Mumbai Lose Again!!

What an Innings by Adam Gilchrist..Brad Haddin must be thankful To GOD that Adam Gilchrist called of retirement early as the way Gilchrist played yesterday was a mark of a marauder.Adam didnt play well in the first three matches as in the true sense one doesnt have time to settle down and one has to fire from the second ball if not the first one..VVS lAksman did play well but IT WAS Adam's innings which made him comfortable and he could play second fiddle and the way he wanted to play..With Herschelle Gibbs doing a piece of Commentary when speaking to Arun Lal during the match was speaking of 6 Sixes in a match and also pointed out that Adam could play well in the match and Herschelle got one of his predictions right..

However Mumbai looks in distress and with the next match versus the strong Sourav led team ,Mumbai would be hoping to win the match although chances against Kolkata Knight Riders seem to be at an all time low.


Adam Gilchrist ignited the DY Patil Stadium with the fastest century of the tournament as the Deccan Chargers raced to their first win. The battle between the two bottom-ranked teams was a no-contest once Gilchrist teed off, and Deccan charged to an emphatic ten-wicket victory in the first major game at the stadium.

Andrew Symonds had got a century off 47 deliveries the previous game but Gilchrist needed only 42 as he decimated the weak Mumbai Indians' attack on a small ground. The intent was aggressive right from the word go, and Gilchrist made use of short deliveries in the first over from Ashish Nehra, dispatching one over square leg and the other through cover point.





Pulls and cuts were played with ease as Mumbai's quicker bowlers erred in their length, and after six fours, Gilchrist hit his first six, lofting Sanath Jayasuriya over deep midwicket. Siddharth Chitnis, the off-break bowler making his Twenty20 debut, was spared by going only for 12 in the last Powerplay over, but Shaun Pollock, leading Mumbai in Harbhajan Singh's absence, was taken apart once the field restrictions were off.

Gilchrist savagely pulled Pollock over the deep backward square-leg boundary for consecutive sixes, the first bringing up his first Twenty20 fifty. The shot that followed pierced the off-side boundary, and Gilchrist then nonchalantly moved across the stumps to launch one over long leg, making it 23 for the over.

Abhishek Nayar's arrival was greeted with three sixes, the third over midwicket brought up the hundred, and more astonishing was the fact that he had reached the mark as early as on the stroke of the tenth over. From then on, victory was just a formality, and Deccan reached their target with 44 balls to spare, both indication of the fury that had been unleashed. At the other end, VVS Laxman scored just 36 in a stand of 155, easily the highest of the tournament. Mumbai might have been at the receiving end, but the home crowd too cheered what had been an enthralling innings. Ninety-six of Gilchrist's 109 came through boundaries, making it a busy day for the Deccan cheerleaders, who were sporting a new outfit.

A new home ground and a new captain surely didn't bring about a turn of fortunes for Mumbai, and Deccan justified Laxman's decision to field first by restricting them to 154. Laxman's captaincy had come under the hammer after three consecutive losses, but on Sunday he was right on the ball. He was quick to shuffle around his bowlers, who to their credit, backed up their captain's decision with some good bowling.

It was only the string of 30s from the middle order that helped Mumbai reach 154. Pollock made a run-a-ball 31 to revive the innings, but it was the quickfire 34s from Abhishek Nayar and Dwayne Bravo that ensured the Mumbai bowlers had a decent total to defend.

Sanath Jayasuriya and Luke Ronchi had failed to make an impression in earlier games, and they were kept quiet once again, despite the short boundaries, by RP Singh and Nuwan Zoysa. Ronchi hit three fours, but fell attempting to slash a wide delivery angled across from RP, edging straight to Laxman at slip.

