After dropping “Kolkata” from Indian Premier League team (IPL) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), actor Shah Rukh Khan has started discussions with Nokia, Sahara, the Anil Ambani group, and several other companies to sell the team he bought just over a year ago for Rs 300 crore, and exit the business.
According to sources in Red Chillies Entertainment, KKR’s holding company, “Shah Rukh Khan has been trying to sell a stake in KKR for some time now. But since most companies he approached also wanted management control, Khan is now talking to Nokia, Sahara, Anil Ambani and others to sell his entire shareholding.”

Khan’s public relations officer, however, said she would not be able to confirm the development because she had not met the actor.
None of those who have reportedly been approached confirmed the development. Sahara India’s communications director Abhijit Sarkar said: “We have not been approached by Shah Rukh Khan yet. But if he does, we would be happy to buy the team.”
D Shivakumar, vice-president and managing director (markets), Nokia India, sent a text message saying: “Shah Rukh Khan will keep the team.”
A Reliance Communications spokesperson declined to comment. “A lot of people negotiate with Anil Ambani. I cannot comment unless there is something concrete on table.”
According to the Red Chillies official, Khan wants to exit, owing to the team’s poor performance — so far the team has won only one rain-curtailed game under the Duckworth Lewis method — and rising costs.
“If the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) does not increase the number of teams for next year, Khan could get double what he paid,” said the Red Chillies official.
Khan is supposed to pay Rs 30 crore per year for the next 10 years. The total annual cost for the team is about Rs 75 crore.
Khan had earlier said that KKR was easily the most successful IPL franchise, making a Rs 13 crore profit last year. However, his costs trebled last year owing to interventions from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Cricket Association of Bengal.
According to initial calculations, Red Chillies had to pay Rs 90 lakh per match and was supposed to earn Rs 3 crore if all stadium tickets were sold at Eden Gardens. Red Chillies had to pay Rs 20 lakh to the police and municipal tax of Rs 5 lakh. So its expenses per match would have been over Rs 1 crore. But this figure had trebled.
Last year, however, Kolkata Police demanded Rs 2 crore as security fees, against Rs 50 lakh that the organisers of the IPL offered. Then, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) demanded Rs 25 lakh from Red Chillies as amusement tax for holding IPL matches at Eden Gardens.
To settle the dispute between Kolkata Police and the IPL organisers over the cost of security arrangements at Eden Gardens, Red Chillies Entertainment had to agree to pay Rs 75 lakh as security fees.
About 5,500 uniformed personnel and about 1,500 sleuths were deployed to secure the stadium and its surrounding areas, since many celebrities were expected to watch the IPL matches at Eden Gardens.

Terming the IPL Twenty20 tournament as more "intense" than Tests or one-dayers, high profile Australian coach John Buchanan has confessed that he found his job with the Kolkata Knight Riders as the toughest assignment of his career.

"The intensity of it is higher than any one-day or Test series I have been involved in," said Buchanan, who is credited to having propelled Australia to dizzy heights during his nine-year tenure but failed to taste even mediocre success with the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise.

"The thing with Test and one-day series is that you usually play a few of them a year, but for pure intensity, the IPL is far higher than anything I encountered," he was quoted as saying by the 'Cricinfo'.

"There is a durability required in international cricket - sometimes you are playing nine months or more a year - but for intensity it doesn't come close. (And) From the time the tournament starts to the time it ends, you never stop with the constant traveling and the busy schedule," he added.

Buchanan, who proposed the much-debated multiple-captain theory before the start of the tournament, so far failed to help the Knight Riders taste any success with the Kolkata outfit languishing at the bottom of the points table in the on-going IPL. He, however, sought to clarify the reasons for the team's poor show.

"It isn't skill, ability or character that's held us back, but for whatever reason - some out of our control, some not - it has been pretty evident that some of the players have been tense.

"We obviously have a high expectation of ourselves, and when things don't go your way players can start to play with less freedom. Last night we copped a hammering, so we thought rather than dwell on it we would look to lighten things up a bit," he added.

Bollywood and Cricket, especially IPL, are becoming practically synonymous! Actors that own the teams speak so highly of them and spend so much time making ads and such for their respective teams. It is not only that .. the actors are also interested in the movies and the idiot box . I just watched a Hindi Comedy show called Comedy Circuis 20 / 20 , starring former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja as a judge alongside the actor turned politician Shekhar Suman , it's not something he's particularly good at. Anyways that's a topic for a different article. This just made me wonder about a few other well known cricketers that have tried to make it big in the movie/T.V. business. Here's a list of what I could find:



1. Mentioned above the infamous Ajay Jadeja, an amazing cricketer who fell out of favour with the BCCI and the public with his apparent involvement in the match-fixing scandal to rock Indian cricket. He recently made his debut with the film Khel, and if some of the articles in newspapers are to be believed, it isn't going to be his last. He is not a judge in a TV show called Comedy Circuis 20 - 20 .

2. Vinod Kambli is another that quickly springs to mind, childhood friend of Sachin Tendulkar's, somehow never managed to get his career going regardless of the fact that he was an immensely talented cricketer. He tried his hand in a movie called Annarth, again not something he would be particularly proud of as the movie failed to make any impact. A wonderful character though, I myself would have loved to have seen him fulfill his talent in cricket. He is one of the participants in TV show called Comedy Circuis 20 - 20 .

3. As cricinfo tells me Salim Durani, the very famous Indian cricketer born in Afganistan (remember that for trivia night guys) was one of the very first ones to start this trend. He acted in a movie called Charitra, the movie bombed at the box office. Seems to me to be a common trend here in this list.

4. Salil Ankola a former Indian fast bowler, I think goes against the trend of cricketers failing as actors. From memory I think he has acted in a few movies, but he went into acting in TV series and has since done really well as an actor on the smaller screen.

5. One of the very best allrounders of all time Kapil Dev has ventured into movies too. He has acted in not one but two feature films, though not full blown lead character roles. The movies he's acted in are Iqbal the Rampur Express, and Chain Kulli ki Main Kulli.

6. Sandeep Patil and Syed Kirmani were both part of India's World Cup winning team of '83, acted together in a movie called Kabhi Ajnabi The. Kirmani played a negative role and was actually pretty good at it too.

7. A recent movie named Victory though involve a few cricketers in the one movie. From what I've read we have Brett Lee, Mike Hussey, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Jayasuriya, Ajantha Mendis, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh all involved in bit parts in the movie.

8. Brett Lee apart from his cameo role in the above mentioned movie Victory, has also sung a song and shot a music video with one of Indias leading singers. The song is called 'You are the one for me'. The song according to me was pretty average and the media was kind enough to advise Brett on not giving up his day job. In any case here's a link to the music video on youtube, if anyone wants a laugh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48eHkZfnGug

9. The very talented Pakistani opening batsman Mohsin Khan, who is known for being the first from his country to score a double century at Lords, departed from cricket to pursue a career in Indian movies.He married a famous Indian actress Reena Roy, had a relatively short career, featuring in movies such as Gunehgar Kaun, Laatsaab, Pratikaar, Fateh, Saathi, etc. He later divorced his wife and returned back to live in Pakistan.

A fair few cricketers have now tried their hand at dancing on the small screen too in Ek Khiladi, Ek Haseena; a reality TV show. It had the likes of Harbhajan Singh, S. Sreesanth all trying to out dance each other, while Wasim Akram was there judging their performances.

Well this is just a short list of what I knew off hand and with a little help of cricinfo.com. I would love to know of any other cricketers that have ventured into Movies or TV, would love to know if cricketers from other countries have ventured on the same path as well.

At the time of writing, there are only two teams still undefeated in IPL 2, Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers. And while it's still early days, and there are a lot of matches left to be played, I wouldn't be surprised if these two teams eventually clash in the final. Of the two, I think the Daredevils are a stronger outfit.


