APRIL FOOL !!!!
Nothing comes for free nor will the tickets.
Enjoy the IPL
Nothing comes for free nor will the tickets.
Enjoy the IPL
Monday, April 1, 2013
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Top 7 Lessons from the IPL 4 Player Auctions
Top 10 Lessons from the IPL 4 Player Auctions
1.Old is not always gold :
Sourav Ganguly,Brian Lara have been supreme forces in their times & even greater leaders but you will only be rated as per your current market value.Both are well past their prime and into the twilight post retirement.That explains why both who started at a base price of $400,000 USD went unsold.(Shockingly though)Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman who went to Rajasthan Royals and Team Kochi just about managed to save face.When there is money there is no scope for emotions or any loose strings. Cold Corporate Logic as they call it.
2. If you get something right then do everything to keep it right. Never disrupt a winning combination
Chennai Superkings retained 4 of their marquee players in Dhoni,Raina,A Morkel & Vijay but made a beeline to retain most of the players who were part of the team that won IPL3. That explains why they astutely got back bollinger,hussey,badrinath loosing out on murali but compensating with ojha.
3. Life seldom gives you a second chance but when it does grab it with both hands:
KKR were on a mission. They paid a wee bit extra for Gautum Gambhir but each player They have picked has some intrinsic value.Add Sourav Ganguly to the current team and everything will look good.
Good Revamp
Gambhir-batsmen+ captain
Pathan-Allrounder
Kallis-Allrounder
Brett Lee- amazing buy at $400,000 USD
Eion Morgan and Manoj Tiwary were optimum price vs value decisions.
Even after this things can go Wrong but its a commendable start.
Delhi Daredevils have really bled if you ask me with some of their choices. Gambhir,Nannes,Vettori,Karthick,Collingwood were all good buys which they let go.
4.Cricket & Life are great levellers and every one has a destiny
You could still be India's most successful captain who just missed picking up a world cup. You could be the reason for India's current success but today even in club format nobody wants to pick you.-GangulyJP Duminy and Ishant Sharma were sold at hysterical sums based on their one season performance last time round but life stood corrected for both them as both got sold for modest sums almost half their last IPL Cost of around $900,000 USD.Irfan Pathan may not find his stars favourable to be in the Indian cricket team but got most surprising sum of $ 1.8 million USD which is a windfalll by all means.
5. Being at the right time at the right place matters:
Why else would Yuvraj only go for lesser than Robin Utthapa who went for an astronomical $ 2 billion, just as he is out of favour with the Indian selectors. For that matter Cheteswar Pujara had just got a place in the Indian team and is yet to prove himself but is picked for close to $700,000 USD.Most English players would have sold for more than 4 times their current value-specially pieterson ,collingwood and swann but as their board doesnt seem too keen to make their players fully available most franchisees have backed out by taking them onboard.Sad thing if you ask me.
6.India indeed is the developing economy:
Jokes apart all the young Indian players have been sold for astronomical sums even without being regulars in the Indian cricket team. Such is the CAGR growth of the "Indian Premier League" without being worried about any vagaries of recession
Gautam Gambhir - $ 2.4 Million ,Rohit Sharma-$ 2 Million, Robin Utthapa- $ 2 MillionPiyush Chawla $ 900 million , irfan pathan- $ 1.8 million, Trust me the average salary in USA for a 24 year old MS (Post Graduated ) Engineering student is around $80,000 to 125,000 per annum. These guys are making almost 8x to 20x that average yearly amount in a window of 45 days.Ghosh why aint I an Indian cricketer.
7. In the corporate arena maintain good relations and be diplomatic:
(You never who will come where into your life once again)Who would have thought that the monkey gate monkeys- harbhajan singh and Andrew Symmonds will be sharing the same dressing room in Mumbai for the same reason- astronomical sums of money. So always be cordial to everyone even if you dont mean it.
