The wait is finally over… The next edition of IPL is here again in India to bring the whole nation to a standstill…It is time for new heroes to be born, new shots to be innovated, new underdogs to emerge champions, time to see the legends of the game play on a cricket field for one last time! IPL starts a strange season of cricket when even a Sachin’s shot may be booed at the Eden Gardens, season when commentators scream “That’s a DLF Maximum” instead of the oft-heard“That’s a huge Six”, season when an Aussie champion Shane Warne will lead a bunch of young Indian guys on to the field, season when 8PM prime time serials will lose their supremacy to the IPL, theatres telecasting matches instead of star studded movies, a season where even an “Hutch” pug will be replaced by a zoozoo! IPL also gives chance for friends a hot topic to talk over a cup of coffee, an overambitious attempt for guys to impress his manager by supporting the same team he is gonna support (*wink*) ,yet another reason for lovers to fight,depending on the franchise they have chosen to support, chance for the puritans to keep criticizing the game ,another chance for perverts to ogle Mandhira and the cheer gals, and ofcourse a chance for the world to envy our nation! Yipee…IPL is here again, to divide the nation and ultimately unite it in the name of Cricket! Cheers !

Here is a sneak peak into every team and what to expect from them this season !

Deccan chargers:

An encore??? The wooden spoon winners in the inaugural edition and the champions in the next, Deccan Chargers start as a solid bunch to defend the crown! Ironically, the best thing that could have happened to Deccan chargers is that they are not playing any match in their home ground, for the home teams have never won a match in this ground. Deccan boast of big names on paper, but Gilchrist and Symonds have not played quality cricket in the recent past and Gibbs has lost his magic touch. This leaves DC to depend very heavily on the Indian trio of Rohit, Laxman and T Suman. Deccan’s bowling was a revelation last year with RP Singh winning the purple cap and Edwards in splendid form. But home conditions have never suited RP’s style of bowling and Edwards is out of action this year.Ryan Harris inclusion in the Oz test squad must have shattered Gilly’s dream of posing a decent bowling line up! Ojha will be Gilly’s trump yet again! On the whole, given a strong top order, the bowling link has to be bridged very early in the tournament for the Deccans’ to make an impact in this tournament!

Expect the unexpected (in both the sense) from this charged up Deccan

Royal Challengers-Bangalore:

The so-called test team and the team which rose from the ashes the last IPL, under a spirited captaincy of Anil Kumble IS the team you can put your money on, this season. A team with a blend of experienced foreign players and a young bunch of Indian cricketers, who are eager to make it big in the international arena, makes Royal challengers easily the best team in the tournament. Vijay Mallya made the best bid in this year’s auction when he pocketed Eion Morgan. From cricketing point, it was a brilliant decision for Morgan will be available for the whole season and is in prime form. Mallya can continue to smile seeing Cameroon White taming the bowlers down under. The Indian likes of Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Mithun and Praveen will battle it out to find themselves in the flight to West Indies for the T20 WC. When everything falls apart, there is always a WALL to bank on and a JUMBO hearted captain who will fight till the end. With Taylor and Pietersen scheduled to join the team later, RC can only grow from strength to strength.

The hope of an Indian captain laying his hand on the beautiful IPL trophy seems brighter now!

Delhi Daredevils:

Sehwag, Gambir, Warner, AB de Villiers, Dilshan…. When you have a batting line up like this and not end up with the championship two times, then you need to blame something which is out of human control! Yeah the “chokers” of IPL were really unlucky in the past two editions, but can they end up in the podium this time??? Given a strong top order, they have a contrasting, fragile looking bowling line up. Vettori will be missed for the major part of the tournament. Nehra is mercurial, so is Mishra. The way Dirk Nannes and Wayne Parnell adapt to the Indian conditions will be huge factor for Delhi’s fortune. A legend like Glen McGrath will be sorely missed! Dinesh Karthik is in fine good form infront and behind the stumps and he must be the “X” factor for the Daredevils! On a final note, if Delhi batting riches can compensate their bowling weakness, Delhi can very well lose their “chokers” tag this season

Watch out this team for the envious batting line up!

