Is this justified completely?

Well until last year, the third team that would go on to make it to the champions league T20 tournament would have been the team that finished third in the points table at the end of the league stages of the tournament. As a result of this, the third team would have made it to the champions league by pure luck and nothing else. Obviously, the two teams out of the three would have been the teams that make it to the finals of the tournament. The confusion was regarding the third team, with two other teams getting knocked out from the tournament after the semis.

In case a team that finished first in the points table and gets crashed out in the semi finals of the tournament, the team has to be considered as the third team when it would have been eligible to become the number one team to make it to the champions league. Of course, it has to be agreed that it is the number of teams that make it to the champions league and not the position at which they qualify. But, as far teams' status is concerned, they'll have to compromise with that. However, if the other side of the coin is considered, the idea is quite bad.

If one goes through yesterday's match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Deccan Chargers, unfortunately the Royal Challengers Bangalore who beat the Deccan Chargers no matter what the odds had to say. Prior to the semi finals, it was the Deccan Chargers who had finished in the second position of the points table while the Royal Challengers Bangalore finished fourth which happens to be the last in the second stage of the tournament. If the format is viewed from this angle, it is indeed a bad idea to go by. Though there is hardly any options, something should be thought about seriously.

One can imagine the way the Delhi Daredevils crashed out from the earlier edition of the Indian Premier League in South Africa after losing to the Deccan Chargers Adam Gilchrist in the semi finals. Delhi Daredevils had finished the round robin stage with 10 wins from 14 games that included 2 wins against the Deccan Chargers against whom they lost in the semi finals. However they deserved to make it to the champions league T20 which they did successfully. And earlier in 2008, it was the same Delhi Daredevils who finished third in the points table. And, if the IPL was set up the way it was this time and imagine Delhi crashed out, what an injustice it would have been!

Prediction reversed

If one could go through the post "beware orange cap holders", cricket avatar had predicted a loss in the semifinals of the Indian Premier League this year in case Sachin Tendulkar retains the orange cap awarded for scoring the maximum number of runs in an IPL tournament. This was done taking into consideration the previous two editions of the IPL wherein the teams which had players wearing the orange cap had to come out of the tournament in the semis itself. One can recall the way the Kings XI Punjab in 2008 and the Chennai Superkings in 2009 breathed last in the semis of the trophy.

This despite having players like Mathew Hayden in 2009 and Shaun Marsh in 2008 who wore the orange cap in that particular editions of the IPL. And then, coming to the purple cap episode that is awarded to the player with the highest wickets in the tournament, coincidentally, in both the editions of the IPL teams having a player wearing the purple ended up victorious. It was the Rajasthan Royals in 2008 and the Deccan Chargers in 2009 who not only won the tournament but also had players wearing the purple cap namely Sohail Tanvir and R P Singh respectively.

However, this prediction not only went wrong this time but also got reversed, after the Mumbai Indians reached the finals of the tournament despite having an orange cap holder in Sachin Tendulkar and, added to that the Deccan Chargers lost the semis to the Chennai Superkings though having Pragyan Ojha who was the purple cap holder in this year's IPL. This has not made me feel sad for my prediction getting wrong but on the other hand has delighted me for the prediction getting reversed exactly. If one goes by the new theory, it should be the Mumbai Indians who should walk away with the trophy.

And this is more likely to happen for reasons needless to be said. However, if the other side of the coin is considered, there was every chance of a team containing a player wearing the orange cap making it t the finals of this year's IPL. Even if the Royal Challengers Bangalore had made it to the finals, Jacques Kallis had every chance to make the orange cap his, with the difference in the runs scored by the two differing by a small margin. Moreover, Sachin Tendulkar had got out scoring just 9 runs in the semi finals, which bought the difference to just 28. However, in case the Deccan Chargers had won yesterday, there would have been a contest between the teams who had an orange cap holder and a purple cap holder in them.

Do the RCB deserve to move to the semis?