They were, in any case, one of the hot favourites before the tournament began, not least because they have the most feared opening pair in world cricket - Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. But even when the two fail, Delhi can still rely on Dilshan, de Villiers and Mithun Manhas. Indeed, so heavily packed is Delhi's top order that they haven't managed to find a spot in the XI for David Warner, Owais Shah or Paul Collingwood - all of whom are very handy in T20.

The Daredevils' bowling isn't as intimidating, but can still boast of arguably IPL’s best spin pair in Daniel Vettori and Amit Mishra - a crucial factor given that spinners are having such a massive impact on this competition. I must confess, though, that it's completely beyond me why the team management insists on playing Dirk Nannes ahead of Glenn McGrath.

The Chargers, in contrast to Delhi, finished at the bottom of last year's IPL and weren't given much of a chance when IPL 2 kicked off. Ironically, they did poorly last year when they were expected to do well, but are now finally beginning to live up to their original reputation. They don't have two of their biggest stars, Andrew Symonds (who should become available after the Australia-Pakistan series ends) and Shahid Afridi, but aren't really missing them, thanks to the outstanding form of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Rohit Sharma.

Their bowling, too, has been a revelation. Fidel Edwards has generated genuine pace and movement, and it's good to see R P Singh back among the wickets. After his matchwinning spells in England and Australia, RP should have been a regular in the Indian XI by now. Unfortunately, he suffered injury and loss of form. But a good show in South Africa should, hopefully, earn him a recall to Team India. Finally, Pragyan Ojha is once again showing that he's under-rated but highly effective. He manfully filled in for the injured Harbhajan Singh when India toured Lanka, comfortably outbowling his far more famous Lankan counterparts, and is doing a superb job for the Chargers.

Given the form of these two teams, they should at least make the semi-finals, after which it really boils down to who keeps his nerve better and gets the lucky beaks when they count. Who will be the other two teams in the final four? Well, mathematically every team still has a chance, but some are clearly better placed than others.

Mumbai Indians will have been stung by their loss to Chargers, but remain a well-balanced side, boasting Tendulkar, Jayasuriya, Duminy, Zaheer, Harbhajan and Malinga in their ranks. Chennai Super Kings have lost two hard-fought matches but are still a strong outfit though -- as skipper M S Dhoni has repeatedly pointed out -- they are being let down by their bowling at the death. It remains to be seen how Chennai will be affected by the abrupt exit of Andrew Flintoff, though sometimes the forced absence of an underperforming big name can actually help teams. Incidentally, one or two explosive knocks by Dhoni would certainly help the Super Kings, who are right now depending heavily on Hayden.

Rajasthan Royals have looked scratchy, but can't be ruled out as long as Warne keeps inspiring his team mates to punch well above their weight. Knight Riders have shown flashes of brilliance, but I wonder how much they're being affected by all the off-field controversies that have unfortunately surrounded the team this season. Punjab Kings XI are good enough to beat any team on their day, but seem to lack the bowling firepower to piece together a string of victories, and that could go against them in a format that puts a premium on consistency.

Finally, Royal Challengers. They began on a high note, thrashing the defending champs, but things have gone rapidly downhill from there. There were high hopes from Jesse Ryder and Kevin Pietersen, but Ryder has failed abjectly while Pietersen hasn't really done enough to justify his humungous paycheque. Also, happily for Rahul Dravid -- but unhappily for his team -- the Wall is about to become a father for the second time and will be absent for an indeterminate period. The irony of Royal Challengers depending so heavily on a man who was so viciously criticised last year is poignant, to put it mildly.

As I said at the start, there's still a lot of cricket left. And there's an additional factor worth considering. How will teams be affected when players start leaving (for the England-West Indies series) and start returning (from the Australia-Pakistan series)? Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab must definitely be looking forward to the return of Shane Watson and Brett Lee, respectively. Will they make a huge difference to their struggling teams? Watch this space!

Let me give you a clue . This Superstar was carted by Abhishek Nayar for three sixes in an over before AB de Villiers tore him apart in their Daredevils match .You guessed it right
Will Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, IPL’s two most expensive players, ever think of paying back 2 cents from their fat paychecks by performing for their teams ? Is it the weight of expectations or the mountain of money they will make from the league that has grounded them? Or has the can’t-be-away-from-my-wife-for-long bug struck Pietersen again like it did in the West Indies earlier this year?


Well, whatever might be the reason, the high-flying South African – err Englishman – needs to deliver fast, for we all know Vijay Mallya’s penchant for chopping and changing at the drop of a hat. The boss, as coach Ray Jennings calls him, was simply over the moon after the team won their first game. “Can the critics who ran down my team as the ‘Test’ squad now explain the success of Dravid and Kumble,” he asked? Never mind the fact that he himself wasn’t happy with the ‘Test’ squad.

Anyway, Mallya was terribly sure that the team is surely on it glorious path of the IPL DOOSRA unlike the test team last year . Alas, that wasn’t to be.

Pietersen’s compatriot and friend Flintoff (I assume they are still friends) is in no better situation, though he has fewer excuses than KP for his below-par performance. He is neither captaining the side, nor the pangs of homesickness get to him as quickly. Yet, he’s being taken to the cleaners by just about by anyone.

The management was even thinking of benching Flintoff (before he he helped himself with an injury ) for it would surely hurt to pay the kind of money Flintoff is getting for just warming the bench. They would rather make him sweat a little, if nothing else, to earn the fat purse.

Time is running out for the English stalwarts. They have just a few more matches before they head for national duties to actually earn the money they would be taking home.

If cricket is a religion, Sachin is God, a book is released on Sachin’s 36th birthday. The book is authored by two graduates of IIM-Ahmedabad, Vijay Santhanam and Shyam Balasubramaniam.


The book was unveiled in Mumbai by billiards ace Geet Sethi and former India Test skipper Nari Contractor today.

On this occasion, Geet Sethi said, “No need to ask, cricket is a religion in our country and Tendulkar is the epitome of it. There’s a huge visibility to Sachin, but I look beyond visibility. I look at his character and hunger (for the game)”.


Sethi paid glorious tributes to Tendulkar and questioned the title of the book itself.

In the mean time, Sachin celebrated his this day in Durban, South Africa with his IPL team. Chief of Indian selectors Krishnamachari Srikanth was also present on this occasion.

Image: Vijay Santhanam and Shyam Balasubramaniam's book If Cricket Is a Religion, Sachin Is God, which was released at Tendulkar's restaurant in Mumbai on Friday.

KP failed again to live up to the aura created around his name . His lesser know fellowmate Ravi Bopara blasted the Kings XI Punjab to a seven-wicket win over the Bangalore Royal Challengers in their IPL match at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead in Durban on Friday.


Bopara carved his way to 84 off 59 balls with four fours and five sixes as Punjab scored 173 for three to win the match with six balls remaining.

Bopara, who had opened the innings for his team, initially played a circumspect innings as he used up 46 balls to reach his half-century but the right-hander cut loose after reaching his landmark before being caught at midwicket by Jesse Ryder off the bowling of Jacques Kallis to leave Punjab needing 11 runs off 11 balls and in sight of victory.

Bopara shared in a third-wicket stand of 66 off 34 balls with Yuvraj Singh and fittingly it was Yuvraj who ended the match in some style by belting a Kallis delivery over long-off for six as Yuvraj ended unbeaten on 30 off 17 balls.

Punjab had made a steady start to their innings as Bopara and Karan Goel (19) put on 52 runs off 40 balls before Goel was run-out attempting a second run after a fine throw from Vinay Kumar at third-man.

Kumar Sangakkara chipped in with 26 off 18 balls before Bopara and Yuvraj took control of the match.

