Shane Watt-son Mega Watt performance

Well one sight on yesterday's match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals suggests that the Rajasthan Royals would have an easy won the match. But, I wonder how many of them would have thought the Rajasthan Royals would have won the match without losing even a single wicket and Shane Watson belting a 47 ball 89 run. The moment the Mumbai Indians ended their innings for 133 on the board, it was more or less understood that they would end up losing. But, something which was not thought about was the even with Lasith Malinga they couldn't grab a single wicket.

There were two Mumbaikars in Rohith Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar who did something for the Mumbai Indians' side by emerging as the top batsmen of the game scoring 31 and 58 respectively. But, as it already evident by now, that was of no use to the team. All that those scores could do was to save the face for the Mumbai Indians without which the total would not have even crossed 100. One has to wonder why the Mumbai Indians preserved 5 wickets when no one had the guts to belt the bowling of the opposition. Why was Franklin sent ahead of Symonds?

Symonds was a bigger hitter than Franklin and Harbhajan. One has to applaud the Rajasthan Royals' captain for experimenting with his bowlers and at the same time criticize him for failing in his experiment. There were four bowlers from the Rajasthan Royals' side who bowled their complete quota of 4 overs and much to anyone's surprise, they all ended up successful. But, the ones who didn't get to complete their full quota of 4 overs, namely Siddhart Trivedi, Maneria and Amit Singh bowled the costliest of over giving away runs at the rate of 9.00, 10.00 and 12.00 runs respectively.

However, there is not much that can be written about the batting performance of the Rajasthan Royals which was finished by just two batsmen - Dravid and Watson. Watson's 47 ball 89 might not be of that great interest but, his combo of 3 wickets and 89 runs definitely falls into the best of all-round performances. There were 7 over to spare for the Rajasthan Royals which could have been compensated in case of a rain affected match. With this, Shane Warne could be last match in the IPL and he has outplayed his famous rival-Sachin Tendulkar. Just a gr8 way to finish a splendid career.

Watson+Rahane+Dravid < Gayle

Well whenever in this season of the IPL is heard about Royal Challengers Bangalore, one name that flashes everyone's mind would be that of Chris Gayle, the reasons which are not unknown or need to be told separately. Yesterday as well in the game against Rajasthan Royals, it was Chris Gayle who did most of the damage to the host team first by having a wicket under his name and secondly needless to be said by belting another splendid 70 runs off just 44 balls and remaining unbeaten in the second innings chasing a modest total of 147 on the board.

There were batsmen like Dravid, Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane and Ross Taylor who got into double figures but the noteworthy scores were just that of Dravid and Watson. Neither were there any major strike rates for the Rajasthan to boast about. Not to mention that a combination of all the aforementioned scores were out shadowed by Gayle from the Royal Challengers Bangalore. With someone like Gayle out there in the opposition, the teams facing should have been a little lot more careful at least when it came to saving their faces let alone winning or even coming close to winning one against the RCB.

On the other hand, other than Chris Gayle, there were the likes of Dilshan, Virat Kohli and A B deVilliars who could have done the job for the Royal Challengers Bangalore with a target of just 147 on the board set by Rajasthan. One can take a look at the scorecard to see the bowling chart of Rajasthan Royals who bought in 7 of their bowlers mainly to bowl Chris Gayle which happened to be a valiant effort. However, the Rajasthan Royals' efforts got paid for when they had one wicket towards the end of the RCB's successful run chase.

The Rajasthan Royals had Dilshan out with half the target already achieved. But, had they got Gayle out atleast late in the innings, that would have bought in much satisfaction for the Rajasthan Royals. Once again popping up the man of the match debate, I bet none can explain why Gayle was deceived of the award. Is it because that Gayle has received that award thrice earlier in the tournament or is it because the match officials wanted to give bowlers a chance to go up and collect something? To mention, Gayle had a wicket against his name which wasn't noticed by match officials I supppose.

When the entire team stands up

Well if anyone still needs a clear definition of a team work in cricket, I wish they have to go through the game between the Chennai Superkings and Rajasthan Royals played yesterday at Jaipur. As it has happened in most of the occasions, yesterday was no different when the home team got humiliated by the visiting team. Recently it happened to the Kings XI Punjab when they fell short by 85 runs against RCB led by Chris Gayle (in terms of batting). Yesterday was a similar fate for Rajasthan when they had the same fate as that of Punjab against the RCB.

Starting from the Chennai Superkings' innings, the scorecard suggests that four out of the five batsmen who took to the crease made their presence felt when Mike Hussey, Murlai Vijay, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina contributed towards their team by scoring in almost equal amounts. One can sense equal contribution from the blades of the aforementioned batsmen with Murali Vijay topping the chart with 53 to his credit. There should have been four men of the match whose contribution as a whole was instrumental in Chennai Superking's victory. But, as an injustice, only Murali Vijay was awarded the man of the match.