Sanjay Bangar was brought on in the fourth over, perhaps to help Zoysa change ends, and Ajinkya Rahane, another Twenty20 debutant, pulled straight into the hands of Pragyan Ojha at deep square leg. The next move from Laxman though was a masterstroke. Shahid Afridi was brought on in the final over of the Powerplay, and he had Robin Uthappa caught behind. At the end of six overs, Mumbai were tottering at 27 for 3.

Jayasuriya had made only 4 of his first ten deliveries, and one pitched short from Zoysa fetched him his first boundary, which came off his 14th. But, once again Afridi did the damage, Jayasuriya got a top edge as he tried to power a googly through the leg side. The onus was then on Pollock to hold the innings together, but he too couldn't stay till the end.

Nayar smashed three sixes in his 19-ball innings, as 45 runs came in the overs 14 to 16. But he top-edged to Gilchrist while trying to hook Zoysa. Bravo too managed to find the gaps, and was out for 34 off the last ball of the innings as Mumbai finished on 154. However, with the form Gilchrist was in, even 254 would have been tough to defend for Mumbai, who now have four losses after four games, and sorely need Sachin Tendulkar to return.

Kolkata Lose Third Match.

Matthew Hayden's second half-century of the IPL sealed an easy win.

I have always felt that it was a good result for Kolkata as there were some predictions making the rounds that those who win this encounter could get complacent in the latter stages and in a way Kolkata can now sort the weaknesses and play accordingly ...What was great was the dedication of Ashok Dinda who ran after every ball at sweeper and it was heartening to see his committment..Its absolutely amazing to see Wriddhiman Saha ,another local boy to come up with good performances.Anyway Dhoni's boys have done well and the next encounter between them could turn the tables ...And Sourav Ganguly will bounce back..



Chennai Super Kings went on top of the table after an efficient performance from the bowlers - reckoned to be the team's weak link - set up a convincing nine-wicket victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders. After Kolkata were restricted to 147, Matthew Hayden's superb unbeaten 70 ensured there were no hiccups in making it three wins out of three.

Jacob Oram and Muttiah Muralitharan were the stand-out bowlers for Chennai, but the Indian bowling contingent backed them up well. Oram nailed the explosive pair of Bendon McCullum and Ricky Ponting early to give the huge home crowd something to shout about. Muralitharan's restrictive spell - he finished with figures of none for 12 from four overs - then frustrated the visitors and ensured Oram's good work wasn't wasted.

Kolkata were reeling at 70 for 5 after ten overs, with all their marquee names dismissed, and in danger of getting bowled out without utilising their full quota of overs. Laxmi Ratan Shukla, though, ensured they avoided that embarrassment as his late-order hitting earned 39 runs off the last four overs.

The early impetus for Kolkata was provided by Brendon McCullum, who silenced the crowd with some brutal hitting. There were no half-measures as he raced to 24 off 12, reclaiming the orange cap for the tournament's leading scorer in the process, before holing out to Suresh Raina at extra cover off Oram. Ricky Ponting's dismal run continued, falling for a duck as he drove his first ball straight to Raina at cover.

Kolkata's other wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha took the baton from McCullum, making a streaky, quickfire 27 - a top-edge off Manpreet Gony flew over the wicketkeeper for four and a similar shot off the next ball went for six. His luck then ran out and he was bowled by a ball that jagged back in.

Despite losing wickets, Kolkata's run-rate still hovered around ten after six overs, and with David Hussey and Sourav Ganguly in, a big score was still on the cards. The next four overs, though, emphatically handed the advantage to Chennai, as only 11 runs were given away and both Hussey and Ganguly were removed.

Ganguly, who had been starved of the strike when McCullum and Saha were blazing away, was cramped for room by Muttiah Muralitharan's leg-stump line and struggled to get the ball away. He finally fell for a scratchy 12, in the 10th over, gifting a catch to S Badrinath at cover after failing to pick a slower one from Joginder Sharma.

