An IPL Semi Final at the Champions League – RBC vs. CSK

A cracker of a semi final awaits today where Kumble’s Bangalore will take on Dhoni’s Chennai. While much has been said about Chennai on paper, they have exposed some chinks this tournament.

Bangalore’s batting on the other hand has been a bit off color. Add to that a Kallis-shaped-hole, and the balance gets affected. Apart from Kohli and Dravid, the batsmen have not really lived up to their names. Uthappa has been a yo-yo behind the stumps.

One expects to see a decent match between two evenly matched sides!

Jai Bangalore!

CSK vs. the Bushrangers – one heck of a match

Cricket is still alive! That was one hell of a match that went down to the wire, burnt the wire and proceeded to the Super Over. Chennai Super Kings’s tactics vs. the Aussies was a treat to watch. While many may take issue with Ashwin bowling the super over, I think Dhoni’s choice was a decent one. Maybe my choice would have been Raina, and yes, that’s a mighty gamble. But that’s the thing with gambles; if you pull it off it looks great, if you don’t it looks ridiculous.

Victoria Bushrangers did well to tie the match. Liked to see the spunk from Peter Siddle. The tournament is still alive for them as well. CSK’s aren’t in too much trouble, so this result opens up the table for their group a bit more. It’ll be interesting to see who makes it.

Having said all that, I think the tied result needs to stay that way even in a T20. It’s a significant result with a special meaning.

IPL 3 ends IPLGate begins

So the IPL 3 is finally over and CSK have won. But the cat-fight between Lalith Modi and BCCI has just begun. Throw in a few cabinet ministers and a intelligent, good looking, foreign educated ousted one with an attractive friend and you’ve got something that’ll do more to ad revenue than perhaps even the IPL final.

Honestly I’m quite ambivalent about the whole saga surrounding the IPL. Modi is perhaps getting more than his due for the heavy handedness that he’s personified, the BCCI may escape without getting it’s due of rotten tomatoes and worse.

On the other hand, it is sad that India and Indian cricket’s image is taking a hit; its face is now marred again with the soot of corruption and match fixing. Whether people admit it or not (for fear of BCCI’s financial clout), the skepticism surround match-fixing that was almost buried after the Sharjah era is in all fairness back. It is now almost ok to ask if the final was fixed and whether that was part of the reason for sending Pollard in down the order. But it is also baffling. Perhaps that is why I fell asleep half way through Mumbai’s innings maybe it was too lacklustre to be true (but I made up by watching the entire post match ceremony till 2 am).

This time it will take longer to douse the suspicions. But life will go on. With the T20 World Cup only days away, even before the withdrawal syndrome sets in, we’ll be discussing why Dale Steyn isn’t overrated.

Argh… CSK pull it off against KKR

One must feel for Sourav Ganguly. First there was the outburst after the loss to RCB, then this is the response. As a die-hard Sourav fan, I honestly felt for this loss of KKR, and switched off the TV midway thru the match, knowing its direction. It was like going down the memory lane thru the many defeats India suffered to a world class Australian team in the late 90s under Ganguly, the difference being that was Aus and this was merely Chennai (further, they were 50 over matches, which offers more hope for even in hopeless situations, but I will not go there now). So much for city-support, I live in Chennai and I don’t recall myself ever having supported them :), and proudly so. For more on the city support phenomenon, fellow blogger SP has a full fledged post here.

Feelings apart, KKR need to perform a lot better than this to deserve a place in the semis.  The  top order almost never fire;  if they  do, the middle order flops. Despite all odds, if they happen to put up a decent total, the bowlers find a way to mess it up royally. The team management seriously need to think about Ajit Agarkar’s place in team. It was shocking that he managed to get several games.

It will be interesting to see who all will qualify for the semis. Only Mumbai have a confirmed spot. KKR will now have to beat Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai with a very good run rate and hope the other results go their way.

IPL 3: Two crackers today – RCB vs. KKR, CSK vs. DC

Royal Challengers Bangalore will not have forgotten their first against KKR in the first edition’s opener. Yet, I would like to think they will be better prepared this time. There is no McCullum this time, but there is Pujara- the batting sensation from Saurasthra.

Factors against RCB – this edition is in India. You’ve got to be a flat track bully here to garner any respect. Judging by the recently concluded series against South Africa, the Saffers don’t seem to be in great form. This might play on RCB’s mind.

KKR are playing at home. Theywill have tremendous support. This is the Eden. It can be paradise if it is home and ruthlessly evil for the opponent. This will be fun to watch. As for me, I like both teams. May the better team win!

CSK will open their account against the DCs. I will watch this for CSK and will root for them; though I’m indifferent about them, I care a rat’s hind for the Deccan Chargers – so less that they didn’t even merit a mention in my indifferent list.