Chennai Super Kings:

At the outset let me confess, I’m a big time Dhoni fan and no wonder I’m supporting Chennai ! May be for the first time, Chennai on paper are not as strong compared to their rivals. Plauged by injury concerns and out of form players, Chennai doesn’t start as the favourites! But when you have a captain with a Midas touch, you must think twice before you say such a statement! “We” have the likes of Hayden, Murali, Morkel who can change matches single handedly. Raina has been consistent. Badri and Vijay, with their conventional way of playing, bring the classic touch to the line up. The new acquisition Justin Kemp and Badani can be handy ! We also have a strong bowling line up with the likes of Balaji,Tyagi,Gony and Jakati who can blow up any opposition ( U see I’m a CSK fan and such exaggerations are accepted ;-) )

Afterall we have a magician named MS DHONI..Mind It !!!

Rajasthan Royals:

When someone says, ”Cricket is a team game”, just think again for this team proves it wrong time and again. Yeah they have Yusuf Pathan! He bats, bowls and takes his team to victory! I know I’m so harsh on other players in the team, but it is the reality. Even Shane Warne will accept to this in a closed room conversation! They might have been used to this tittle “Underdogs” by now and yet again they start like that! The ignominious ban on Ravindra Jadeja has given Warne lots to ponder upon. Rajasthan Royals will be sweating it out for Smith’s return from injury. Shaun Tait, Morne Morkel,Shane Warne, Munaf ,Botha gives its bowling a formidable look. Oops I still wonder how Damien Martyn can help RR??? Had Watson been available for the entire tournament, Rajasthan could have relished their dream of a semi final berth!

Can Shane Warne cast his spell, yet again, on this “Underdogs” ?

Mumbai Indians:

The only stain in the glorious cricketing career of the Little Master must be his captaincy! This IPL will seal this fact! It looks a balanced team on paper, but has never translated its talents into success. MI can boast of the best opening batting and bowling pair. Sachin and Jayasuriya at the top can put even the best bowler on earth nervous! Zaheer and Malinga form a formidable bowling pair! The new million dollar baby of the IPL-Kieron Pollard will be the cynosure of the Indian crowd for we know how entertaining he can be,courtesy the Champions league matches! Harbhajan Singh’s spin will be very handy in the middle overs! It will be interesting to see how the ICL stars Sathish and Rayadu are utilized! The presence of potential allrounders in Nayar,Bravo,Duminy gives Mumbai Indians a real chance this time around. It is time Mumbai realize its real potential and justify why they are the costliest team!

Can Sachin add another feather to his already beautiful cap!

Punjab Kings XI :

Sangakkara ascent to captaincy must have been a tough decision to make, but it makes real cricketing sense. Yuvraj has never impressed as a captain and he has been given a chance to concentrate on his batting. Kings XI is blessed with a slew of exceptional foreign players, but equally saddened with injury concerns. Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh are fighting to be fit before they start their campaign, so will be Yuvi and Irfan Pathan. James Hopes, Jayawardene and Ravi Bopara will fight for a place in the squad! It will be redemption time for Md.Kaif to prove his skills,after being flown back to India last year and did not have a good stake at the auctions also. The bowling to be led by Brett Lee will have Sreesanth and Yusuf Abdulla to compliment his efforts! The Indian spin duo of Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla will have their work cut out in the batsman friendly Indian wickets.

Can the kings broaden the smile on the face of the queen “Pretty” Zinta

Kolkatta Knight Riders:

The only team which I wish play the finals of this year’s IPL with Chennai Super Kings will be Kolkatta Knight Riders.. And you guys very well know the reason ;-) On a bird’s eye view Kolkatta seems to be a settled squad this time with a full time captain and a new coach in Dav Whatmore. Sourav Ganguly will be back in action as a captain and it cannot get bigger than this for Kolkatta fans! Another best thing that could have happened to KKR is that Gayle and Shane Bond will miss just the first match of the tournament. The likes of Brad Hodge and Owasis Shah will be very useful in Indian conditions. C Pujara and Manoj Tiwary,the most celebrated domestic players will finally get a chance to prove their mettle in this IPL, after missing the last one due to injury.The bowling has lot more sting this time with Shane Bond and Langeveldt in prime form. Agarkar and Ishant can be able supporters. The aging Murali Karthik and Mendis must settle KKR’s quest for spinning options!