Earlier, Kallis brought up a half-century of his own before Yusuf Abdulla snared four wickets as the Bangalore posted 168 for nine.

Kallis was aggressive from the start of his innings and he reached his fifty off 28 balls before he was caught at deep midwicket off the bowling of left-arm swing bowler Abdulla for 62 off 46 balls with five fours and two sixes. Abdulla finished the innings with figures of four for 31 off four overs.

Kallis shared in a fifth-wicket stand worth 61 off 37 balls with Ross Taylor, who scored 35 runs off 22 balls, which gave the Bangalore innings some substance after Abdulla had made early inroads into their batting line-up.

Bangalore’s decision to bat after winning the toss looked a good one as they raced to 48 for one after 5.1 overs thanks to 32 off 21 balls from opening batsman Ryder.

Abdulla then initiated a Bangalore mini-collapse when he removed Ryder and Kevin Pietersen in the space of three balls to reduce Bangalore to 48 for three before Kallis and Taylor’s rescue act.

Abdulla added Taylor’s wicket to his match haul, when he had the batsman caught at deep square-leg, as Abdulla captured career-best twenty20 figures.

Left-arm paceman Irfan Pathan took two wickets in the last over of Bangalore’s innings as he finished with figures of three for 35 from four overs.

It seems perfect really. The fake IPL player .

Entertaining insights provided by a non-player with the focus being on movie stars, shagging girls, going to a place called the Opium Bar, and team politics rather on the matches themselves.

Not only a non-player, but an admittedly fake one giving admittedly false clues as to his (her?) existence.

Welcome to the IPL, which of course is not being staged in India.

Despite the fact it’s been up and running for less than a week this blog is all over the place. All the bigger blogs are covering it, the Times of London has given it a plug and ESPN Cricinfo is studiously ignoring it.

And the blog is all done with a self-depreciating humour.

Remember the book Primary Colors (sic) ? The book dramatising the 1992 US Presidential Campaign that achieved fame largely because people were trying to work out who wrote it, and how much of it was true.

Because it wasn’t as if it was a decent read or anything like that.

But this is; and he’s playing along with the mystery of it all.

“And a witch hunt is on. There are 4 suspects. The funny thing is that I am not on the list.”... “Has it occurred to anyone that I might have described myself incorrectly to hide my identity?”

This is fun.

And then this from the Official Knight Riders Fan Site.

“Poison pen writing of the dirtiest variety, but far too many factual errors. Who ever it is out there is obviously very sick, perverted and has far too little information or insight to successfully pretend to be a part of us,”


" Well yes, and it’s hosted by the Dildo himself "


A blog spot indeed, as he protested too much.

You couldn’t make it up. Spectacularly pompous. And so much funnier than anything in the blog (spot) itself.

And then there are the nicknames. Here is our guide:

Vinnie Dildo/ Badsaah Dildo – Shahrukh Khan That is the film star owner of the Knight Riders. The one who waves to his fans while butting in the stands, and pictured here on a box.

Kishen Kanhaiyya -- Ravi Shastri

Lord Almighty - Ganguly Now called Lordie. They are obviously becoming friends.

Sheikh of Tweak -- Shane Warne

Bevdaa - Jessie Ryder (the first 3 letters are the giveaway there.)

Big Sister - Shilpa Shetty

Calypso King - Gayle The overseas players have the more obvious names.

Prince Charles of Patiala – Yuvraj. This one is good. Never stepping up to the throne.

Little Monster – Sachin. That’s a risky one

Pedophile Priest – Gilly That’s risky too, but not as risky as defaming Sachin

Little John - Ishant Sharma He’s the one not standing on the box.

Kaan Moolo – Agakar. Also referred to as “the former test player who will always be a former test player”

So all these games wrapped into one. Guessing the names, guessing the author, and just enjoying the read.

And the read in itself is good. Tales of sex and boozing:
I went out clubbing last night, returned at 4.30, barely managed to sleep for a couple of hours and here I am. Not that I have much to do here, so I can peacefully sleep through the day without anyone noticing

Tales of the NZers involved:
”Btw, the bevdaa who got out on duck yesterday almost hit the bottle after the ceremony before his team management wisked him away. I think they have put 3-4 bodyguards around him to keep him away from the bar...Hahaha...”

..although note he’s shied away from talking about his captain’s tattoos. So far.

And then the obligatory Bruno Reference.
”Wanna catch a wink or two before they get the dog out.”

Naturally there have been some suspicions raised on other blogs, and in his comments:
“Do they have 'Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader' in India?”

Well yes, and it’s hosted by the Dildo himself.

Who cares who’s actually doing it; it’s probably a combination of a minor support staff person, some inside tips from players, and a fringe journo.

That’s not the point. It’s nicely taking the piss out of an Entertainment Bonanza that asks to have the piss taken out of it.

And unlike Iain O’Brien’s blog, there is no need to avoid offending people. Quite the opposite.

Enjoy it while it lasts. Sony will be wanting to end it.

To broaden the excitement in t20 cricket, the Super overs rule has been introduced. Though test and ODI match can end up in draw, super over prevents twenty20 matches from ending in draw. It has replaced the bowl out rule in which only the bowler had a part to play.

Rules of super over in 20-20 cricket:

1. Each team decides a bowler to bowl and three batsmen to bad during one over named as the super over. The same ball used in the match will be used in super over.
2. The team batting second in the match will bat first in the super over.
3. Team A will score some runs in the first over and team B needs to chase it successfully to win the match. In case, it is unable to chase, team A wins.
3. In case scores are level, the team hitting maximum sixes in the match will win. If its also same, the teams with maximum fours win the match.

It has been brought to twenty20 cricket from Standford twenty20. The first international twenty20 in which tie was ended with a super over was New Zealand vs West Indies. In IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight riders, this rule as implemented after with Rajasthan won Kolkata.

Rajasthan Royals 150-6 (Pathan 42, Mendis 2-19)
beat

Kolkata Knight Riders 150-8 (Ganguly 46, Khan 3-18) on a Super Over

A Super Over, won by the Rajasthan Royals, was needed to separate the two sides after a stirring fightback from the Knight Riders was nipped in the bud by Kamran Khan in game nine of the Indian Premier League in Port Elizabeth.


Kolkata's Saurav Ganguly looked to have turned the game when he hit Munaf Patel for six off a no ball, repeating the score from the free hit but when he was dismissed in the final over, Ishant Sharma scrambled a single to level the scores and force the one over shootout, both sides having finished level on 150, the Royals first having lost six wickets, and the Knight Riders chasing having lost eight.

The match was delayed due to rain and batting was tricky early on, Graeme Smith (15), Rob Quiney (6) and Paul Valtathy (5) all dismissed cheaply before a blast of 42 in 21 balls from Yusuf Pathan, including six fours, two sixes and some brutal straight hitting, got the Royals innings going again after a sluggish start.

They were tied down by the wiles of Ajantha Mendis, who picked up two for 19 on his first appearance this year, and after Ravi Jadeja made 22 and Dimitri Mascarenhas 27, Abhishek Raut hit two sixes from the last three balls of the innings to finish on 21 not out and put the Royals on 150.

And how crucial those blows proved to be, despite Chris Gayle blasting the ball to all parts when the Knight Riders began their pursuit. He crashed four sixes and two fours, scoring 41 in 33 balls but just as the Royals' innings had stagnated, so too did the Knight Riders' when Brendon McCullum (3), Laxmi Shukla (13) and Brad Hodge (5) all failed to stay long at the crease.

Fortunately for the Knight Riders, Ganguly was in determined mood and his 46 in 30 balls almost got them home. He lost Sanjay Bangar (2) and Yashpal Singh (20) and needed two to win in two balls when he edged the 18-year-old Kamran Khan (3-18) to Mahesh Rahat behind the stumps for a simple catch.

