I Was There

April 25, 2010: IPL Final, Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.

I WAS THERE. I saw CSK become the winners of the Indian Premier League. Ye hai Chennai, Chennai Super King.

The stadium was jam packed. The atmosphere party like. The crowd (including yours truly) rooting firmly for the Mumbai Indians. But it was Dhoni's day as Raina led CSK to victory.

Watching a game in the stadium is a different experience all together. You move with the crowd. You sing along with them. You dance along with them. You share high fives with the unknown people near you. You participate in Mexican Waves. You can whistle all you like without anyone minding. And you dont feel like an idiot while wearing the inflatable zoozoo cap with a team flag draped around your shoulders. And the best part, you dont have to suffer the silly ads, or the sponsored commentary. You can forget about the DLF Maximum or Karbonn Kamaal Catches. You may miss the action in some bits but then you can always catch the replay afterwards on the big screen. Amongst other things I managed to see the marvel of technology that is the MRF Blimp.

And I really loved the Fly camera. Now its a wish to operate it one time at least.

The match itself was good. Outstanding moment of the day. Raina catching Tiwary off Jakati.

I had also been to the 3rd place match. RCB won. The match was boring, Stadium was only half full. But the atmosphere made up for it quite a bit. 

It was a real pleasure though to see some all time greats, some current stars and a few potential big names in the making in action. So now the players whom I saw in action over the 2 matches

CSK: Dhoni, Hayden, Murali, Raina, Bollinger,Vijay, Badrinath, Albie, Ashwin, Jakati, Aniruddha

MI: Sachin, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Malinga, Pollard, Duminy, Ferando, Tiwary, Rayudu, Nayar, Dhawan

RCB: Kumble, Dravid, Kallis, Pietersen, Steyn, Uthappa, White, Kohli, Praveen, Akhil, Doshi

DC: Gilchrist, Symonds, Rohit, Harris, Ojha, Rahul Sharma, Harmeet, Dwayne Smith, Mohnish Mishra, Anirudh Singh.

There were non-cricket performers as well. AR Rehman, Bipasha Basu & Shahid Kapoor.

Overall the experience was simply AWESOME.

Mid IPL Review - 6

First let me allow myself a moment to gloat. Yes, my predictions for the semi-finals came true.It is going to be a Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings final. And I have got the tickets as well. So I'll be in stadium for this one. Here are the highlights of the semi-finals

• Kieron Pollard can hit BIG. And he can change the game in a matter of a couple of overs. Add to that some controlled bowling and athletic fielding. He is proving a real good investment.
• Saurabh Tiwary has been the best upcoming Indian player wothout doubt. Has been delivering consisitently throughout the season. And so also has Ambati Rayudu.
• Sachin Tendulkar claiming catch & getting injured. Rahul Dravid not walking. 3rd umpire giving benefit of doubt to batsman. Where did all the gentleman's game talk go?
• Virat Kohli standing like an idiot and not walking though the catch was taken at knee height.
• Mukesh Ambani's fist pumping
• Harbhajan Singh's antics after the game
• Deccan's pathetic catching
• Badrinath's bat smashing
• Gilchrist & Hayden are old now. Really not performing at all
• IT raids all over the country. Heads will roll.

Saturday's game is pretty important. Last Champions League spot is at stake after all.

Here are the BIG predictions

RCB to win the 3rd place

MI to win the IPL

And I hope to be watching both these games live in the ground.

P.S. There was some international cricket going on as well last week. West Indies played a couple of ODIs against Canada & ireland without any of their star players, all of whom are in the IPL. And they won quite comfortably as well

Mid IPL Review - 5

So finally the league stage of the IPL got over. And it left a bit of a hollow feeling. I didnt know what to watch on TV yesternight. So here are the highlights off the week.