If Murali Vijay was the top scorer of the game, then in terms of strike rate he falls to the fourth position. Murali Vijay's strike rate of 132.5 is exceeded by Mike Hussey (strike rate of 153.33), Raina (SR of 159.25) and Dhoni (215.28). However, one thing that needs to be appreciated is the way the Chennai Superkings played as a team. One cannot understand the reason behind the Rajasthan captain Shane Warne opting for Shane Watson who gave away runs at 11.75 runs an over when Ashok Menaria got to bowl just 2 overs which was equal to the run rate conceded by Warne.

Coming back to the man of the match debate, Suresh Raina was instrumental first in playing a handy 43 runs from the bat and on the other hand got two wickets off the only two deliveries he bowled. Similarly, Doug Bollinger returned with figures of 3/22 from his allotted 4 overs who stood a chance better than Murali Vijay to receive the man of the match award. However, in the Rajasthan side the problem happened to be lack of even small partnerships with them losing wickets at regular intervals. If not for Ajinkya Rahane, no other batsmen stood to the Chennai's challenge whatsoever.

Chennai flawless..Rajasthan clueless

10 boundaries from a batsmen who has long been terminated from playing the shortest version of the game happened to be a savor to his team when his knock saved a lot of face for his team which would otherwise been making rounds for all the bad reasons. Rahul Dravid scored an individual score of 67 runs at a strike rate of 129.41 from 51 balls which saw the total boost to 147 which would have otherwise been just 80. The Rajasthan innings saw just three batsmen scoring double figure scores. All these were scored by international batsmen with experience.

The names include Shane Watson, Rahul Dravid and Ross Taylor who are all big names in international cricket. Johan Botha could have just added a bit to the score which actually didn't happen. Only Shane Warne can answer why he himself didn't take on to the crease to blow some bowlers with his decade long experience in international cricket which has seen him play some handy innings for Australia when the situation demanded it from him. It is fascinating to see none of the batsmen from the Rajasthan Royals' side being able to clear the ropes even once. No sixes!

However, Rahul Dravid from Rajasthan Royals' side can walk with his head held high with him being the highest boundary hitter in the contest with him being able to cross the ropes on 10 occasions. Rahul Dravid also falls into the category with the highest number of boundaries and sixes put together with Mike Hussey's tally of 8 fours and one six falling short of it by 1 hit. One has to appreciate the accuracy with which the bowlers of both teams bowled with there being just 5 extra deliveries. Four of them were bowled by Rajasthan Royals and one from Chennai Superkings.

On the other hand, the Chennai innings had absolutely no trouble at all in chasing down the total of 148 with batsmen like Mike Hussey, Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Of course, Morkel, Murali Vijay and Badrinath also form a handy set. But, if at all anyone can comment about the Chenai Superkings' innings, they might have to just dispute with the scorecard which showed them lose just two wickets en route to their successful run chase. The run chase would have been successful even had the Rajasthan Royals scored a total of over 180. Eventually, a fourth straight win would have excited Dhoni needless to be said.

Royals and not Warriors

Well the place here is not to discuss about the credibility of the words warrior and royal which according to dictionary are unrelated. But, yesterday at Jaipur, both the words were against each other trying to prove their myth on the cricket field which eventually happened to be royal. Rajasthan Royals won the encounter against Pune Warriors by 6 wickets with 3 balls to spare but with little or no signs of fear or tension. This was one simple match where no big hitting happened to bore the audience. Even the batsmen were saved from slogging unnecessarily and blindly. Whom should we thank for this?

Coming to the scorecard, one can have a look to find that no batsmen scored a half century which happens very rarely in a T20 match especially the IPL whose sole intention is tjhe entertain the audience with the big hitting by batsmen irrespective of their talent. No spin and swing bowling is ever recognized in these games unfortunately. The highest individual score in the game came from the blades of Ross Taylor who ended his innings on an unbeaten knock of 47. May be had the match went on there could have been the lone half century scorer of the game.

There was a series of scores 18, 31, 30 and 24 towards the top of the Pune Warriors' innings but to little avail. That should not matter for, he was awarded the man of the match for his feat. A total of 143 was far less than the projected total of 180 which is ideal in a T20 game. The Pune Warriors' innings had just to hits out of the ground which came towards the fag end of the innings with Mithun Manhas and Nathan McCullum standing up to the occasion of saving the face for their team.Speaking teamwork, Pune have a point to prove.

However, speaking about the confidence that the batsmen of both teams out there showed, it would definitely be Rajasthan who would go with an upper hand when they had their scorecard ticking every now and then. Ashok Menaria laid a decent foundation towards their run chase. Though they came until he last over to record their win, their body language showed no signs of panic whatsoever. Still, neither teams out there had the guts to experiment with their bowling with all bowlers bowling a minimum of 3 overs. Well, Rajasthan did well to restrict Menaria to just 1 over when he went for 10 runs.

Not a fair play from RR

Well if it is only the result of the match that matters, then, there might have not been so many cricket crazy fans out there cheering for every shot that goes out of the ground and every ball that breaks the stumps no matter which player from which team is responsible in doing it so as long as there is entertainment on the field. But, that was no way the case in yesterday's game between the Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians. A score of 94 from 20 overs should either deserve a better response from the opposition or else the track should be fit for a test match.