Rawat was back in the action next ball when Sharma, having seen his drive parried by Shane Warne at short cover, set off for the second run gambling on a mistake. There wasn't one, and the drama was prolonged with the Knight Riders sending out Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Saurav Ganguly to bat against Kamran Khan for their set of six balls.

Gayle thumped three crunching fours, Kamran delivered a wide and McCullum gloved a single before Gayle was caught from the final ball to leave the Royals 16 to win in one over. The men charged to do it were Ravindra Jadeja, Pathan and Mascarenhas and Mendis was chosen to bowl.

With Pathan on strike, his first ball disappeared into the stands at cover, his second was dropped at long-on for two, his third sailed for another six over long on, leaving the Royals with two to win in three balls. Pathan was in no mood to hang about, sweeping powerfully for four to give the reigning champions their first win of the tournament.

Deccan Chargers 184-6 (Gilchrist 71, Sharma 52) beat
Royal Challengers Bangalore 160-8 (Kohli 50) by 24 runs

The KP magic is not working. Adams mantra to keep things simple seems to spell magic. Not a day has gone by when the Challengers have not had problems with his high profile overseas problems. Dr Mallya’s blue eyed boys Ryder Taylor and KP seem to have lost the plot and have no clue how to play a “domestic ”league .(May be they are not able to catch up with their sleep thanks to the bars and pub duty that they may have to do during the nights and also ‘friends’ to hang around with over drinks .)

Looking at the last three games it seems that the buck stops at Dravid and he is left to save the match and the innings from there on . The only instance that I believe that he got some support from the batsmen is today when young Kohli helped himself to a fine half century to a losing cause .
Also in the last IPL , Dravid was one of the top scorers in the tournament but he has to be blamed for all the wrong reasons .

However , the Chargers were once again ‘clinical’ in their approach . With no changes to their side from the last match won the toss and elected to bat first with a simple philosophy to play to their strength . Gilly as expected gave the best start to the chargers and at one stage they were scoring at 12 an over . Having played 45 balls of the allotted 120 Gilly made sure that they post a challenging total and hence 184 was always going to be a tough target for the Challengers . Brilliantly complemented by Rohit’s 30 ball 52 , the young lad lived up to the promise and if these guys live up to even 50 percent to their paper record , mind you they can single handedly win the tournament if they just bowl the way they are bowling today .

Challengers woke up to the worst start they could ever imagine. Jesse Ryder bowled first ball . Infact I am told that he was dropped in the second match because of a late night drink session in one of the nearby pub inspite of the fact that he comes handy over Ross Taylor with the ball . Ryder infact took 2 wickets in the first match . But little seems to be understood by their batsmen . Their batting has completely failed in the three matches so far and they did not win the match against the royals . Infact royals threw the match and were committed to lose it .
However lot of thinking to be done by the Bangalore team folks . Good to see Dravid continuing his good form with the bat . Young and promising Kohli finally joining the party with a good fifty . Praveen Kumar playing to the expectations . Uthappa doing a decent job behind the stumps making a case strong for his International comeback .

Congratulations Gilly . New lease of life to the Chargers . Wanted Laxman to weave his wristy magic but not disappointed as there were others who took charge and worked as a Team . Fidel great job with the ball . D Ravi Teja snapping an impossible catch to send the dangerous Uthappa packing and last and the most miser RP with is 17 / 2 in 4 overs becomes the star striker for the Chargers .

Do you read the way I do ?
1. Are the chargers are shaping up to the promise and the hype which they were before the start of the IPL – 1?
2. Is the search for the third offie in form of P Ojha over? Is his performances taking him to the 20 20 tournament in couple of months time?
Well let’s follow on as the IPL has begun with its meanders and would carry on giving new shocks everyday with some serious concerns for the RC men.

1. Seen on a banner ..
For fishing tips contact Andrew Symonds..
For slapping tips contact Harbhajan Singh..

2. "Commit your sins when Sachin is batting. You won't be punished because even God will be watching him bat."

3. This strategy break in IPL 2 reminds me of 'taste maker' in Maggi... both don't serve their intended purpose.

"I get a lot of hate mail which blame me for all the decisions taken within Kolkata Knight Riders. I've saved them and I want to go around to all the houses and say 'Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo' ... suck on this."

Dreams unlimited for Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, for season two of the IPL

DUBAI (AFP) - Shahid Afridi exposed Australia's frailties against spin to help Pakistan rout their opponents for 168 in the first day-night international at the Dubai Stadium here on Wednesday.

Leg-spinner Afridi took a career-best 6-38 and was ably supported by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (2-19) as the duo triggered a middle-order collapse after Australia won the toss and elected to bat.






Australia were sailing merrily at 95-1 in the 19th over before losing eight wickets for 27 runs as their batsmen crumbled on the newly built Dubai Stadium pitch to the bowling attack of Afridi and Ajmal.

James Hopes, who top-scored with 48 not out, added 46 for the last wicket -- a record against Pakistan in one-dayers -- with Ben Hilfenhaus (four) to give some respectability to the total.


Pakistani players celebrate as Australian batsman Shane Watson leaves the ground in Dubai on April 22, 2009. Shahid Afridi exposed Australia's frailties against spin to help Pakistan rout their opponents for 168 in the first day-night international at the Dubai Stadium on Wednesday.
©AFP - Marwan NaamaniAustralia had raced to 41 as openers Shaun Marsh (16) and Brad Haddin easily negotiated the pace of Gul and Shoaib Akhtar before Marsh was run out.

Shane Watson (40) helped Haddin (40) add 54 for the second wicket but once the spinners came, wickets fell like nine pins. Australia lost Haddin and Watson -- both falling to Afridi in quick succession -- and the innings derailed.

Afridi broke the stand when he bowled Haddin in his fourth over and then never looked back. Haddin hit three fours and a six off 52-balls.

Watson looked dangerous during his 47-ball knock and hit two boundaries and a six off Afridi before the leg-spinner bowled him with a sharp one that spun across the bat.

In between Ajmal had Australian captain Michael Clarke caught behind for four.


Shahid Afridi, seen here, exposed Australia's frailties against spin to help Pakistan rout their opponents for 168 in the first day-night international at the Dubai Stadium here on Wednesday.
©AFP - Marwan NaamaniAndrew Symonds, who returned to the squad after playing his last one-day in July last year, became Afridi's third wicket with a googly which caught the edge and was smartly snapped up by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal. Symonds made just two.

Afridi further dealt three blows by dismissing Callum Ferguson (two), Nathan Bracken (one) and Stuart Clarke (two) to improve his previous best one-day figures of 5-11 against Kenya at Birmingham in 2004.

Hopes hit five fours and a six during his 46-ball knock

FAKE IPL PLAYER The big one, the story that has been rocking the already fragile KKR boat - the Fake IPL Player's blog. Most informed opinion has it that this guy is either

a) part of the KKR team/backroom staff

b) a journalist who's traveled/is traveling, covering international cricket

c) a well-informed fan who has used his observation and native wit to good effect.






However, here at the 'Not-Quite-Cricket-Corner' we have some 'Not-Quite-Believable' options for you to consider -

1.) Sourav Ganguly - the deposed skipper has the knowledge, the language and the correct amount of disregard for people he doesn't care about, to pull off this stunt. Could be him, or a proxy writing for him.

2.) Shah Rukh Khan - This is another marketing gimmick thought up by SRK's razor sharp business brain. He knows that with the team he has, it is nigh impossible to actually win the IPL or even reach the semi-finals, hence he has to create interest in the team in some other way. If we find 'I'm the Real Fake IPL Player' t-shirts, mugs and key-chains then this theory would gain more credence.

