Lord once again hurt India

 

While I am writing this post, the epic test match is in anti-climax stage and climax is more or less certain unless some drama happens before that, in anti-climax.

The first test match of 4 test match series between India and England got underway  on 21st July and four days are over with home team enjoying the distinct advantage while visitors are struggling hard to save the test match. This epic test match saw brilliant display of batting from Matt Prior, Kevin Pietersen and Rahul Dravid, as both  Dravid and Pietersen got brilliant hundreds on a testing surface, brilliant bowling spells from Praveen Kumar, Stuart Broad and Ishant Sharma. Misery of  great Tendulkar continued at this ground as he failed to cross the thirties on this very venue one more time and century on this ground is still far away from him.

If we talk about England I think they batted in tough conditions and also bowled in batting friendly conditions, while Indians got the best batting conditions to bat and best bawling conditions to bowl but failed to take advantage of that and England turned the tide in their favour by battling it out in tough conditions. But Indians were unlucky to lose its premier fast bowler Zaheer Khan on the first day due to injury and other 3 bowlers failed to make any impact on Day 1. Dropped catches of Trott and Pietersen also aggravated the wounds of Indian bowlers and it is pity that, captain who dropped those chances. So far in this match captain Dhoni dropped four crucial catches and India paid dearly for that.

Tactics of Indian captain in the field were also far from the reality so far. When Ishant was bowling well on Day 4, he didn’t continue him after lunch and that’s where match slipped from the hands of India. Mistake even became more visible when Ishant returned with new spell and immediately picked up the wicket of Eoin Morgan which clearly showed that, had Ishant bowled just after lunch India must have got into the comfortable position and could have thought of winning the match but Dhoni failed to take advantage of the moment.

Moreover, in first innings Dhoni batted for 102 balls and scored just 27 runs and didn’t force the issue, as if he was out there to save the test match in first innings of the game. Had Dhoni played his natural game, Indian would have reached closer to the English score in first innings but Dhoni kept playing defensively and finally got out to he new ball. Dhoni used these defensive techniques in his batting many times but he failed often while playing defensively. He has to understand that, he is not technically sound as Rahul Dravid, so he has play his natural game and score runs which will help Indian team in winning more test matches. We all saw when wickets were falling Matt Prior played his natural game and got his team out of the trouble by scoring brilliant hundred. Dhoni has to learn that. Also there is saying offence is the best form of defence.

In the past few matches, Dhoni’s wicket-keeping standard has gone down considerably and he is out of form in batting as well. We all know, how capable Dhoni is, with the bat but only when he play his natural game. I think time has come, when Dhoni have to think about his batting and have to accept the fact that he is not a technically sound batsmen and have to play his natural game under any circumstances and I can vouch, if he will play his natural game he will certainly score more runs in his test career and if he try to kill his natural instincts then I am afraid he will not survive much in the highest format of the game for too long.

So India is on doorstep of defeat at Lords and tough times ahead for Dhoni and his team which is also struggling with disease and injuries to its premier players.

Litmus test ahead for Dhoni and his men

 

After reasonably successful Windies tour Team India is confident of doing well in upcoming series in England. Although Team India won both ODI and Test Series in West Indies but that win is not emphatic enough considering the huge gap of ranking between the two teams. India, the No.1 ranked team expected to win the series with either whitewash or at least 2-0 but they won it by 1-0 which is not considered substantial win considering  the weak opposition and sub-continental like conditions. Although win is win.

Now Indian team will face the English challenge and this tour will establish Indian team’s supremacy in world cricket, if they will win this series and victory in English summer will certainly clears all the doubts over Team India’s ranking, which has been raised by various cricket experts world over. But series is not going to be easy as England is deadly dangerous in their own backyard, also they are confident side after five series win in a row which includes victory over Australian team in famous Ashes series down-under.