8. You can earn more than your boss but both must learn how to handle it:
Rohit Sharma $2.1 Million USD will earn more than Sachin Tendulkar who was retained for $1.8 Million USD. Robin Utthapa who does little than trotting his chest apart from being left out of Indian ODI,Test & T20 will pump it over Yuvraj who got a wee bit less. Man o Man..turns out Irfan Pathan is going to be paid more than Sachin,Dhoni,Sehwag.
9.Corporate Egos can cost you sometimes:
Thats exactly what explains why Saurabh Tiwary gets picked for $1.6 Million when he got amidst two IPL Teams that of Kings X1 Punjab and RCB's. Both outbid their ego's pumping a huge ransom to Tiwarys modest bank.
Gautum Gambhir was the most sought after in this round as he was an Indian with leadership skills and thus he was the eye of corporate egos and that is what fetched him his astronomical sum.
10. Even with all the planning & plotting life will always spring up surprises:
For me Brendon McCullum was the steal of the IPL 4 as he is going to be available for the whole season. He was picked up for just $425,000 USD. He can keep the wickets and is a game changer if you ask me.
Dwayne Bravo for $200,000 USD & Keven Pieteson fo $ 650,000 are also steals but depends on their availability.
1.Old is not always gold :
Sourav Ganguly,Brian Lara have been supreme forces in their times & even greater leaders but you will only be rated as per your current market value.Both are well past their prime and into the twilight post retirement.That explains why both who started at a base price of $400,000 USD went unsold.(Shockingly though)Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman who went to Rajasthan Royals and Team Kochi just about managed to save face.When there is money there is no scope for emotions or any loose strings. Cold Corporate Logic as they call it.
2. If you get something right then do everything to keep it right. Never disrupt a winning combination
Chennai Superkings retained 4 of their marquee players in Dhoni,Raina,A Morkel & Vijay but made a beeline to retain most of the players who were part of the team that won IPL3. That explains why they astutely got back bollinger,hussey,badrinath loosing out on murali but compensating with ojha.
3. Life seldom gives you a second chance but when it does grab it with both hands:
KKR were on a mission. They paid a wee bit extra for Gautum Gambhir but each player They have picked has some intrinsic value.Add Sourav Ganguly to the current team and everything will look good.
Good Revamp
Gambhir-batsmen+ captain
Pathan-Allrounder
Kallis-Allrounder
Brett Lee- amazing buy at $400,000 USD
Eion Morgan and Manoj Tiwary were optimum price vs value decisions.
Even after this things can go Wrong but its a commendable start.
Delhi Daredevils have really bled if you ask me with some of their choices. Gambhir,Nannes,Vettori,Karthick,Collingwood were all good buys which they let go.
4.Cricket & Life are great levellers and every one has a destiny
You could still be India's most successful captain who just missed picking up a world cup. You could be the reason for India's current success but today even in club format nobody wants to pick you.-GangulyJP Duminy and Ishant Sharma were sold at hysterical sums based on their one season performance last time round but life stood corrected for both them as both got sold for modest sums almost half their last IPL Cost of around $900,000 USD.Irfan Pathan may not find his stars favourable to be in the Indian cricket team but got most surprising sum of $ 1.8 million USD which is a windfalll by all means.
5. Being at the right time at the right place matters:
Why else would Yuvraj only go for lesser than Robin Utthapa who went for an astronomical $ 2 billion, just as he is out of favour with the Indian selectors. For that matter Cheteswar Pujara had just got a place in the Indian team and is yet to prove himself but is picked for close to $700,000 USD.Most English players would have sold for more than 4 times their current value-specially pieterson ,collingwood and swann but as their board doesnt seem too keen to make their players fully available most franchisees have backed out by taking them onboard.Sad thing if you ask me.
