Gilchrist Vs Dhoni

The second semi-final of IPL-3 between defending champions Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings will take place at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on 22nd April. Both teams had to win their last league match to qualify for the semis. Chennai made it to the semis thanks to Dhoni's superb knock against Kings XI Punjab. Deccan made it to the semis by a collective performance against Delhi Daredevils.

Adam Gilchrist is due a big knock for Chargers. T Suman, Rohit Sharma, Symonds have been consistent with the bat while P Ojha has been performing well with the bowl. Harmeet Singh has been superb with the slow leg cutter. The only concern for DC would be to play at DY Patil stadium where they lost both the games they played before.

Chennai on the other hand too need a big konck from Hayden. Vijay, Raina has been in good form.

Both the teams have been set back a bit by their bowling attack. Deccan have worst record of conceding most runs in the last five overs.

My playing XIs:
Deccan Chargers:
Adam Gilchrist, Monish Mishra, T Suman, Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Mitchell Marsh, Sumanth, Harmeet Singh, Vaas, Ojha, RP Singh

Chennai:
Mathew Hayden, Murai Vijay, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Badrinath, A Morkel, Justin Kemp, Ashwin, Jakati, Bollinger, S Tyagi

Deccan beat Chennai twice this season and they have the advantage. But it can be anyone's game.

I'll be supporting Deccan and I want the final to be between Mumbai and Deccan.

A Clash of Indian Legends

Well, the third season if Indian Premier League is into it's last week.

The first semi final of IPL-3, between Mumbai Indians and last year's finalists Royal Challengers Banglore is going to take place at DY Patil stadium in Mumbai.

Mumbai Indians is in tremendous form winning 10 out of their 14 league matches. Sachin mesmerized everyone with his lovely batting and he has been in a great form. Mumbai Indians need Sachin to fire once again to put a great start. Then they have in Rayudu, Tiwary two good players who can play some big shots. If Pollard delivers with the bat, then it will be an easy match for Mumbai. Mumbai's bowling department is also strong with the likes of Malinga, harbhajan and Zaheer.

Coming to Banglore team, Kallis has been a consistent performer. But he needs to improve his strike rate if they have to put up/chase a big score. They have explosive batsmen like Uthappa and Taylor who can turn the match away from the opponent very easily.

On a whole, both teams are very strong. Both the teams have good batting line up and good bowling attacks. But, mumbai has been consistent and playing in front of the home crowd is an advantage.

My playing XIs:
Mumbai:
Sachin Tendulkar, Shikar Dhawan, S Tiwary, A Rayudu, JP Duminy, K Pollard, Satish, R McLaren, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, S Malinga

Banglore:
J Kallis, M Pandey, K Pietersen, R Uthappa, R Taylor, V Kohli, R Dravid, D Steyn, R Vinay Kumar, Anil Kumble, Praveen Kumar

I'll go with Mumbai Indians.

Oldies Shone on First Day

The much awaited IPL Season 2 has arrived atlast and what a day it was ....

The first day of IPL2 has some surprises and proved that hittig fours and sixes is not that easy on South African soil... The finalists of last year's IPL lost their opening matches. Last year's runners up Chennai Super Kings lost to Sachin's Mumbai Indians. Defending Champions Rajastan Royals were humiliated by Pieterson's Banglore Royal Challengers.

Sachin gave a good start to IPL by winning a match against Chennai super kings in the first match of IPL2... He proved that it's not always about try to hit every ball for four or six....it's about playing according to the situation and pitch condition...In the other match, Dravid did the same....Wickets were falling on one end..but Dravid stayed there till the end and took his team to a comfortable total...Kumble's 5-wicket haul was another highlight of the match between Rajasthan and Banglore...but the match was almost over before kumble came onto bowl...

The credit for Mumbai's win goes to Abishek Nayar and Sachin, and the credit for Banglore's win goes to Dravid and their collective bowling performance...

I wonder why Dhoni did not give Ashwin a chance to bowl....He should have selected an extra batsman then...And also why Albie Morkel was not chosen?

Chennai's most valuable player (also IPL's) Flintoff cost them the match by giving 3 sixes in one over :)

I enjoyed Abishek Nayar's innings and Shane Warne's bowling...

IPL – An international competition?

I don’t think anyone was too surprised when boss Lalit Modi opted for South Africa as the hosts of this year’s Indian Premier League.

As I look outside now from my Yorkshire home, all I can see is grey murky skies, while a fierce wind is bringing huge across raindrops, which are smattering all over my window. It is hard to imagine that in just a few weeks the English cricket season will begin.

The chances are that much of the opening rounds of games will be lost to the weather. Conversely they could be played under glorious early spring sunshine. But that’s the problem with the English weather, you just never know!

With an already crowded domestic and International fixture list, there is no room for manoeuvre should IPL games be lost to the weather. Therefore I think, on this occasion, they made the right choice in picking South Africa.

But what for the future of the IPL?

The switch outside of India, albeit for security reasons, has now made it a truly global game (if it wasn’t already).

After getting a taste for the IPL won’t South Africa fans want too see them again? Similarly English cricket supporters, who only just missed out this time, may feel they should have the chance to stage the tournament?

Talks for an English Premier League were started, stalled and then stopped altogether last year, so why not make the IPL a truly global competition, with different host countries each year? It would make more sense than to have a different 20/20 Premier League for each country, when would they fit the games in for starters?

Teams like Kevin Pietersen’s Royal Challengers Bangalore could be become a truly global brand, with fans across the world adopting them as their favorite team. This could pacify the money men who would fear a drop in TV revenue if the game continued to be played away from cricket-mad India.

I personally can’t wait for the IPL to start, but it will also be interesting to see whether the South African fans take it to their hearts. If it is played out in front of packed stadiums with millions tuning in at home, it may not be the last time the IPL is played abroad.

Guest Post by Tam Mallow