime beauty of Ana which was on display but the way she carried herself on the field. A strong baseline player she would always have an attire to impress. From sleek curvy sleeveless tops to the high bloomers to reveal her never ending legs. She was hotness personified.

3. Roger Federer

Roger is probably the only player in the list  I think is stylish not because of the way he carries himself but because of the way he is and how he plays. A legend in the making you seem to be  honored when you witness Fedex in action. Be its his accurate backhand or the thumping forehand he seems to be at ease always. He dominates the baseline like a lion and moves across the court swiftly like a gazelle. With a composure second to a rock this unfathomable player is the noblemen of this era I earlier referred  to and probably the most stylish of them all.

4. Maria Sharapova

Another Russian bombshell, well not exactly a bombshell because this new age beauty is more into the category suave. This citified stunner is a role model for millions of girls out there. The way she carries herself and the choice of her attire is something one might call classic. From here regular simply awesome cocktailish wardrobe to one of its kind Tuxedo, this blonde beauty very well knows the expression “Dress to kill”.

5. Serena Williams

When it comes to Tennis legacy only a few might miss the William sisters name. The sister act have dominated the women circuit like none other. And even when it comes to being the stylish they are not far behind. Serena especially is a person who has always made a style statement. With a bold fashion sense this powerhouse girl has always stood out. Be it the all denim ready to dig outfit or the more vibrant colored  ensemble she will always catch your attention for sure.

6. Venus Williams

The older William sister has always matched up to her younger sister in every aspect of the game and she has always been in the thick of fashion all the time. From her more recent lacy corset outfit in the French open to various other fashion statements like the tank outfit she has never shied away  from from trying something different.

7. Bjorn Borg

This pale Swedish legend played in a era which could very well be termed as the decade of fashion disaster and probably this would be the reason he stood out with his beard,the “too short” shorts, V-Neck shirts and the flashy headband, a trend his contemporary, legendary John Mcenroe  also followed. There was nothing deviant about him or his style statement but he was justifiable for sure and  his manly physical attributes did  earn him a lot of fan following.

8. Rafael Nadal

The Spanish matador is nothing like his contemporary Roger Federer yet they seem to find a place next to each other. This clay court expert is as bullish as it can get. His style statement is his emotions for sure. With Sleeveless Ts revealing the bulging biceps  and the capri pants complemented by the head band surely calls for a style statement.

9. Fred Perry

This list of top 10 stylish Tennis players will be incomplete without the name of legendary Fred Perry who came out with a revolutionary attire in the  1952 Wimbledon . He donned a branded polo shirt and trousers all white which later acted as the base for the different style trends in Tennis.

10. Arthur Ashe

Another name from the past, this first ever Afro American champion was a style icon. With his classic mid Afro hair style, shorts and tracks which eventually became the most popular attire in Men Tennis, he graced the Tennis court for a brief period of time.

SPANISH INQUISITION FAILS TO SCALE THE SWISS ALPS

ESPANOL 0 – 1 SWITZERLAND

What the bloody hell happened!!!!! It had to be Spain all the way, the stage was set for them to outshine all for the first time ever in the greatest stage of them all. With a spectacular 10 – 0 qualifying record and a magnificent attacking unit, this should have been a goal fest for La Roja Furia. There was the prolific David Villa, menacing Xavi, the probing Andreas Ineista and the ever dangerous Xavi Alonso and add to it the fervor of David Silva, Jesus Navas and how could one forget the talisman Fernando “El Nino” Torres. Even the Great Wall of China would have crumbled under the attack but a bunch of skiers from the Alps is what it took to halt the Spanish inquisition.

With due respect to the Swiss players who played their heart out and more importantly stuck to their plan; the Spaniards only have themselves to blame for the loss. But again it will not be fair to say that Switzerland were lucky, as they played really well, the defense which was under constant Spanish bombardment was undeterred and when they got a chance to surge ahead, a momentary lapse in the Spanish defense was well punished by Gelson Fernandes. After a scuffle inside the D the defenders failed to clear the ball and when Iker Casillas let the ball past him Gelson just needed to tap the ball in to become the Swiss hero of the night.