6.India indeed is the developing economy:
Jokes apart all the young Indian players have been sold for astronomical sums even without being regulars in the Indian cricket team. Such is the CAGR growth of the "Indian Premier League" without being worried about any vagaries of recession
Gautam Gambhir - $ 2.4 Million ,Rohit Sharma-$ 2 Million, Robin Utthapa- $ 2 MillionPiyush Chawla $ 900 million , irfan pathan- $ 1.8 million, Trust me the average salary in USA for a 24 year old MS (Post Graduated ) Engineering student is around $80,000 to 125,000 per annum. These guys are making almost 8x to 20x that average yearly amount in a window of 45 days.Ghosh why aint I an Indian cricketer.
7. In the corporate arena maintain good relations and be diplomatic:
(You never who will come where into your life once again)Who would have thought that the monkey gate monkeys- harbhajan singh and Andrew Symmonds will be sharing the same dressing room in Mumbai for the same reason- astronomical sums of money. So always be cordial to everyone even if you dont mean it.
8. You can earn more than your boss but both must learn how to handle it:
Rohit Sharma $2.1 Million USD will earn more than Sachin Tendulkar who was retained for $1.8 Million USD. Robin Utthapa who does little than trotting his chest apart from being left out of Indian ODI,Test & T20 will pump it over Yuvraj who got a wee bit less. Man o Man..turns out Irfan Pathan is going to be paid more than Sachin,Dhoni,Sehwag.
9.Corporate Egos can cost you sometimes:
Thats exactly what explains why Saurabh Tiwary gets picked for $1.6 Million when he got amidst two IPL Teams that of Kings X1 Punjab and RCB's. Both outbid their ego's pumping a huge ransom to Tiwarys modest bank.
Gautum Gambhir was the most sought after in this round as he was an Indian with leadership skills and thus he was the eye of corporate egos and that is what fetched him his astronomical sum.
10. Even with all the planning & plotting life will always spring up surprises:
For me Brendon McCullum was the steal of the IPL 4 as he is going to be available for the whole season. He was picked up for just $425,000 USD. He can keep the wickets and is a game changer if you ask me.
Dwayne Bravo for $200,000 USD & Keven Pieteson fo $ 650,000 are also steals but depends on their availability.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Vodafone Egglings Campaign :Hasn’t Vodafone made the most of now already ?
I think all the initial honours for this years DLF IPL vying for the best advertiser award for this years telecast on Mutiscreen media or Sony Max should be easily handed over to Vodafone for their human-alien mix breed puppet eartho-marsling egglings like campaign which communicates their new offerings and promotes their brand so effectively/eggectively.
With almost a new campaign being aired everyday it seems a really well thought out campaign for the DLF IPL.They also have a Vodafone player of the Match with a winner from India being flown down to South Africa and being given the a ball signed by the Man of the Match and a chance to be present at the presenting ceremony that concludes every match.Well the dark red and white striped Vodafone attire for the winner who dones it at the presentation ceremony is slightly too bright for comfort when you look at viewing pleasure of a human mortal but brilliant marketing.
The human-alien eggling like campaign flagged off with this years DLF IPL in south Africa with these small eartho-marsling going one after another in a line to a Photocopier and taking a photocopy of their heads so as to signify the Campaign of a Backup of all the important contacts of a Vodafone subscriber.
If that was not enough the one about a couple coochy cooing in a the world of these egg shaped buttheads in a park seemed intriguing.You have a disgruntled yet irritating hawker coming forth selling his stuff and disrupting the lovey-dovey date.At first there is a gentle warning to a blondish laughter by his girlfriend or eggfriend. Then after some time you have this gawky irritating hawko-eggling coming again and phew hes bashed with spring-box on his face.The emoticons on the face of his egg-gf-friend is absolutely hilarious and stays on with the viewer.It more than just communicates the message of blocking an unwanted caller through the Vodafone filter.
The Vodafone Maps episode , the one about a eggling couple travelling in a golf cart and then banging a lamp post was very interesting.The confusion,the semi-hindi like alien lingo so beautifully used with a plain dark grey background and the dancing of the eggling around the person who banged the car was like a bossy husband/wife bashing his or her spouse in a verbal dual of words was absolutely outstanding.