So stern test ahead for Dhoni and his men.From West indies tour India gained few things and one of them is the bowling. Before this West Indies tour there were doubts about Indian bowling especially in fast bowling department but those doubts are clear now and India have good fast bowlers in Ishant Sharma who grew in stature after this Windies tour, debutant Praveen Kumar impressed in batting friendly conditions and Munaf Patel also played his role. So as Zaheer Khan returned to the side,Dhoni have the option of going in with 3 quality fast bowlers and in helpful conditions of England Indian bowlers will certainly do wonders especially Praveen Kumar who has given born to lot of expectations because of his special swing bowling. So if England prepares the bowling friendly wickets then their batsmen will also go through the big test against the Indian seamers.

As far as batting is concerned, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are in good form but return of maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who is in sight of his 100th ton in International cricket and opener Gautam Gambhir will certainly boost the batting of this Indian team. Form of Raina is also good and it will going to be a difficult choice for Dhoni to go with Yuvraj or Raina. Sehwag will join the team in 2nd or 3rd test match depending on his fitness and that will further boost the Team India’s batting but for one man this tour will going to be a very important and that man is Abhinav Mukund who had disastrous debut in West Indies but came back well in 2nd and 3rd test and hence earned the berth for England tour. If Mukund will play well in first two test then it will certainly boost his confidence as well as India will also get the new solid batsmen who will easily take the place of Rahul Dravid after his retirement.

So exciting series in prospect and Indian team have to play out of their skin to beat England in England and it will not going to be easy but also not impossible as Indian team defeated England last time when they toured under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. India can take inspiration from that tour and that will definitely make their job easy.

Talking about success of the Indian batsmen, well they have to play  the deliveries late in English conditions and that is the only mantra to score big runs in this series. Remember No.1 ranking is on stake for Team India and win on this tour will going to shut the mouth of every person who doubts India’s No.1 ranking status on Test Cricket. Dhoni has not lost single test series so far in his career as a captain, so his reputation of no series defeat is also on stake.

Women’s cricket in India….

 

As a cricket lovers we are  indulge  only in men’s cricket  and we  applaud men’s cricket only.  Many of us probably don’t know the fact that we also have  women cricket team as well. We have a very good women’s cricket team and it has done reasonably well. They also play all the 3 formats of the game viz. Test Match, ODIs and T20.

 

The Indian women's cricket team first appeared  in a Test match in 1976-77 season against West Indies, six match series ended in a draw. They also performed much better than expected in the Women's Cricket World Cup 2005, reaching the finals but then losing to Australia. In 2005 they won their second Women's Asia Cup, played in Pakistan. That tournament featured the first-ever match between the Indian and Pakistani women's teams as well. They toured England in 2006, winning the Test series 1-0, winning the Twenty20 international, but losing the ODI series 4-0.

Our Indian women cricket  team captain is Jhulan Goswami who is an all-rounder. She made her debut in the year 2000. She won  ICC women’s player of the year award in 2007. She became fourth bowler in women’s  cricket to achieve the feat of 100 wickets in ODIs in 2008. Another cricketer named Mithali Raj, is a World Record holder in terms of highest individual score in test match innings. She scored 214 against England in 2002 at the tender age of 19 playing in his only 3rd test match. Mithali was involved in another world record partnership of 157 for the seventh wicket with Jhulan Goswami (62) in the same match.

Till 2007 women cricket was ran by separate body Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI). But ICC took the initiative and asked the respective cricket boards to include the women’s cricket as well under their banner. This had immediate effect and  Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took over the women’s cricket. Now BCCI runs both men and women cricket. The money situation was not that great till the women’s cricket was separate body. For long the players had to depend on their jobs mostly with Railways and Air India and survive on paltry daily allowances. Now situation has changed and women players are getting decent money although not as big as male players are getting.