Spain on the other hand played an elite brand of attacking football sans the finishing touch. If you had watched the Germany game against Australia, you would have thought that the germen attack is just a trailer of what the Spaniards can do. And precisely enough Spain did much better than the Germans barring the main purpose of scoring a goal. It was a game of missed chances for the Spaniards as Xavi maneuvered his wingers Iniesta and David Villa later Jesus Navas superbly. But Iniesta looked bit a lackluster though he provided some moments of brilliance. David Silva on the other hand was more penetrative of the two but his shots were not on target. He was replaced by Jesus Navas in the 62^nd minute but he also was man marked superbly and had seldom chances at putting the long ball inside the D. David Villa had a bad start in the first half and it worsened in the second. Villa was a shadow of himself in the first and in the second he was seen dominating sparingly. His shots also were wide. Torres came in with the loudest vuvuzela welcome one could imagine and he started of superbly with some fierce off the ball running but his lack of match practice was evident. The entire evening for Spain could be summarized as a night of spoiled chances with a real chance at goal coming from Xavi Alonso late in the second half only to be denied by the post.

With possession for over 60 minutes of the game and 12 corner kicks Spain had to put one in but failed to do so. The Swiss on the other hand had 2 real chances and were able to convert one and the other was nearly in, when a brilliant off the ball running by Eren Derdiyok lead to a split in the Spanish defense and he then later dribbled his way past the world’s two best defenders (Piyol & Pique) to calmly tap the ball past Iker casilllas only to be denied by the post.

In the end Swiss will be happy and Spain will come out all guns blazing against Chile and Hondarus and the World Cup will continue to bring out the best and the worst of every team.

http://www.merinews.com/article/spanish-inquisition-fails-to-scale-the-swiss-alps/15823346.shtml

FIESTA de IPL: INDIANS THUMP AUTHORITY IN DEVIL’S DEN

Delhi Daredevils got a taste of their own medicine as excellent batting display and immaculate bowling performance propelled the Mumbai Indians to the top of the table vanquishing the ever dangerous Delhi by 98 runs.

TEAMS

MUMBAI INDIANS: There was no need for Sachin Tendulkar to make any changes in his squad, but again if you have the costliest player coming in and a player of Dwayne Bravo’s caliber; you are bound to make that change for sure. West Indian Keiron Pollard came in for Ryan Maclaren as Ali Murtaza had to sit out for Bravo, Rayadu and Tiwary were in good knick and a big score was definitely on the cards.

DELHI DAREDEVILS: Punjab and Rajasthan did not pose any serious competition for the Devils, so this was definitely the first litmus test for them in IPL 3.Gambhir, the captain had to show his class in this match, Gambhir fielded an unchanged squad.

Delhi won the toss and elected to bowl first.

GENIUS AT WORK

The mainstay of Delhidardevils, Dirk Nannes did not have the start he would have expected against two legends, starting of with 3 wides on the trot as he over pitched one to Sachin who got it past the cover region with ease for the first boundary. Sachin had started of ominously. Daredevils missed couple of run out chances and the little master went on at his business striking the ball neat and clean, Things worsened for Delhi as captain Gautam Gambhir had to limp back to the dugout due to a pulled hamstring. Substitute Yogesh Nagar though made his presence felt with a stunner of a catch to dismiss the dangerous Jayasurya. Tendulkar though continued nonchalantly picking up the gaps beautifully and timing, exquisite. Aditya Tare seemed to have a gameplan, he just tried to whack every ball, and after failing to connect two pulls, he smashed one over the midwicket boundary of Pradeep Sangwan, Sangwan later got his revenge knocking over Tare. Promising Saurabh Tiwary joined the Little Master as spinners operated from both ends. Tendulkar after delicately placing the ball to third man boundary and dancing down the wicket for a full blooded on drive got holed out at long off, 63 of 32, Tendulkar had done his job.

YOUTHFUL EXUBERENCE

Amabati Rayadu then joined Tiwary as both continued their good form from the first match maintaining the 10 run per over rate. While Tiwary used his feet against the spinners playing them on full, Rayadu decided to utilize the crease shifting his weight to the backfoot clearing the rope with ease on quite a few occasions. By the time Rayadu and Tiwary departed, the later hitting his consecutive 50, the stage was set for Pollard and Bravo to provide the late fireworks. The inning’s final over bowled by Ladda yielded 14 runs and the score was a mammoth 218.

