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news EDITOR SPEAKS preview cover story interview trivia April 2009

04
EDITORIAL BOARD

IPL BONANZA Editor

Manish Verma
Managing Editor
Rakesh Pandey
Sub Editor

a
s March is fading, we set our Controversies kept on coming on a fast
eyes on Indian Premier League track in the cash flowing league. Mohd. Asim
which is ready to swing once We bring you the best of the best from Contributing Editors
again in April with its second the first season in terms of Stadiums, S. Pervez Qaiser, Partab Ramchand,
season on course. Not to for- Cheerleaders and the spectators. It is Sreelata S Yellamrazu, Haresh Pandya
get what has happened in the first edi- well said that failure makes one more Graphic Designer
tion of the cricket saga. Only few teams determined to achieve success. Taking Lalita Adhikari
could live up to the expectations, while lesson from the failure in the most Media Relations Officer
some drowned themselves by their on talked about league , the owners of the Monica Bhardwaj
field poor performance. Chennai Super franchises went in quest of what is right Production Co-ordinator
Kings, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi for their team to attain much needed Sunil Chaudhary
Daredevils were the franchises life line on the cricket field at the auction Photos
Who did justice to their star hubbed held in Goa for the second season. A.P.
teams while Kolkata Knight Riders, Millions were spent to hire the services
Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal of star players who in return can guaran- BUSINESS OFFICE
Challengers just blew away. We also take tee the winning formula to the team. DIAMOND MAGAZINES PVT. LTD.
a look at how the most under rated There were few surprises also in terms X-30, Okhla Ind. Area,
team of IPL emerged as the champion of of amount spent on players bidding. Ph-2, New Delhi-20,
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at the future prospects of the IPL teams all the attention and attraction by Fax (011) 41611866
for the second season. becoming the costliest players in the IPL, Director (Mktg.) Manish Verma,
The unsung hero's of the league who both went for the whooping amount of E-mail : manish@dpb.in
put themselves of the radar of success more than seven crore with Kevin going
and those big buddies who could not in the kitty of Vijay Mallya ADVERTISING OFFICES
bear the burden of expectations in the and Flintoff to Chennai Super Kings. Delhi Vivek Parashar, M. P. Singh, Vimal
inaugural season of IPL have also been South African J P Duminy and Malhotra, Sudhesh, Nikhil (011)
covered. Indian Premier League was Bangladeshi tiger Mashrafe 40712100
bang in terms of records and mile- Mortaza were the surprise pack- Mumbai Praveen Chandra, C. Garima
stones set by the players. ages at the auction by getting 9820129206
Several new records were much higher price than their Kolkata Biswajit Dasgupta 9830092763
made and it was raining four original base price. In our edition Bangalore MQ Networks Pvt.Ltd.
and sixes in most of the we throw light on the life of Lalit 09980543965 Kanpur Sundhaya Tewari
clashes. Apart from sheer Modi, how he slowly but 09415291020 Jaipur Suresh Kaushik
entertainment and gradually came to power in 9829103129 Indore Ramesh C. Nagar,
excitement, terms of cricket world and
Controversies also laid Indian Premier the big tail of controver-
Kanta Nagar 9302113401 Nagpur S.M.
Khisti 9822202082 Chennai Sathish C.
its clouds on the IPL. League was bang sies attached with him. Anand 9841023010 Hyderabad P.
There was Asif's doping in terms of With all these happenings Raghupati 9885634618 Ahmedabad
scandal to follow with
Harbhajan-Sreesanth
records and mile- inbring the cricket world we
you our regular
Madan Menon 9898002522
Coimbatore D. Rahul 9443372246
spat on the field which stones set by the columns, Willowy Words Bhopal S.B. Sharma 9425024386
sent Bhajji out of the players. Several and Greats of the game to Raipur V. Sridhar 9893309558
tournament. new records were keep you intact till the end. Patna S Prashant 9835369916
made and it was Punjab Puneet Arya 9316969911
Bhubaneshwar Madhusmita Hota
raining four and 9937027768.
sixes in most Pune Prasad Datar 9822112674
of the clashes. Copyright
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 Cricket
Today
news CONTENTS letter preview cover story interview trivia April 2009

06
IPL SPECIAL
THE RISE AND RISE AND
SLIGHT FALL OF LALIT
MODI - 16

TEAMS AT A GLANCE - 20

TEN SPARKLING
DIAMONDS IN THE
ROUGH - 36

THE BEST OF THE IPL –

SEASON ONE - 40

MILLION DOLLAR MEN:

DOLLOPS OF FLOPS - 42

WHEN TROUBLE CAME

LOOKING FOR THE IPL -
60

WORLD RECORDS AND

MILESTONES IN THE
INAUGURAL IPL - 66

IPL IN FIGURES - 72

82 TRANSFER WINDOW AND

AUCTION (SEASON II) - 78

PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT

FOR – SEASON 2 - 82

WILLOWY WORDS : BILL

FRINDALL - 88

24 GREATS OF THE GAME :

WARWICK ARMSTRONG -
92

WOMEN’S TRINATION
SERIES - 98

DOWN MEMORY LANE -

100

MARKET SCANNER - 104

CONTEST - 106

48
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

FIRST IPL FETCHED RS 91
CRORE AS INCOME TAX
The IPL is not just a money spinner for
sponsors, players and franchises but also
for Government which earned a whoop-
ing Rs 91 crore as income tax from first
edition of the Twenty20 cricket tourna-
ment.
The revenue was received by the Central
Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) after it cat-
egorised the tournament under the ‘pro-
fessional services’ last year.
The taxes had been accrued as Tax
Deducted at Source (TDS) from the remu-
neration paid to players, umpires, coach-
es, commentators amongst others by the
organisers of the sporting extravaganza.
“The first edition of the IPL has fetched
Rs 91 crore under the TDS category. The
CBDT has brought a notification cate-
gorising sporting services as professional
services last year,” CBDT Member
(Revenue) Saroj Bala told reporters.
On August 21 last year, the Board had
notified the services under section 194 J
of the Income Tax Act, 1961 as rendered
by sport persons, umpires and referees,
coaches and trainers, team physicians and
physiotherapists, event managers, com-
mentators, anchors and sport columnists
as “professional services”.
08
DELHI, JAIPUR DROPPED AS IPL VENUES
The Daredevils and the Royals will not get to play any of their games in the
second season of the Indian Premier League on their home grounds as New
Delhi and Jaipur along with Vishakhapatnam have been dropped as venues in
the latest revised schedule of the mega event.
The revised schedule, which was submitted to the Home Ministry on 18th
March, has left out these three venues as the respective State Governments
could not guarantee security because of the general elections, IPL sources
said.
“We do not expect any problems now. The Home Ministry will consult the state
governments and then get back to us,” a top IPL official said.
Dharamshala, Ahmedabad and Nagpur are the three new venues in the latest
schedule, it is learnt. Mumbai will host the maximum number of matches - 14
at 2 centres, followed by seven matches each in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore
and Ahmedabad. The IPL will begin on April 10 and end on May 24 as per the
original plan.
The IPL has also received a boost with Kolkata clarifying that it would not have
any problem with revised schedule since the matches would not clash with
election preparations.
According to sources, Raipur in Chhattisgarh may also host a few games as per
the new schedule. An IPL delegation has already visited Raipur and inspected
the facilities there.
The rejection of two of the earlier IPL schedules and the Home Ministry’s
reluctance to provide paramilitary forces for the event had put a serious ques-
tion mark on the fate of the high-profile event, slated to begin from April 10.

MODI ACCUSED OF Rajasthan Home Minsiter Shanti Dhariwal

TAKING IPL OUT OF
JAIPUR
IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s troubles
seem unending. Now the Rajasthan gov-
ernment protests against his decision to
pull out matches from Jaipur.
The state government has hit out at
Modi for “taking the IPL out of
Rajasthan”, after it had expressed con-
cerns over providing security on a few
dates. The government now says it had
a problem with just a few match days
and not the entire tournament.
has called lalit Modi “a cheat” and has
said Modi was responsible for pulling IPL
out of Jaipur. He blamed Modi for acting
against the state because he recently
lost the election in the Rajasthan Cricket
Association.
“He never negotiated with us, never dis-
cussed with us. In election one party
wins and the other loses like in matches
but that doesn’t mean you leave the
state and walk away with matches. The
people of Rajasthan will never forgive
him for this,” he fumed.
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

DHARAMSHALA TO BE READY FOR
IPL BY APRIL 15
High on spirits after getting the nod to host this season’s
Indian Premier League matches, the Himachal Pradesh
Cricket Association (HPCA) said the stadium in Dharamshala
would be ready for the Twenty20 tournament by April 15.
HPCA President Anurag Thakur, who played a key role in
bringing the IPL to the hill state, said the the upgradation
of the stadium will be done as per international guidelines
10
and the installation of floodlights would be completed with -
in next 15 days.
The HPCA President said the stadium in Dharamshala
boasts of all the necessary world-class facilities required to
host international matches.
“The stadium has been constructed with initial cost of Rs
35 crore and it has seating capacity of 18,500 visitors. It
has separate boxes for corporates and media. It’s also got
sauna and gymnasium club house for the players,” Thakur
said.