The latest one where a single eggling walks listening to cricket commentary and slowly slowly joined together by other egglings who cling together listening to the score as they walk straight like 10 heads of ravana clung together listening and cheering a common cause is such a simple idea so beautifully orchestrated. Cheers to Vodafone Cricket Updates.
Another one which shows a musician eggling being driven by a key like the laughing Pinocchio but then it stops much to the amusement and surprise of a funny eggling.The same is replaced by another such musician eggling and at the end it gives the message of the Vodafone Magic Box.
But the best of the lot was about the Vodafone Stock Updates.You have these two-egglings sitting on a park and one of them simply falls off after reading a update in the newspaper and is picked up by a hand ambulance of these egglings.To much off a surprise the same newspaper is picked up by the other earthling who simply reads the same update and falls flat on the ground.Using the current stock market sentiment to send stock/shock waves across these near mortals was simply brilliant.
All in all with so many new advertisements coming everyday,these egglings have managed to catch the eye of every viewer of the DLF IPL,for example the women who find them cute,kids who find them funny and intriguing to say the least and the men simply fascinated by the concept with the idea being communicated so effectively.
All in all huge thumbs up for Vodafone for coming up with an amazing advertising campaign.Airtel is all set to touch 100 million GSM subscribers in india in the next week.Lets see if Vodafones campaign could slow it down.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
A DLF Maximum or Citi Moment of Success: The Power of Brands this DLF IPL
Well when Chris Gayle hits a huge six over the boundary it is merely more than a six as it called a DLF Maximum.Whenever a catch is taken or there is a turning point in the match it is classified as the Citi Moment of success.To be honest these are really well ingrained with the nuances of an DLF IPL Match and soon people will get used to these interesting alliances in cricket be it Twenty 20 or One dayers or test matches.Orbit is playing safe and is the official chewing gum for all the 8 franchisees of the DLF IPL. If chewing gum was not enough Boomer is the official Bubble gum for all the franchisees.
Thats how sponsor publicity and the return of their investment of their advertisement spend is valued.Well television commentators are a part of this marketing glitz for the fact that they keep thanking the title sponsors of the DLF IPL which are DLF,Citi,Vodafone,Fly Kingfisher,Hero Honda,World Sports Group,Southern Sun and Microsoft.This apart you have the presenting sponsors who advertise during the telecast of these matches on SET Max or Multi-screen media the new name for SET MAX.
But with the DLF IPL shifting to South Africa there have been some interesting changes when it comes to advertisers and sponsors. Pepsico announced its association with two IPL teams, but on the flip side, has pulled out of a reported Rs 50 crore deal with the DLF IPL .
Thats how sponsor publicity and the return of their investment of their advertisement spend is valued.Well television commentators are a part of this marketing glitz for the fact that they keep thanking the title sponsors of the DLF IPL which are DLF,Citi,Vodafone,Fly Kingfisher,Hero Honda,World Sports Group,Southern Sun and Microsoft.This apart you have the presenting sponsors who advertise during the telecast of these matches on SET Max or Multi-screen media the new name for SET MAX.
But with the DLF IPL shifting to South Africa there have been some interesting changes when it comes to advertisers and sponsors. Pepsico announced its association with two IPL teams, but on the flip side, has pulled out of a reported Rs 50 crore deal with the DLF IPL .
Kolkata Knight Riders:
As for the teams we have an interesting line up of new sponsors and some old ones who have pulled out.HDIL backed out of supporting Kolkata Knight Riders.They now have Nokia as their main sponsor on the front of their Jerseys,Star Plus is on the back of the jersey,Next Electronics retail store on the sleeves along with Sprite which is an interesting choice considering SRK has been a Pepsico loyalist and its after a long time that he or his team is associating with Coca Cola.Reebok is their jersey merchandixzing sponsor.Tag Hueur at the back of their caps and helmets is the best sponsor for any DLF IPL Franchisee and brand SRK has a lot to do with this.I wonder if they could have had a brand SRK or Red Chillies on their cap which would have been a marketing glitz for SRK’s genius.I am sure very soon we may have the Name of popular movies of these stars coming /allying with IPL Teams.Well My Names Is Khan on Kolkata Knight riders could have been unique.