BRISK START

With a batting line up that of the devils, no target was improbable, Dilshan and Sehwag  showed glimpses of that as they amassed 33 of 3 overs, Dilshan scored his first IPL 3 runs smashing Zaheer Khan towards the mid off boundary. Sehwag flicked with vengeance while Dilsan improvised innovatively.

DEVILS COME CRASHING DOWN

The decisive blow was given by Malinga as he foxed his counterpart Dilshan with a slower one; the off stump did a cart wheel. AB De Villiers came in dispatching the very first ball for 4, timing immaculate. In order to up the run rate, Sehwag tried to clear the long off, but with Bravo’s medium pace he failed, Rayadu taking a straight forward catch. Sehwag back in the hood, the same over resulted in the demise of De Villiers. Mahroof and Karthik came in; no signs of Gambhir yet. Delhi were in a spot of bother. Kathik hit three pure cricketing shots for boundaries, he needed to hit a dozen more but when he was brilliantly stumped by Aditya Tare, the spot of bother had turn into a black hole for revival. Mahroof hit some lusty blows to reach 28, the highest for the devils, but the only thing left to see was how big the margin will be. Eventually Harbhajan knocked over Nannes. A 98 runs defeat, Mumbai went on top of the table.

MI 2_ DD 2   

FIESTA de IPL: CHARISMATIC KALLIS ANCHORS BANGLORE

A batting paradise conquered by the throwback named Jacques Kallis, he is probably the most critiqued player, deemed not fit for T20, but what conspired on that 22 yard strip of Chinnaswamy Stadium is perhaps the best reply the ace all rounder could have given. Building an innings is considered a substratum for any batsmen, but it’s a rarity in the crash bang version and so is Kallis, a rare species of genius. He built an innings of substance and blossomed into variance.

THE MYRIAD

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE: Their first game at home was all the more important as they looked for their first win of IPL3.Boucher was in for Van De Merwe as Goswami was benched for Vinay Kumar.

KINGS XI PUNJAB: A comprehensive lose to Daredevils delineated the loopholes for the Punjab outfit, openers needed to give the firepower, though Bopara looked convincing, middle order needed to click and bowlers had to bowl with much  more conviction. Sangakarra dropped Romesh Pawar for offie Bipul Sharma.

Sangakarra won the toss elected to bat first

KINGS XI TO A ROYAL START

Bopara started of well and looked to play the sheet anchor role as both Styen and Kallis treated Manvinder Sultansingh Bisla with an array of short balls, Bisla though not at all convincing against the pacy short ones, was caught in awkward positions, edging and trying to duck, but he survived the adrenaline rush of the Bangalore bowlers. Bisla gradually made himself comfortable as he faced most of the strike in the powerplay. He edged his way to the boundaries and pulled twice of Kallis in majestic fashion, he has got his early nervousness out of the way. Bopara seemed to be content to play the second fiddle, as Bisla danced down the track hitting Kumble for an imperious long off six. He greeted Vinay kumar with another maximum. The duo amassed plenty of runs as Bangalore bowlers continually fed them length bowls.

By the end of 14^th over Punjab were 129/0 at a run rate of 9.21, 200 definitely on the cards. Bisla eventually got out and was soon followed by Yuvraj Singh. Jayawardene then stepped up his game with a wonderful cameo of 13 ball 26, innovation personified the Sri Lankan’s inning, as Bopara flourished in the final over. 204, was the target for the challengers.

GUTSY ONSET

Sangakarra hoped that his bowlers would exploit bowling under lights to make some early inroads. Sreesanth and Pathan though got the ball to swing, but they were not penetrative enough as Kallis and Manish Pandey played out the first few overs cautiously, more importantly without losing a wicket. It was infact in 5^th over Kallis walloped a half tracked from Yusuf Abdulla towards the midwicket boundary for the first six. Pandey then showed some aggression favouring the on side and taking  18 of Pathan’s over. Chawala was introduced into the attack, who bowled in a perfect rhythm reading the batsmen cleverly, resulting a Manish Pandey wicket, Pandey had  played his part with a quick fire 38 of 25.Kallis on the other hand also played some handsome strokes but rotated the strike regularly.