Yesterday, the Royal Challengers Bangalore not only ended up on the losing side but also welcomed defeat with both hands when they dropped catches at will, with a couple of leg before decisions going the Mumbai Indians' way. One can never forgive the two catches dropped by Dale Steyn off one over bowled by Anil Kumble. The first catch can be given a pass but not the second which landed safely in Steyn's hands only to be dropped seconds later. This was not the first time the RCB were found dropping catches. Prior to this, the RCB were found dropping catches against the Deccan Chargers as well.

After yesterday's match against the Mumbai Indians, the Royal Challengers had equal number of wins as that of the defeats. If the Royal Challengers' campaign in this tournament is given a close look at, their wins and the way they have been achieved give a different picture of the team that is now placed in the second position of the points table. The entire RCB campaign shows only their wins against Mumbai Indians in the first round to be the most impressive win. Then, comes the win against the Kings XI Punjab where RCB chased down 200+ total at Bangalore.

And the only victory that is worth rejoicing for the RCB was the one against the Chennai Superkings which they won by 36 runs once again at Bangalore. Out of the 7 games which the RCB won, 4 of them were won at Bangalore which constitutes for more than 50% of their wins. Also, they have lost 3 games at Bangalore. Even if that is to be given a pass for theuir wins against Mumbai Indians at Mumbai and Chennai Superkings at Chennai, the other side of the coin also suggests that four of their wins have come against Punjab and Rajasthan who are placed in the bottom of the points table.

And then, the RCB had a win against the Kolkata Knightriders who have show a better performance compared to their previous two editions of the IPL when they finished in the 8th position, this time to finish 6th. Though a win against Kolkata doesn't come in for much applause, a loss against the same brings in a lot of disappointment and that was what the RCBs were upto. They had no reasons to lose to Deccan Chargers despite in both occasions having the match well in their hands. First time, the RCBs put up a total in excess of 180 to see them lose by 7 wickets on their home ground.

And then, in the 2^nd encounter, the RCBs were able to take three quick wickets which were followed by two drop catches immediate to that. And, if a team is not able to chase down 150+ total in a neutral venue, they shouldn't deserve to be in the 2^nd position.As far as the RCBs are considered, the only teams worth beating in this IPL would have been the Delhi, Mumbai & Hyderabad team. And, Bangalore has lost both their matches to Delhi and Hyderabad and one to Mumbai.

Odds favor the Deccan Chargers to win IPL3

A couple of days back, cricket avatar was found warning the Mumbai Indians' captain - Sachin Tendulkar for wearing the orange cap considering the fate of the teams that had a player wearing the orange cap namely the Kings XI Punjab in 2008 and the Chennai Super Kings in 2009. Added to that similarity, both the teams that lost the semis after having a player wearing the orange cap had the name Kings in their team name and were captained by Singhs. Anyways, with that being a different issue altogether, the story right now has got to do with the advancement of the Deccan Chargers after their win over KXIP.

The Deccan Chargers came back from nowhere to win the game yesterday against the Kings XI Punjab after the latter scored 174 runs and in the process losing just 3 wickets. This somehow has got to do with Pragyan Ojha who is wearing the purple cap this time. At one point of time in this tournament, the same Deccan Chargers were found being placed in the 7^th position with only Kings XI Punjab having a worse record compared to them. And, after yesterday's win, the Deccan Chargers are now placed in the 4^th position which is more than enough for them to make it to the knock out stage.

If the teams with orange cap holders are found choking in the semi finals of the tournament, when it comes to teams having a purple cap holder, it has always been a sign of fortune with both the teams triumphing with them having a purple cap holder in them. Though the Mumbai Indians have at present in the top most position and stand apart when compared to the other 7 teams, a loss in the semi finals is more than enough to see them ending their dreams in this edition of the IPL. Just before the match against the Kings XI Punjab, the Deccan Chargers were placed in the 6^th position.

This means that it was a matter of just one match that could make a difference for the same. If their earlier record was considered, the Deccan Chargers were thought to play a spoilsport by not making it to the semi finals of the IPL when it was placed in the 6^th position, thus turning down all the misfortune and fortune that was until the last edition bought by orange cap and purple cap holders. But, the case has changed since yesterday's match. Irrespective of who topped the rankings and who did not, semi finals is totally a different game. This was evident with the Delhi team losing in the semis last year after having 2 wins in the league stages the same edition.

