The IPL phenomenon:An Analysis..

I suddenly realized that my blog has kind of turned into a ranting hotspot for me where I come in after a period of 20 days and post one depressing post after the other.To that end I thought that maybe this time I would write about something that is the flavor of the season at this time:The Indian Premier League.I am quite astonished as I guess a lot of others are at how quickly this event has managed to capture the imagination of people worldwide.Or that is what I am given to believe.But I can surely testify about the fact in India.This event mainly came about after BCCI's nemesis channel Zee came about launching its version of the franchisee league system in what it called ICL namely the Indian Cricket League.I was never a big follower of ICL and barely watched a few matches of that event in the 3 years(???) that it lasted.What it managed to do though was to finally take T20 to the platform where it could represent cricket as a sport on the world stage.And also it made the BCCI wake up to the endless money making possibilities that this form of the game had to offer.
Now Lalit Modi who is the chairman of the IPL says that he had this idea of launching a franchise city based system since the mid 90s when he wanted to launch it with the 50 over format.At that time the BCCI didnt have the money power that it now possesses and certainly not the business acumen that the powers in the BCCI now possess.So that idea never took off.In hindsight I dont think that the 50 over format could ever have been as successful as the 20 over format and the reasons are quite clear to all.Now when the league was finally conceptualised almost 4 years ago now and franchisees sold off to some top businessmen in India,I think not everyone was sure that the format could be a success.Here the concept of the 'icon' players worked beautifully.Seeing players from one's city representing the city built up city loyalties and that was the factor which ensured massive crowd presence at virtually every match.As the league looks at expansion now by incorporating two more teams(370 million $ really?),shifting locations to places like the United States and expanding the concept of the Champions League,it will be quite interesting to see where this can take cricket in the years to come.
I would like to analyse the 8 teams on a player to player and a performance basis in the two and a half seasons that the league has been played so far in the order of their combined performance so far-

1)Rajasthan Royals(Combined W/L-23/13)

With a win loss of 13-3 in the 1st season,6-7 in the 2nd and 4-3 so far in the 3rd,Rajasthan has been the overachieving team by far over the course of the 3 seasons.Even when they finished 6th in season 2 over two highly hyped and much more expensive teams(Namely Mumbai and Kolkata),I think they overachieved(No Watson,Tanveer,Akmal for the whole tournament and Smith in horrible form).They were taken out of their comfort zone when the tournament moved to South Africa as the management had very beautifully built a team of bits and pieces players who would be a big threat in Indian conditions(As the 1st season showed).Still they were one match away from qualifying for the finals.The best thing about this team is their ability to represent a sum which is greater than the parts put together.Most of the success should be credit to a certain SK Warne who was the best skipper Australia never had(Not that it made them suffer terribly though).The team has found new stars every season.Some of the names who come to mind are Asnodkar,Trivedi,Abhishek Raut,Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and a few others.I have been supporting them since the 2nd match of season 1 and I am proud to be Royals supporter.I have belief that when it comes to the crunch stages i.e. if they do get into the semifinals this year,I see them going all the way.Warne has been an amazing performer under pressure and he has made his team so as well.

2)Delhi Daredevils(Combined W/L-21/15)

Probably along with Chennai the most consistent team in the 3 seasons.They have made the Semifinals in both the seasons so far and look like doing so for a 3rd season running.The good thing for them is that they have got a lot of India nationals in their team in Sehwag,Gambhir,Nehra,Karthik and Mishra.Along with that they hired foreign players shrewdly in the 1st auction buying AB DeVilliers,Tillakratne Dilshan and backing it up with an amazing buy of Dirk Nannes in the 2nd.I hated them for the treatment they meted out to a legend in Glenn Mcgrath in the 2nd season when they didnt play him even when they were assured of a semifinal spot.Result-Gilchrist took them to the cleaners in the semifinal when the inexperience of Nannes showed.My prediction for them is a semifinal place this season as well but however hard I try I cant see them winning the trophy this season as well.

3)Mumbai Indians(Combined W/L-18/16)

Now this is the most surprising team of the event.With the array of stars that they have they should have atleast made the semifinals in both the seasons.Instead they finished 5th and 7th in the 2 seasons respectively.The team comprises of players like Tendulkar,Jayasurya,Bravo,Harbhajan,Zaheer(2nd season onwards),Malinga to name a few.They have struggled due to injuries as well where Sachin missed half the 1st season,malinga the full first season,Harbhajan 11 matches of the 1st season and Zaheer most matches of the 2nd.They seemed to have found their rhythm this season(they have been lucky with 5 home matches and 1 psuedo home match at the start of the season,lets see how they perform in chennai,jaipur and bangalore) although I would still like to see Sanath opening with Sachin.Their bowling looks amazing and their batting solid but if and when they do play the semifinals I really see them struggling if Sachin fails as a batsman in the match.Their middle order is inexperienced and I dont think Kieron Pollard justifies the money spent on him.They will reach the semis but winning the tournament looks a big ask especially now that the semis will be played in Bangalore and not in Mumbai.