ROBIN’S FUROR

Robin Uthappa came to the crease, as commentator Russel Arnold described him as one of India’s underachiever, truly so, a class act seldom seen to play an innings of substance, and now here was his chance at atonement and he it grabbed with both hands, brutality prevailed as he hit Chawla for consecutive boundaries, then Abdulla for a long on six and a four, before unleashing a torrent of sixes of sreesanth, 25 from that over, tide had shifted to the Royal Challengers ancillary. Robin raced to a 19 ball 50, second fastest in IPL. He is one of the exotic breed whose brute force is as elegant as it can get.

KALLIS SEALS IT

Bipul Sharma had a good start to his IPL career picking up Uthappa in his very first over, as Kohli walked to the middle, I thought Morgan would have been a better choice, but when Virat hit a six courtesy a dropped catch by M.Kaif, the Chinnaswamy crowd roared like anything chanting RCB. Kallis impelled after a valiant knock of 62 of 48 as he hammered Bipul Sharma for 3 humungous hits towards the deep midwicket region. The game was set and duly so Kallis hit the winning runs with an over to spare, he ended up at 89 not out in 53 balls becoming the highest run getter of IPL 3 and a proud holder of orange cap.

RCB 1 _ KXIP 0

FIESTA de IPL: ANNIHILATATION BY PRINCE OF NAJAFGARH

DEVILS AND ROYALS

DELHI DAREDEVILS: On paper this is the best team of IPL, most well balanced side, everyone expects them to reach no less than the semifinals stages. With enough ammunition to destroy any bowling attack, batting is definitely their strong point, but one aspect that makes Delhi Daredevils more lethal is the performance of their non international players like Pradeep Sangwan, Mithun Manhas, Yo Mahesh and Sarbjeet Ladda.

RAJASTHAN ROYALS: A close finish in their opener, the royals were not at all disheartened, as big things were expected from Yusuf Pathan once again. Warne fielded an unchanged squad for their home match in Motera.

Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to field first

DIRK NANNES AS USUAL, DELHI ON TOP

Dirk Nannes has been a revelation for the devils since his inclusion in the Delhi team. After a wayward first over by Mahroof which yielded 14 runs, Nannes produced a stellar of an over beating the batsmen on many occasion and also got rid of Asnodkar.  Mahroof was not at his bowling best as Naman Ojha displayed his might with the bat. He launched one over long off, after hitting two majestic boundaries of 1 Amit Mishra over, but his inexperienced undid him as in a greed to get more runs he could not pick up the googly and Mishra got his revenge. But the decisive blow was given by Mahroof as he cameback strongly after being drubbed in his first two overs, to dismiss Yusuf Pathan, Pathan tried to heave a slower one over long on to be caught in the deep by AB De villiers. It was good thinking on the part of Mahroof to pitch it a touch short without any pace as Pathan had to reach out and generate more power, which he was not able to do.

JHUNJHUNWALA SCRATCHES ROYALS OUT

Debutant Sarbjeet Ladda started of brilliantly, and didn’t hesitate in giving ample air to the ball. Pradeep Sangwan’s persistent resulted in Graeme Smith’s wicket, the Royals losing the plot. Abhishek Jhunjunwala and Paras Dogra were denied any kind of room by both the spinners as the run rate came down drastically to below 6.A partnership was the need of the hour, Jhunjhunwala and Dogra provided one; after being bogged down, they went for the kill, putting Sarbjeet Ladda to the sword in his final over hammering 17 runs. Rajasthan crossed the hundred run mark as in an attempt to accelerate; Dogra fell for 29.The dangerous Dimitri Mascarenhas proved to a flop as he was run out brilliantly without causing any stir. Jhunjhunwala held on reaching his maiden IPL 50 putting up a decent score of 141.