For a team which has run up scores over 200 in both their games so far, this was a straightforward chase. Hayden and Parthiv Patel, while not at their fluent best, put on the biggest opening stand of the tournament as they motored to 66 in 8.2 overs, peppering the offside boundary. While this was nearly the same number of runs Kolkata had managed at a similar stage, by keeping their wickets in tact, Chennai made sure they were well in control of the game.

Ajit Agarkar then demonstrated his penchant for taking wickets again, getting Patel to top-edge a catch to Ishant Sharma at fine leg. Hayden had struggled early on with his timing but soon displayed his trademark power-hitting, going on to his second consecutive fifty. He and Dhoni, who promoted himself to No. 3, eschewed the risks and calmly chipped away at the target, never allowing the run-rate to get out of hand. Towards the end, with the result beyond doubt, they opened up to take Chennai home with 19 balls to spare.

THE business of IPL

Cricket is a sport that to me is played in the Subcontinent..The emotions ,the drama and the scornful remarks that the cricketers have to face are unimaginable more so In India.Cricket was always special to India starting from Maharaja Ranjit Singhji who played for England in late 1800s and then India winning the Prudential World Cup in 1983 under the leadership of Kapil Dev made Indians proud of their overseas victory when India during those times were looked down upon by the West and when the first Maruti 800 Car was rolled out which was considered as royal luxury then.India then got more and more recognized and while other sports dwindled in the international circuit ,Cricket never took a backseat..


Money was a big hurdle but Jagmohan Dalmiya changed this during the 1996WC where television rights proved to be a money spinner and from then on BCCI is now among the richest sporting bodies in the world.

Underpaid athletes and maladroit administration ensured that sports other than cricket didn’t get enough public interest ..The fact that recently India failed to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and I am talking about the hockey team will obviously ensure that the public stays hooked on to cricket as there is no other alternative where Indians can proudly say “Jeetega bhai Jeetega India Jeetega”

The English premier league is very popular in urban areas of India which shows that with the right package and the right people and a visible scope of rooting for a team ensures that any sport under any format is and can be a success.


Cricket has now entered the entertainment industry and with integration of media and sports Cricket has turned into a industry by itself where anyone associated with it certainly ends up making munificent amounts of Money .Cricket may lose its originality with Test cricket being in the sidelines and 50-50 cricket also being given less importance ..20-20 cricket which has different connotations and one being Chaddi cricket could either revolutionize the 22yard game or prove a disaster if not managed properly in collaboration with the best brains in the business and the former cricketers keeping aside Ego and other obstacles that could jeopardize Cricket.


With money pouring in from all possible revenue generators ,sponsors in their hunt for maximum visibility with a great brand usually laoth from infusing money in other sports which indirectly lose out in the battle in the survival of the fittest which in this case is Cricket.

In other countries,Football is religiously followed although there is sufficient craze for other sports too..In the US,baseball is a huge game whereas back home in India baseball events In the US is not even aired in India let alone people being aware of the game.Basketball is another sport where players become household names and I was a big fan of basketball and it was only later I loved cricket more than anything else simply because we had a basketball court in school and I was a part of the strong basketball team where everyone aspired to play for La Lakers or Sacramento Kings .

In the UK,John Wilkinson was all over British papers as he was the main man behind England’s success in the Rugby world cup in 2006.Now how many of you know that Rahul Bose who is a well known actor in Bollywood is the captain of the Indian Rugby team..

Countries across the world have a sporting culture which Indians are deprived of.Most of the Breaking news in News channels is associated with Tendulkar reaching a fifty or Ganguly being dropped from the ODI squad which ceases to amuse me as I myself swear by cricket.

Now Lalit Modi being the IPL Commisioner who is being credited with making billions of dollars even without a single bowl being bowled might destroy the White Attire cricket from the game may be 20 years down the line in an effort to make colossal amounts of money and globalise the game .I myself is in an tricky situation as I want more countries to take part in this game of cricket and dream of a Brazil playing Against India with cricket being a global game but at the same time I would also want to see the Likes of Sourav Ganguly scoring a classy 87 on a dusty and variable bouncy pitch where other batsmen find it difficult to hang around.