Can SRK and his Knights script another Bollywood climax?

Now it is time to say “Let the games begin and All the best..Cheers !”

I was just expecting some spark to ignite my blog again and it can’t get better than India losing a must win game against England in a world cup match and the cynical media and fans pointing their finger to my all time hero-MS Dhoni! So being a loyal fan of him,I need to defend him right! So people, who are already blaming it on Dhoni please don’t read it further because this post will be like adding oil to your burning fire!!!

At the outset let me appreciate the Indian population for being so sensitive that they are ready to worship their cricketers next only to God, when they win and give them all the hero- welcome when they return. Yeah,it is bound to happen in a country like India where cricket is more than a religion. But what happens when the team loses?? This is where this sensitiveness takes a wrong route.We start looking a sport like a war…We stone them, blame them ..what more?? We are unable to digest the fact that we were outplayed! Is it fair to blame a captain of MSD’s caliber,that he was solely responsible for the loss??? What would have been a wonder, some other day, turned out to be a blunder today when he played Ravindra Jadeja for Ojha.Had Jadeja’s batting clicked,Dhoni would have been hailed as the man with the Midas touch,but today you curse him for that gamble and all the more raising slogans for the removal of him as the Indian captain??Sounds crazy indeed!

How come this same Indian population forget the golden days India basked under the leadership of MSD? How come one forget the state of Indian cricket when Dhoni was made the Scape goat captain of Indian cricket?? How many believe IPL would have been such a great success without Dhoni lifting the world cup in ’07??? One has to acknowledge that the number of sweet memories Dhoni and his men gave outnumber the number of days which haunt us.Atleast for now,lets cherish the good old days of Indian cricket under MSD!!

Ofcourse everyone is disappointed including me,but showing fingers on Dhoni alone is unfair. Let’s be matured enough to accept our team failed as a unit and let’s move on rather than criticizing our heroes!!! May be India would have failed to retain the championship, but still Dhoni is the champion of the champions…If you are not convinced about that statement with his previous performances…well then wait..The coming days will prove that and more!!!

Cheers Dhoni…Thanks for the loss,you proved you are mortal too..not a magician!!!

Read my other post on Dhoni @ "The triumph of simplicity"

.... My IPL experience!!!

U know u have loved something, only when you start missing it.And within 24 hours of the closing ceremony of the grand IPL 2,I’m already missing it very badly! Missing playing those fantasy leagues,missing reading umpteen articles on IPL buzz,missing Cyrus Broacha Cricket-ainment, AJ analysis, missing those nail-biting close matches,huge sixes,cheer gals,and of course Mandira ;-) I’m sure superlatives are going to be redundant describing the huge success of IPL at South Africa and just the thought which sparked in Lalit Modi’s mind of conducting IPL twice a year,one in India and the other ,outside the subcontinent, sums up the huge success of an Indian domestic tournament at South Africa. Sure India is going to feel the heat when it starts organizing for the next IPL season,to atleast match the success of IPL-2! The beauty of IPL is that it attracts not only cricket following fanatics into it,but also other people who just want to “time pass” as it has all the ingredients of a Bollywood blockbuster.. the cricketing heroes, IPL ”Bollywood” Queens, commentating vilans(I know I’m harsh on them:-) ) umpteen twists and turns, songs and of course cheer gals dancing.How about this bollywood blockbuster for an Oscar nomination as it has slumdog millionaires too ;-)