In the first innings which was played by the Mumbai Indians (as far as the batting team goes), they as mentioned neither lose all their ten wickets nor did they do a big hitting despite the likes of Sachin Tendulkar being there. Other names that promise good run include Andrew Symonds, Rohith Sharma and Kieron Pollard. Of course, other batsmen too have their names felt but, not yesterday. Even Harbhajan Singh might have added to the delight with the bat. But, there was no batsman in the Mumbai Indians' side who could get a score past 20 runs with the highest being Symonds' 17.

Should one come to the conclusion that the Rajasthan Royals were on the top of their bowling with the army consisting of Shane Warne including Ashok Menaria, Shane Watson and Johan Botha? If that was so, then one should think for a reason for the Rajasthan Royals not to have grabbed all ten wickets from the Mumbai side which saw them play until the 120^th legal delivery may be no avail which forms a different issue. Another point to ponder over is that the Rajasthan Royals' batsmen came until the last two overs to reach the target which was achieved in the 19^th over.

A tough opponent would have chased down the target in just 15 overs with just over run a ball which also happens to be much. An ideal approach would be 11 overs at 9.0 runs an over. One aspect that needs to be digested is that despite grabbing 3 wickets at a rate of 3.0 runs an over, Johan Botha was given only two overs to bowl when he could have been given two more overs. On the other hand, Shane Watson was allowed to complete his full quota of 4 overs despite being the 2^nd costliest bowler after Siddharth Trivedi who was restricted to juts 2 overs.

A new captain makes a difference

Well for the past three editions of the Indian Premier League, the Kings XI Punjab team was captained by Yuvraj Singh which was never re-considered for any reasons despite them failing miserably in the last two editions. The loss need not be attributed to the only fact that Yuvraj Singh was the captain but, if the fate of the Pune Warriors is considered, then too a similar sort of attitude becomes clear. In the game against the Mumbai Indians, we had written regarding lack of captaining skills of Yuvraj Singh when he handed the ball to Murali Karthik and Parnell when Rohith Sharma would have done a better job.

However, in this edition, the team is captained by a a player who himself has proved to be a successful captain in the recently concluded world cup when he took his team to the finals of the mega event. This time, in the IPL, the Kings XI Punjab have registered two comprehensive wins which at present stand apart from the rest. The Kings XI team have chased down successfully 188 against Chennai Super Kings and recorded a score of 195 yesterday against Rajasthan Royals at Mohali. The feats have come against teams which have a history of winning the IPL.

In the first innings, if not for the top four, the rest came just to walk out minutes later. The scoreboard at one stage read 175/3 by the end of 16 overs which eventually went on to become 195/7 with the last four overs yielding just 20 runs at the rate of just 5.0 an over. One can sense the lack of scoring by the middle order batsmen which can prove crucial in matches yet to come when the top order fails unlike what happened yesterday. Needless to be said, both team lost 7 wickets and the Rajasthan Royals stood frozen at 147.

As it has always been the case in the IPL this year, the losing team brings in 7 bowlers to bowl and the Rajasthan Royals' captain-Shane Warne was no different yesterday. But, if at all his experimenting is to be considered, then one has to look at the scorecard to fins Shane Warne allowing four bowlers to complete their quota and the remaining four overs were divided between 3 bowlers. Was Shane Warne making full use of his bowlers or was he forced to give at least one over to those bowlers? It was nice see Warne getting belted for a 50.

Kolkata on the top

Well, for all those people who would have had a lot of hesitation in having their bet on Kolkata Knight Riders, this is the answer for their lack of risk taking abilities. Of course, hardly anyone can risk on a team which has been at the bottom of the points table of the last three editions of the Indian Premier League. If not for their loss to the defending champions in the first game, there has been no stopping for the Kolkata Knight Riders whatsoever. There too the Kolkata Knight Riders lost the plot by just 2 runs which can be forgiven.

This time, rather than a victory for the Kolkata Knight Riders, one thing that definitely needs a pat on the back is that they showed no signs of panic neither this was a close encounter which could have gone anybody's way. The entire team work of the Rajasthan Royals was shattered by Kallis and Gambhir duo. One has to take into account the team work of the Rajasthan Royals with Rahul Dravid and co put together a decent score of 159 on he board which was eventually not enough. If not for their wicket keeper, the rest did well for the Rajasthan Royals.

The Rajasthan innings was not dominated by a single batsman unlike the Royal Challengers' innings the day before with onlt Virat Kohli scoring for the RCBs. I wonder whether anybody will ever forget and forgive the Kolkata Knight Riders' bowlers for bowling 19 extras that included 12 wide deliveries which took the score of the Rajasthan Royals to 159. On the other hand, the Rajasthan Royals bowled just 3 wides but could not avoid defeat. Had the result been known earlier, may be then Gambhir might not have bought in 7 of his team mates to bowl at Jaipur stadium.