 PRINCE OF NAJAFGARH PREVAILS

As if he is playing for fun, Sehwag puts bat to bowl, and it flies all over the place. 2 boundaries of the first over, another couple of 4s of Tait’s second, a Six and a four of Munaf patel, the scorecard reads 40/0 of 3 overs of which 30 is scored by Sehwag. Mascarenhas came back and got Gambhir and Dilshan of consecutive balls, Royals might have seen a glimmer of hope, but Viru curtailed any kind of hope. His magnificent 34 ball 75 consisted of not a single miss hit, all pure cricketing shots, yet it can not be termed as brutal or barbarous, it was clinical at best. At the other end De villiers struggled to get going, but well no one bothered to care, Amit Uniyal was torn apart with precision ,Mascarenhas massacared skillfully, the only respect he gave was to Shane Warne ,may be considered his old age and nagging wrist. The game was all set before Sehwag miscued a slower one by Munaf and skied it, Graeme Smith took a Karbonn Kamal catch. Mithun Manhas was joined by Karthik and they ensured that Delhi gets 2 wins of 2 matches. Rajasthan Royals were yet to open their account.

FIESTA de IPL: DECCAN PLAY LIKE CHAMPS

SETUP

CHENNAI SUPERKINGS: Over the two IPL seasons, Chennai have been the most fearsome outfits, the most persistent team, Dhoni packed in power hitters for the opening match in the form Hayden, Kemp and Morkel. Ravichandran Ashwin got a place alongside Murlidharan.

DECCAN CHARGERS: It had been an ominous start for the defending champs, a win here for Gilchrist was a necessity. He named an unchanged team from the last match. Jaskaran Singh would have felt lucky to retain his position in the team.

Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to bat

TORRID START

Adam Gilchrist had one plan, to lift his team to grand total, and he targeted the UP lad, Sudeep Tyagi for this, He hammered a full length ball outside off stump to produce the first six of the match, the second one followed a ball later in the same region, Gilly milked 19 of the over. Morkel’s third over yield 14 runs courtesy 2 fours and a 6 by Adam Gilchrist making him the first player to break the 1000 runs barrier in IPL. .Dhoni was forced to use his spinners in the power play and they duly obliged.

SPINNERS REBOUND

Murali conceded only 6 of his first over. Ravichandran Ashwin was geared to bowl the 4^th over and he fired in the first four balls giving away 2 wides and a boundary, Ashwin bowled the 5^th ball slower through the air enticing Gilchrist to come down the track and walaah, ball evaded the blade of the bat crashing into the off stump, a spinners delight, Dhoni’s ploy had worked, The captain of the Chargers back in the hood. The very next ball saw the demise of VVS Laxman courtesy sharp fielding by Suresh Raina. Superkings had recovered the early onset. Balaji and Kemp maintained the pressure created by the spinners, Ashwin in particular stood out through his variable length and diverse balls.

EXPERIENCE COMES IN HANDY

Gibbs and Symonds were bogged down for the majority of the innings but they ensured that their wickets were intact till the time came to accelerate; the early run rate set by Gilchrist gave both the experienced campaigners’ time to negotiate the spinners. but once they got their eye in the shots began to arrive, Symonds blasted Balaji for a six over long off and again his brute force prevailed. Both batsmen were eventually run out playing handy knock of 45 and 50.at the end of the 19th over the scorecard read 168/4.Dhoni took chance and gave the ball to tyagi, and was it, Suman and Rohit generated 22 of the final over to take the total to a hefty 190.

EARLY SETBACK

There was a lot of talk that Hayden will bring out his mongoose bat, but that was not to be as Chminda Vaas once again opened the bowling with conviction. Adam Gilchrist surprised many by giving the bowl to part timer Rohit Sharma as Hadyen hit him for a mammoth six. Vaas’s second over produced the wicket of Murali Vijay. Raina came in and without taking any time heaved a short pitch delivery toward the mid wicket boundary for a maximum, but Vaas came back strongly as Raina tried to hit the ball hard rather than timing it resulting in a simple catch for Adam Gilchrist, Vaas had got his second. But Still Superkings batting depth meant that the game was not over yet. Hayden hit his second six of the innings of the bowling of R.P. Singh and he was looking dangerous. But it was Chaminda Vaas again coming to the resue, Hayden tried to scoop the ball over short fine leg, but with Vaas’s pace it was a disastrous shot selection, Hayden gone, Chennai were in a spot of bother.