As a television viewer,I was glued to almost all the matches watching those unscripted scripts enacted,which even brought the Bollywood stars down to tears,those DLF maximum,those sibling rivalries,those zoozoos entertaining during the “strategy break” and the fairy tale story of underdogs!!! It was a “wow” viewing experience.The best part of this IPL was that there was an equal tussle between bat and ball,unlike India where bowlers have nightmares bowling in batsmen friendly Indian wickets.As always, IPL has helped unearth new Indian talents. This edition was also no exception. There was Manish Pandey, Shadab Jakati, Kamran Khan and lotsa other foreign cricketers who came from obscurity to being famous. This IPL also showcased that age is just a number and no way that has a part in one’s performance.The inspiring Kumble’s leadership, Rohit’s last over assault, Sachin-Sanath mauling Knight riders, Jakati’s comedy of errors in making a run out, Gilchrist’s podium finish with a bunch of pre-tournament no-hopers are etched in my memories which time cannot so easily erase. Being a Super King fan, I had reasons to be heart broken, but the very fact that we were outplayed by a far determined team, stopped my outburst! Still, my biggest regret would be the inability of an Indian captain to have his hand on the beautiful IPL trophy!

IPL has been embraced by the whole global cricketing fraternity and that the threat to test matches are imminent, courtesy Gayle’s comment! But we are not complaining as all we want is entertainment..fun..fun …lotsa fun in 3 hours and what else would be a better option than to sit with friends and watch a duel between Sachin-Warne fighting for Mumbai and Rajasthan respectively! At the outset of the tournament Lalit Modi commented that his brain child IPL would be an example and a template for the world organizers such as FIFA.I thought he must be kidding, but now I’m convinced he actually meant it! Hats Off to him to have actually sparked off a hi-octane tournament in such a brief period!!! Certainly we are on a revolutionary period,seeing the revolution of cricket in the hands of Modi! Don’t be surprised if cricket is MODI-fied still !!! Cheers man!!! Thanks for the fun!

...... Here are a few tips!!!

I’m really sad writing this, as my predictions for this year IPL standings (the previous post) has gone horribly wrong! Deccan chargers have come from nowhere and are now tipped for a podium finish, while Chennai is making a mess of the plethora of talent available. So dropping my astrologer work for a while, I thought I could do something more interesting.. yeah, to be the voice of IPL. I was glued to my television sets for almost all the IPL matches to learn something about IPL commentary. Hmm..at the end of the day I just realized that it was more tough to be an IPL commentator/anchor than being a normal cricket commentator!!Here I say why IPL commentating is tough and also a few tips if you are aspiring to be an IPL commentator!

1. Gone are the days when Geoffrey Boycott would scream when Sachin hits the ball over the long-on fence “What a huge six is that!”.IPL commentators, who are very grateful to the persons who pay them,scream “That was a DLF maximum”!

2. Their gratefulness to the sponsors doesn’t stop there. Whenever there is an inside edge for a boundary or a simple catch taken, commentators acknowledge that as a Citi moment of success.Who knows with the number of sponsors increasing, days are not far when one can hear

That was a Vodafone chota run

Wow..That was a Sri Krishna Sweetly timed shoot

That is Gillette razor edged to the boundary!

3. When there is a lull stage in the match, our commentators getting bored start thanking the sponsors again “We like to thank the sponsors DLF,KingFisher,Citi..bla bla… “ Getting overboard with the same dialogue every innings and every day:- (

4. Oh! The next horrible thing is IPL anchors must be ready to peep into one’s dressing room, oh! Sorry dugout here, and chat with team’s coach or physio and ask some insane questions. When a tense match between Kolkatta and Mumbai is going on and Kolkatta is on the back foot,the anchor asks John Buchanan,coach of Kolkatta “So are you supporting Kolkatta or Mumbai now??”Don’t be shocked if John gives a slap on the anchor’s face!

5. Leave that for a tinge of innocence! The worst thing is that when IPL anchors go for a chat with foreign world class players who are on the bench for that game, because only 4 foreigners are allowed to play. Adding oil to the already burning fire the anchor asks “Being a world class player yourself, why are you not playing today and how is it sitting on the bench??” Pity that player!