Highlight being that Yousuf pathan bowled just 1 over despite grabbing 2 wicket at 4.0 runs an over. His was the most economical over not only in the Kolkata Knight Riders' bowling innings but also in the entire match. But, with Gambhir no giving him another over speaks of his inefficiency.However, had he given few more overs to Yousuf Pathan, may be the man of the match might have been awarded to Yousuf Pathan rather than Gambhir which shows his intelligence as captain. But, with Kolkata Knight Riders cruising to a win without or with little effort, the fans can look out for some juice from the cane.

Way to go Delhi

This time despite only with two games up for the Delhi Daredevils, they are now seem to be lacking luster with two defeats from the two games they have played so far. In their very first encounter with the Mumbai Indians, despite being the home team, the Delhi Daredevils lost all their wickets for just 95 runs on the board which was not something expected from a team that has made it to the semi-finals of the tournament on the previous two occasions. Agreed that the then Delhi team with Sehwag, Gambhir, Jayawardane and AB deVilliars was a totally different team.

Now, it looks like the change in the team has bought a total change in their body language itself with only one or two players having their presence felt. Last time against the Mumbai Indians, the top scorers were Sehwag and some Naman Ojha for scoring a score in excess of 20. If that was a starting trouble that can be thought of, this time the Delhi Daredevils couldn't defend a total in excess of 150. A total of 150, though not sufficient, wasn't not even that bad that it should be chased down so easily. But, the scorecard speaks otherwise.

One can see the lack of pressure on the bowlers of the Rajasthan Royal's side with only five bowlers taking the red cherry in their hands, and not opting for a fifth bowler. There wass also an over maiden by a Rajasthan bowler when Amit Singh was the lucky guy who did the wonder in a T20 game. It was a paradox to see the most experienced bowler (after Shane Warne) get belted for 40 runs at a rate of 10.0 runs an over. Coming to the Daredevils' innings, only two batsmen got to decent scores with Warner and Venugopal Rao doing the scoring.

The case was exactly opposite regarding the Rajasthan Royals with all batsmen doing the job except their opener Amit Paunikar who got out scoring 1 run. Else, a series of double digit scores eventually leading to the target of 152 with 6 wickets in hand. Despite being the underdogs in the match, the Delhi Daredvils team stuck to the stupid strategy of four bowlers, by not trying out anything new. Of course, what better can Sehwag do with their strike bowler-Irfan Pathan getting belted like never before? whatever be the case, Shane Warne's commitment even in his early 40s needs a pat on the back.

Absence of Gilchrist felt greatly

Well this year's IPL has seen a lot of changes with the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya missing out from the tournament and lots of players like Adam Gilchrist, Gautam Gambhir shifting from their original teams. The list also includes Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. However, in the second game of the tournament itself, the Deccan Changers have lost to the Rajasthan Royals with the Deccan Chargers team now being captained by Kumara Sangakkara. However, Kumara Sangakkara is also a decent captain but not a better batsman compared to Adam Gilchrist. The hard hitting Australian wicket keeper is second to none.

One has to decide the fortune of the team which has its captain out for a duck. Despite eight batsmen making it to the crease, the team total towards the end of the first innings of the Deccan Changers read 137 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. In my last post I had cited that a run rate below 9 an over is as good as a below par total equivalent to a total of just over 200 in a one day match. A minimum run rate in a T20 game needs to be 180 at 9 runs an over.

Had Adam Gilchrist been there, then may be the total would have touched that figure. I used the word "may be" because, Adam Gilchrist has last played cricket somewhere one year down the lane in last year's IPL where his performance was also below par. In the edition before that, at South Africa, Adam Gilchrist was awarded the man of the series award for his splendid performance both the the bat and behind the stumps. Added to that was the fact that he guided his team to victory beating Anil Kumble led Royal Challengers Bangalore. But, as time goes by, body fades.

Someone like Mathew Hayden, Glenn McGrath and others have been opted out for the same reasons we guess. Despite being the highest run-getter in the 2009 edition, Hayden was hardly preferred in the playing XI a year later. But, that was not the case with the Rajasthan Royals with someone like Ross Taylor and Johan Botha around. They did most of the scoring for the Jaipur team with Siddharth Trivedi, Shane Warne and Amit Singh doing the damage with the ball. One has to see the way Shane Warne has made his presence felt despite his age deafening.So, lets look at other games as well.

Why should Oram be a replacement?

Well recent news has its say that the England all-rounder Paul Collingwood has been replaced by the New Zealand hard hitting batsman cum bowler Jacob Oram. One has to decide as to what on earth makes anybody go in for a replacement for Paul Collingwood who is not that gifted with hard hitting abilities. No matter that Paul Collingwood has had a lot of contribution to English side especially in the Ashes. Jacob Oram himself is a star player and having him replace someone else should not go down as a decent move whatsoever. In my sence, Oram is better than Collingwood.

I can remember Jacob Oram belting the Aussie bowlers in the Commonwealth Bank series 2006/07 when he scored an unbeaten 101 off just 71 balls chasing a mammoth total of 344 and falling short of the total by 8 runs when they finished at 335 on board. If the teams they played for are given a closer look at, then Jacob Oram comes from New Zealand which is a better outfit compared to England. Jacob Oram was instrumental in the victory over the Proteas in the quarter-finals of the 2011 world cup concluded last week. Justifying Oram makes no sense when things are so evident.

