Aditya Kane, Author at Cric Talks

5 Lessons to learn from IPL for Test matches being watched by empty stadiums

There are many who think IPL is far too commercial and I have even heard comments that it is more about money than sports. Those are debates which will keep on being discussed but I went to see an IPL match in Mumbai Stadium recently and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the experience is for someone spending a lot of money to view a game from the stands.

Last time I visited a Test match I had a pretty rough time and spectator comfort was something I was pretty sure the organizers had never even considered. Worse part was I felt like a fool who went to watch a Test match in a near empty stadium.

#1. Buying Tickets

For buying tickets to a Test match you have to go through a great deal of trouble. Most times you have to know someone inside the Cricket Association to get decent seats or take a chance and by tickets. Compare the IPL scenario. Almost a month before the tournament started they put out advertisements and took the help of the internet to make booking tickets extremely accessible.

#2. Food and Beverage facilities

Food and beverages were readily available during an IPL match whereas during Test matches it if very difficult to manage to get decent drinking water. With a ban on carrying water inside the stadium watching a Test match for 6 hours without even water being available at times can be too much for a spectator.

#3. Public Announcements and Interactions

There were many public announcement and a lot of interaction by the security guards and ushers which made things very good for people especially older people. IPL organizers had music being played between overs and also during the breaks. Ofcourse it is fancy to criticize the use of cheerleaders during IPL matches but fact not many cover that interaction of the organizers with the crowd is at a great level.

#4. Selective Venues

IPL matches are played at selective venues only which allows the stadiums to spruce up without worrying if they will host another match. This would be the same if a venue like Brabourne in Mumbai and Kolkatta’s Eden Gardens were assured of a Test match every year. This would allow the local state association to plan for better facilities.

#5. Importance

IPL matches are given importance by various board dignitaries and officials. But when have we see the top honchos of the Board watch a full Test match or watch atleast a full day. If the board give’s a Test Match importance it will automatically take care of the four points I have written above.

So do you agree with me or not? Do let me know by dropping in your comments.

Who will win the ICC T20 World Cup?

The T20 World Cup tournament will start in a couple of days on 30th April and all the big boys of Cricket will try to go all out to win the coveted trophy. This is the third edition and India along with Pakistan have been the previous winners.

So who will win the trophy and become World T20 Champions?

I do not think it is fair to expect Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland to have any real possibilities to become T20 Champs. It might be a miracle to see anyone of these teams to come up to the Semi-Finals.

So that leaves us with 8 teams and here is a analysis of their strengths and weakness.

Australia

Probably one of the most talented teams with great fielding. Australia has not one only one type of International event and that is the T20 World Cup. Knowing the proud Aussies they would be desperate to win. Their weakness could be a lot of youngsters led by a slightly inexperienced captain in Micheal Clarke. But then again MS Dhoni did lead a very young and inexperienced to T20 glory in 2007.

Player to watch out: Doug Bollinger especially after his fantastic performance for IPL champions Chennai Super Kings.

England

I feel England takes limited overs cricket not too seriously and they probably take T20 format even less seriously which of course hampers their ability to win big tournaments. So I would be very suprised to see them win, but then the T20 experiment did begin in England and their county cricketers are quite familiar with the format.

Player to watch out: Kevin Peiterson was very good during the Bangalore Royal Challengers and considering the great batsman he is I wont be surprised he wants to conquer this format.

India

India will be strong contenders with probably the most experianced T20 side thanks to IPL. MS Dhoni continues to be a very good captain but it still is a little weak in the bowling department. India will worry about Yuvraj Singh’s form with the bat.

Player to watch out: Suresh Raina has really blossomed into a big match player and world class fielder. It would be interesting to see Raina do wonders to stake his claim for ODI and Test squads.

New Zealand

New Zealand have always been the dark horses with limited talent but a very professional side. Many of them were with the IPL teams. Their strengths are their professionalism and fielding.

Player to watch out: Brendon McCullum will always be that spark of genius the Kiwis need but seem to be lacking to truly be a champion side.

Pakistan

Pakistan will struggle to defend their title. I feel their side will be depleted after so many players being dropped. Afridi is the captain but even he has earned bad publicity for biting the cricket ball to tamper with it. Pakistan still has incredible talent with in all probability cause some upsets but I doubt will have the consistency to become champions.

Player to watch out: Umar Gul can be dangerous as he showed during last years tournament that a quick burst of wickets can be match winning almost always.

West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa

All teams are strong but I still feel they lack the finesse to become champions in the T20 format. South Africa has struggled in T20 almost always and most of their players except Kallis did not have a great IPL. Sri Lanka are probably still rebuilding and look the most promising amongst the three.

West Indies will be playing at home and will be a force to reckon with considering they will have the likes of Keiron Pollard and Chris Gayle.

So who do you think will win the ICC T20 World Cup? I think Australia just might but truly do want India to win it. 😛

Indian squad and ICC T20 World Cup league phase schedule

The Indian Premier League is over and it is back to international nation versus nation cricket. The T20 World Cup starts on the 30th of April 2010. Indian will be led by MS Dhoni who would be full of confidence after leading Chennai Super Kings to IPL glory.