Till 2007 women cricketers of the country could draw few pay-cheques. In All-India Women's Knock-Out Cricket Tournament organised by BCCI,  all the players of the ten teams that had participated got their first dues.Thanks to the BCCI initiative, players who took part in that tournament got Rs 1500 per match. The amount looks insignificant when compared to what their male counterparts get when they play in a domestic tournament, a male domestic player gets Rs 4000 per day for a Ranji match which means that a Ranji player pockets a total of Rs 16,000 at the end of four days. Sounds a bit unfair, keeping in mind that the women also bowl 50 overs, the boundary line is the same, the umpires are also of the same standard as in the men's tournament. Everything seems to be the same but the money. This, though, hardly shakes the confidence of the women as they used to play even when they were not paid anything. Indian women cricket has also brought lot of glory to the country.

Anjum Chopra, the member of Indian women cricket team asked for the separate IPL like tournament for women as well and their demand is correct as well. If male cricketers can make big bucks out of IPL then female players also deserves big bucks. Although women cricket is under BCCI regime but it is not marketed well enough. Time has come to market the women cricket properly, so that many more girls take cricket  seriously and this will also help in reducing inequalities between male and female, which unfortunately still prevails in our society. Its time to attract women towards cricket and tournament like IPL for women will do wonders in promoting women’s cricket. Women has achieved lot of glory in other sports like badminton, tennis, athletics and time has come now to support women cricket and make it as popular as women tennis and women badminton. Its strange that, in a cricket crazy nation like India, women’s cricket is still searching its soul and honour.

 

Cricketainment Review: IPL Weekend Games

Warriors tame Kings. Brilliant debut by Sahara Pune Warriors.

Sahara Pune Warriors made explosive debut in IPL with a win under their belt over Kings XI Punjab. It was clinical performance from Sahara Pune Warriors that helped them in this victory. Gilchrist failed to make an impression with the bat and most of his batsmen surrendered to the Warriors bowling. Shreekant Wagh  bowled exceptionally well on a pitch which had some bounce on it and picked up 3 crucial wickets for Pune.

Ryan McLaren fought hard for Kings XI by playing brilliant knock of 51 and help them in reaching competitive total. After getting out cheaply Kings XI started brilliantly in the fielding as they picked up opener Greame Smith on the first ball of the innings but Jesse Ryder and Mithun Manhas knitted superb partnership and took Warriors near to the victory. In the end Utthappa and skipper Yuvraj finished the game for Warriors by winning it in 14th over itself.

It was comprehensive victory for the costliest side in the tournament. Sahara Pune Warrior has announced their arrival on IPL scene with this thumping victory over Kings XI Punjab. Adam Gilchrist have to inspire his team to do well in coming matches otherwise its going to be a very tough journey for Kings XI Punjab in this edition of IPL.

Man of the Match: Shreekant Wagh

---

Master vs Disciple: Mumbai Indians crushed Delhi Daredevils.

It was master’s day and he emerged as champion. Disciple failed to live upto the expectation and lost the game. It was Sachin vs Sehwag, a dream contest and in the end Sachin won it for Mumbai Indians. But the game belonged to Slinga Malinga whose brilliant spell proved too deadly for Sehwag’s Daredevil’s and rest of the damage done by poor running between the wickets.

Delhi won the toss on a slow–sluggish pitch and got the advantage to bat in best of the conditions but Malinga soon turned this advantage into disaster as he bowled dream spell to restrict Delhi Daredevils under 100 runs. He ended up with 3rd best figures in IPL and he bowled flurry of Yorkers to Delhi batsmen. It was Maling’a brilliance which forced dasher like Sehwag to play maiden in T20 game. Such was Malinga’s impact. I think it was Malinga who set the stage for Mumbai Indians to win this game.

Once Sehwag and Warner got out they fall like nine-pins which left big question-mark on Daredevil’s team for rest of the tournament. It was impressive return for the Irfan Pathan who played any after 1 year. His swing is back and looked good in his spell.