If at all Paul Collingwood is to be given a preference, then it would be in his fielding when videos suggest the spectacular catches he has taken. I can recall the catch of Mathew Hayden taken by Paul Collingwood in the Natwest trophy 2006 which was similar to the one taken against West Indies in the 2007 world cup in the super eights. That catch was one among the five best dismissals of that year collected by ESPN. In the year next to that as well, Collingwood's spectacular catch in the slips against Pakistan was recorded as the fourth best dismissal of that year.

With players recently auctioned, one has to nothing but wait to see who would be taking sides in the Rajasthan Royals' side. Of course, the team will be captained by Shane Warne. If the squad is considered, the big hitters include Ross Taylor, Shaun Tait, Rahul Dravid, Johan Botha and Swapnil Asnbodkar. Having someone like Jacob Oram is a must with Rahul Dravid, and Asnodkar not being upto the mark in a T20 tournament. Of course, Shane Watson can fill in the blocks in case he is available after the series against Bangladesh gets over. That would be a day after the 1^st IPL match would have got over.

Rajasthan Royals win at a neutral venue

Well it was a neutral venue where he Shane Warne led Rajasthan Royals snatched a 34 run victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders. This was the first victory for the Rajasthan Royals while at the same time it was a second loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders. For a change, the match was played on a slow track which is quite rare in T20 cricket and more so when it comes to the IPL matches. Perhaps! It is due to the fact that the match was being played on a neutral venue rather than a home pitch to one of the teams out there.

If not for the opener Michael Lumb, who returned back to the pavilion without scoring, the rest if the batsmen returned with timely contribution with the bat which ensured a decent score on the board. But, if this score was compared to the team totals put up by other teams in earlier games, this total of the Rajasthan Royals stands nowhere but the end result of the match says otherwise. A total of just 168 on the board at a run rate of 8.70 an over is not a tough task atleast as far as the IPL is considered. But, at the end of the day smiles ruled Shane Warne's face.

Yousuf Pathan couldn't do much with the bat that he was expected to. But, when it came to do the same with the ball, Pathan had his full say when he bagged 2 wickets which was more than anybody else in the Rajasthan Royals' side. Luckily, this was the highest any bowler in the match was supposed to take with Ishanth Sharma, Ashok Dinda and Shane Bond joining him. The scorecard suggests a dull performance from the Kolkata Knight Riders' bowlers where the concentration of wickets lies in Shane Bond, Ishanth Sharma and Dinda and with Murali Karthik going waste.

Sourav Ganguly could have had the ball keeping in mind the experience that he has got in international that has made players like Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble star in their respective areas though not being included in the international squad. It was a rather slow approach by the Kolkata Knight Riders' batsmen when they couldn't chase down a modest total despite not losing wickets at regular intervals. This has been the trade,mark of the Kolkata Knight Riders wherein they keep their wickets so that they can go in for a risk at the end only to find kicking themselves at the end of the 20^th over.

Is The Color Change Behind The Deccan's Success?

Recently, after a thorough consultation from a known numerologist, Anil Kumble changed the number on the back of his T-Shirt to number 37 which until then read 37, following which there has been a change in the match result against the team which he was supposed to face off late. The change in the number on the back of his T-Shirt meant in the change in the fortune of his teak in the series itself. Similarly, there has been another team in Deccan Chargers who after finishing last in the last and the first edition of the IPL in 2008 have been one of the front runners to claim the last four spot in the current edition.

One thing that the Deccan Chargers have done in this edition compared to the previous edition is that they have changed the color of their team shirt that previously was somewhat a coffee color. And this time it has been changed to a navy blue shade. Otherwise, there has not been any major changes as far as the team be it its players, captain is concerned. This time, the Deccan Chargers were not with their top players like Andrew Symonds and Chaminda Vass who were a hit in the first edition. But, still, they were one of the favourites to lift the trophy in the beginning of the tournament. And even today if not for some mishaps, they still lead the race.

This time, the Rajasthan Royals could not snatch the game away from the Deccan Chargers like they did in the previous game against the same Deccan Chargers. In the first encounter between the Deccan Chargers and the Rajasthan Royals, the Rajasthan Royals came back from nowhere to end up victorious at the end of the day. But, this time the Rajasthan Royals were nowhere in the run chase. The Rajasthan Royals' batsmen were bowled out for a score similar to telephone numbers, with each batsman spelling out a digit. And, Symonds is proving out to be the best bargain for the Deccan Chargers.

Color change was not only reason for the success of the Deccan Chargers. It was a team effort by the Deccan Chargers wherein almost every batsman came out and did what he could have done best. Some batsmen might not have got a big score but, their readiness to take risks have to be given much applause. The Deccan Chargers used 9 of their batsmen unlike in most of the cases where at the end of the 20 overs as I usually point out, a team is found using only 2 to 3 batsmen. Kolkata Knight Riders have a greater share in such stats. The Deccan's innings was not dominated by a single batsmen but at the end, it was a decent total on the board that saw them through.