As for the teams we have an interesting line up of new sponsors and some old ones who have pulled out.HDIL backed out of supporting Kolkata Knight Riders.They now have Nokia as their main sponsor on the front of their Jerseys,Star Plus is on the back of the jersey,Next Electronics retail store on the sleeves along with Sprite which is an interesting choice considering SRK has been a Pepsico loyalist and its after a long time that he or his team is associating with Coca Cola.Reebok is their jersey merchandixzing sponsor.Tag Hueur at the back of their caps and helmets is the best sponsor for any DLF IPL Franchisee and brand SRK has a lot to do with this.I wonder if they could have had a brand SRK or Red Chillies on their cap which would have been a marketing glitz for SRK’s genius.I am sure very soon we may have the Name of popular movies of these stars coming /allying with IPL Teams.Well My Names Is Khan on Kolkata Knight riders could have been unique.
Kings eleven Punjab:
Kings eleven Punjab aka Arsenal have Fly Emirates as their main sponsors. Other sponsors include Gulf Oil as official team partner, Nimbooz by 7 Up Official Beverage Sponsor, Netlinkblue Official Team Sponsor, Royal Challenge Official Games for Royal Challenge Partner, Springbok International Official sponsor, Reebok Official Apparel Partner, Dabur Glucose D Official Team Sponsor and Orbit as Official Chewing Gum Sponsor.
Rajasthan Royals:
Last years most underrated team and this years defending champions Rajasthan Royals had one of their major sponsors Bajaj Allianz Insurance backing out as the DLF IPL shifted to South Africa.So much so that they had to re-launch their team jerseys with new lead sponsors UltraTech Cement.Well 7-up is their Official Beverage Sponsor,Tata is their Official Team sponsor.With Bajaj Allianz going out we had HDFC Standard Life Insurance coming behind the back of their jerseys.The Tata Group and Kingfisher Premium on their left and right sleeves are their official team sponsors.Last but not the least and interestingly for this sector we have Tata Consultancy services advertising on their caps and helmets.Puma the third sporting shoe cum apparel and accessories maker makes an interesting mark with the Rajasthan Royals.
Delhi Daredevils:
Delhi Daredevils seem to be doing really well in this edition of the DLF IPL already along with the Deccan Chargers. GMR Holdings are the team owners and they welcomed Hero Honda as their main sponsors .Their suave yet cool blue and red jerseys are designed by Adidas distinctively marked with their trademark three stripes. Their official beverage is Coca Cola. Jet-King seems to be another unlikely sponsor on the back of their jersey which is an interesting combination.The new partners include Coke and Royal Challenge (both as Associate Sponsors), Wrigley's India (Official Gum Partner), Virgin Mobile (Official Mobile Partner), Fever 104 (Official Radio partner), Big Adda (Official Online Partner), GupShup.com (Mobile Fan Activation Partner), the Times of India and The Hindustan Times (both Official Media Partners).
Mumbai Indians:
Mumbai Indians is another team with their light and dark cool blue jerseys designed for them by Adidas. Owned by Mukesh Ambani the owner of Reliance Industries tag comes along onto the Mumbai Indians.Master Card is the official sponsor of the Mumbai Indians on their jersey sleeves with cellular co Idea being their founding partner and the official team sponsor on the front of their jerseys. Zandu Balm is another sponsor on the caps/helmets of the Mumbai Indians.Pepsi,Kingfisher Premium,Royal Stag ,Red FM 93.5 ,Geetanjali and Alakh Advertising form the next list of their associate sponsors.