Man of the Match: Lasith Malinga

---

Poor debut for Kochi as RCB beat them in close contest.

Brilliance of AB DeVilliers denied Kochi Tuskers Kerala to open their account with a win on their IPL debut. Till 18th over match was perfectly balanced and there was every possibility of close finish but AB DeVilliers had other Ideas as he hit 3 sixes in a over that helped RCB to win the game easily against Kochi Tuskers.

Kochi started their innings brilliantly on pitch which was full of runs. McCullum and Laxman gave brilliant start but Kochi lost the momentum in the batting in middle overs. When Kochi started their batting,  it looked like they were going to put up score in excess of 180 but RCB pulled it back and restricted them to 160 odd which looked par total on a pitch which was belter.

 Kochi fought well till 18th over and game was hanging in balance but AB DeVillier’s clean and lusty hitting was the difference between 2 teams. Kochi was unlucky to end on losing side after playing well till that 18th over. It was heartening to see Laxman’s batting and the way he batted it clearly suggest that he has the class to perform in any format of the game and it is wrong to label him as only test player.

Great debut for Daniel Vettori as RCB skipper and unlucky debut for Mahela Jayawardene as a skipper of Kochi team.

Man of the Match: AB DeVilliers

---

Magical Warnie helped RR to beat DC.

There is a saying “Champions are forever Champions’ and Rajasthan Royals captain proved it right. Magical Warnie bowled like a champion, captained like a champion and achieved the comprehensive win over Deccan Chargers on Saturday. Rajasthan bowling came good on the day as they dismissed Deccan for paltry total and then chased down the total quite easily. Siddharth Trivedi once again bowled brilliant spell for Rajasthan and he was brilliantly supported by Amit Singh and Shane Warne who also picked up two wickets. It was quite unbelievable how Warnie bowled in that game. Right from the first ball of his spell, Warnie was spot-on. Remember Warne is not playing cricket entire year and yet he bowls like, he bowled in his prime.

Warnie once again pulled rabbit out of the hat and that trick worked again for him. When he sent Botha at No.3 and Botha won the game for Rajasthan with the bat as he scored brilliant half-century for Rajasthan Royals.

On the other hand Deccan remain unsuccessful in stopping Rajasthan from chasing that paltry total. The only bowler from Deccan, who looked like picking up wickets was Dale Steyn who was their most successful bowler. Captain Sangakkara’s failure with the bat also proved costly to Deccan because he is their best batsmen. It was one-sided contest where overall teamwork of Rajasthan helped them in winning this match. It will be interesting to see whether Rajasthan repeats its performance of first season or not in this edition of IPL. So far everything is fine and for Deccan tough time ahead because they don’t have potent batting line-up and form of left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha is also big concern for Deccan.

Man of the Match: Siddharth Trivedi

Super-Sunday: Sachin will face Sehwag’s Challenge. Yuvraj’s boys will take on Adam’s boys.

 

Two more cracker of the contest coming up on Super Sunday. Lets have look first contest of Sunday. Its Sachin’s Mumbai Indians vs Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils.

Mumbai Indians ended as runners-up in last season after wonderful run through the league phase where they hardly lost the game. Mumbai Indians retained their key players Sachin Tendulkar, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard and Harbhajan Singh. Although they failed to retain Zaheer Khan and lost him to Royal Challengers Bangalore. They bought Andrew Symonds this year which will add spice to this IPL edition because both Harbhajan and Symonds are team-mates now and will cheer each other. Monkey Gate saga is still fresh in the memory of cricket lovers when Symonds alleged Harbajan for making racial remarks against him in India – Australia series and matter got worse. Sachin also supported Harbhajan in that event and now Sachin will be captaining the Symonds. So interesting team formation.