Here are the Groups the teams have been divided into.

Group A	Group B
Australia	New Zealand
Pakistan	Sri Lanka
Bangladesh	Zimbabwe
Group C	Group D
India	West Indies
South Africa	England
Afghanistan	Ireland

Here is the match schedule for the league phase.

Fri April 30 22.30 IST	New Zealand Vs Sri Lanka	Guyana
Fri April 30 2.30 IST +1d	West Indies Vs Ireland	Guyana
Sat May 1 19.00 IST	Afghanistan Vs India	St Lucia
Sat May 1 23.00 IST	Bangladesh Vs Pakistan	St Lucia
Sun May 2 19.00 IST	India Vs South Africa	St Lucia
Sun May 2 23.00 IST	Australia Vs Pakistan	St Lucia
Mon May 3 19.00 IST	Sri Lanka Vs Zimbabwe	Guyana
Mon May 3 23.00 IST	West Indies Vs England	Guyana
Tue May 4 19.00 IST	New Zealand Vs Zimbabwe	Guyana
Tue May 4 23.00 IST	England Vs Ireland	Guyana
Wed May 5 19.00 IST	Australia Vs Bangladesh	Barbados
Wed May 5 23.00 IST	Afghanistan Vs South Africa	Barbados

All timings are Indian Standard Time.

Indian cricket squad for ICC T20 World Cup in West Indies

MS. Dhoni (capt)	Gautam Gambhir (vice capt)	Harbhajan Singh
Ravindra Jadeja	Piyush Chawla	Dinesh Karthik
Zaheer Khan	Ashish Nehra	Praveen Kumar
Yusuf Pathan	Suresh Raina	Rohit Sharma
Yuvraj Singh	Vinay Kumar	Murali Vijay*

*Murali Vijay has been included as replacement for V. Sehwag.

So are you looking forward to seeing countries play against countries again after the massive buzz of IPL? Do let me know by dropping in your comments.

Link: ICC T20 | Cricinfo

Chennai are IPL Super Kings

Mumbai Indians were the most consistent team in IPL 2010 but Chennai Super Kings are the most consistent team in all three editions of IPL by being the only team to play in Semi-Finals in all editions and also featuring in two Finals.

Today MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings to IPL glory by winning it against the Mumbai Indians who were probably favorites before the final match started.

The Final..

Both team were well matched and at around the 15th over stage Mumbai Indians looked like they were going to control the game. This is where Raina was dropped twice in 2 overs and he ended up scoring over 35 runs in those overs. That hurt Mumbai Indians who probably were looking at a score around 140 to chase but had to chase 168 finally.

The batting came off well but Chennai Super Kings choked the Mumbai players and made the chase very difficult. Towards the end Keiron Pollard did hit 22 in 1 over to give Mumbai hope.

But Albie Morkel sealed it with second last over which went for very little leaving Mumbai to score 27 of the last over.

This is the first time Chennai Super Kings have won the IPL and MS Dhoni becomes the first Indian player to lift the trophy as previous winners were Shane Warne for Rajasthan Royals and Adam Gilchrist for Deccan Chargers.

Good Omen?

I guess this can be called a good omen for MS Dhoni who leaves after a couple of day with the Indian team to lead them for the T20 World Cup.

Sahara reveals Pune IPL team name and logo

One of our most popular post was about the mock jersey for the new Pune IPL team. Well mock ups apart, Sahara the company which has the franchise rights for Pune’s IPL team has revealed the name the IPL team will go by. So the team in Pune will be called Sahara Pune Warriors. It as also released the logo for the new team.

It is not surprising that Sahara chose to call the team Warriors as Pune was the capital of the Maratha Kingdom formed by the warrior clans in Maharashtra. The price tag of the team is some 370$ million, making it the most expensive in IPL.

The team will play its matches in a newly built stadium about 25 kms away from the main city.

So do you think they will rock the IPL next year. I guess we can make a better estimation after the grand auction of players later this year.

Link: Indian Express

Chennai Super Kings stop Deccan Charge: Enter IPL final

Chennai Super Kings played Deccan Chargers in the 2nd Semi Final. The match started auspiciously for Chennai with their skipper MS. Dhoni winning the toss and elected to bat. Deccan Chargers ripped through the Chennai top order and inspite of dropping 3 catches had Chennai Super Kings looking quite pitiable.

Chennai scrapped home a meager score of 144 and left Deccan Charger looking quite comfortable. But Bollinger took 4 wickets to make that score of 140+ look like it was 180. Sure enough after those wickets DC were slowed down and never in the game.

This win takes Chennai Super Kings into the IPL final for the second time in 2 years. It also has secured a place in Champions League.

So wait for Sunday 25th April when Chennai Super Kings take on the very much in form Mumbai Indians for the IPL title.

So who do you think will win the Indian Premier League in 2010 ?