ELECTIONS TAKE PRIORITY KALMADI CALLS FOR

OVER IPL:
CHIDAMBARAM
In the battle between the Indian Premier
League and Elections 2009, Home Mnister
P Chidambaram has made clear that elec-
tions are a clear priority over the cricket
series.
Speaking with Karan Thapar on Devil’s
Advocate, Chidambaram said he would
leave the decision of rescheduling the
league to the organisers and that the
states cannot compromise on forces
promised for elections.
“It is the responsibility of the state govern-
ments to provide security to the IPL
matches. I have made it very clear that I
cannot exempt any state government
from committing the number security
forces for elections that they have prom-
ised and that I can’t spare any paramilitary
forces,” he said, adding, “Elections are
unquestionably more important than the
IPL”.
When Karan Thapar asked if the Home
Minister wanted the organisors to resched-
ule/pull out on their own, Chidambaram
said, “They are patriotic people. I think they
will take a call.”
POSTPONEMENT OF
IPL
The Indian Olympic Association
wants the Indian Premier League to
be deferred till the general elections
are over as any untoward incident
during the Twenty20 event could
raise serious security concerns for
the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth
Games.
The second edition of the IPL, start-
ing April 10, has come under a cloud
of uncertainty in the aftermath of
last year’s Mumbai terror strikes and
the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in
Lahore on March 3.
To compound problems, the IPL
coincides with the general elections
and the Home Ministry has already
made it clear that it cannot provide
paramilitary forces for the event think the government can’t give,”
during the elections. IOA President Suresh Kalmadi said.
“IPL should be postponed till after “So, if there is a severe incident dur-
the elections are over because a lot ing the IPL matches, I think it will
of state governments have also said have repercussions on the
it is not the right time and they Commonwealth Games itself,” he
need paramilitary forces which I added.
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

12
BULLET-PROOF VEHICLES TO MODI DOWNPLAYS SLC SECURITY
SECURE IPL PLAYERS CONCERNS
It is not just the Indian authorities who are in a tizzy Indian cricket officials downplayed security concerns surround-
over the security of players and officials during the ing their Twenty20 league next month after the Sri Lankan
forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 2. board said it would review the situation before allowing its play-
Foreign cricket boards, too, are trying to do their bit to ers to participate.
enhance security for players and officials. The African Security fears around the tournament, which attracts a large
security agency hired to provide security cover to the number of international players has intensified following an
IPL has gone ahead and placed a big order for bullet- attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore, Pakistan, this month
proof SUVs and buses for the team to Jalandhar based that left six players and a coach wounded.
Laggar Steel Industries. All the top Sri Lankan cricketers, including newly-appointed cap-
“We have received a number of queries. The South tain Kumar Sangakkara and vice-captain Muttiah Muralitharan,
African authorities have placed an order for bulletproof- are contracted to one of the eight Indian franchises.
ing SUVs and buses,” said Sanchit Sobti, Director, Laggar “I don’t think security is an issue at all,” league chairman Lalit
Steel Industries. Modi told reporters.
Laggar Steel Industries has been in the business of bul- The second edition, planned from April 10 to May 24, has
letproofing vehicles for the high, mighty and those at already hit a roadblock after the Indian government asked the
risk. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for revised match
However, it is only now that the orders for such vehicles dates to avoid a clash of dates with the general election.
is being placed for the safety of cricket teams obviously The Ministry of Home Affairs told organisers to reschedule
following the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore. match dates for a second time because regional governments
The vehicles prepared by Laggar can also resist explosive said they would find it tough to spare security forces that
detonations. The South African security agency, realising would be busy with the month-long poll starting on April 16.
that Laggar might not be able supply in the short span
of time, has asked the company also to rent out bullet-
proof vehicles. COLLINGWOOD,
“We have been asked to provide vehicles, but if we can-
not do so immediately we might rent them out from SHAH WARY OF
existing clients who have been provided such vehicles,” IPL IN
said Sanchit Sobti. AHMEDABAD
Each bus will seat 40 people and each SUV will seat Wary of playing Indian
seven. Premier League matches in
No one wants to take chances and while cricketing offi- Ahmedabad, Paul Collingwood
cials are doing all they can to prevent a repeat of the Sri and Owais Shah have sought
Lankan team’s brush with terrorism, bulletproofing com- feedback from Delhi
panies are perhaps laughing their way to the banks. Daredevils, their IPL team,
and the England and Wales
Cricket Board (ECB) on
whether the city is safe
enough for the Twenty20
matches.
Ahmedabad was proposed as
a venue in the revised IPL
schedule which is awaiting the
Home Ministry’s nod and “Lines of communication are
Collingwood and Shah are in open and we have been seek-
two minds about playing in ing to make a contribution on
the city England shunned last all aspects of security,” Sean
year following the Mumbai Morris, chief executive of the
attacks. Professional Cricketers
After November’s terror Association, was quoted as
strikes in Mumbai, ECB saying.
deemed Ahmedabad unsafe “It is true England had no
for the India-England Test wish to play in Ahmedabad
which was eventually shifted after the Mumbai bombings
to Chennai. but security issues are forev-
According to The Guardian, er developing and it is our
Collingwood and Shah are task to keep abreast of all
naturally in two minds about new information and consider
playing in the Gujarat city. our assessment of it,” he said.
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