The team sailed to the finals with spirited performances from Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo as well. But a mockery of a decision to hold back Pollard and inability to provide support to Sachin's lone fight cost the team badly and the trophy slipped from a sniffing distance in the final against Chennai Super Kings.his edition should be the time to bury the ghosts of past mishaps. But the loss of important players like Jayasuriya, Bravo, Saurabh Tiwary, Jean Paul Duminy and Zaheer Khan might be hard to cope with.The batting will revolve around Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, newly bought Aiden Blizzard, promising domestic players and a bunch of all-rounders.The Mumbai bowling has Lasith Malinga, Munaf Patel, Clint Mckay and Harbhajan Singh. Going through the list, if you thought this barrel was insufficient for mass consumption, think again!Move your eyes over their list of all-rounders. This team revels in its versatility. James Franklin, Moise Henriques, Symonds, Pollard, etc. can bat and bowl with equal ease while the likes of Rayudu and South African recruit David Jacobs are equally efficient both in front of the wicket and behind it.

Team Info:

Mumbai Indians

Sachin Tendulkar (c), Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Aditya Tare, Ali Murtuza, Ambati Rayudu, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pawan Suyal, Rajagopal Sathish, Surul Kanwar, Surya Kumar Yadav, T Suman, Yazvendra Singh Chahal, (Foreign) Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Andrew Symonds, Davy Jacobs, James Franklin, Moises Henriques, Alden Blizzard, Dilhara Fernando

Talking about Delhi Daredevils, on paper they were best team of the IPL for last 3 seasons. They had players like Dilhshan, Sehwag, Gambhir , Warner, Ab DeVilliers, Glen McGrath and list continues yet they failed to win the trophy. They didn’t even reached the finals in any of the 3 editions. So owners decided to revamp the team. They retained only Virender Sehwag wen bought new players in auction.The batting looks lackluster without their star players who played for DD in last 3 seasons. Except Virender Sehwag and David Warner, they have no famed face. Players like Unmukt Chand, Colin Ingram and Aaron Finch come with promise and dwell on hype but walking down the ramp will be an altogether different affair.The bowling seems shoddier with only Morne Morkel, Irfan Pathan and Roelof van der Merwe to talk about. The likes of Ashok Dinda and Ajit Agarkar will make things rosier but how wise would it be to rest hopes on them is a question every fan would ask.

The all-round skills of the team, however, is something to cheer for. Robert Frylink, another South African, is a hero back home. Van der Merwe and Irfan Pathan are good enough to be depended upon for a few good knocks and wickets here and there.For a pleasant thought, the wicket-keeper batsmen Mathew Wade and Naman Ojha should add smiles to the faces who know how important bits-and-pieces players are in this version of the game. This season of IPL is also important of player like Irfan Pathan who lost somewhere due to injuries and poor performance after wonderful start to his career against Australia in 2003-2004 season.

Team Info:

Delhi Daredevils

Virender Sehwag (Captain), Irfan Pathan, Naman Ojha(Wicket-Keeper), Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Umesh Yadav, Venugopal Rao, Aavishkar Salvi, Prashant Naik, Rajesh Pawar, Robin Bist, S Sriram, Tejashwi Yadav, Unmukt Chand, Varun Aaron, Vikash Mishra, Vivek Yadav, Yogesh Nagar, Shahbaz Nadeem (Foreign) David Warner, James Hopes, Morne Morkel, Aaron Finch, Mathew Wade, Roloef van der Merwe, Andrew McDonald, Travis Birt, Collin Ingram, Robert Frylinck.. Greg Shipperd(Coach

On paper Mumbai Indians looks much better team and Delhi Daredevils largely banks on heroics of Sehwag and Warner. Feroze Shah Kotla in Delhi will witness this cracker of the contest.

---

Yuvraj’s boys will take on Adam’s boys.

