No more a joke

I am writing this piece with less than a couple of hours to go for the mega final of African IPL. I have a reason to exhibit this urgency and write before the match starts. Both the teams that would be part of this game are so close to me – one being my home team and the other filled with two of my all time favorite players Rahul and Anil. Agreed on all the previous occasions I have supported Bangalore in the encounters between these two teams but today I would definitely not be disappointed with result going either way as long as the game goes down to the wire and we get a chance to see a thrilling encounter for one last time this season more so after these one sided semi finals. This has been great turnaround from the previous edition for the simple reason that the teams with wooden spoon last year are fighting out for the trophy. Last year if one team was seen to be filled with star hitters who could blow away the match out of opposition hands with their hard hitting prowess and may not even stand for 20 overs on a bad day, other team was regarded more suitable for the lengthiest format of the game and was seen to be needing atleast 5 overs more to be alongside the competition. But this year they have proved all their critics wrong. Interestingly, these are the two teams that made a cut into the semifinal during the last day of the league stage.

The two teams also had a contrasting journey. Hyderabad started off with four consecutive wins and seemed to running much ahead of the other teams but then they ensured their level best to have mixed results there on to see that they are the team with least points to enter semis interestingly on the basis of their better NRR. On the contrary after the inaugural success Bangalore looked like repeating their previous year results and end up in the bottom two. However once they got rid of the million dollar baby, our own Jumbo showed why he is one of the greatest fighters in the international cricket. This is one team which started playing knockout when others were still in league stage and register one of the greatest fight backs in the cricketing history.

If last year’s battle between Australian leg spinner and Indian wicket keeper was won by the former now it is time to see who would dominate this year – is it going to be Indian leg spinner or is it going to be Australian wicket keeper? Let’s watch it!

Closing In

After a series of one sided affairs and rain affected games it is heartening to see some close encounters. The fever is slowly catching up and the teams are finding themselves all over the table swapping positions after every game. No one except the last year flop teams Hyderabad and Bangalore are playing predictably, the former winning consistently and the latter losing consistently after their inaugural victory over the last year champs.

So the contest is definitely closing in and yeah Sri Lankan troops are also closing in on the LTTE camps and the NEWS is that the LTTE and Prabhakaran would be history in a couple of days from now. I wish that the story ends forever and both the Sinhalese and Tamilians lead a progressive life in future. What is difficult to comprehend is why is Indian government intervening now? If we wanted to do something we should have done it during the 48hour cease fire break last week; not at the stage when the war is almost nearing the end. We can suggest the Lankan government to ensure the safety of the civilians but there is no way we could hamper their plans of trapping the tiger to restore the much awaited peace in the area. Anyways it is too late for the sleeping Indian government to do anything silly and I hope that Lankan government just go according to their plans.

Masterful Beginning

The NRI version of the cricket carnival begins today much to the respite of many like me who are finding it hard to fight the boredom … and what a beginning this is!!! There is absolutely no hangover from previous edition as both the finalists of the first edition were humbled on the very first day by the two great batting maestros of the Indian cricket. So any punters betting based on previous records beware.

Absolutely dream beginning with both Sachin and Rahul winning MoMs to start the tournament. The run feast is there to stay for a month and I hope the Indian youngsters make the most of this ‘special’ opportunity … special because thanks to Chidambaram and general elections in the country – the players have a chance to play on foreign wickets. I wish this time the franchises play more competitive cricket unlike last year where Hyderabad and Bangalore teams were virtually out of contention for semifinal even before the halfway mark of the tournament. If there is anything I can ask for after such a great beginning it is Hyderabad and Bangalore teams making it to the semifinals if not finals … ok jokes apart. I would be surprised if this edition will be as bright as the previous one – courtesy absence of Indian crowds but I can always wish that it provides good exposure to the young players both Indian and foreign and lots and lots and lots of entertainment to the billions of the cricketing fans glued to TV.

Life after IPL

Today it feels like a calm after a storm. The storm called IPL which has become a part of my routine for the last two months. Today when I switched on TV at 8PM as I do every day, some dreadful movie is being screened at the same channel which telecasted the first edition of this mega event for the last fifty odd days. Even in the wildest of his dreams Mr. Lalit Modi - the man behind the concept would not have thought that it would become such a huge hit. Some thought it was an overdose of cricket but it was definitely not for me. Almost daily you have a cliffhanger- Close to 50 percent of the matches were close finishes what else would I want as a spectator? But Yes - it might have got way too hectic for the players and support staff.

Irrespective of who won the tournament we have seen a good number of emerging players like Niraj Patel, Abhishek Nayyar, Sidharth Trivedi, Manpreet Gony, Yousuf Pathan, Wridhiman Saha, Swapnil Asnodkar, Ashok Dinda, Shikar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, Vijay kumar Yo Mahesh and Virat Kohli.

It was good to see young guns like Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla along with the current Indian players like Mahendra Dhoni , Irfan Pathan, Sreeshanth and Virender Sehwag shoulder responsibility for their respective leagues.

It would be incomplete if I don't mention that Saurav Ganguly played with as much zeal as "an youngster performing to find a place in the national team". Another big gun Rahul Dravid seemed to have discovered his lost strokes and shots - it was a heartening effort from him to adjust to a format of game which many thought would least suit his style.

Then we saw some great performances from foreign youngsters and current players like Shaun Marsh, Luke Pommersbach, David Hussey, Shane Watson, Sohail Tanvir and Dale Steyn along with veterans Shane Warne, Sanath Jayasuriya , Muthaiah Muralitharan and Adam Gilchrist.

More importantly we have a good option for a future coach in Shane Warne.

The last few lines might have seemed like a vote of thanks ... but then I think it was a good tournament and the players deserved to be listed by name in this post ... such was the entertainment provided by them during this summer.