3.) John Buchanan - he knows he's stuffed up big time. His reputation as the 'super coach' is being taken to the cleaners. The solution is to drag the reputations of the players down with him. If this is true, then the man who claims to 'think out of the box' would do well to stay out of the box too - the players' box that is. Permanently.

4.)Jai Mehta - do I hear you say Jai who? Well, he is Juhi Chawla's husband, co-owner of the Knight Riders. Resentful of the way Shah Rukh and to a lesser extent Juhi are hogging the spotlight as owners of the team, this is his way of getting back at them. No doubt he hopes that the Jai Who questions will turn into chants of Jai Ho.

For SRK’s Kolkata Knight Rider’s, things seem to be going from bad to worse. Since the talk began about IPL season 2, KKR was the one which was the most talked about team, partly because of SRK and hugely because of its Controversies, the multiple captaincy strategy. Finally the multiple captaincy idea was put aside making Brendon McCullum as the single captain of the team. Just when things were seemed to be settled in KKR and time has come to prove their popularity on the field, enter’s the so claimed Fake IPL Player.





He claims to be from the Kolkata Knight rider’s team and makes some witty remarks on Sourav Ganguly. Writing a post on April 19 after the team meeting, he described Ganguly as ‘Lord Almighty’ and said that his [edited] experience would be used in the middle order.

He says

“Just out of the team meeting held in the Coach’s suite. Skipper did most of the talking. He is opening with the Calypso King. Lord Almighty is at No. 3. Some [edited] about using his experience to guide the middle order, similar to what the other 2 of the troika did yesterday. Lord sat there straight faced. Didn’t say much. Didn’t smile at all. I was standing at one corner straight across the Lord. And given my height and stature I can go quite unnoticed. I was observing the Lord carefully, each twitch of his eyes, every movement of his thumb, his gaze. He is very unhappy and uncomfortable. Being treated like this in front of his bachchas“.

Though the authenticity of him being a player in KKR is questionable, the facts which he posts in his blog seems to be true.

People suspect that it might be Akash Chopra but in yesterdays blog post, he said that his name was not in the playing XI against Kings XI Punjab to be played on Tuesday.

Is this a publicity stunt by an anonymous ambitious blogger?

All in all, who is the man behind the blog remains a mystery. Probably, SRK, the DON should enter the scene now and say some dialogues.

Pakistan v Australia, 1st ODI, Dubai
April 22, 2009
Start time 2.30pm (10.30GMT)

Comeback chance for Shoaib and Symonds


After more than three years and USD 100 million in investment, the official opening tomorrow of the 25,000 seat cricket stadium at Dubai Sports City has been called the realization of a dream, says its CEO.





Inaugurated tomorrow with a one day international cricket match between Australia and Pakistan, the Dubai Sports City cricket stadium – the only one of its kind in Dubai, and among the very best purpose-built cricket stadiums in the world – will serve as a venue for international and domestic cricket as well as hosting a significant number of international caliber entertainment events.

“Just three years ago, the founding partners of Dubai Sports City set out to build one of the world’s best cricket stadiums, and today we have realized that dream,” said U. Balasubramaniam, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Sports City.

“This stadium, together with the ICC Global Cricket Academy which is located onsite, will serve as a global centre of excellence for cricket. Tomorrow’s match between two of the world’s best sides is further testament to the potential of this facility as a truly international venue for test, one-day international, and Twenty:20 cricket matches.”

It was a meeting of the titans.

And those who witnessed it were fortunate as it is unlikely to happen again.

West Indies [Images] legend Brian Lara [Images] was seen giving Barack Obama [Images] a free batting lesson at the newly re-named Obama Terrace, Hilton Trinidad, St Ann's, on Sunday.

The world record holder also presented the United States President an autographed cricket bat, which read: "To the President of the United States, Barack Obama, in appreciation of your visit to T&T �Best Wishes" .





Obama was in Trinidad for the Fifth Summit of the Americas and happened to meet Lara and share a few laughs besides posing for the shutterbugs.

Obama seemed keen to know more about cricket and the West Indies legend showed him the proper batting stance and gave a few tips regarding the forward defensive stroke as well as the classic cover drive.

Later, Lara revealed it was on the invitation of the White House that he met with Obama and that it was a great honour.

The latter on his part described Lara as the Michael Jordan of cricket.

"I always wanted to meet the Michael Jordan of cricket," is how president Obama apparently greeted Lara.

The batting great was also impressed with Obama's personality.

The Umpires have decided to call off the second IPL match of the day, between the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals, at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban


The umpires have had a look, and decided there was no possibility of a game happening. There was a decent enough crowd that waited patiently, hoping for some play, even a five-over match, but they'll return home disappointed. Both teams share a point. This isn't the first IPL game to be abandoned without a ball being bowled. Check this

Hoping for some better weather tomorrow in Cape Town where Deccan Chargers take on Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Kolkata Knight Riders 79 for 1 (Gayle 44*, McCullum 21) beat Kings XI Punjab 158 for 6 (Yuvraj 38, Pathan 32, Ganguly 2-24) by 11 runs by D/L method


Yuvraj: "It's a bit unfortunate, but we also dropped a catch and that let them get ahead. Batting looked pretty good but we need to sort out our bowling. It's a similar start like last year, but we need to push on from here."

McCullum: "Nice to get a result go our way, and this win should give us some momentum. We thought a score of 150-160 was par on this ground, but Gayle got us off to a superb start. It could have been a potentially close game, but for the rain."

Chris Gayle is the Man of the Match: "I'm happy with the result though the spectators would have wanted a full game. McCullum eased the pressure off me. I tried to get my eye in, and the first couple of overs where we were a little more careful, were vital."

Chris Gayle blasted 44 runs in 26 balls to put the Kolkata Knight Riders in a winning position when heavy rain ended their Indian Premier League match against the Kings XI Punjab in Durban.

Gayle hit four sixes as his side raced to 79 for one in 9.2 overs having been set 159 to win by the Kings XI Punjab.

The West Indian left-hander took full advantage of being dropped on two and 32 with some savage hitting to all parts of the ground and he was helped along by Brendon McCullum (21). The New Zealander faced 16 balls and the pair brought up 57 for the first wicket in 5.3 overs before McCullum was well caught by Kumar Sangakkara off of Vikramjeet Malik.

Brad Hodge was unbeaten on ten when the heavy rain arrived with the Knight Riders 11 runs ahead of the Duckworth/Lewis par score of 68, handing them their first win of the tournament following an opening day loss against the Deccan Chargers.

The result leaves the Kings XI still searching for a first win after two matches despite showing some signs of brilliance with the bat. Karan Goel (0) departed early but Irfan Pathan lit up Kingsmead with some crunching pulls on his way to 32 in 17 balls before innings of substance from captain Yuvraj Singh (38), Mahela Jayawardene (31 not out) and Sangakkara (26) appeared to put them in a strong position at the halfway stage.

Saurav Ganguly was the latest player with a huge amount of experience to star when he took two wickets in an over to dismis Pathan and Ravi Bopara (15) and such was the ferocity of Gayle's batting, that last year's captain wasn't even called on to bat.

Things just aren’t going right for the Kolkata Knight Riders. After the captaincy controversy and a disastrous first game, they now have to deal with bouncers and googlies of a different kind - the writing of a mystery blogger, who claims to be a member of the team and seems determined to out every team secret, warts and all. The jury’s out on the blogger’s identity – he blogs as ‘Fake IPL Player’ - but the writing indicates a keen knowledge of the team’s working and the typical daily grind of an overseas tour. Few players are named but the nicknames are unambiguous – the blogger’s “team-mates’ include a former India allrounder called Kaan Moolo, an opener called Calypso King, a former captain in Lord Almighty and an opening bowler called Little John. The other characters include a team-owner called Mr Batlivala, a team coach/captain called the Sheikh of Tweak and a TV commentator called Kishen Kanhaiyya.