4)Chennai Superkings(Combined W/L-19/18)

This team has been the most disappointing this season.When they bought players in the 1st edition they went all out for Dhoni which was a sound decision.They got Hayden relatively cheaply and he has been amazing for them.For someone to average close to 50 in T20 matches is outstanding.They bought some good Indian players in Raina,Badrinath and some great foreign players in Murali,Flintoff,Oram,Albie Morkel and Fleming(who is now the coach for this team).While the batting has carried them throughout the first 2 seasons their bowling has been way too inconsistent.The likes of Balaji,Gony,Tyagi and Morkel just dont inspire enough confidence.Murali has been good but not outstanding,Ntini is a spent force now and Oram and Flintoff out for the whole season.I had predicted after their first match that they would probably finish 7th this season just above Punjab and they have proved me right so far.Though they might finish above Kolkata,I dont see them reaching the semis this time around.

5)Kings XI Punjab(Combined W/L-18/18)

Along with Rajasthan,this was the most consistent team in the first season with 10 wins and 4 losses in the league stages.They lost the most important match though in the semifinal to Chennai.They were good in the 2nd season as well without the services of Shaun Marsh who was amazing in the 1st season where they finished 5th and just missed out on a semis spot due to Net run rate.They have been horrible this year though.Sangakkara as captain has been insipid and has made a lot of mistakes.The biggest of them all is continuing to play his good friend Mahela Jayawardena even when he is so out of form.Its the first time I have seen a player get the captaincy for playing poorly.The best bowler in most matches hasnt bowled his full quota,they have dropped their best bowler in Theron after 2 games to fit in Lee and Yuvraj Singh has been very lacklustre(Maybe because he is not the captain anymore???).All in all they definitely look like finishing at the bottom this season.

6)Bangalore Royal Challengers(Combined W/L-16/18)

This team has grown beautifully over the 3 seasons.They were horrible in the 1st and with the team that they had,they should have been that.They started woefully in the 2nd after losing 4 of their first 5 matches and made the finals after Kumble took over.And they have come together as a team this season.At the time I write this White and Pietersen have joined them and they look like having problems of plenty today.They made an intelligent but in Eoin Morgan this season and although he hasnt performed till now,I am sure he will in the near future.Ross Taylor is about to join them as well and at this point they look like a team which could well go all the way in this season.

7)Deccan Chargers(Combined W/L-14/22)

The wooden spoon of the first season was turned into a championship performance in the next but that doesnt hide the fact that it did have luck involved.They were horrible with their array of stars who never played like a team in the first season(Symonds,Gibbs,Gilly,Afridi to name a few) winning 2 games and losing 12.In the 2nd season,they started with 4 wins on the trot before they started struggling again losing the next 3 and barely making the semis as the 4th ranked team.There though they won due to an amazing knock by Gilly although they never should have won the championship match putting the score they did.This season 2 they started well but have lost 2 on the go now.Their bowling just doesnt look good enough and they depend a lot on Gilly at the top.They have been a little unlucky in a way by playing their home games at neutral places(Mumbai at DY Patil as a home game was ridiculous) but then they might be hapy as they had lost all 10 games they played at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium.They might fight for a semi final place this time and might trouble Delhi and Rajasthan but I see them finishing 5th this season.

8)Kolkata Knightriders(Combined W/L-12/20)

Clearly the most uninspiring team of the event.This team looks so high on hype but is so low on performance.As much as a fan I am of Dada,he is just not a good enough T20 player and I hope he realizes that come next season and he doesnt throw his hat into the auction coz I think he will be embarrassed.I dont know what the problem with this team is but they are the most distracted lot I have seen.I dont see them finishing higher than 6th this season although I had predicted a semi final spot for them before the start of the event.

Wow that turned into a long post.The IPL started on a bad note for me with Rajasthan losing their first 3 matches pretty badly but they looked to have turned the corner now.Here is hoping to some more amazing cricket this season.

Yet another Blog Post!

Here I am again.Back to the place I have become so accustomed to over the years.Singing my melancholy blues once again.Na na wont do it.I just realized that something ended today.I guess it never did start but I somehow had it built up in my head that it did and that it would go on to become the best thing that would ever happen to me.I was so anxious that I clung on to something that sadly did not even exist.And hence here I am again.Writing the same old blog entry which has kind of become a habit now.Even the song has started to hurt now.

I guess I kind of brought it unto myself.But then I got this impression that it would eventually work out.And that a certain someone would see what I wanted them to see.And what they should have seen.But I guess now that as time has gone on and taught me things,I just have stuck to my old habits more and more.I have always listened to my heart and although 'they' told me that that is what 'they' do as well,I guess I can safely say now that 'they' preach but 'they' do not follow it themselves.

Still I do not blame them.Although what they have been doing over the past 10 days has hurt me a lot but I should have known that the signs were ominous since a month.17th Feb was the beginning of the end and 19th March the end.The unfortunate thing was that the start if you want to call it that was only the beginning of Feb.And the story basically lasted just 4 days.Those 4 days were amazing though.Never in my life have I felt like I felt during those 4 days.

As I said in the last para,I dont blame them.I know that they are passing through a difficult phase in their life at the moment and I did not make things easier for them.I did not become what they would have liked me to become.I tried to become more than that and they were at this time not ready for it.And thats not their fault.The only problem I have with them is that I did try to change.And they still could not understand it.Or maybe they just did not want to.And for whatever we shared in those 4 days,I expected a better end.Story of my life.Looks like I always expect more than people are ready to offer.I still wish that they get what they are looking for in their life and somehow be more happy than they are now.With whoever they want to be happy with.

Anyway though the end has been swift,it will take some time for me to completely get over this.But then I am used to being here so it should not really be a big deal.Its just that I thought this time was different.I was wrong....Again.....