Chennai Super Kings:
Chennai Super Kings have India Cements behind their jerseys and are the owners of this behemoth from the South.Reebok is behind their team jersey and has chosen a slightly bright yellow colour which goes with the city.Aircel is the chief sponsor of the team on the front of their jersey and indeed is the biggest advertiser.Chennai Super Kings has been followed by brands like Cloud 9, Reebok and 7Up. Health companies are also associated with the CSK and it has been found that there is a relatively unknown local ayurveda company, Nivaran 90 that has shelled out almost Rs 5 crores to make it to the CSK T-shirt. Peter England the shirt maker owned by the Aditya Birla Group is another sponsor that is vying for the space on the CSK T-shirt.Among other brands that the franchisee of CSK has got for its players include, Band Aid, Nivea for men, Lays, Orbit and Boomer. The association is not relegated to the products category, but even media partners have aligned their fortune with the DLF IPL and sponsors for CSK include Star Vijay and radio station Hello 106 FM.Big Bazaar of the Pantaloon Group is another advertiser associated with the CSK and this could be owing to the fact that the captain of CSK, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a brand ambassador for the group; therefore the company may have decided to align their fortune with the Chennai Super Kings.Clearly CSK has the most number of sponsors and there is a lot of buzz going for them.
Deccan Chargers:
Deccan Chargers from Hyderabad is the second team for whom the jerseys and merchandize has been designed by Puma.With odyssey as their sponsors on their sleeves. Their main sponsors are their owners Deccan Chronicle ,KingfisherPremium , McDowell’s No 1, Big 92.7FM, Wrigley’s Orbit. Surprisingly their beverage partner is Pepsi which is underplaying its association with DLF IPL and the 8 teams.
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Royal Challengers Bangalore have used their sponsors very interestingly with Royal Challengers ingrained in the name of their team.This is the fourth team for whom Reebok has designed the team jersey and merchandize.Fly Kingfisher,McDowells No 1 would be natural sponsors coz of their owner Vijay Mallya also the proud owner of United Breweries and Kingfisher airlines.More on RCB Soon.
With a slugfest of advertisers from all genres this years DLF IPL is happening in times of recession.With MSM/Sony Max having sold 85 percent of their on air advertisements and 15 percent remaining to be sold at a premium we have a huge Blockbuster hit already.
Friday, April 24, 2009
KKR Reloaded or Sourav Ganguly Reloaded
The new KKR Reloaded ad is more abt Ganguly and about KKR:
You can love him,you can hate him but you cannot ignore him : For me he shall always be the eternal prince of Calcutta Sourav Ganguly.SRK and Coach Buchannan were aware of the backlash in Kolkata that would arise if Sourav Ganguly were to be replaced for the Kolkata Knight Riders by a new captain like Rahul Dravid was by Kevin Peterson for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Being Indias best former captain and the only celebrated player from Bengal for close to a decade,the repercussions were more than just expected.Bengalis being so passionate and cricket loving,removing Ganguly from KKR’s captaincy was like removing Bengali Rosogulla from a Bengali thali.
So SRK the marketing genius and shrewd coach John Buchanan announced that they would have multiple captains to create a different kind of flurry within the Indian media and basically I knew what was coming cos the multiple captaincy formula was never going to work any which ways.
Days before the DLF IPL officially began on 18 April,KKR then announced Brendon McCullum would replace Sourav Ganguly as their captain.After creating the hype around the multiple captains this announced was delivered effectively from a media stand point.The decision to replace Ganguly sunk in slowly and the aftershocks were more subtle.
Blog protests and effigies of SRK burnt in Kolkata are still happening but the decision was taken way before to remove him from the total control of KKR.The roots lay in the last years edition of DLF IPL.Umar Gul dint really get along well with Ganguly.KKR’s performance was a huge setback after their huge expectations. Reportedly SRK and Ganguly did have a few arguments over selecting a few players.