The posts describe what the blogger claims are team meetings, arguments between coach and team members, post-match parties and pre-match strategy. Hours before KKR’s first game he wrote that “Skipper” would open with “Calypso King” and Lord Almighty would come in one down. For the record, McCullum and Gayle opened with Ganguly coming in one drop. His prediction for Tuesday’s game? Skipper won’t keep and either the Bangla Tiger (a fast bowler) or the spinner Junta Tormentor will beef up the bowling. And Fake IPL Player? He says the team management - which, in an official reaction, called it "poison pen writing of the dirtiest variety" - has vowed to out him in 24 hours.

On Sunday though, SRK was tied up a little more than usual after Knight Riders suffered a heavy defeat against Team Hyderabad in their first match here. Not that journalists have that easy access to the superstar so as to introduce him to the ladies, but on Sunday, even the thought of going and meeting him was banished.

The moment KKR finished their game and rushed back to the hotel, Khan was already there. And by the time they finished with their dinner (reluctantly), he was already keen to meet them. He spoke to quite a few. While none agreed to disclose the contents of the conversation, it was visible that the one player who Khan didn’t talk to was Sourav Ganguly.

What’s brewing? A couple of players heading back to their rooms hardly opened their mouths. "The media should know, right?" they said.

The one issue that tore into a bagful of controversies in the Knight Riders’ camp even before the IPL began was John Buchanan’s multiple captain theory. Was that the reason again or were there old wounds that haven’t healed? Or was it just Sunday’s loss? "We just had a bad day out there. The batting didn’t click. We’ll be looking to get better in the next game," skipper Brendon McCullum said post match. He didn’t want to comment on anything related to the multiple captain issue or the Ganguly-Buchanan or Ganguly-Khan relationship.

McCullum has been going around telling the media here about how KKR captaincy hasn’t become a matter of ego. "It’s quite a healthy atmosphere in there," he’s been quoted as saying. But that didn’t allow the side to come up with an impressive performance. They were bowled out for just 101 runs in 19.4 overs.

Even if McCullum’s word is to be taken, Sunday’s defeat won’t help the rumours die. Instead, fresh ones like "Sourav may not play the next game" or "Khan has given the players a sermon" and "Players are saying Buchanan committed a blunder by sending Aakash Chopra at No. 5" were doing the rounds.

For the record, it was a loss by eight wickets, but more than that, it was salt on a wound that’s fresher than ever. The ladies wanting SRK’s autograph will have to wait.

The start of IPL was really a dull affair, except for the doggy interruption that stopped the play for more than 20 minutes yesterday. For all the money and resources involved, a stray dog had all the IPL organizers at tenterhooks.

This just goes to show that sometimes, very very ordinary things can make extraordinary events look lame in front of them..

Here is the video of the IPL dog interruption.

Chennai Super Kings 179 for 5 (Hayden 65) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 87 (Murali 3-11) by 92 runs

Each of Chennai Super Kings' big-name foreign players did their bit to get the campaign back on track after the opening-day reverse against Mumbai Indians. Matthew Hayden rolled back the years to crack a quick half-century, Muttiah Muralitharan put another nail in the coffin of the spinners-have-no-place-in-Twenty20 theory, Andrew Flintoff sparkled with bat and ball, and Albie Morkel provided a crucial early breakthrough to sink Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Bangalore may have revamped their side this year, but turned in a performance reminiscent of their dire showings last season. The batting has yet to fire in two games, and the bowling was clueless against the initial onslaught from Chennai's openers.

Who has the most Economical spell in IPL – Its Fidel Edwards

The West Indies fast bowler, who was crucial in Deccan Chargers’ eight-wicket win, gave away just six runs from his four overs that also included a maiden at an economy rate of 1.5 at the Newlands.

Next to him in the second spot is Bangalore Royal Challengers’ Anil Kumble, the former India skipper, who recorded an economy rate of 1.57 during his career-best 5 for 5 off 3.1 against defending champions Rajasthan Royals Saturday.

The following are the other statistics of the match between Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders:

Pragyan Ojha (2/14), Scott Styris (2/32) and Rudra Pratap Singh (4/22) have registered their best figures in the IPL.

Rudra became the first bowler from Deccan Chargers to capture four wickets in an IPL innings. Thanks to his outstanding feat, Rudra got his first MOM award.

Kolkata (101) posted their second lowest score in the IPL. Against Mumbai Indians, they were dismissed for 67 at Wankhede Stadium on May 16, 2008.

With two stumpings in an innings, Adam Gilchrist became the second wicketkeeper to accomplish the feat in an IPL innings. In the last edition, Wriddhiman Saha was the first to accomplish the feat against Kings XI at Mohali on May 3, 2008.

Gilchrist, with three dismissals (1 catch + 2 stumpings), has recorded his best wicketkeeping performance in an IPL innings.

Deccan Chargers’ eight-wicket victory is their third in 15 IPL matches.

Deccan Chargers’ win is their first in three games against Kolkata Knight Riders.




IPL Franchisee Owners set to make 4-5 times more money than previous edition

Investors who paid top dollar to own a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) opportunity are now on a good wicket.

Franchise owners expect to earn around four-five times more this year than they did during the inaugural season of the 20-over league in 2008, thanks to a deluge of sponsorships and brand associations, according to estimates put together by Mint after speaking with franchise owners and media buyers .

This comes after initial reports that sponsors and advertisers were sceptical about IPL’s success this year, when it had to be moved to South Africa after the Indian government said it could not provide security cover to the league during the election season, and that many had walked away from earlier commitments.

The team owners will also earn significantly more from the new broadcast deal the IPL management signed with sports marketing company World Sports Group (WSG) and Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd (MSM) this year. Last year, the deal had been signed for around Rs4,000 crore for 10 years, while this year it was renegotiated at Rs8,200 crore for nine years.

While the three partners did not share the details of the new broadcast deal officially, two executives from IPL and WSG said that the new deal has been linked with IPL’s viewership. IPL’s management may only get 33% of the contracted revenues for the first five years. Franchisees will get 80% of this 33%.

Based on this, the eight franchisees are likely to take home between Rs60 crore and Rs90 crore each. Last year, the teams earned Rs20 crore each from broadcast rights.

There will be no change in the income from central sponsorships, because the IPL board could not attract any new sponsor this year. Last year, each franchisee had got Rs15 crore from the sponsorships pool.

For franchisees, however, it has been raining sponsorships and brand associations this year. All franchisees but one have at least nine brand associations or sponsorships this year. The more aggressive ones, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have, 15, 13 and 12 “partners”, respectively, on board.

“Despite the last-minute move to South Africa, there has been a lot of interest from companies to partner with us for IPL 2,” said Rakesh Singh, chief marketing officer, CSK.

Last year, most franchisees had managed to rope in between three and six sponsors and partners. The most prominent franchisee sponsors this year include cola rivals Coca-Cola and Pepsi, sports shoes and apparel makers Adidas and Reebok, motorcycle manufacturer Hero Honda and mobile handsets maker Nokia India.

Chewing gum maker Wrigley India Pvt. Ltd has picked up sponsorships across the eight teams. “The idea behind partnering with the eight IPL teams was to associate with each of the individual franchisee and reach out to their respective fans,” said Himanshu Khanna, director, marketing, Wrigley.

The only team that has not had such splendid run this time is Bangalore Royal Challengers. The team, which belongs to Vijay Mallya-owned UB Group, only has Wrigleys and its in-house brands sponsoring it but, according to the company, that’s how it had planned it. “We have enough of our own brands to ride on the IPL so why should we share this space with any outside brand,” said Vijay Rekhi, president, United Spirits Ltd, part of the UB Group.

