I thought about this question after a brief discussion on Uncle J's blog on this particular post . Did, a commenter on the post said "I think the IPL should be renamed the Antipodean Premier League anyways cause it would be twice as $%^ without the backbone provided by the Aussies and Kiwis." And he went on to mention that the Aussies had won 14 MoM awards in 34 games, 4 of the top 10 batsmen were Aussies, as were 2 of the top 10 bowlers. It won't be a surprise if the IPL teams are reliant on Aussies as they are the best cricket players in the world. But are the teams actually reliant on them?  read more »

This is the big match of IPL.

Lest you think I've gone bonkers, considering the wide disparity between the concerned teams, let me set the record straight. Delhi vs Mumbai is never a small game....not even if it is just a T20 match. If there is a rivalry which ruffles the fine Mumbai feathers, it is with Delhi and none else. It has been so traditionally.

Sachin is out of the match scheduled for 4.00pm in the Mumbai Indians' own den today. Not that it makes an iota of difference to the way Virender Sehwag plays his cricket and leads others to play it, but one has to offer the customary obeisance to the high priest of Indian cricket...if not world cricket.  read more »

As the Nissar Trophy game moves into its third day, Delhi have more or less overcome the advantage of having a conceded a 132 run first innings deficit to the visitors SNGPL. Virat Kohli continued his good form to reach 91 not out to add to his 52 in the first innings as Delhi reached 1/242 (Akash Chopra 93*, Sehwag 37) after having dismissed the SNGPL line up for 266 in their first innings. The highlight of Day 1 was a lower middle-order hattrick by 27 year old Imran Ali. He took 6/52 in the Delhi first innings, and was aided by his opening partner Asad Ali who took 3/32. Delhi were bowled out for 134. Ashish Nehra was amongst the wickets when Delhi bowled, but Ishant Sharma had an expensive opening spell.  read more »

Delhi Daredevils outclassed the as yet undefeated Chennai Superkings in a high scoring encounter.

Chennai Superkings began at a brisk pace and at one time looked to end up at least 20-30 runs more than they eventually did. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan propped up the CSK effor with a pleasing half century. The 3D bowlers pegged back the intents of Dhoni and CSK at crucial times with some clever bowling backed up by good fielding. Albie Morkel rattled up some quick runs in the last three overs.  read more »

Mahendra Singh Dhoni lost the toss but everything else went right for his team, beginning with some tight bowling, as the Chennai Super Kings won the match against the Deccan Chargers and a spot in the semi-finals at the expense of the Mumbai Indians. Chennai will face Kings XI Punjab, whom they have defeated twice, [...]

Previewing Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals: Match 33

This a must-win situation for 3D. They are at the nadir of consecutive defeats at the hands of rejuvenated minnows Mumbai Indians and once-upon-a-time leaders, CSK.

Let's take a look at some of the main 3D players in their respective situations and their performance in the three losses thus far.  read more »

The Mumbai Mirror's cover story on November 28th 2007 is a textbook case of how a ambiguously sourced story is damaging. There are several problems with this story. The most obvious one is that it does not name sources. "Senior players" - a phrase flogged to death by the press much like the phrase "BCCI officials" is ambigious, and most crucially drags in anybody who may qualify as a "senior" player. It makes no allowance for the possibility that certain senior players may infact be in favor of Kirsten - or more simply, that there may be various different personal opinions amongst the senior players about the selection of the coach. Further, who are the "senior players"? Kumble, Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman? Are Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan also amongst the "senior" players? Is Dhoni who captains the ODI side a "senior" player? It could be speculated with some merit therefore that 8 out of the 11 that played the Kolkata Test are "senior players". Is it reasonable on the part of the Mumbai Mirror to assume that all these senior players (the number ranges from 4-8 by any reasonable standard) are all of exactly the same mind? The Mirror has also used that classic non-source "a source close to the team" who reveals the following:  read more »

India vs South Africa, ICL Edelweiss 20s Finals, West Indies vs Sri Lanka

Gone Sunday was a typical one I grew up with in Delhi - there was cricket all around and cricket matters being discussed. The difference perhaps was that it was mostly on television unlike the days gone by when it was all on the numerous grounds and parks which dotted the Delhi landscape. Today, you would need an eye in the sky to peer into the depths of built-up Delhi to find a ground hosting cricket. But you will still find cricket being played on some ground or the other despite the capital having assumed the concrete garb of Mumbai. I took in some of that as well as what the television had to offer later in the evening. A round up of the Sunday that was....

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