• 
  
  Dhoni's red light area comment.
• 
  
  Dhoni's sixes to win the game vs Kings XI and take Chennai to the semi-finals.
• 
  
  Dharmasala has a beautiful stadium and the moths there ar very big too.
• 
  
  Blasts in Bangalore. Now semi-finals shifted to Navi Mumbai (officially Deccan's home ground, in reality Mumbai's)
• 
  
  But the major tamasha was off the field. One union minister resigned; One "sweat equity" holder giving up the stake; IT raids everywhere; Lalit Modi may have to go also; Hungama in parliament; Accusations of match fixing. Off the field drama seems to have become more rivetting, at least for the media.

Semi-finals lineup

RCB vs MI; CSK vs DC.

My predictions for the final: MI vs CSK

Fantasy League Status

Points: 10265; Rank: 3319; End of League Stage

Dhoni & the Red Light

April 13, 2010, Chennai

Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Post match Presentation

Harsha Bhogle: “I know you come from Ranchi but I would never believe that you come from anywhere other than Chennai today.”

MS Dhoni: "Ya, People in Chennai just love me. In the first edition when I used to go out biking at night whenever I used to stop in Red Light Areas, They always used to come up to me and speak in Tamil."

According to me the quote of the IPL so far :D

Video is here

Mid IPL Review - 4

Week 4 is over, and we are approaching the business end of the tournament. The points table is as messed up as it could possibly be. MI are now just about 2 points clear at the top while Kings XI are 4 points clear at the bottom. 3 teams at 12 & 3 at 10 each are now locked in a battle for the semi-final spots. Here are the highlights of the week.

• Old is Gold. The IPL is continually proving this true. With the exception of VVS Laxman, almost everyone is performing superbly.
• Somehow get the feeling that the World Cup squad was selected too early. Players like Robin Uthappa, Murali Vijay & Murali Kartik are performing better than the ones chosen ahead of them.
• Indian fast bowling lineup is bare. Apart from Zaheer, there is nobody else performing consistently well.
• No one can afford to lose to Kings XI now.
• Kevin Pietersen isn't good for RCB's chances.

Picks for Semis: MI, RCB, RR, DD

Fantasy League Status

Points: 7483, Rank: 6434; After Game 43

A 1500+ drop in rank can be accounted by the inability to change my trump player for 4 successive games due to being away

Blog Verification Post

This post has nothing to do with cricket. Seems that technorati needs a specific post to verify that I own this blog. So here is to you, folks at Technorati.

The claim code is 2356HAWDJJ2Z

I hereby claim to be the owner of this blog.

Mid IPL Review - 3

Here is the 3rd edition of the IPL reviews.

The tournament is passing at such a fast phase that a certain amount of fatigue has set in. I am not really following the league itself. But its the only thing worth watching on TV these days. Anyway here are the highlights of the 3rd week of IPL.

• Just past the halfway stage in the league, MI have moved clear of everyone at the top of the points table. Similarly, Kings XI have settled alone at the bottom. And the other 6 are in for a real dogfight for the last 3 semi-final slots.
• Teams have been bolstered by the inclusion of the Aussies & the Kiwis.
• Gautam Gambhir reprimanded for calling Rajasthan an ordinary side. I don't understand any logic in this action by Lalit Modi. Though its great to see Gambhir standing by what he said.
• The MRF Blimp: The camera moves skywards & zooms in on the blimp with MRF written on its side. And the commentator says - Ah MRF; forefront of technology; did you know they are the largest manufacturer of motorbike tyres in the world; Dennis Lilee; Pace foundation in Chennai; random names of fast bowlers; Sachin Tendulkar's bat.... Seriously, don't they feel embarrassed saying such things.
• Murali Vijay's batting has been a pleasant revelation to say the least.
• David Warner's century.
• Dinesh Karthik vs Shaun Tait.
• Bollinger's spell vs RR.
• David Hussey's catch to dismiss Collingwood.
• Sangakkara dropping catch and kicking the ball away against RCB for a boundary.