KKR has a good mix of International players but what they lack are a good bunch of Domestic players from Bengal compared to the other teams,the swapnil ashnodkars,Karan Goel,Manpreet Gony .Randadeb Bose was outsed who joined the Kings eleven Punjab and is rumoured to be the Fake IPL Player who is blogging giving away dressing room strategies of the KKR.
Ganguly for all matter played some swashbuckling innings last year when they won chasing against Kings eleven Punjab.Count Ganguly out and he gets back more stronger in character and wiser by his dedication. After the captaincy debacle ,and his poor performance in the first match versus the Deccan Chargers where he was found wanting for the short pitched deliveries,he came back once again.
The 2 for 24 againts the Kings eleven Punjab in 4 overs with the momentum breaking wicket of Irfan Pathan was all about immense passion.His 46 of 27 balls in the tied game vs Rajasthan Royals was an astute example what dedication ,passion and talent for a dedicated servent of the game could do when written off.His urge to fight gets sweeter like wine as he ages.
I agree technically he may not be sound,his short ball play may be severely challenged and running between the wickets and fielding could well do a makeover.But for sheer passion,dedication and the hunger to play makes this man a cricketing legend who should be revered and respected like anyone else from the cricketing fraternity.
The man who took India to the 2003 world cup final who breathed life into the Indian team when he took over after the match fixing debacle.The main man who nurtured youngsters like Virendra Sehwag,Yuvraj Singh,Harbhajan Singh ,Zaheer Khan and the captain who stepped down for Virendra Sehwag to open for the benefits of the team is no ordinary man. These four are the players who form the crux of Mahendra Singh Dhonis new India.
More than KKR ,being beaten and dismissed yet coming back strongly in the advertisements with the theme KKR Reloaded where a young boy throws a dart at a body-builder thus getting beaten up and yet gets up and throws back the dart at that guy, applies aptly to the career of Sourav Ganguly.For me and Rahul Dravid he shall always be the king of Offside and a passionate captain who deserved more.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Match 8 :Charge of the Deccan Hyderabadi brigade(Gibbs is their fielding captain)
Match 8: Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers. The charge of the Hyderabadi Brigade
It was a start to end clinical performance by the Deccan Chargers as they ascend to the top of the table with another comprehensive performance where they beat the Royal Challengers in match of the DLF IPL at Cape town hands down by 24 runs.
A capacity full house was treated to run feast by the deccan chargers.I feel the IPL is catching up with the South Africans to such an extent that it was the general elections day there on a weekday and still we had a full house.
It was the excellent start by Deccan Chargers Openers Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs who set them off to a roller coaster. Adam Gilchrist the new skipper for Deccan Chargers and Matthew Hayden for Chennai Super Kings are playing as if they are at the peak of their one day international careers.
As acknowledged by Kevin Peterson in the post match presentation it was the first six overs in both the innings that is the key match turning point of this game. Deccan Chargers simply came all guns blazing and the Royal Challengers were held back to below a run a ball within the first six overs and from that point in time it was always going to be difficult.
Rahul Dravid gets the orange cap again for being the highest scorer of this year’s DLF IPL. He was brilliant again in this innings but the charge came a little too late.So was Virat Kohli who got a swashbuckling half century.But after scoring just 57 runs in the first 10 overs after losing 4 key top order batsmen it was always going to be difficult.
But the bowling of Rudra Pratap Singh has been a revelation and deservingly has got him the purple cap taking 6 wickets in two matches and average run rate of 5.7 per over. South Africa has always been a happy hunting place for him with his match winning 5 wicket haul against England in the 2003 world cup.Royal Challengers are not playing as bad as their two consecutive losses,however if they are to win this years DLF IPL they have to pick their game higher.