And one moe thing that is found regarding the color of the teams' T-Shirt is that out of the existing 8 teams there are 3 teams who are in with the color blue may be of different shades. If this saga continues, it would be no better than a test match where teams wear no other color but for white. C'mon guys, the world is no less of colors.

Captain's Knock For Losing Cause

It was the captain of the Rajasthan Royals-Shane Warne with a last moment aggression when he scored 21 runs off just 11 deliveries equipped with 1 six and two hits to the fence. But, this was only to cross the 140 run mark and in the process maintain s run rate of just over 7.0 an over. And what more can Shane Warne do when the rest of the team deceive him so badly? The top scorer for the Rajasthan Royals-Greame Smith scored 30 runs but with a strike rate of just 90. And then there were Asnodkar and Ravindra Jadeja who saw to it that their team didn't lose out on their face.

The target never looked to trouble the Chennai Super Kings and neither did the opponents-Rajasthan Royals seem to be a cause of concern for the Chennai team despite losing to them in the finals of the first edition of the Indian Premier League. For the second time in this tournament, the Chennai Super Kings defeated the Rajasthan Royals and this time victory was even more convincing one. I just could not stop watching the orange cap holder- Mathew Hayden swing his bat to loft the ball all over the ground. This was the continuation of the punishing mood where he had left in the last match against Kings XI Punjab.

The spinners from the Rajasthan Royals viz Shane Warne and Yousuf Pathan were found getting some turn. There was a ball from Shane Warne that spun so much that the umpire had no other choice but to term it as a wide ball. This showed that there was much scope for the spinners in the game. But, none of the spinners could make use of the advantage. The Rajasthan Royals' bowlers made no impact on the Chennai batsmen. Mathew Hayden was found repeatedly stepping out of his crease in an attempt to loft the ball. May be that he was not able to connect it everytime. But, what difference does it make when they show no signs of pressure on their faces?

This time there are five contenders for the semis berth viz Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab. Out of these five, the Rajasthan & the Chennai team are found playing good cricket. Despite a respctful class, the Kings XI Punjab jave lost 3 of their last 4 games. And the Deccan Chargers & the Daredevils are found winning only when the day favors them. Or else no.

Did Anil Kumble Change Back His Number Back To 8?

I happened to read it in the Bangalore Times the reason for the Royal Challengers' success after Anil Kumble took over the reins from Kevin Pietersen. The reason if Anil Kumble's wife is to be believed is all owing to the number on the back of his team shirt. The number until he took over as captain was 8. After that, it seems that Anil Kumble changed the number on the back of his T-shirt to 37 which was the main reason for the Royal Challengers' success. This was done upon consulting a known numerology expert I suppose. How coool!!!

Well we believe that the number behind his T-shirt was mainly responsible for his team's success as well as Anil Kumble's success as a captain. After Anil Kumble took over as the skipper of the Royal Challengers, the team won matches against the Kings XI Punjab and the Mumbai. The former one was a close encounter and the latter was a one sided affair. May be that it was the luck that Kumble had acquired by changing the number on the back of his T shirt that the team won marginally against the Kings XI Punjab despite the Kings' team having enough number of wickets and the target not being too much appealing.

Finally, the Royal Challengers have got back to their routine not for losing matches but for giving a hopeless performance. Or else, where did the determination that was found in the first encounter against the Rajasthan Royals' go? The Royal Challengers defeated the Rajasthan Royals by bowling them all out for 58 with Kumble taking 5 wIickets. Perhaps, now I realize that the change in number behind his T-Shirt means the opposite result of what happened in the first meeting with the same opponents. Had the RCB won the first encounter against the Rajasthan team, then this time they end up losing. On the otherhand, they had lost the first one to team Punjab and later won the second encounter.

It is a wonder of the tournament that a new comer becomes successful. This we had on two occassions. First, the Kings XI Punjab medium pace bowler in Yousuf Abdullah who is now one of the leading contender for the purple cap. And then in this match, the man belonging to the Rajasthan Rouals' team Amit Singh who was playing his second match of the series took 4 wickets and with it the man of the match as well. Well..Robin Uttappa would be enjoying for being the highest run getter in the match by scoring 17 runs. So, the next encounter for RCB is against the Mumbai Indians. If things go they way as said, then they'll have to lose this match. I wish that Kumble revert back to number 8 failing which, he might loe the game as well.

Rajasthan Royals Out Of Reach

The IPL match between the Kings XI Punjab and the Rajasthan Royals was just out of reach for the Kings XI Punjab for, the only thing left after the Rajasthan Royals' batting was over was that by how many runs would they win this contest? How many wickets would the Kings XI Punjab lose enroute to their unsuccessful run chase? And finally, how many over would the Kings Xi Punjab team take to lose all their ten wickets? The only positives for Yuvraj Singh was that his team didn't lose all ten wickets despite having been at one stage at 87/6 and played all 20 overs.