14
MAJOR BRANDS JOIN HANDS WITH STRESS FRACTURE
DAREDEVILS RULES SREESANTH OUT
Delhi Daredevils seemed to have found a way out of the economic melt- OF IPL
down as the Indian Premier League outfit recently announced its association Fast bowler S Sreesanth will miss the
with a host of new corporate partners. Indian Premier League’s (IPL) season
The GMR group owned team welcomed new partners which include Coke two in April-May due to a stress
and Royal Challenge (associate sponsors), Wrigley’s India (gum partner), fracture in his lower back, his IPL
Virgin Mobile (mobile partner), Fever 104 (radio partner), Big Adda (online team Kings XI Punjab announced
partner), GupShup.com (mobile fan activation partner), the Times of India recently.
and The Hindustan Times (official media partners). Sreesanth is currently in Sydney
The team already has existing partners like Hero Honda, Adidas, Royal receiving treatment from the Kings
Challenge and Kingfisher. XI Punjab physio Patrick Farhart as
“We are delighted to announce our association with some of the biggest part of his rehabilitation.
players in the corporate world,” Amrit Mathur, COO of the Delhi Daredevils, The bowler will instead be associated
said. with his team as ‘fan mentor and
“All our partners are leading brands in India and the world and their associa- community face’.
tion with Delhi Daredevils goes beyond being just co-sponsors. “I intend to be with the team all
along the IPL season. I will be their
motivator and will cheer them
through to the IPL Season 2 finals so
that I can play the champions league
with Kings XI Punjab. The new role
that I will play in the interim for
Kings XI Punjab as a fan mentor and
community face is going to be very
exciting,” the bowler said in a state-
ment.
“It is unfortunate that Sreesanth will
not be participating in the season 2
due to his back injury. He is a per-
former and was a great asset to the
team last season and his absence on
the field will surely be felt, Kings XI
Punjab coach Tom Moody said.

AZHAR MAY CONTEST FROM

MEERUT OR MORADABAD
Uttar Pradesh Congress committee (UPCC)
President Rita Bahuguna Joshi has said that former
cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin could con-
test the Lok Sabha election from Meerut or
Moradabad.
“Azhar has desired to contest from the state. We
believe fielding him from Meerut or Moradabad will
make a good impact,” Bahuguna said.
She also said that the cricketer has pledged to cam-
paign for the party in the state, even if he does not
contest the polls.
Azhar will attend a rally of the party in Meerut on
March 23.
Other celebrities like comedian Raju Srivastava and
Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan are also likely to be
the party nominees from UP’s Jaunpur and
Phoolpur constituencies.