Dhoni and Kemp tried to consolidate the innings as Jaskaran Singh was put to the sword in his very first over, he gave away 3 boundaries and a wide. But Pragyan Ojha and Rohit Sharma exploited the slowness of the Chennai pitch and continuously applied pressure on both Dhoni and Kemp. Kemp got a move on as he danced down the track to hit Ohja for a six, but when Ojha flighted the ball, Kemp was foxed to come out of the crease and a straight forward stumping by Gilchrist.

The superkings never recovered from that blow and when Dhoni was bowled by  Symonds, the last nailed in the superkings coffin was in its place, Albie morkel hit a few lusty blows little late in the innings. Superkings finished 31 runs short, a big blow to their IPL campaign.

FIESTA de IPL: KNIGHTS REBUFF THE CHALLENGE

LINEUP

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS: With a win under their belt, they aimed to carry the day at their home, the Eden Gardens. Rohan Gavaskar was in for Laxmi Ratan Shukla as Kolkata went in with 4 specialist bowlers.

BANGALORE ROYAL CHALLENGERS: To start of with a win is always important, and Banglore would know that a winning momentum can do wonders. Anil Kumble opted for young brigade for the opening match as Shreevats Goswami got a chance ahead of Boucher to accommodate Eion Morgan from the foreign recruit.

Knight riders won the toss and elected to field first.

KNIGHTS TAKE THE INITIATIVE

Kolkata stared of from where they had left the last game, succinct bowling spell, Charles Langeveldt and Ishant Sharma bowled a probing line well assisted by the slowness of the pitch. Bangalore gambled by putting Goswami alongwith Kallis to open even though they had Robin Uthappa in the playing eleven who eventually came at 5 down. The experienced campaigner Charles Langeveldt showered Goswami with an array of well directed bouncers, Goswami was getting wary at each dot delivery; he was moving to the leg side, trying to make room and throwing his bat at about everything. He charged down to another bouncer but was caught at third man. The revelation of 2^nd IPL Mansih Pandey walked out to the middle and walked back without troubling the scorers, Angelo Mathews picked up his first of the match. Another youngster Virat Kolhi also fell cheaply, as Murali Karthik smelled success in the first over itself. Eion Morgan showed glimpse of his approx. 99 lakh worth, when he lofted Brad Hodge coolly over the long off boundary for a maximum, but Karthik stuck again as Morgan’s reverse sweep attempt failed and had to pay the price with his wicket. Dravid tried to build a partnership, and he looked  be in good touch but unluckily Dravid dragged an inside edge to the wicket, Angelo Mathews got his second. At the other end Kallis hung on but was not at his ruthless best for sure. Eventually he survived till the end to post a total of 135 courtesy a massive six and a four of the final over. Angelo Mathews finished with an impressive 4-19 in allotted 4overs.

CLINICAL RUNCHASE

Manoj Tiwary and Brad Hodge had no pressure at all, 136 in any kind of pitch is very gettable.Praveen Kumar and Kallis started of with an intention of picking up early wickets, Tiwary and Hodge though started of slowly but denied any success for the bowlers upfront. But after a farce mix-up, where Tiwary picked up an ankle injury, he stepped on the acceleration crashing Kllis to 2 fours and a six. Tiwary continued as he hoisted Styen for a long off maximum. Hodge joined the party with 2 consecutive boundaries as Kolkata cruised to 52 in 5 overs. Kumble himself came in to bowl the last power play over, but Tiwary with deft touch past backward point and a powerful slog treated himself with couple of fours .Van de Merwe and Anil Kumble restrict the run flow but fail to get any breakthrough. For major part of the innings both Brad Hodge and Tiwary rotated the strike with odd boundaries in between. Van De Merwe got the breakthrough a bit late though, pouncing on a sharp return catch of Tiwary and Hodge getting holed out at long on. Both gone for a well made half centuries. Pujara joined Dada as the equation read 20 runs from 30 balls.No alarm bells rang in KKR camp till now, as Ganguly and Pujara accumulated singles and inched closer to victory. Dada then hit Styen for a mammoth six, typical Dadagiri, getting his front foot out of the way, the ball sailed over long off. Eden Garden Erupted. Ultimately Pujara and Shah completed the formality to hand KKR their second win in as many matches.