Incidentally, the group’s brands such as Royal Challenger, McDowells, and Royal Stag are sponsoring at least five other teams as well.

Along with the increase in the number of brand associations, the price of the deals has also seen a steep increase this time. “The rates for franchisee sponsorships went up at least 30-40% this year,” said two senior executives of two teams. “There are teams that have signed title sponsorships at 20 times the price they charged in 2008,” one of them said. They both did not want to be named. According to estimates from media buyers and various team executives, deals for associate and title sponsors this year have varied from Rs50 lakh to Rs15 crore.

Teams such as CSK, defending champion Rajasthan Royals, and KKR are, thus, expected to have closed deals worth Rs80-100 crore. Others have also raised around Rs50-60 crore. Last year, the teams had raised around Rs15-20 crore from such associations.

“Some partnerships, such as media associations, are purely in kind terms,” one of the two executives said. The size and the duration of independent deals could not be confirmed.

Franchisees credit this success to IPL’s popularity. “IPL makes it possible for advertisers to reach out to consumers across regions, demography, age groups and gender,” said CSK’s Singh, “…which is perhaps why the move overseas has not made a difference for sponsorships at the franchisee level.”

South Africa is full of wild animals. I saw this particular creature while I was on a South African safari. For some strange reason it was holding a mic and saying ‘extraaaaaaaa innings’. It looked like it was in heat.




Wives of Delhi Daredevils players Sehwag, Mendes and Nehra cheer up during the IPL T20 match in Durban.



Sachin Tendulkar lifts candles off a cake at a surprise birthday party in Durban. Tendulkar celebrated his 36th birthday with friends and teammates in South Africa during the Indian Premier League. (AFP Photo)






When Harry met Sally ?

Deccan Chargers 104-2 (Gibbs 43no, Sharma 36no) beat
Kolkata Knight Riders 101 (Hodge 31, RP Singh 4-22) by eight wickets
Scorecard


Adam Gilchrist led his Deccan Chargers side to an impressive eight-wicket victory over Brendon McCullum's Kolkata Knight Riders in the fourth match of the 2009 IPL in South Africa.

Gilchrist smashed 13 in 11 balls as his side made light work of chasing down a modest target of 102 to win inside 14 overs with eight wickets intact.

Herschelle Gibbs, in front of his home crowd, played a starring role backing up a fine catch to dismiss Kolkata's top scorer Brad Hodge for 31 with a typically belligerent innings of 42 not out in 26 balls, winning the match with a crunching four through extra cover

VVS Laxman (10) blasted a six and a four before being run out but Rohit Sharma kept the score moving along nicely, finishing on 36 not out with three fours and two sixes.

Kolkata's innings never got going as left-arm pacer RP Singh picked up four for 22 with slower bowlers Pragyan Ojha and Scott Styris grabbing two apiece.

Batting was not easy under lights on a damp pitch, but batsman after batsman gave their wickets away with only Hodge lasting for more than 20 balls in a massively disappointing display for the men in gold and black. They were blown away by an outstanding all-round display from the Chargers, resplendent in a new all-blue outfit for the new season.

Delhi Daredevils 58-0 (Sehwag 38no) beat
Kings XI Punjab 104-7 (Vettori 3-15) by ten wickets (D/L)

Virender Sehwag led his Delhi Daredevils side to a convincing ten-wicket Duckworth/Lewis win over the Kings XI Punjab, winning the match with a six in Cape Town.

Rain first reduced the match to 12 overs per side and the Kings XI, through openers Karan Goel (38) and Ravi Bopara (22) got off to a flying start, racing to 67 for one after six overs. After the strategy break, the Daredevils hit back, left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori removing Bopara, Kumar Sangakkara (8) and Mahela Jayawardene (6) to finish with three for 15 as the Kings XI stumbled towards a finishing score of 104 for seven.

Sehwag then blitzed 38 in 16 deliveries to ensure that a rain-adjusted target of 54 in six overs was little bother, Gautam Gambhir unbeaten on 15 at the other end.

Sehwag hit four fours and three sixes in all, smashing IPL debutant Yusuf Abdulla for 19 runs in one over although he had to work hard to eclipse some of the hitting from Goel earlier in the day, the left-hander crunching three fours and three sixes in his 21-ball innings.

His hard work was undone by a brilliant spell of bowling from Vettori and two run outs further hampered the Kings XI cause.

During the biggest cricketing carnival, which starts on Saturday in Cape Town, South Africa, a whopping Rs 25,000 crore will be bet on 59 matches spread over 39 days translating into betting money of Rs 420 crore per match and Rs 1.8 crore per ball.

Welcome to Season two of the Indian Premier League where cricket and betting on cricket are in the same league as far as hogging the limelight is concerned.

Like the game of 20-20 cricket which has wild swings every ball, the betting rates for teams in IPL are also changing quite fast.

Champions of the inaugural IPL tournament Rajasthan Royals was third in line to win the second edition but losing a practice match has seen them slump to fifth place.

Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings tops the list with a promise of returning Rs 4300 for every Rs 1000 backing them. Delhi Daredevils is placed second at 1:4.70.

On number three is Mumbai Indians who are being quoted at 5.10. Punters have placed a rate of 5.80 on Vijay Mallya owned Bangalore Royal Challengers whereas for Kings Eleven Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, the betting rate is 8. Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers bring up the rear with 8.25 and 11 respectively.

The team which spent the least Rajasthan Royals came up trumps beating out fancied opponents who handed out million dollar paychecks.

It will be interesting to see whether IPL 2.0 see another dark horse win the laurels or will the predictions of bookies come true.

Sachin Tendulkar led from the front with a sparkling unbeaten 59 while young Abhishek Nayar clobbered a quickfire 35 as Mumbai Indians put up a competitive 166 for 7 against Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the Indian Premier League II in Cape Town on Saturday.

While Tendulkar held the innings together with a masterly unbeaten knock, it was Nayar who provided the late thrust for Mumbai Indians with a flurry of sixes.

Nayar was particularly severe on Andrew Flintoff [Images], the most expensive player for the second edition of the IPL, blasting him for 22 runs, including three sixes, in one over. It gave the Mumbai innings the much-needed boost.

The experienced Sanath Jayasuriya [Images] was the other notable contributor, with a breezy 26, and Shikar Dhawan chipped in with 22 runs. None of the other batsmen could cross double figures on a spongy track at the Newlands.

Chennai Super Kings, who finished runners-up in the inaugural edition of the high-profile meet, were left with the task of scoring at the rate of 8.35 runs per over to win the match.

The IPL gets down to its core business of cricket in Cape Town from Saturday; this after an impressive parade of Bollywood stars, street parades and an education sponsorship of R9-million.

But if you think that, from now on, all that remains of the IPL are a scheduled 14,160 balls to be delivered over the next 36 days, think again. There’s still plenty of glitz and glamour in store.

On Saturday evening, after the two opening matches, fans will be treated to what looks to be an entertaining opening ceremony, which will include fireworks, acrobats, fire dancers and the rock group Snow Patrol, famous for hits such as Chasing Cars, Run and Signal Fire.

Running throughout the tournament will be the Miss Bollywood SA competition, where the successful entrant will win a role in a Bollywood movie, plus R50,000 in cash and other prizes.

IPL boss Lalit Modi will undoubtedly think of a few more marketing gimmicks along the way, especially if ticket sales start declining at any point.

It’s going to be a fascinating ride.



**********************************************



HOW TO WIN THE IPL IN 2009 ?

We all know the Rajasthan Royals, with the likes of Shane Warne and Graeme Smith, are the defending IPL champions. But what does it take to win the competition?

Certainly not the highest innings total.