6. I think IPL commentators are ordered that they should not speak,but to scream most of the time.The other day I saw Ravi Shastri yelling during the toss “Welcome Cape Town”. May be he was trying to make his voice audible to the entire city of Cape Town and not just to the stadium!

7. And yeah,whenever Dhoni’s or Warne’s face comes on the screen during a tense match,there comes a cliché “He is a cool captain..brilliant captain”.May be it is the commentator’s curse both the captains are going thr’ a lull phase!

8. Having the IPL in South Africa,commentators are getting used saying this quite often than not “It has been raining here since morning and grounds men are working hard to clear the outfield. Hopefully we’ll have the match soon”. They say this, even after knowing the match would be a wash out!

9. There are some weird moments when the commentator hypes that the match is heading for a thrilling finish when every Tom,Dick and Harry knows it is not. They justify their statement saying “Cricket is a funny game” forgetting who really is funny.

10. Finally,being a IPL commentator you must be generous enough to woo Mandira saying “Mandira..You look beautiful today”, no matter what the costume she is wearing! ;-)

There are lots more I wish to tell why IPL commentary is such a tough job, but before that I need a strategic time-out!!!

Wishing IPL commentators a Citi moment of success!!!Cheers!

..LET THE SHOW BEGIN!

The puritans call it the Idiotic Premier League. The World calls it the International Premier League. The Indian Govt calls it the Indian Problematic League. But we fans call it The Indian Premier League! Ya..The IPL is here again although the caravan has been shifted to South Africa and is scheduled to begin on 18^th April’09. Against all odds, even this edition is going to be a huge success given the acceptance of this concept in the Rainbow Nation. The second auction, held in February gave a chance for every franchise to strengthen their team’s armory. Every team seems to be balanced on paper, with a rich blend of foreign and national players. So it is really tough to predict the winners, also given the nature of T20 games. But why not take a chance?? Let’s predict too!!

My predictions of the standings for IPL’09

1. ChennaiSuper Kings

The last year finalists, who missed the crown by a whisker,start as the firm favourite for this year’s title. Led by a charismatic skipper, M.S.Dhoni, and having world class match winners in its ranks like Flintoff, Albie Morkel, Murali,Hayden and Oram CSK has all the rights to enjoy the pride of being the pre-tournament favourite. The form of Indian players Suresh Raina,Badrinath,Balaji,Vijay are also heartening. The loss of Hussey will be less felt as there are equally fine replacements in the team.

The availability of Hayden and Murali all through the series along with local heroes Morkel and Ntini

??? Definitely, the saddest thing is the embarrassment of riches CSK has ;-)

2. Delhi DareDevils

This team boasts the destructive and the most explosive opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir. The injection of David Warner and the new English imports Paul Collingwood and Shah should strengthen the brittle middle order of the DareDevils.The presence of “Pigeon”-Glen McGrath and Vettori must add colour to the otherwise mundane bowling attack.The Indian contingent comprising of Dinesh Karthik,Amit Mishra and Nehra must pull up their socks to put up a daredevilry act at South Africa.

The current form of Gambhir and Sehwag. The presence of AB de Villiers,the local boy must be an added advantage

Bowling! The age factor and fitness of Glen McGrath, and his support bowlers

3. Mumbai Indians

The really balanced side of this tournament,which narrowly misses out the first two spots in my list is just because of the captaincy factor.I may be harsh on Sachin,but that is a fact and we saw it in the last edition,where MI lost 2 last ball thrillers!The return of Zak and Bhajji to the team gives the much needed sting to the bowling attack, which was very wayward,the last year.The ever young Jayasuriya’s presence will be a crucial factor as will be Sachins’.The young blood in the team- Dhawal Kulkarni,A Nayar,Rahane,S Tiwari will play a very important role in the team’s S\F chances.