As a fan of IPL and cricket, it was wonderful to watch atleast one match so far in this season that saw the scoreboard recording a total of 200+ coming from just one innings. The Kings XI Punjab were found following the footsteps of the Royal Challengers Bangalore when they lost their first wicket of Sohal when their team were yet to open their account. Perhaps! The Royal Challengers are not found doing this after the captaincy has bee transferred to Anil Kumble. So, a better sentense would be that the RCB have transferred their trademark to the Kings XI Punjab temperorily I believe.

Someone like Greame Smith, who until then amassed just 65 runs from his previous matches was amazingly found scoring runs that overtook the entire aggregate of his previous games. Well Smith, now I agree that even you are a member of the current edition of the Indian Premier League and the Rajasthan Royals in particular. I think that Smith's logic is true. For, when there are other players in the team scoring runs heavily, why the hell should Smith take the trouble of sweating it at the nets and on the pitch?In case the team loses, either the entire team would be held responsible for it like it happened in the match against the RCB. Smith could be just another version of Robin Uttappa and Parthiv Patel.

Sreesanth has to be proud about himself after he gave away 23 runs from one of his overs for not making it to the record books for the wrong reasons. Sreesanth's efforts included a back top back no-ball. Feel good that there was no rule of a double free hit for back to back over stepping which may make it to the law books in a year or two. The best bowling performance came from Piyush Chawla who took figures of 2/30 which was the second best bowling figures of the match. Well I wish such miraculous escapes for the Kings XI Punjab might have made them feel easy and cool. Or else, God knows what Sreesanth might have done with such aggression.

Misfields & Drop Catches Make Their day

It was really unbelievable for most of us for, one could not think as to how come the Rajasthan Royals could manage a win against the Deccan Chargers at the end of the day when the Deccan Chargers held the upper hand for most part of the innings. First by putting a decent total (if not a satisfactory one) of 141 and later by destroying the top order of the Rajasthan Royals' batting by reducing them for 58/5 at the end of the 10th over. Was it the strategic break that comes after every 10 overs responsible for the Royals' comeback? Well not really!!!

If at all anyone has to take the credit for the Rajasthan Royals' win against the Deccan Chargers, it is the Deccan Chargers team itself. For, without the co-operation of the Deccan Chargers' fielders the task would have been just impossible. At the fag end of the Rajasthan Royals' batting, when the team needed 10 runs off an equal number of deliveries, Dwayne Smith fumbled a run out chance. Well it could be said that by bthat time the Rajasthan Royals were well in control with a victory just a stone's throw. The other mis field includes the one by Rohith Sharma who didn't collect the ball and the missed runout off Edwards in the penultimate ball.

Shane Warne was dropped in the second ball of the 11th over after he had hit the previous ball for six and then another maximum one the very next ball after he was dropped. This was more than enough for any team to win a match, when one drop catch in a super six game of the 1999 world cup saw Steve Waugh winning the same. So, one can imagine the result of a match that has had as many as five mis fields and drop catches altogether. However, the fighting spirit of the Rajasthan Royals have to be appreciated here for, normally a team in such a situation would have lost all its wickets for just another 10 to 20 runs after being 57 for the loss of 5 wickets.

However, it looks like after the match against Rajasthan Royals that the Deccan Chargers have got back to where they had left in the first edition of the IPL in 2008, where they finished at the bottom of the points table, spoiling the hard work of the Royal Challengers Bangalore. This time, they might have won the fist four matches of the series but, this loss could never be forgiven though the one earlier to this against the delhi Daredevild could be given a pass, for even the Daredevils have maintained a winning run similar to the Deccan Chargers. So, if it is assumed that the DCs to be favourites, better think again before betting!!!

Unlucky Raina and the Lucky Parthiv Patel

When Suresh Raina raised his willow in the match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals believing that he had notched up a big hundred, I was reminded of the South African team led by Shaun Pollock way back in 2003 when the news from the dressing room proved to be wrong and South Africa had to settle themselves for a tie in the group stage match against Sri Lanka. The revised target from the dressing room after the Duckworth Lewis method was bought into play proved to be 1 run short than the actual target. Even Suresh Raina did the same mistake when he raised his bat thinking that his 100 was up, with the actual score being just 98.

Well it was not his mistake for, the electronic scoreboard had mis read his score to be 100 which was rather 98. And Suresh Raina had to pay the price for the mistake the elecrtronic scoreboard committed. This misled Raina to loft the very next ball high in the air giving Greame Smith a tough task which he completed with ease. However, Suresh Raina who is not known much with the ball was successful in taking a wicket. Well that in addition to taking two catches on the field I think would be equivalent to scoring a century. And what a match did Raina have, for he was the one who started it by scoring 98 and also ended the same by taking the catch of Trivedi.

This was not the way the Rajasthan Royals were expected to play, taking into account their heroics in the first edition of the IPL. As believed to be by most of them, it was not the Chennai Super Kings who finished the formality of taking the last wicket and winning the match but it was the Rajasthan Royals who completed the formality by losing their last five wickets for just 28 runs. None of the Rajasthan Royals' batsmen took the initiative to chase down the target imposed by the Chennai Super Kings whatsoever. The entire Rajasthan Royals' innings could produce just 2 sixes.