m
anmohan Singh and
Jagmohan Dalmiya
should be thanked pro-
fusely by most Indian
cricket fans for their
contribution to the game. Whether or
not either had a vision to see the game
at the pedestal it currently resides on,
is for another forum, but one thing is
for certain; without either, it would
have been a rather steep climb
upwards for Indian cricket to get to the
stage it has today.
Dalmiya – along with his then-friend I.S.
Bindra – had brought home the World
Cup of 1987, and it established enough
self-confidence in the minds of those
involved about India’s role in the
world of cricket at large. Yet,
what would fuelled the inter-
est of most Indian fans
would have been the explo-
sion of ‘cable’ television into
the homes of the citizens
after the liberalisation of
the economy in 1991,
brought about by our
Finance Minister, Manmohan
Singh. If the 1983 World Cup
triumph had brought the
Indians on its feet, the hosting
of the 1987 Reliance Cup
proved to be a trigger and
the intrusion of cable
Cricket
Today
April 2009
16
The rise and rise
and slight fall of
Lalit Modi
TV, the final catalyst that ensured that
cricket had found its new home: India.
by Suneer Chowdhary
Lalit Modi has only done what was the shrewd, brash, go-getter, street-smart,
next most logical step in this race perceptive and the likes, and one
would be. He wanted to top the should be closer to the truth.
cricket world of the field.
Yet, it has been beyond OPENING OVERS:
the realms of what Celebrities pay the price of being in the
can be termed as the limelight by losing their privacy. There
reality for most can hardly be an iota of doubt that
entrepreneurs, let Modi is a celebrity; you like him or you
alone a common loathe him, he will continue garnering
man on the street. the eyeballs with his daredevil audacity.
Putting adjectives for And, the price? Oh well, for starters,
the man and his con- his past has been dug up by all and
tributions would be sundry and is in front of the whole
easy enough’ one
would have only to look
for synonyms for
Cricket
Today
April 2009
17
world. As a twenty-two year-old stu-
dent in a university in the US, he had
been charged with the possession of
some cocaine, to add to the assault
and kidnapping indictments; resulting in
him being sentenced to a couple of
years of imprisonment.
Yet, back from America without serving
any time in jail, he joined Godfrey
Phillips Ltd. as a management trainee.
He was the made the President of the
International Tobacco Company Ltd for
a period of four years, before return-
ing back to Godfrey Phillips in 1992. Still
on the board of Godfrey Phillips, Modi is
also the MD of Modi enterprises.
One doesn’t quite know whether it was
here that he learnt the tricks of the
trade, but such was his rise after that,
that the man who would have studied a
whole load of case studies in his B-
school, that the whole business model
of IPL has become a case study in
itself; discussed and dissected by many!
Modi had been a part of Modi
Entertainment Network that bought
cricket rights from the BCCI, produced
live cricket and sold it to the channels
which cared to buy. Yet, he realised
that working on the other side of the Sponsorship deal of more than Rs.600
fence of the BCCI was getting him crores for four years. This was followed
nowhere with the bureaucratic setup by the media rights deal with Nimbus
that it was so famous for. It was then Sports for all the matches played in
that he decided to join the BCCI itself; India for more than Rs.2000 crores!
self-christening himself as the market- Couple of more such deals happened,
ing man of the cricket board. And what before the biggest one of them all
a marketer he turned out to be! shook the very foundations of
What worked to his advantage was his the hallowed sport.
background, that helped him under- His long-forgotten idea of
stand how companies operated, getting cities to play against
how the balance sheets were each other had been dilly-dal-
read and deciphered, the spon- lying at the upper echelons of
sors’ behaviour, the market the BCCI, but hadn’t yet seen the
value of the product, the light of the day. With the
ways that TV channels Indian Cricket League
gained their top and bot- Modi’s strategy coming into the picture,
tom-line, the promotional was rather simple. it needed no second invi-
strategies and everything He understood that tation and the Indian
related to what he was the game was a Premier League was
probably going to religion in the born. The rest, as they
encounter at the BCCI. country and the say, is history!
devotees would I will not even hazard
THE spend enough time going into the what-and-
POWERPLAYS: and in turn the the-why of the IPL;
However, it was not before money for it, if it except that it changed
he entered the cricket were to be the perception of how
‘field’ that the whole world wrapped and the game had been
turned around for this packaged played, viewed and
businessman. Or turned to well. earned out of in a long
bend for him, so to say! For time. Earlier a top-notch
starters, he achieved the impossible by cricketer could earn a crore
overturning the Rungta-rule from only after having a fruitful and
Rajasthan Cricket. The Rungta clan had a long career; today, a crore is what
been termed as ‘personal fiefdom of most of the top-rung cricketers can
one family’ in a ruling by the High Court earn in less than a couple of months!
and Modi had managed to get better And this has been all thanks to the IPL.
of him after their years of domination. If IPL had some cities within India play
In turn, Dalmiya was soon ousted from against each other, another idea soon
his post as the President of the BCCI, came around from the Modi-stable;
and Modi became the youngest ever that of having a soccer-like Champions
Vice-President of the BCCI. This was League, where the top clubs from
just the beginning though. around the world would fight for the
Very soon, he was anointed as the mar- prestigious – and the money-spinning –
keting and promotion man for BCCI, trophy. A seven day tournament to
and that was the beginning of the begin with, this is expected to go up to
process of bringing Indian cricket to the as many as a couple of weeks and yet,
world map. a ten year deal with ESPN Star Sports
Modi’s strategy was rather simple. has enabled the BCCI pocket a cool
Almost in Kerry Packer-style, he under- $975 million! This converts to at least a
stood that the game was a religion in couple of zeroes more than what I
the country and the devotees would learnt to count in my pre-primary!
spend enough time and in turn the
money for it, if it were to be wrapped MAN-OF-THE-MATCH
and packaged well. He also understood AND THE SERIES?
the power of a rampaging economy The awards have not stopped coming.
coupled with the increasing spending If Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for
power of an average Indian. Therein lay the most number of Man-of-the-Match
the key to the opening a huge treasure. awards in the ODIs, then Modi would
So, he began with a couple of deals surely hold it for the most awards as a
with Sahara and Nike for the team cricket marketer!
sponsorship and the Apparel A Business Standard award for making
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