But the IPL fever Is catching on.Did the Ipl fever catch you or are you waiting for the next test match to be played ? please do write your comments and suggestions for my blog and certainly bookmark it for new updates and articles.

Mumbai Indians.

The Mumbai Indians team was the most expensive team and the owner of the team is the Second Richest Indian and he is none other than Mukesh Ambani according to the latest Forbes Rankings.The Mumbai Indians have the most prized possession in the form of Sachin Tendulkar and with the presence of Harbhajan Singh ,Robin Uthappa and Sanath Jayasuriya Mumbai Indians could find themselves at the top of the IPL standings if most of these star performers click together.

The Mumbai Indians have not won the first match against the Royal Challengers which is disappointing but the Tournament is long so there is every possibility of making a strong comeback.

I would like to pick my Fab Five who could make a difference for their team during the 45 day extravaganza.

1.Sachin Tendulkar-



Sachin Tendulkar is synonymous with Cricket just as Pele is to Football..Sachin Tendulkar by the time he retires would break and set records which would be close to impossible for the future cricketers to overhaul.Sachin has the most number of centuries in both forms of the game and he also is the leading run scorer in ODIs and is on the verge of surpassing Brian Lara for the most runs in Test Cricket.Sachin has some unfinished business in the shortest version of the game and he would be itching to do well.Sachin could also be handy with his off and leg breaks and add some variations to the team apart from leading the Mumbai Indians side.

2.Sanath Jayasuriya-



He has been for many years now the bane of the bowlers world wide,more so the Indian Bowlers ,especially between 1996-2002.The great Sri Lankan will be the dynamite on which the Mumbai Squad will he hoping to explode .Jayasuriya can hit on the up,cut over point for six,loft the bowlers over the head and play the trademark flick over square leg for a six..More than the runs he can put up on the board ,it is the devastating manner in which he can score them can puncture the confidence of the bowlers .He is also a regular spinner which means more spin options for the Mumbai Team.

3.Robin Uthappa-



One of the stars for India in the T20 WC in South Africa,Uthappa can delight and destroy.If he holds back his instinct of shuffling too much early on which makes him a candidate for an LBW then he can really take away the game from the opposition Team and smack balls at will regularly out of the park.Uthappa is a brilliant fielder too which can certainly keep the running of the opposition batsmen in check.

4.Harbhajan Singh-


Harbhajan Singh is coming off a very successful tour of Australia .He might have some acrimonious relationships with the Aussies but that could be a great motivating factor in bringing out the best in him when he bowls against Symonds especially.Harbhajan could be a handy bat apart from his economical bowling so don’t be surpised if he does a cameo and powers his side to a win .
5.Lasith Malinga-



Lasith Malinga was one of the stars of the 50-50 WC 2007 and his slinging action caused lots of trouble for even the Top batsmen to play .Lasith Malinga could be a handful as his quick pace and his ability to reverse swing the ball could drive the batsmen to play silly shots and gift their wickets..

The Mumbai Indians Squad


Captain-Sachin Tendulkar


Indian Players-Harbhajan Singh,Robin Uthappa,Abhishek Nayar,Ajinkya Rahane,Ankeet Chavan ,Ashish Nehra,Dhaval Kulkarni,Gaurav Dhiman,Manish Pandey,Musavir Khote ,Pinal Shah,Rohan Raje,Saurabh Tiwary,Sidharth Chitnis,Swapnil Singh,V Yelligeti,Yogesh Takawale,Rajesh Pawar.


Overseas Players-Shaun Pollock,Loots Bosman,Sanath Jayasuriya,Lasith Malinga,Dilhara Fernando,Ashwell Prince,Luke Ronchi,Dominic Thornley.

Coach-Lalchand Rajput.