The presence of in-form JP Duminy and Zaheer Khan

Loss of Shaun Pollock,who could have been useful in the home conditions. Ofcourse Sachin’s captaincy!

4.Rajasthan Royals

An encore from the champions last year has faded very much,as the services of their strike bowler Sohail Tanvir and all rounder Shane Watson(for the first half) would be missing this year.But with the Shane Warne as the captain,any miracle is possible.Oops!Who imagined RR would lift the trophy the last year?The unknown commodity Tyron Henderson,who mesmerized this year’s auction,should be the surprise package.The presence of Graham Smith and Morne Morkel,the local guys,should be a huge bonus. Yusuf Pathan's audacious batting and Ravindra Jadeja’s all round skills must encourage Warne in his quest to defend the title.

Shane Warne’s captaincy. Smith’s knowledge about his home conditions.

Shaun Tait to replace Sohail Tanvir,Henderson to replace Watson!Impossible!

5.Bangalore Royal Challengers

Surely not a test team anymore.Vijay Mallya might have done more than enough to get rid of that tag,but to go that extra mile,he surely needs another Kevin Pieterson in his kitty.Though Royal Challengers sound a decent team,with Jesse Ryder and Uthappa in the squad,there is some weak link in the bowling department.Except for Steyn,I doubt if others are T20 bowlers?Bracken will be surely missed because of the Pakistan series.Praveen and Kumble can’t be termed a quintessential T20 bowlers. Let’s wait and watch if Kevin’s charm work out with RCB.

Presence of Kevin Pieterson for atleast 7 matches can do wonders! Five South Africans in the squad including Boucher and Kallis!

Support bowlers to Dale Steyn???

6. Kolkatta Knight Riders

Confusion all he way through!!! Ganguly’s forgettable run with Australian coaches continues.SRK and Ganguly must be happy Gayle and McCullum will be available for a considerable period this season.The success of KKR lies in the proper utilization of the mystery spinner Mendis. Ishant Sharma and Mortaza must make up a potent new ball pair.The most celebrated domestic player Pujara will be the cynosure of the Indian public.Lakshmi Shukla,Murali Karthik and S Bangar must live up to their reputations,so that Dada and SRK are spared from bitter humiliations!

Gayle’s storm and Mendis mystery!

John Buchanan may be the villain if his innovative ideas don’t work.

7.Kings XI Punjab

The Australian selectors must have done nothing but,shut the doors on Preity Zinta’s glamorous team. The selection of Brett Lee,Shaun Marsh,James Hopes for the series against Pakistan has sealed the fate for Kings XI Punjab,who have already lost the mercurial Sreesanth due to an injury.The availability of Sangakarra and Jayawardene must be a comforting factor for Yuvi. The Indian bowling duo of Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla must strike form so that Preity strikes gold! Kings XI Punjab have included Yusuf Abdulla,the stingiest South African T20 bowler.Lets hope he does a Brett Lee act ;-)

Yuvraj’s T20 record and presence of Sri Lankan duo of Sangakarra and Jayawardene

Missing of the Australian trio and a very weak bowling attack.

8. Deccan Chargers

To end up at the last again will be a touch disgraceful for a team which has Adam Gilchrist,Gibbs,Styris,Vaas,Laxman! Symonds will be missed for a major part of the tournament after getting a surprise call back into his national squad. Rohit Sharma and RP Singh will be doing a redemption act to get back into Indian line up.The major setback for Deccan Chargers last year was that it was devoid of a potential Indian rookie-star, like a Swapnil Asnodkar or a Manpreet Gony. Gilchrist will have a real test of his life to charge up the Deccan Chargers!

Gibbs mindblowing record in South Africa, RP Singh and Rohit Sharma’s impressive T20 World Cup At South Africa

Lack of potentially good Indian rookies and the poor bowling link!

Afterall it just takes a ball, an over,a player to change this table topsy turvy!Whatever it maybe,at the end of the day,not just fun but also real fierce cricket is guaranteed...What else a cricket fan can expect for!!

Wishing Lalit Modi,the franchises and the players good luck!