IPL 2 - the review

As I write this, Deccan bat against Bangalore in the finals.

Of course, this year the IPl went phoren, and there were quite a few changes - both good and bad. The overall level of the game, I feel, was improved over the 1st year. Matches saw many more close finishes and teams didn't just sail through to the last 4 as they had in 2008. And the number of dropped catches was just amazing - everyone was dropping 'em left, right and center.

Here's what I think of the team performances -


Kolkata Knight Riders - What does one say? These guys were devoutly following Murphy's law, anything and everything that could go wrong for them .... did. They lost at least 5 really close matches and seemed to specialise in giving it up from winning situations. This year's leading whipping boys, by a distance, they require far more astutute thinking & less of Shahrukh's mug for next year.

Mumbai Indians - This team has somehow never appealed to me, but the way they started the tournament this year seemed to hold promise. Malinga was bowling well for them and Dwayne Bravo provided good support. The batting was the weak link though, and the famed combo of Sanath + Sachin just didn't click often enough. Sachin's captaincy too lacked imagination, because of which, there will probably be a change of captaincy next year.

Rajasthan Royals - The champs of the inaugural season went down the path that most had predicted for them last year. They didn't start well, and were inconsistent, with the occasional spark of brilliance showing through in between. Yusuf Pathan and Shane Warne put in some good performances. But what they really missed were Shane Watson & Sohail Tanvir, their trumpcards from last year. Without those two, it was always going to be difficult .... and that's how it proved to be.

Kings XI Punjab - They came heart-breakingly close to making the semis, but it was a case of so near yet so far. Yuvraj performed better with the ball (2 hatricks!) for them than with the bat. Sangakarra and Jayawardene delivered, but mutually exclusively. They unveiled a gem in the form of Yusuf Abdullah riding to several victories on the back of his bowling performances. But in the end, they just couldn't get it all together before the top 4 were finalised.

Chennai Super Kings - Mathew Hayden fired for them almost every match (and got the Orange cap). And yet, they were a shadow of their professional selves from last year. Dhoni's performances and leadership were lacklustre and it showed. The bowlers bowled atrociously at times and Flintoff's million dollar purchase hardly helped. Suresh Raina was often the saving grace. Inspite of all the negatives, they were the second team to confirm their place in the semis. I wonder how?

Delhi Daredevils - By far the best team during the league stage. Racking up win after win after win, they followed some interesting stratergies ..... benching McGrath and playing Dirk Nannes, for every match, being prime among them. Dilshan and A B deVilliers played so very consistently for them & that helped, especially as Sehwag & Gambhir didn't fire too often. It was sad to see them go out of the semis once again like in 2008, since they were the favorites to win this year.

Deccan Chargers - Last year's last ranked team. And this year's revelation. They had the potential last year too .... but chose this edition to gel as a team. Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma, Herschelle Gibbs & Andrew Symonds .... all played well to get them into the semis. Fidel Edwards was super with the fast bowling and Pragyan Ojha with the tweakers. They stormed to 4 victories in their first 4 matches, but lost their way afterwards but not by much. And Gilchrist's demolition job of 85 off 35 in the semis against Delhi was an innings to remember.

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Mallya's boys were the 'test team' of 2008. And going by their run in the 1st half of the league under Pietersen's captaincy, they looked set for an encore. Then Kumble was made captain .... and everything started turning. Win after win followed as they started peaking just when it mattered the most. Kallis, Boucher, Kohli, Kumble .... all contributed in a stunning turnaround for the Reds. Not many had given them a chance of reaching the semis this year, but they have bettered that and are in the finals now. And look like they will win it after restricting Deccan to 143.