Sahara Pune Warriors owned by Sahara Group is another new team alongwith Kochi Tuskers Kerala, to play in this year’s IPL. Team will kick start its campaign on Sunday against Kings Xi Punjab at

Under Yuvraj’s captaincy Sahara Pune Warriors could definitely be a force to reckon with if they play up to their potential during the six week event. They have Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Mohnish Mishra in their ranks, Pune Warriors is one of the strongest squad participating in the IPL 4. Their bowling also seems to be well balanced as Ashish Nehra and Jerome Taylor will share the new ball. Injury to Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews could have affected team's strategy, but the availability of young all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will give balance to the side.They have also got specialist spinners in form of experienced Murali Kartik and Kiwi Nathan McCullum.As far as  foreigners in the batting department are concerned, aggressive New Zealander Jesse Ryder can be used up in the batting order, while South African former skipper Graeme Smith is sure to take the opening slot with young Pandey.But the biggest asset that the Pune side carries into the tournament is skipper Yuvraj Singh, who has had a phenomenal World Cup leading up to the IPL.The southpaw was the player of the tournament in the World Cup won by India and playing against his former club could be an experience in itself for the all-rounder.

Team Info:

Sahara Pune Warriors

Yuvraj Singh(Captain), Robin Uthappa(Wicket-Keeper), Ashish Nehra, Murali Kartik, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Bhuvenshwar Kumar, Dheeraj Jadhav, Ekalavya Dwivedi, Ganesh Gaikwad, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Harshad Khadiwale, Kamran Khan, Manish Pandey, Mithun Manhas, Mohnish MIshra, Rahul Sharma, Sachin Rana, Shrikant Wagh, Shrikant Mundhe, Imtiyaz Ahmed (Foreign) Graeme Smith, Tim Paine, Angelo Mathews, Nathan McCullum, Callum Ferguson, Wayne Parnell, Mitchell Marsh, Jerome Taylor, Alfonso Thomas, Jesse Ryder.Geoff Marsh(Coach)

Punjab, on the other hand, also have revamped their side. With former Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist as their captain, Kings although short of star power which was very much present till last season.They very much depend on heroics of Gilchrist to provide them a quick start that can be carried forward by Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Dinesh Karthik and Paras Dogra. All-round abilities of Ryan McLaren and Hussey give their side the much-needed stability. Punjab's bowling can be a surprise factor as they have a good combination of swing and pace upfront. Praveen Kumar's ability to swing the ball while Australian quickie Ryan Harris can bowl with incredible pace is known to everybody. Another Australian Nathan Remmington will add variety to the Kings XI Punjab attack with his accurate medium pace.Piyush Chawla and Bipul Sharma could be the spinners team management can opt for, while Abhishek Nayar may also be useful with his gentle medium pacers.

Team Info:

Kings XI Punjab

Dinesh Karthik(Wicket-Keeper), Abhishek Nayar, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, Love Ablish, Mandeep Singh, Nitin Saini, Paras Dogra, Paul Valthaty, Shalabh Srivastava, Siddharth Chitnis, Sunny Singh, Vikramjeet Malik, Amit Yadav, (Foreign) Adam Gilchrist (Captain/Wicket-Keeper), Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Stuart Broad, Ryan Harris, Dimitri Masceranhas, Nathan Remington.Michael Bevan(Coach)

In all, an exciting contest is on the cards as both teams would like to start their campaigns with wins under their belts.

.

CSK clinched cliffhanger from KKR. DC will take on RR and Kochi will face RCB challenge

 

Everything is going Mahi’s way. After brilliant World Cup victory, MS Dhoni once again pulled out miracle victory over KKR in IPL 4 opening game at Chennai after glittering opening ceremony. IPL 4 kick-started in style with the thriller. Captain Cool kept his nerves and did everything possible to beat Gambhir’s Knights. On the other hand after brilliant beginning to the modest chase KKR faltered badly as they lost wickets in a hurry and finally KKR lost by just 2 runs. Junior Srikkanth played brilliant inniings for CSK and given them platform to build par score on a pitch which was turning square. Junior Srikkanth have to thank a lot to Yusuf Pathan who dropped him early on and that proved expensive for KKR. In the last over Albie Morkel’s lusty hitting took CSK score past 150 which proved winning score for CSK in the end.