18
have been sharpening their knives to lay
it on the man when the opportunity
arose.
In Rajasthan’s assembly elections’
results, came that chance, when the
incumbent Chief Minister of the state
lost out. Unfortunately for Modi, he had
been very close to the CM – and in turn
would have probably enjoyed the
desired benefits as the President of the
Rajasthan Cricket Association – and her
loss was the first nail in Modi’s coffin as
the President. With no real backer, Modi
was challenged to another election – in
his own words, threatened is what was
the right word would be – and by the
time, the dust settled and the results
were out, Modi had had to bite the
dust. He had been beaten in an acrimo-
nious election by the little-known Sanjay
BCCI the most innovative company was
followed by the Brand Builder of 2008
by Asia Brand Conference and ‘The
Consumer Award for Transforming
Cricket in India’ by CNBC Awaaz. NDTV
Profit gave him the sobriquet of ‘The
Most Innovative Business Leader in
India’, while there were many more like
the ‘Excellence in Innovation’, ‘Teacher’s
Achivement of the Year award’, ’Sports
Business- Rushmans Award For
Sports Event Innovation’ and the
‘CNBC Buisness Leader’ award.
It would have helped that he
owns a couple of houses in
Mumbai which would
assist him in allocating
space for all the awards! Lalit Modi has been
India Today has listed accused of misap-
him as one of India’s 20 propriation of funds. winning glory at every step Dixit; more a suggestion of how infa-
most powerful people. Apparently, he had and sneeze. Add that to the mous he had grown to become than for
Sports Magazine Sports collected donations fact that Modi has been the lack of disposing his duties as the
Pro ranked him number to the tune of crores known to be a rather brash RCA head. Even before that, he has
17 in the Power List of of rupees for the individual, with a penchant been accused of misappropriation of
global figures connect- Jaipur bomb-blast for being ruthless and in- funds, a charge that Mr. Dalmiya is only
ed with sports. I am victims but the your-face; a trait that would- well versed with! Apparently, he had col-
sure that if I continue money hadn’t n’t go down too well with lected donations to the tune of crores
this monologue, it seemed to reach friends and foes alike. of rupees for the Jaipur bomb-blast vic-
would take another those for whom it Despite his success at con- tims but the money hadn’t seemed to
couple of pages to give actually was verting Indian cricket to a reach those for whom it actually was
out the full list of the meant. Brand Indian cricket, and meant.
recognitions that he sending the coffers on a Fortunately for Modi, along with being
has got from the all and sundry alike. ringing overdrive, there have the President of the RCA, he is also the
been many within the BCCI cir- Vice-President of the Punjab Cricket
QUICK WICKETS OR cles that haven’t quite enjoyed being Association (PCA), under his mentor and
START OF A COLLAPSE? snubbed by the man. guru, I.S. Bindra. Why it is lucky is
Higher up the corporate ladder one Modi himself terms this as an open and because by being a part of the PCA, he
goes, it is with a rather alarming and shut case of jealousy. Yet, the fact of can still remain the Vice President of
rapid rate one finds the crab-mentality the matter that remains is that to climb the BCCI, within the laws! And yes, the
amongst those few around. Especially if that ladder of success as quickly as good news is that he can continue to
there is a singular individual hogging the Modi has, he would have had made his be the chief commissioner of his baby,
limelight, taking all the accolades and share of enemies; those who would the Indian Premier League. 
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

20

t
eam Owner: Emerging Media,
Shilpa Shetty
Emerging Media is a media
group focused on sports
development in the Indian sub-
continent. The company began as
Investors in Cricket (IIC), founded in
2005, to create and commercialize
sports that have relevance in the Indian
sub-continent. Through this subsidiary,
Emerging Media launched India’s first
cricket talent hunt and reality show
(Cricket Star), after developing a part-
nership with Leicestershire county
cricket club, and staging the first inter-
national club T20 championship.
Emerging Media has been a significant
and long-standing investor in Indian
cricket, and now it owns a franchise in
the IPL, which will only enhance its rep-
utation.
Shilpa Shetty, the famous Bollywood
actress, bought an twelve percent