The most runs amassed in 20 overs during the inaugural tournament was 240, courtesy of the Chennai Super Kings, last year’s losing finalists. The next best were the Kolkata Knight Riders (222), the Kings Punjab XI (221) and only then, Rajasthan (217).

The Delhi Daredevils (194) and the Bangalore Royal Challengers (181) were the only two sides not to reach the 200-barrier. There seems to be a slightly closer correlation between lowest score and lowest position on the log - the lowest all-out total was 82, achieved by the Royal Challengers in the tournament opener. They, of course, finished second last.

A total of six batsmen smashed centuries during last year’s IPL - and all but one were top international players. They were Black Cap Brendon McCullum, who hammered that unbeaten 158 against the Royal Challengers, followed by Aussie Andrew Symonds (117 not out), Aussie Michael Hussey (116 not out), Shaun Marsh (115), Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya (114 not out) and Aussie keeper Adam Gilchrist (109 not out).

Marsh, the son of opener Geoff, went on to represent Australia soon afterwards.

In international Twenty20 cricket, however, only one man has reached three figures, and that’s Knight Rider Chris Gayle, who smashed 117 off 57 balls for the West Indies against South Africa in 2007.

Just one day to go!

The opening game of the IPL 2009 will see Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians, take on IPL 2008 finalists, the Chennai Super Kings, at Newlands in Cape Town.

The Chennai Super Kings, under the leadership of wicketkeeper/batsman MS Dhoni, are entering this year's IPL as one of the bookmaker’s favourite.

Big hitting all-rounders Andrew Flintoff and Albie Morkel will be at the forefront of the Super Kings attack this coming Saturday.

They will try to be tamed by the Mumbai Indian's bowlers, consisting of Zaheer Khan, Lasith ‘Slinga’ Malinga and Harbhajan Singh, who have the knowledge of Shaun Pollock (the Mumbai Indians' mentor) on their side, when taking on the often tricky Newlands pitch.

All eyes will be on Mumbai's Sanath Jayasuria, to see if he can entertain the sold-out Newlands crowd, as he tries follow up his record as IPL’s greatest six hitter (31 sixes in IPL 2008).

Other Mumbai batsmen to watch will be the "Maestro" Sachin Tendulkar, "Million-Dollar Kid" JP Duminy (on his home ground), and West Indian Dwayne Bravo.

They'll try to be unsettled by Chennai's Makhaya Ntini, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Lakshmipathy Balaji.

IPL 2008 Results

Match 1: Chennai Super Kings won by 6 runs
Match 2: Mumbai Indians won by 9 wickets


It will be a terrific opener for the IPL 2009, and one definitely worth a punt on. I see the Mumbai Indians are going to benefit from the knowledge of Shaun Pollock, and fielding coach Jonty Rhodes (two South Africans who will know the conditions best) to just sneak out a very 20-20 orientated Super-Kings team.

IPL 2009 Predicted Result: Mumbai Indians to beat Chennai Super Kings

As the Kolkata Knight Riders look to better its run in IPL season 2, the Sourav Ganguly-John Buchanan spat is reaching new heights with reports suggesting that Ganguly has been slashed off the captaincy of the IPL team and the responsibility has been shouldered to New Zealand's Brendon McCullum instead for the team's first match on April 19.

There is no official word from the Knight Riders management yet.

Earlier, a lot of controversy had been created regarding John Buchanan’s ‘multiple-captains theory’.

The concept seemed more of conspiracy to remove Ganguly from the captaincy of KKR.

However, later, team owner Shah Rukh Khan dismissed the possibility of having multiple captains and said that “Dada will always remain our (KKR’s) main man”.

Did you know a cricketer playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) loses out Rs 13.26 lakh ($ 29,484) for getting older by a year? Or one point increase in the strike rate in one-day internationals fetches Rs 1.40 lakh ($3,111)?
These are just some of the findings of a research paper published by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) after analysing over 70 players.

This is the first paper on sports management published by the country's premier management institute. This comes ahead of the second auction of new as well as incumbent players for the 2009 season.

IIM-A has, through this paper, provided insights into how players are priced for their cricketing and non-cricketing actions.

The research paper that uses the regression equation based on the data of 70-odd cricketers has revealed that Andrew Symonds, M S Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh were paid a significant premium for their activities off the field.

Giving examples of how Dhoni and Tendulkar received a premium over other iconic players in the first edition of the IPL, IIM-A professor Deodhar said, "Out of the total price of Rs 6 crore ($1.5 million) and Rs 5 crore ($ 1.12 million) received by Dhoni and Tendulkar respectively, the value of their cricketing attributes was Rs 3.17 crore ($ 705,420) and Rs 2.79 crore ($ 622,213) respectively, and their net crowd pulling business value was about Rs 3 crore ($ 794,580) and Rs 2.24 crore ($ 499,037) respectively."

Deodhar said the analysis is based on simple calculations. "We have used the hedonic pricing method that is used to estimate economic values for ecosystem that directly affect market prices. Here we have come up with cricketing activities such as bowling, batting, wicket-keeping, and non-cricketing activities such as popularity, charisma, crowd pulling ability and controversies," he added.

Did you know

* A player loses out Rs 13, 26, 000 for getting older by a year.

* Increase in T20 batting average by one run fetches an additional Rs 2 lakh ($ 4,658) to the cricketer's final bidding price.

* Number of half centuries in all forms of the game is also found to be rewarding with Rs 1.20 lakh ($ 2,683) for every additional half-century.

* One point increase in the strike rate in one-day internationals fetch Rs 1.40 lakh ($ 3,111).

* For wicketkeepers, an additional stumping contributes about Rs 1.16 lakh ($ 2,595).

* For bowlers, the only criterion is the number of wickets in all forms of the game. Every additional wicket earns a player around Rs 17,000 ($ 377).

South Africa have made two changes to their side ahead of the fifth and final One Day International against Australia in Johannesburg on Friday (17th April).

Off-spinner Johan Botha and left-arm quick Wayne Parnell will be replaced by fast bowlers Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel, as South Africa, already 3-1 up in the series, look to seal a second 4-1 series win over Australia in 2009.

“If I look back at the highlights over the past 18 months, I have to put the away Test series victories over England and Australia at the top of the list," captain Graeme Smith said.

"These have been the two toughest assignments for South African cricket in the past and to have achieved both of those successes in the space of six months has been very special for this team.

“The other major highlight must be the achievement of winning both the Test and ODI series in Australia.

“On an individual level the most pleasing aspect has been the way the younger players have come through. You need a hard core of experience on which to base a top team and we now have the ideal balance of youth and experience coming together.

“The emergence of these young players has also enabled us to develop our one-day brand and the type of cricket we want to play.”

Meet Kamran Khan, the tennis-ball cricketer with no first-class experience, but who may soon shine for Rajasthan Royals


Mohammad Kamran Khan's mother's only wish was to see her son on television, playing cricket.


Mohammad Kamran Khan, who signed a Rajasthan Royals contract on Sunday, bowls in the nets. PIC/Narendra Dangiya

But when he could be all set to grace the big stage in the Indian Premier League (IPL), his mother is not alive to see it. The 18-year-old rookie left-arm speedster from Azamgarh signed a Rs 12 lakh contract with IPL champions Rajasthan Royals, late on Sunday evening.

"I can't express how happy I am. I knew I would play for a big team one day, but I never thought it would come so early," a delighted Kamran told MiD DAY yesterday.




Kamran came to Mumbai with his coach Naushad Khan five years ago but left a couple of years later when his father expired. "It was tough to leave my mother alone. More than my father, it was my mother who wanted me to play top-level cricket. She always wished to see me on TV. Now that I am so close to fulfilling her wish, she isn't there to watch me," added Kamran, whose mother passed away a year after his father's demise