And, this time, in case the Mumbai team loses either in the semis (which is evident with Sachin wearing the orange cap), one can see a glimpse of South Africa in them.

Beware orange cap holders!

All the fans of Mumbai Indians and Sachin Tendulkar in particular would have been happy when the Mumbai captain gained the orange cap from Jacques Kallis who held the same from the last 10 matches. But, if the other side of the story is to be believed, all fans of the Mumbai team would pray that Sachin Tendulkar lose the orange cap which is better than the Mumbai Indians getting knocked out from the Indian Premier League in the semi finals itself when all eyes are now on Mumbai Indians thinking them to do it big this time after they finished in the 7^th position last time.

There is also a bitter side of the orange cap which has so far been successful in restricting their teams only until the semi finals of the IPL. In the inaugural edition of the tournament way back in 2008, the orange cap was worn by Shaun Marsh who belonged to the Kings XI Punjab after the Aussie amassed a mammoth 616 runs by the end of the tournament and that too in just 11 games that he played. And, much to anyone's surprise, the team to which Shaun Marsh belonged to couldn't go past the semi finals in 2008 after losing to the CSKs.

Similarly, in the very next edition played at South Africa in 2009, the orange cap holder happened to be another Australian in Mathew Hayden after he amassed 572 runs playing just one game more than what Shaun Marsh was found playing in the earlier edition in 2008. Once again, the team to which Mathew Hayden belonged to, namely the Chennai Superkings were knocked out by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semi finals of the tournament after they lost the match by 6 wickets. This has so far been the fate of the team which has a player wearing the orange cap.

This time, the orange cap was snatched by Sachin Tendulkar from Jacques Kallis after the match between Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals. Moreover, the Mumbai Indians have also confirmed their semi finals berth after their victory over the same. Likewise, purple cap holders have been lucky for their team with both editions having gone to the teams having a purple cap holder in them. In 2008, it was Sohail Tanvir who wore the purple cap and was also on the Rajasthan Royals who lifted the trophy. And, the situation was no different in 2009 as well when R P Singh - the purple cap holder in that edition belonging to the Deccan Chargers who won the title.

How has team India benefited from the IPL

One of the reasons why the Indian Premier League was launched a couple of years back was to bring out the best of the talent in domestic cricket so that the international team does not suffer due to wrong selection if the BCCI and the IPL chairman Lalit Modi are to be believed. Lalit Modi confirmed this further by making it mandatory for all teams to have not more than 4 players outside India. But, records suggest something different. If the Indian team post the inaugural edition of the IPL is given a deep look at, the players who have featured in the 15 member international squad has hardly found to vary.

The IPL has seen a batsman in V V S Laxman who features for the Deccan Chargers and was also in the elite list of icon players but has been almost ruled out when it comes to playing in the limited overs game. Of course, the senior trio of Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly were shown the gates long back which need not be an issue. In addition, there have been may batsmen like Ambati Rayudu who has shone for the Mumbai Indians with the bat. And then we have Shikar Dhawan, Chetheshwar Pujara and others who have done a satisfactory job for their team.

But, none of these players are found to make it to the selection panel's list when it comes to selecting the 15 member squad for any tour be it at home or outside. The young players in the international team is found to contain some names which are heard commonly like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Rohith Sharma etc. And, in case anyone is injured by freak chance, their places are taken by Piyush Chawla(in place of Ravindra Jadeja), Pragyan Ojha and Sudeep Tyagi. On the other side, the BCCI has not been able to handle with the existing players itself like Robin Uttappa who has been in the international squad before.

There was no reason for someone like Abhimanyu Mithun to make it to the international 15 member squad with just 1 T20 game in the IPL behind him. So is the case with Saha. There are players like Monish Mishra, Rahul Sharma, Tirumalasetti Suman who shone with the bat for the Deccan Chargers to name a few. But, the reason behind the BCCI sticking to its old strategy of having familiar faces in the 15 member squad is somewhat confusing. Though the team has seen Pragyan Saha, Piyush Chawla and Saha, they are hardly played unless there is a freak injury to any of the familiar players.