Rajasthan
Royals
stake in the 2008 champions in part-
nership with her beau, industrialist and
producer Raj Kundra. They paid an esti-
mated 16 million USD for the same.
Shilpa faded for a while after an initial
foray into the Hindi film industry, but
gained cult status after she won the UK
reality show, Celebrity Big Brother. Her
career and personal life have only rock-
eted skywards after that and she
intends to spice up the media campaign
for her team, with an eye on present-
ing stiff competition to other
Bollywood owners in the IPL.
2008 RECORD:
CHAMPIONS
Prior to the start of the inaugural IPL
season, many considered the Royals as
possibly the weakest team in the IPL,
giving them little chance of competing
by Chetan Narula
well in the tournament. Evidence of the
latter opinion seemed to be confirmed
when the team lost its first match
against the Delhi Daredevils in a 9 wick-
et loss. However the Royals won their
next game by defeating the Kings XI
Punjab and continued to win the next
five games in a row. The Royals built up
an impressive 11-3 record after their
fourteen premilinary round matches;
this included a consecutive 5-game and
6-game winning streak with an unde-
feated record on their home ground
and a spot at the top of the points
table. They were also the first team to
book a place in the semifinals with their
65 run win over the Royal Challengers
Bangalore. Shane Warne’s captaincy and
simultaneous coaching was praised and
well received by everyone, including
opposition teams. In addition, many
players of the Royals team have consis-
tently played well. The Royals secured a
place in the finals with a victory against
the Delhi Daredevils.
The Rajasthan Royals became the win-
ners of the first IPL tournament, when
they defeated the Chennai Super Kings
by 3 wickets in the final played on 1
June 2008. With the scores level with
one ball remaining, Sohail Tanvir scored
the winning run and therefore prevent-
ed the match from being decided on a
bowl out.
COACH: SHANE
WARNE
A living legend, the greatest spinner
ever Shane Warne is a captain and
coach of this IPL franchise. The second
highest wicket taker in test cricket
brings in vast experience and is a mas-
ter strategist as seen in the first sea-
son of the tournament, when he was
single handedly credited with the
team’s success by players and onlook-
ers alike. Given that he is committed to
the core of players, one can see the
Australian flair in his play and the work
Cricket
Today
April 2009
21
would be bidding for Kevin Pieterson
since the two were close friends. And it sure that this stint with Warne is going
seemed just, for last year, the franchise
didn’t really bid for anyone too
pricey. But they couldn’t really
afford him; what with their
Pakistani players missing
out, they had a change
of plans and went in
for players who would
complete their squad
in the title defense With Shane
bid. Plus they could Watson out
have never really
outbid Vijay Mallya
injured, Yusuf
who was even pre- Pathan is the
pared to shell out prime weapon prowess. They might not start
USD 2 million for the
player. in the arsenal as
That shows why of Shane
Shane Warne is a
cricketing legend and
Warne in the
Mallya is just a busi- defense of
nessman tempted their title.
successfully by Lalit
Modi’s marketing
skills. Warne saw the need for a fast
bowler and he bought Shaun Tait, a
young Aussie who has just returned
ethics he brings to the table with him.
He knows the game in and out, and can
be a great inspiration for the whole
team. He has never really lead Australia
and the first season was his first coach-
ing stint, but the dual role of captaincy
and coaching allowed him to have full
powers and look how that paid out in
the end!
SQUAD:
Shane Warne (captain), Graeme Smith,
Mohammad Kaif, Niraj Patel, Swapnil
Asnodkar, Taruwar Kohli, Raiphi
Vincent Gomez, Robert Quiney,
Mahesh Rawat (wicket-keeper),
Naman Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja,
Yusuf Pathan, Tyron Henderson,
Shane Watson, Dimitri
Mascarenhas, Lee Carseldine,
Shane Harwood, Morne Morkel,
Shaun Tait, Munaf Patel,
Siddharth Trivedi.
STRENGTHS &
WEAKNESSES:
There was this specula-
tion that coach and
captain of Rajasthan
Royals Shane Warne
from a sabbatical from the game. One is
to be a turning point in his career
and in the absence of Sohail Tanvir,
he will invariably get to shoulder the
attack.
They also got Tyron Henderson. Yes
Tyron who? Well, if Mike Hussey is
Mr.Cricket, this guy is Mr.Twenty20. He
has played in South African &
English T20 leagues, and now
all set to play in India. All this
while he averages 21 with more
than sixty wickets in around
seventy T20 games! All hail
Warney for his astute thinking
favourites again this year,
but they surely have the fire-
power, and a hell of a captain,
to do the impossible all over
again.
PLAYER TO WATCH
OUT FOR:
YUSUF PATHAN
It has been a meteoric
rise for the elder Pathan
in these last twelve
months. The first season
of the IPL was really his
arrival on the big stage
and ever since his exploits
twelve months ago, his
foray into the Indian
team hasn’t been quite
smooth. At first, he did-
n’t really get many
chances. When he start-
ed getting those
chances, he didn’t really
use them to good effect
and even had to sit out a
series in Sri Lanka. But with the domes-
tic season, he got his thinking right, if
he does that on a cricket ground that
is, and went back to what he did best –
hitting the ball out of the park, not
thinking about what everyone is think-
ing about his batting.
And the results were all there for every
one to see as he bludgeoned his way
back, first against England at home and
then away in Sri Lanka. He is now an
important part of Indian plans at the
T20 world cup later this year, but more
than that, with Shane Watson out
injured, he is the prime weapon in the
arsenal of Shane Warne in the defense
of their title. It will only be an ideal
preparation for the T20 world cup,
which only bodes well for India! 
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