Mumbai Indians in the IPL final but Tendulkar might be injured

Mumbai Indians were playing Bangalore Royal Challengers in the first semi final of IPL. I am sure Bangalore were hurting that the semi finals which were supposed to be hosted in Bangalore were rescheduled to be played in Mumbai for security reasons.

RCB started quite well with getting quick wickets of Tendulkar, Dhawan and Nayar. But the middle order which was considered to be Mumbai Indian’s problem area rose to the occasion. Keiron Pollard the giant from Trinidad and Tobago hammered his way through the Bangalore bowling to score 33 runs of 12 balls.

RCB started the chase well but fell flat towards then end after the first 9 overs. Mumbai Indians probably have the best attack of the tournament and chasing 184 under pressure was a little too much for them.

I think today Royal Challengers were royally beaten by a very good side who have won 10 games in the league phase.

Sachin Tendulkar injured!

Sachin Tendulkar still the highest run scorer for Mumbai Indians hurt himself by having the webbing of his hand get split while attempting a catch of Rahul Dravid. Split webbings usually are not very major injury but can be quite a problem for a batsman to grip the bat properly. Being a Mumbai Indians supporter and Sachin Tendulkar fan I hope five stitches do not trouble the great man on 25th of April playing the IPL final.

Mumbai Indians have also secured their place from Champions League.

Dhoni goes berserk and Chennai Super Kings go into IPL Semis

Today’s IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings was crucial as CSK had a good net-run rate but needed to win this game to keep that run-rate higher and also qualify for Semis. Kings XI Punjab did put up a strong total of 192 and looked like causing a upset.

It was almost an upset had it not been for MS Dhoni’s superb display of going berserk while batting. At one point CSK needed 52 runs of 24 balls. Chennai won the game with two deliveries to spare. The last over left Chennai to get 16 of 6 balls. Dhoni hit 4-2-6-6 to walk away with the match and also end up securing a Semi Final place.

Chennai Super Kings are the second team behind Mumbai Indians to secure their place in Semi Finals. Considering the other two spots are still open and only two matches are left to be played, shows what a competitive league this has been.

Chennai Super Kings are also the only team in IPL to have qualified for Semi finals in every edition. This I guess makes it one of the most consistent side. If Delhi Daredevils beat Deccan Chargers they will also qualify into the Semis and join CSK as only team to feature in all Semi final line ups of all editions of IPL.

Who is in the Semis?

Mumbai Indians are through with 20 points. CSK, RCB have got 14 points and will qualify thanks to a great Net Runrate. Delhi play Deccan and the winner will end up with 16 ponts and will be through.
Kolkata will hope Deccan lose badly so that if they win big against Mumbai tomorrow, they will qualify for the Semi Finals.

So who do you think is your line up for Semis? And more importantly who will win IPL 2010?

Mumbai Indians dent Royal Challengers Bangalore net runrate

I grew up in Mumbai and have stayed for most part of my life in Mumbai, so saying my favorite IPL team is Mumbai Indians is a given. But I like Royal Challengers Bangalore as as team which has a great balance. It has my favourite fast bowler Dale Steyn and also one of the world best all time great all-rounder going by the name Jacques Kallis. Not to forget greats like Kumble and Dravid are also part of RCB.

Today was surely not a auspicious day in Bengaluru (Bangalore) with a crude bomb going off minutes before the game in a generator room. The match was delayed by an hour but did take place.

Mumbai Indians posted a considerably large score of 191/4 and restricted RCB to 134/9 and winning the match by 57 runs.

RCB were favorites to get into Semi finals as they had a very high net-runrate. This loss to Mumbai Indians was disastrous and leaves them with a net Runrate of +0.219. It was at a comfortable +0.467.

The Semi Final battle has really warmed up and I think RCB might just still make it and we might have a Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore final. What do you think? Do drop in your comments.

Mumbai Indians in Semis while others in knockout situation

The good thing about IPL is that there are no structurally weak or strong team. You do not have poor or weaker on paper. Their weakness or strengths are revealed only during the tournament and that’s why predicting things are very difficult.

A couple of days ago Mumbai Indians beat Rajasthan Royals to be the first team to make it to the Semi-finals of IPL. This is Mumbai Indians first time appearance in IPL semis. The only team that has never been in IPL semis would be Kolkata Knight Riders but they are still in with a slim chance.

Mumbai is through, who will be next ?

Now that Mumbai Indians are through who will be next in the semi-finals. The tournament has become a virtual knock out and every match will see a new drama unfolding. I think previous post written by Rahul Bansal makes it quite clear that he does not think much will be done by Rajasthan Royals who he thinks are only good to play ‘Oongli Cricket’ (Idea), but they are surviving in the top four but will have to win all matches.

The Points Table as on 12th April 2010

This leaves RCB, DD, RR, DC with 12 points and CSK and KKR are tied at 10 points each. Today evening’s match Kolkata Knight Riders will plays against Chennai Super Kings and chances are one of them will be knocked out. 😉

So who do you think will make it to Semi-Finals. Do drop in your comments to play the guessing game. 🙂

Credits: IPL