It is still not understandable for Shane Warne to opt to field first. If Shane Warne had taken the pitch to be a batsmen's paradise, it was equally amazing for the Rajasthan Royals' batsmen to succumb so badly and that too chasing a not so impossible target of 164. On the otherhand, even the Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is found to be lethargic with his team, for someone like Parthiv Patel who has been a 100% failure is found to make it to the playing XI despite all odds. Of course, the presence of big hitters like Jacob Oram, Hayden, Badrinath, Raina and Dhoni himself can make their batting look comfortable. But, I wish someone like Makhaya Ntini be introduced instead who could add strength to their bowling, with Dhoni keeping wickets.

Dhoni's strategy seems to be working right now, but, it is just unacceptable for anyone to have someone who's just a waste of money, slot in the playing XI and everything else. It would be a wrong signal for any team to have such players in the playing XI. However, Dhoni would be the best judge for that.

Sehwag & Gambhir Going The Uttappa Way

It is just unbelievable in T20 cricket for a team to put up a partnership of an unbeaten 83 runs despite reeling at 64/5 at one point of time. But, that was the fact of the match in the IPL encounter involving the Rajasthan Royals and the Delhi Daredevils. Having achieved that feat against the Delhi Daredevils who were until then unbeaten in the tournament is just another feather in their cap. I all owe it to the series of flop shows from fellow batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag who have been playing this way since the tournament kicked in. Both the batsmen about whom the fans had great expectations have failed miserably.

This I can co relate with the Royal Challengers' batsman Robin Uttappa who was exchanged for Zaheer Khan with the Mumbai Indians but only to feel the heat for Vijay Mallya. Robin Uttappa is one such batsman who has had a series of flops and the list also includes Praveen Kumar and Kevin Pietersen as well in addition. The game that someone like Sehwag plays is indeed a treat to watch. But, with such disappointing knocks, not much could be expected. And one more aspect being that Sehwag is a captain who has led his team to three consecutive wins in this season.

Might be that Sehwag has so far done justice to the Delhi Daredevils team as a captain. But, he does not take any credit for his team's achievements absolutely as a batsman. This was clear after the match against the Rajasthan Royals when the Delhi Daredevils had their first taste of loss. For that matter, the Rajasthan Royals are not at all the team to beat this season depite being the defending champions. Had it not been for the likes of Yousuf Pathan and Greame Smith, the Delhi Daredevils would have made their way to their fourth consecutive victory this season.

Now, the only team in the tournament that has been unbeaten so far is the Deccan Chargers who have won 4 out of their four matches played. And, the teams are now a days fighting the matches with more mateurity than they did last year, when a record created today was broken in the very next match. However, things are not going too good for the Rajasthan Royals who were thrashed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their very first match. And after that, they are found winning only once in every two matches unlike they did last year where they dominated throughout the series like Australia did in the past two world cups.

Irfan Wins Over Yousuf

Well the match was not only between the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab but also between the two Pathan brothers namely Irfan Pathan and Yousuf Pathan. And finally not only did the Kings XI Punjab win over the Rajasthan Royals but also at the end of the day, Irfan Pathan's show was far better compared to that of Yousuf Pathan. Anyway, coming to the match, the pendulum was found swinging both ways throughout the match. First, the Rajasthan Royals had a taste of good luck when they had the Kings XI Punjab batsmen losing wickets at regular intervals and finally getting out for a score of 139 which was not too competitive.

And the Rajasthan Royals were also found in trouble, when even their batsmen followed suite, when the scoreboard of their batting chart read 27/4 at the end of the 4.3 over. This also meant the loss of four of their top order batsmen in Swapnil Asnodkar, Greame Smith, Quiney and Mascarenhas. nevermind, for there was the backbone of the Rajasthan Royals in Yousuf Pathan upon who the team can rely upon under any circumstances. But, he also disappointed unlike his half brother Irfan who displayed an all round performance. Not much could be expected from Ravindra Jadeja as well after such a batting debacle.

Shane Warne should really be given some applause for trying put something new with his bowlers, for no bowler was found to bowl in succession. Shane Warne bought another bowler just after one of them finished his first one. However, the result says something different. Despite scoring a meagre total of just 139, the Kings XI Punjab never lost more than four wickets is yet another highlight of the show. Because, either a team is found to put up a mammoth total with so much wickets in hand else succumb under pressure of the scoreboard not ticking and continue losing wickets.

It was unbelievable for the Rajasthan Royals not to have got even a single six in their innings. Forget about the first four who made their way back to the pavilion for a partly score. This is something that is expected from the other Royals namely the Royal Challengers Bangalore and not the Rajasthan Royals. This match yet again shows how the Rajasthan Royals are also beatable on their particular day when things just don't seem to favor them. The first time that the Rajasthan Royals didn't make justice for defending the title was in the first encounter when they not only lost to the Royal Challengers Bangalore but also lost all the ten wickets for a score of just 58. So, the Rajasthan Royals can be referred to as "CHOKERS" of the IPL.