If the BCCI doesn't want to cast its eyes on the mentioned players, the words of the same doesn't make any sense when it claims the IPL to bring in talented young players up the ladder.

Sachin the lone scorer for Mumbai

One has to once again applaud Sachin Tendulkar who has made this edition of the IPL as his own. Though yesterday the Mumbai Indians team lost the game to the Chennai Superkings by a small margin of 24 runs, Sachin Tendulkar - like always never fell short of making another innings of his count. Sachin Tendulkar was there until the 7^th wicket of the Mumbai Indians fell. Of course, his dropping of the veteran Sri Lankan opener - Sanath Jayasuriya will surely be noticed by one and all. Sachin Tendulkar not only top scored with 45 but also saw his partner at the other end bat with confidence.

Once again, there was another innings for Sachin Tendulkar which went without the batsman hitting even a single six. But, the sixes which would have been expected from the blades of Sachin Tendulkar happened to come from the blades of the tail end batsman in Harbhajan Singh when he hit three of them out of the ground. That coincidentally happened to be the highest number of sixes that were witnessed from the match. If the Mumbai Indians' squad is given a closer look, Sachin Tendulkar is the lone scorer for his team and also the lone noted batsman if Harbhajan Singh is excluded.

Harbhajan Singh has made a name for himself as a bowler while he is found sending down nightmares for the bowlers. If not for Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar, no other batsman from the Mumbai Indians' squad has made a name for himself in international cricket. Now that Sanath Jayasuriya is made to warm the benches, Sachin Tendulkar is found taking credit for whatever batting works his team is found doing. Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the man of the match on 3 out of the 9 games they have played so far against Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight riders and Chennai Superkings.

Despite winning in the first match against Rajasthan Royals, the man of the match happened to be Yousuf Pathan for his fastest IPL hundred. And then in the match against Deccan Chargers, Harbhajan Singh was awarded the man of the match for his 18 ball 49 with it being the 2^nd time a player was given the award for his batting prowess which so far has been three with Rayudu taking the honors in the match against Deccan Chargers once again. In the match against the Kings XI Punjab, it was a bowler in Lasith Malinga who was awarded the man of the match for his four wicket haul. So, till now there have been just one other batsman in Rayudu who has been awarded the man of the match if Tendulkar is sidelined.

IPL teams captained by non-T20s

If I'm not mistaken, IPL is filled with the joys of T20 cricket. However, if the captains of all their eight teams featuring in the Indian Premier League since its inaugural launch in 2008 are considered, they have been less captained by T20 specialists and more by test and ODI specialists. In 2008, there were players namely Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag who were termed as icon players and were entitled for a pay of 115% of the highest paid player in that particular squad. V V S Laxman was also termed as an icon player who rejected that offer so that no problems occur in terms of the team's budget.

If not for Virender Sehwag, no other player has made a name for himself in T20 cricket. None of the remaining 4 icon players have featured even in a single T20 game for India to be crowned as an icon player. Moreover, Anil Kumble had quit all forms of cricket a year before the IPL was even thought about. The fun factor in them is that they are not only found playing T20 in the IPL but also found captaining the same. It is not that these players are not fit to play in the the IPL or T20 cricket. But, it the fact that they are made to captain something that they have had least interest for.

Added to that is that, even most of the remaining teams are also found following suit when they are captained by non-T20 players. There are at present only 3 teams who are captained by T20 players namely the Chennai Superkings - who are captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Kings XI Punjab - who are captained by Kumara Sangakkara and the Delhi Daredevils - who are captained by Virender Sehwag. The remaining 5 teams are captained by non T20 players. Though Adam Gilchrist has played in the inaugural T20 world cup, he has been more of a test and an ODI batsman rather than a T20 specialist.

And, Rajasthan Royals are being captained by Shane Warne who - forget about having a T20 experience behind him, but has last played limited overs cricket way back in 2003 before he was banned for a year from all types of international cricket. And then, as mentioned earlier, the Royal Challengers are captained by Anil Kumble whose first T20 game was in the IPL. The year 2008 saw the Deccan Chargers team captained by V V S Laxman who has been a forgotten episode when it comes to even limited overs game and is slightly better than Shane Warne. Finally and fortunately, the DCs realized their mistake and crowned Gilchrist as their captain.