THE SHINING KNIGHT

There were many good performances, Angelo Mathews’s 4 -19, Tiwary and Hodge’s magnificent 50s, but the shining Knight at least for me was Eden Garden’s own Dada. Saurav Ganguly was at his tactical best as he rotated the bowlers splendidly, not allowing the batsmen to settle down for one kind of bowling, his field placements were spot on and icing on the cake ,The trademark dads six over long off. He can not  get it wrong at Eden, can he???

FIESTA de IPL: DAREDEVILS TAME LIONS OF PUNJAB

KINGS AND DEVILS

KINGS XI PUNJAB: Lead by Kumara Sangakkara the Mohali outfit opted for two genuine spinners for a lively pitch and included Manvinder Bisla of Haryana ahead of his more flamboyant counterpart, Karan Goel. Kings have lead the Daredevils 3 – 1 in head to head encounters in IPL.

DELHI DAREDEVILS: They could be termed as the proverbial chockers of IPL, two semifinals finishes in last two editions, Daredevils lead by new captain Gautam Gambhir would be eyeing to do one step better this season . They opted to bench explosive David Warner for an extra bowler in Farveez Mahroof, alongside speedster Dirk Nannes and young sensation Pradeep Sangwan and YO Mahesh with Amit Mishra being the only spinner.

Delhi won the toss and elected to field first.

KINGS SUCCUMB TO DEVILS PLAY

Ravi Bopara and Manvinder Bisla walked out to the middle in a hope to give their team a flying start but Dirk Nannes started of as usual with speed, swing and conviction. The first over yielded only a single and a direct hit from Mithun Manhas put Manvinder Bisla back to the hood. The opening bowlers Dirk Nannes and Mahroof extract maximum bounce and swing making batsmen’s life a misery. After a lusty blow straight over the top of bowler Mahroof, Sangakarra departed soon followed by Yuvraj and immediately superseded by Jayawerdene for a golden duck. After 7 overs scorecard reads 49/4 in favour of the Devils. Bopara on the other end played himself in negotiating the good deliveries and pouncing on the loose one with good effect. Irfan Pathan joined Bopara and scored a handy 21 of 15 before being foxed by Dilsan. Good captaincy shown by Gauti to give the ball to Dilsan who has the knack of taking wickets at crucial juncture. When Bopara was holed out in deep square leg of the bowling of Yo Mahesh, all hopes of a late flourish smoked out and in the end Kings managed to put up a decent but below par 142.

KINGS RESURGENCE, GAUTIS PURSUANCE

When Virender Sehwag is on the crease, Devils look formidable and others mere minions, but when Sehwag departs the roles are reversed and that’s what exactly Southern Sizzler Sreesanth did for Kings XI Punjab. After many months Sree looked sharp for the first time and bowled full to produce sterling out swingers. Sehwag and Dilsan out in the second over itself and Devils where in a spot of bother. Pathan and Sree exploited the new ball, and bowled superbly to put Delhi in the same position as they were while batting. The good work by the opening bowlers was carried on by Yusuf Abdulla and Piyush Chawla as they stuck to the basics giving away nothing building pressure on Gambhir and AB De Villers. The stress showed as AB went for a non existent single eventually getting run out. Dinesh Karthik came in and scratched his way to 18 balls 20 before getting caught at long off. Amidst all this ataxia, Gambhir was determined nudging the ball here and there and producing some exquisite cuts and paddle sweep to keep his team in the hunt. The veteran Mithun Manhas joined Gauti and he played excellently without any urgency rotating the strike and running hard between the wickets. The match looked like to be hanging in a balance, until Sangakarra introduced off spinner Romesh Pawar into the attack in the 14^th over as Gambhir launched his assault over the spinner, milking 16 of the over. Mithun and Gauti continued to inch closer to victory without any further fuss. The 19 over saw Pathan drop a sitter of Manhas, and when Manhas crashed one into the fence, Pathan would have thought that he had dropped the match. Gambhir assured a victory hitting the 5^th ball of the penultimate over high superbly over long off for a 6.The equation read 4 from 6, though Gauti got out for a valiant 72 of 53 Mithun Manhas and Mahroof ensured a clinical victory for the Devils.

THE REAL DEVIL

Captain Gautam Gambhir proved to the deciding factor in the match as he guided his beasts from hell to victory, a real captain’s knock this will definitely boost his morale in the coming matches both as captain and a batsmen.