It was surprising that Gambhir came into bat after 5 down. Certainly Shahrukh & co. wouldn’t have expected this move of Gambhir for whom KKR paid highest price.It looked like Gambhir was tired after his World Cup effort and wanted some rest.  Yusuf Pathan who fetched second highest price in auction also failed to do justice to his price and dropped 2 important catches and didn’t score required runs as well even after getting promotion to bat at No.3. Kallis batted brilliantly and till the time he was on crease hopes were alive for KKR but poor running between the wicket. Poor shot selection by Kallis and hopeless fielding and catching played important role in KKR's defeat against CSK.

Shahrukh Khan must be thinking what else he have to do to win IPL . He changed captain, Management and almost entire team,  yet his mis-fortune continues.Although its too early to predict anything as lot of matches remaining for the KKR and hopefully they will win them.

---

DC will take on RR

2nd  edition IPL Champion Deccan Chargers Hyderabad will take on inaugural IPL champion Rajasthan Royals. It’s a battle between two  former champions.

Rajasthan failed to buy players of their liking at the auction due to limited purse. But good thing for them is that they were able to retain their magical captain Shane Warne who inspire them to win the inaugural IPL trophy. Rajasthan although failed to buy enough players but they still have very formidable side which includes the likes of Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor, Shane Watson, Johan Botha. Shane Watson will miss initial round of IPL due to ongoing series between Australia and Bangladesh. But still Rajasthan can win the games because they have capable players to do so. It’s a brilliant opportunity for the young domestic players like Deepak Chahar and Pankaj Singh to impress the selectors with their performance in IPL. Remember Deepak Chahar and Pankaj Singh played important role in Rajasthan’s Ranji triumph this season. Both were among highest wicket-takers in Ranji season. So Team India have the chance to get fresh bowling ammunition from this IPL.

Team Info:

Rajasthan Royals

Rahul Dravid, Pankaj Singh, Aakash Chopra, Abhishek Raut, Aditya Dole, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Paunikar, Ashok Menaria, Deepak Chahar, Dishant Yagnik, Faiz Fazal, Nayan Doshi, Pinal Shah, Samad Fallah, Siddharth Trivedi, Stuart Binny, Amit Singh, Dinesh Salunkhe, Swapnil Asnodkar, Sumit Narwal, Ankeet Chavan (Foreign) Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Ross Taylor, Johan Botha, Paul Collingwood, Shaun Tait.Shane Warne(Coach/Captain).

DC has undergone great changes this year. Adam Gilchrist, the captain who help them in winning 2nd edition of IPL will be captaining Kings XI Punjab this year. So they will have new captain in Kumar Sangakkara. With the loss of batting stars like Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds, Deccan don't look that formidable and they would hope that their new players get them off to a winning start.Their new skipper Kumar Sangakkara, who stepped down from captaincy after Sri Lanka's loss to India in the World Cup final, is in good form and would hope that players like JP Duminy and Michael Lumb help the side to start its campaign on a high. Pietersen pulled out of the World Cup to undergo a hernia surgery and is still recovering from it. The English batsman will miss the entire season for the Chargers.White, on the other hand, is part of the Aussie squad playing three-match ODI series in Bangladesh. Deccan looks vulnerable in the batting department.  But their bowling looks strong as the world's fastest bowler Dale Steyn is up in their rank. He can be supported by Indian pacers Ishant Sharma, who played for the Kolkata Knight Riders till last season, and Manpreet Gony, who was a part of Chennai Super Kings' squad. Meanwhile, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha will be the options in the spin department.