Hardly any Indian flavour in IPL

Well the multimillion dollar IPL was launched keeping in mind to bring up some new talent by giving yougsters a chance to showcase their skills. Keeping in mind that it has to be the Indian players who will have to benefit to a greater extent from the IPL, Lalit Modi put a restriction on the number of foreign players that can be included in the playing 11 to at the most four. However, there is no restriction on the number of players from India that can be included in the playing eleven. But, despite there being three editions of IPL being passed by, hardly any Indian flavour has been seen.

In the previous two editions of the IPL, the winners of the trophy happened to be the Rajasthan Royals in 2008 and the Deccan Chargers in 2009, both the teams which were captained by Australians. Luckily, the runners up happened to be the Chennai Superkings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore which were captained by Indians namely Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Anil Kumble respectively in 2008 and 2009. As mentioned earlier, there can be less than 4 overseas players featuring in the playing XI but the same is maintained at 4 exactly in most of the games. This means that all captains consider the foreign players as trump cards.

It is not an unknown fact that foreign players are included taking into account their credibility and caliber unlike Indian players who are included owing to the rules imposed by the IPL organizing committee. The man of the series awards in 2008 and 2009 was awarded to Shane Watson and Adam Gilchrist respectively, both of whom are from Australia. Out of the 8 teams in the IPL, this year luckily 5 teams have Indian captains unlike in the second edition where 4 teams had foreign players as captains viz KKR (Brendon McCullum), RCB (Kevin Pietersen), Deccan Chargers (Adam Gilchrist) and Rajasthan Royals (Shane Warne).

The RCB and KKR were found having faith in players like Kevin Pietersen and Brendon McCullum who had hardly captained their national sides. There was no reason to consider McCullum over Ganguly who had a better run as captain for India. So was the case with Anil Kumble who was forced into captaincy only after Kevin Pietersen had to return back owing to injury. Had there been no injuries to Pietersen, one could not think of Anil Kumble captaining the RCB side. And, had it not been for Kumble, RCB would have not even reached the semis. And, regarding the coaches of the teams, nothing need to be cited specially.

Fixture threatens T20 WC as well

There is worry everywhere regarding the third edition of the Indian Premier League, first with none of the team franchisees opting for players from Pakistan despite the fact that they are the current world T20 champions. This not only deprived the Pakistani players a chance to showcase their talent on the big stage but also deprived the cricket fans at large in India who would have loved to see atleast Shahid Afridi belting the bowlers from the opposition team. Then, following this turn around, the PCB chief Ijaz Butt decides not to send PAK players for the Champions League 2010.

This despite the ICC not zeroing in on holding the tournament in India. Anyway, that was a different issue though a major one as far as the tournament is concerned. And then, the recent development in this regard being that players from India will find it hard to cope up with the schedule of the IPL which is due on March 12^th which is just more than a week from now onwards. The news has its say that due to the heavy schedule of the tournament, players from India who will be playing on the first few days of the tournament will have to compromise with their practice sessions.

The Deodhar trophy will be is scheduled between 6^th to 9^th of this month, which is just 3 days from the start of the first match of the IPL. Luckily, the first day of the tournament consists of only one match that is between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Deccan Chargers. Thanks to the inauguration ceremony that will take place prior to the start of the game which rules out the possibility of another game like the days that follow. Moreover, it is the Kolkata Knight Riders who will have to face the heat for two reasons. One, because of the down to earth performance in the previous two editions of the same and two, for playing the game on the 1st day itself.

The players of both the teams viz the Deccan Chargers and the Kolkata Knight Riders will have to choose between relishing the take off of the tournament after the fireworks & dance parties and playing their first match. Added to these issues is the fact that the ICC world T20 is due to start from 30^th of April that is just 5 days after the IPL gets over. Though only two teams make it to the finals, the rest of the players would be exhausted from playing for almost a month and a half. And it is the players from New Zealand & Sri Lanka who will have to take the beating for, they would be the ones who'd be taking the field on the 1^st day itself.