And now for the semi-final picks: MI, RCB, DD, RR

Fantasy League Status

Points: 6018, Rank: 4842; After Game 33

Mid IPL Review - 2

Here is the 2nd edition of the Mid IPL Reviews

The IPL is on full swing. And the situation is becoming clearer but it still is a long way to go. Here are the highlights as I see them.

• The injury spate continues. Wayne Parnell is the new victim this time. Dhoni has recovered though.
• Momentum seems to be the key word. KKR won the first 2 games and since then have lost 3 on the trot. RCB won 4 in a row. Rajasthan are suddenly on 3 game winning streak after having been almost counted out of the tournament after the initial losses. So little time between matches makes it worse for the teams. So winning & losing seem to become a habit.
• Yusuf Pathan, when in mood can murder the attack. Teams have to get him early.
• Shane Warne is back in form & is again beginning to inspire the team.
• Sachin Tendulkar & Jacques Kallis showed that T20 is not about hitting big sixes only.
• Never trust a Sri Lankan bowler to deliver in the Super Over.
• VVS Laxman looks a total misfit in T20.
• Bangalore is the best crowd. Has a pretty good pitch. And the team is in form.
• Indian batsmen have problems with the shorter ball.
• The mongoose power came on display. But couldn't stand any ground against Harbhajan & Kumble.
• AB de Villiers catching Praveen Kumar.
• Yuvraj reverse sweeping Murali for 4 during super over.
• Danny Morrison calling DD as Double Ds.
• Manish Pandeeee seems to be the most mispronounced name.

Team Reviews

• RCB: Seem the most settled. Foreigners & Indians all playing well.
• MI: A well balanced team and also performing well.
• RR: Suddenly have got the momnetum going while having lost quite a few players. Their performance defies logic.
• KKR: Back to 2009 form. Dada has to lead by example, and not the current one he is setting.
• DC: The one team defying momentum. But team not really performing that well.
• DD: Gambhir missing. Last year's heroes Dilshan & de Villiers not performing at all. Collingwood should get a chance.
• Kings XI: Havent really got on to the field at all. Players seem to be playing in different zones.
• CSK: The bowling lineup is really weak

Now for the semi-finals lineup predictions after 2nd week: RCB, MI, DC. The last spot is becoming more and more difficult to predict with a 3 way battle between RR, DD, CSK. KKR continue to languish & this time they have got Kings XI for company. But it still is a long way to go.

Coming up next week

The Brits, Kiwis & Aussies will join the party.  

The T20 World Cup Squad

Today morning, I had made predictions for the composition of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup. Well, the composition of the squad is the same as I had predicted, though there were a couple of changes in the personnel concerned. The national selectors picked Piyush Chawla over Amit Mishra (a real surprise) and decided to continue with the unfulfilled promise of Rohit Sharma over the unexplored potential of Manish Pandey (I had expected Virat Kohli). So 13 out of 15, not too great, not too bad either.

Team does have a few injured players (Nehra & Gambhir, Dhoni has just recovered from injury). This might cause serious problems in West Indies. Maybe a couple of backups shpould also be sent along with the first XV.

Dhoni, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Karthik, Jadeja, Harbhajan, Chawla, Zaheer, Praveen, Vinay Kumar & Nehra.

Best Tweet on Chawla's selection: "obviously selectors were fed up of playing musical chair game with just two spinners so they added chawla to make it more interesting... "

The T20 World Cup - My Picks

Today the selectors are going to announce the Indian team for the T20 World Cup to be held in West Indies. If I was the selectors this would be my XV.

Dhoni, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Raina, Yusuf, Karthik, Pandey, Jadeja, Harbhajan, Mishra, Zaheer, Praveen, Vinay Kumar, Nehra.

8 batsmen (including 2 wicket-keepers), 3 spinners & 4 seamers. Given the current slow nature of the West Indies pitches (as evident from the recent West Indies-Zimbabwe series), I believe this is the ideal combination. Although there is uncertainity over Nehra due to injury. In that case, probably Ishant should get a look in.