Team Info:

Deccan Chargers

Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Manpreet Gony, Akash Bhandari, Anand Rajan, Ankit Nagendra, Arjun Yadav, Ashish Reddy, Bharat Chipli, DB Ravi Teja, Harmeet Singh Bansal, Ishank Jaggi, Ishan Malhotra, Jaydev Shah, Kedar Devdhar, Sunny Sohal (Foreign) Kumar Sangakkara (Captain/Wicket-Keeper), Kevin Pietersen, Cameron White, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn, Daniel Christian, Chris Lynn, Juan Theron, Michael Lumb.Darren Lehmann(Coach)

So watch the battle of champions in IPL today at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

---

Kochi will face RCB challenge

Today’s second game will be between Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Kochi Tuskers Kerala is new entrant in IPL. Although team belongs to Kerala but its promoters are Gujaratis. This team had lot of controversy surrounded around it and they were almost rejected due to some irregularities in its formation. Cabinet minister Shashi Tharoor lost his ministry because of this team. But finally Kochi franchisee got little life-line from IPL governing body and now they are here.

Kochi, one of the two new teams in this year's IPL, will be led by Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene with Geoff Lawson being the coach. On paper this team doesn’t look that formidable. Although it has names like VVS Laxman, S.Sreesanth, Brendon McCullum. It also has Players like Parthiv Patel, Brad Hodge, Owais Shah and above all recently retired Sri Lankan legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Ravindra Jadeja who was banned from IPL last season will also feature in this team and it is great platform for him to get back into the Indian team. Bowling looks far more formidable as S.Sreesanth will spearhead the bowling attack and he will be supported  by R.Vinakumar, Muralitharan, and highest wicket-taker of IPL RP Singh.

Team Info:

Kochi Tuskers

VVS Laxman, S Sreesanth, RP Singh, Parthiv Patel(Wicket-Keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ramesh Powar, R Vinay Kumar, B Akhil, Chandan Madan, Deepak Chowghule, Kedar Jadhav, Raiphi Gomez, Sushant Marathe, Tanmay Srivastava, Y Gnanswara Rao, Yashpal Singh, Prashant Padmanabahan, (Foreign) Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Brendon McCullum(Wicket-Keeper), Steven Smith, Muttiah Muralitharan, Brad Hodge, Thisara Perera, Steve O'Keefe, Owais Shah, Michael Klinger, John Hastings. Jeff Lawson(Coach)

Talking about RCB, they will be captained by the former Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori. RCB retained only Virat Kohli from their last year’s team. So RCB has also gone under makeover. Compare to Kochi they are far more strong side on the paper. They have likes of AB de Villiers, Tillakaratane Dilshan, Virat Kohli, Saurabh Tiwary, Zaheer Khan, Dirk Nannes, which makes them far more superior compare to their opponents. Dilshan, after a brilliant World Cup where he finished as the tournament's top scorer, is most likely to open the innings for Challengers. Zaheer Khan will spear head their bowling attack and that gives them big edge over other teams because Zaheer is in superb bowling form right now and bowling at his very best. Even after having formidable team and legendary Kumble at the helm of the affairs, RCB failed to win the IPL title in last 3 seasons. They reached the finals in 2nd edition  but lost to Deccan Chargers. So this year they will be determined to win the title after failing to win it thrice.

Team Info:

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Daniel Vettori (Captain), Virat Kohli, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB De Villiers (wicket-keeper), Zaheer Khan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Dirk Nannes, Saurabh Tiwary, Mohammad Kaif, Abhimanyu Mithun, Charl Langeveldt, Luke Pomersbach, Rilee Rossouw, Johan van der Wath, Jonathan Vandiar, CM Gautam (Wicket-Keeper), S Arvind, Mayank Agarwal, Arun Karthick, Asad Khan Pathan, Abrar Kazi, Ryan Ninan, Bhareth Narayanan, Nuwan Pradeep.Ray Jennings(Coach)

So edge is with RCB in this match and it will be interesting to see how Kochi performs against formidable team like RCB.