FIESTA de IPL: MI SURVIVE A PATHAN BLITZKRIEG

A Butcher with a knife would have looked more civilized than Yusuf Pathan with a piece of wood. It was onslaught at its best as powerhouse Pathan brought up the first ton of IPL-3 in ridiculously 37 deliveries, second fastest in the history of T20 format, yet his team was not able to pull of the victory against Mumbai Indians.

SQUAD

Mumbai Indians: After finishing in the bottom 4 on previous editions of IPL, MI were keen to start of with a winning note. The Master blaster alongside Jayasurya ,Zaheer and Lastish Malinga had the ICL recruits Ali Murtaza, Ambati Rayadu, and Rajgopal Satish for this opening encounter.

Rajasthan Royals: Warne opted for Speedster Shaun Tait, Mascarenhas and Graeme Smith, as he rested Munaf and Siddharth Trivedi for debutant Amit Uniyal and Imran Khan.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bat first

DETONATIVE START

Jayasurya started the proceedings with an array of boundaries with the very first over milking Mascarenhas for 13 runs. Tait bowled the second over with conviction Sachin greeted him with disdain. Amit Uniyal’s very first IPL over yielded him with the wicket of Jayasurya, a clever slower one, jayasurya out LBW. Tait bowled off radar conceding 5 wides in a single over, not an ominous start for the Royals as Sachin leg glanced and cover drived Uniyal for two exquisite boundaries before Aditya Tare launched one over the boundary line, Mumbai Indians to a stellar of a start.

YOUNG BRIGADE TAKE CHARGE

Mascarenhas returned strongly to pick up Sachin and Tare in the same over, bringing Amabati Rayadu and young Saurabh Tiwary to the crease. Rayadu started of well flicking Mascarenhas for 4 before dancing down the track flicking Warne to mid wicket, class written all over it. Tiwary joins the party with powerful drives and back foot jabs as both the lads accumulate runs maintaining the 10 runs per over rate, for most part of the innings scoring their maiden half centuries in the process. A 19 runs 14^th over bowled by Abhishek Jhunjhunwala assures Indians a score par 200. Mumbai Indians end up with their highest total of 212/6, but a Shuan Tait full toss hits Harbhajan on the knee roll, the turbanator has to retire hurt.

ROYALS DISINTEGRATE

Fantasitc opening spell by Zaheer Khan and Ryan McLaren backed up by superb fielding puts royals to the wall; by the end of 7^th over royals were 43/3 with asking rate over 15.MI were definitely on top as Malinga castled one more in the 10^th over. The first half surely belonged to the Indians.

PATHAN PANDEMONIUM

The firework instigates; Yusuf Pathan blasts three consecutive sixes, one over long on, another over mid wicket and third past long off. The 11^th over reads 1, 6, 4, 4, 6, 1wd, 4

Sachin gives the bowl to Ryan Mclaren, and after a lengthy deliberation the long on is brought inside the ring, clearly hinting full length deliveries. But there is nothing to stop this powerhouse; he digs out Yorker length deliveries to 4.Indians looked perplexed.  In a matter of 2 overs, the current run rate and required rate becomes equal, and Rajasthan royals sense something marvelous. A tight Malinga and Zaheer over puts the pressure back on the batsmen, but Pathan continues his rampage with 2 sixes and a 4 of one Jayasurya over. Pathan gets his hundred of just 37 deliveries which includes 9 boundaries and 8 maximums. Satish is back into the attack after a total drubbing by Yusuf, first ball to Pathan’s silent partner Dogra, he hits the ball straight back to the bowler, and Satish whips of the bail, third umpire rules the decision in favor of the bowler , and Mumbai Indians suddenly look a happy bunch, Pathan departs after a whirlwind innings. Yet the drama continues as Dogra launches a late attack with two sixes and couple of boundaries.

The equations reads 19 from 12.With Zaheer and Malinga to bowl, the Indians look like to be the favorites. Finally, the seasoned campaigners hold on to their nerves and produce 2 near perfect overs, the Mumbai Indians wrap up the match, maybe in hope of not experiencing the blitzkrieg like this for the entire tournament.

MI 1 _ RR 0