Deccan Chargers simply look totally rejuvenated and seem the most likely to reach the finals of this years of DLF IPL,though its early days and anything can happen once the teams settle down into a groove.They have a unique fielding captain in the form of Herschelle Gibbs and the fields he sets have been incredible and even more ably supported by some excellent fielding led by Rohit Sharma and an incredible catch by Ravi Teja of Robin Utthapa at the boundary.Their bowling with led by RP Singh,Fidel Edwards who bowled an incredible Yorker the very first bowl to get Jesse Ryder clean bowled for a second duck.Pragyan Ojha has been another underrated yet over performing bowler who had Kevin Peterson stumped after two stumpings in the match vs Kolkatta.
All in all it seems that the charge of the hyderabadi brigade will continue until someone can come up with an even better performance.If that were to happen the eventual beneficiary would be the T20 cricket fan.
It was a start to end clinical performance by the Deccan Chargers as they ascend to the top of the table with another comprehensive performance where they beat the Royal Challengers in match of the DLF IPL at Cape town hands down by 24 runs.
A capacity full house was treated to run feast by the deccan chargers.I feel the IPL is catching up with the South Africans to such an extent that it was the general elections day there on a weekday and still we had a full house.
It was the excellent start by Deccan Chargers Openers Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs who set them off to a roller coaster. Adam Gilchrist the new skipper for Deccan Chargers and Matthew Hayden for Chennai Super Kings are playing as if they are at the peak of their one day international careers.
As acknowledged by Kevin Peterson in the post match presentation it was the first six overs in both the innings that is the key match turning point of this game. Deccan Chargers simply came all guns blazing and the Royal Challengers were held back to below a run a ball within the first six overs and from that point in time it was always going to be difficult.
Rahul Dravid gets the orange cap again for being the highest scorer of this year’s DLF IPL. He was brilliant again in this innings but the charge came a little too late.So was Virat Kohli who got a swashbuckling half century.But after scoring just 57 runs in the first 10 overs after losing 4 key top order batsmen it was always going to be difficult.
But the bowling of Rudra Pratap Singh has been a revelation and deservingly has got him the purple cap taking 6 wickets in two matches and average run rate of 5.7 per over. South Africa has always been a happy hunting place for him with his match winning 5 wicket haul against England in the 2003 world cup.Royal Challengers are not playing as bad as their two consecutive losses,however if they are to win this years DLF IPL they have to pick their game higher.
Deccan Chargers simply look totally rejuvenated and seem the most likely to reach the finals of this years of DLF IPL,though its early days and anything can happen once the teams settle down into a groove.They have a unique fielding captain in the form of Herschelle Gibbs and the fields he sets have been incredible and even more ably supported by some excellent fielding led by Rohit Sharma and an incredible catch by Ravi Teja of Robin Utthapa at the boundary.Their bowling with led by RP Singh,Fidel Edwards who bowled an incredible Yorker the very first bowl to get Jesse Ryder clean bowled for a second duck.Pragyan Ojha has been another underrated yet over performing bowler who had Kevin Peterson stumped after two stumpings in the match vs Kolkatta.
All in all it seems that the charge of the hyderabadi brigade will continue until someone can come up with an even better performance.If that were to happen the eventual beneficiary would be the T20 cricket fan.
Obama tries his hand with the Cricket bat: Courtesy Brian Charles Lara
Cricket is truly globalizing,Apart from giving billion dollar aids to distressed companies in the USA through the TARP(Troubled Asset Relief Program),he got a cricketing lesson from none other than Lara.
Barrack Obama took time out from attending the Fifth Summit of the Americas to meet with Trinidad’s most famous cricketer Brian Charles Lara the famous two time triple centurian who is also a former captain of the West Indies. While his sport of choice is basketball, Obama was given a brief batting lesson by Lara, although attempts to teach him to drive were slightly less successful that his lesson in playing the forward defensive.
I wonder if President Obama were to be a cricketeer what would he do.I think he would make a great captain loved by one with all his accute leadership skills.On the Kingfisher FairPlay award I wonder how many points would his team garner.
Obama greeted Lara by saying that he “always wanted to meet the Michael Jordan of cricket”. Lara repaid the compliment by presenting the president with a signed bat.
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