22

t
Team Owner: India Cements suffered but their bowling attack took also filled by the arrival of Makhaya
One of the leading cement a hit too. They were bound to suffer Ntini and Morkel, both of whom had
manufacturing companies, when such top class players left and been playing the Pro20 domestic tour-
India Cements Ltd. was estab- the team’s performance reflected this, nament in South Africa during the start
lished in 1946 and the first as they proceeded to lose their next of the tournament and the surprise
plant was set up at Sankarnagar in three matches. emergence of Manpreet Gony.
Tamil Nadu in 1949. The company has This was the apt time for Dhoni to Bolstered by these re-enforcements,
since witnessed rapid growth in its show why he was the highest paid the Chennai Super Kings went on a
stature, to seven plants spread over cricketer in the IPL and he displayed his spree all but making sure that they will
Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. They mettle using his resources very careful- progress to the knock outs on their
are the largest producers of cement in ly, and cleverly. Suddenly the batting, own terms. A win in the final league
South India and has nearly 28% market although inconsistent, eventually start- match against the Deccan Chargers
share in that part of the country. Being ed adjusting to the losses of Hayden ensured their progress into the semi-
the major corporate entity in the and Hussey with contributions from finals.
south with a turnover of around Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel and The team defeated the Kings XI Punjab
Rs.1200 crore, the company’s activities Albie Morkel. The gap in the team’s in the semifinal by nine wickets. But in
now span cement, sugar, trading and bowling left by Oram’s departure was a see-saw finale, they lost to Rajasthan
finance.
Industrialist N Srinivasan is the vice-
chairman and managing director of
India Cements. He is a post graduate in
chemical engineering from IIT, USA and
is a member of the Executive
Committee and Steering Committee of
Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry. He also has a
keen interest in sports and his passion
extends to golf and chess as well as
cricket. He is the president of the Tamil
Nadu Cricket Association as well as the
Chairman of the Finance Committee of
the BCCI.

2008 RECORD:
RUNNERS-UP
The Chennai Super Kings led by the
Indian ODI captain MS Dhoni were one
of the firm favourites when the tour-
nament began. And expectedly they
made a solid start to their 2008 IPL
Season, winning their first four match -
es and climbing to the top of the table
without much fuss. But like all teams
they were hit by players leaving for
international commitment and more so
because they lost much of their fire -
power when Mathew Hayden, Michael
Hussey and Jacob Oram left. This by Chetan Narula
meant that not only their top order
Royals by three wickets off only the

Chennai
last ball of the match.

COACH: KEPLER
WESSELS
Kepler Wessels is a cricket and boxing
aficionado who, before opening for
Australia for four years, played in his

Super Kings
native South Africa, in England and in
World Series Cricket. He subsequently
played for an Australian rebel team in
South Africa and then became the
Proteas’ first test captain of the mod-
Cricket
Today
April 2009
23
ern era. He made 162 on debut for
Australia and averaged 56 in a series
against the West Indies, no mean feat
at that time. He went into coaching
after retiring and while he was initially
successful at Northants, he found it
hard to drive a side operating on a shoe
string budget and left by mutual con -
sent midway through his contract.
SQUAD:
MS Dhoni (ICON & captain & wicket-
keeper), Andrew Flintoff, Mathew
Hayden, Michael Hussey, George Bailey,
Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Murali Vijay,
Abhinav Mukund, Anirudha Srikkanth,
Arun Karthik, Muttiah Muralitharan,
Makhaya Ntini, Jacob Oram, Albie
Morkel, Thilan Thushara, Shadab Jakati,
Napolean Einstein, Viraj Kadbe, Suresh
Kumar, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, R
Ashwin, Joginder Sharma, Manpreet
Gony, Sudeep Tyagi, L Balaji, Palani
Amarnath.
STRENGTHS &
WEAKNESSES:
Their strength mainly lies in the fact
that none other than the Indian captain
will be leading them. And if anyone has
been watching him lead, it is no doubt
that he is one of the best captains in
the business today. The batting
won’t be dependent on him alone
and he can juggle his bowling
resources carefully. They even
have extra keepers in the
squad to allow him to rest and The fire in Flintoff’s
not take undue pressure, for
they realize the importance
of a fit MS Dhoni.
Beyond that, young – and
cheap – Aussies are the fla-
vor of the season as Chennai
have gone ahead and pur-
chased yet another one who
is adept with both the bat
and the ball in this shortest
format of the game. George
Bailey will be a player to
watch but that remains to be
seen if he gets a chance
to shine for both
Stephen Fleming and
Mathew Hayden will
be available for the whole
length of the tourna-
ment.
Thilan Thushara has-
n’t had a great home
series against India
but one bad outing
doesn’t make him a
half bad player. He
can bowl and uses
the long handle to
good effect and so an
asset for the team. The
management were actual-
ly looking for a player in
this mould. But in reality he
is just a back up. For there is
no one better than Andrew
Flintoff who can get a
team’s spirits soaring with
his antics, be it the willow or
the cherry. Getting the
most expensive player on
their books for a second
year in a row will only pay
rich dividends in the
end.
PLAYER TO
WATCH OUT
FOR:
ANDREW
FLINTOFF
The USD 1.55
million price
tag looks
really good but that is going
to cause real problems in
the sense that expectations
will be very high from the
word go! Especially when his
team mate Kevin Pietersen is
also valued the same
and if he perform bet-
belly, when stoked ter, then the media
whether batting or ganedt othnehfisanbsacaklikreeawl ill
bowling, is sure to quick. But this is
destroy all that is in Andrew Flintoff we are
front of him. It talking about and he
doesn’t matter to thrives on a situation
like this.
him whether it is Forever labeled as the
the best bat in the underdog who would
world, or the best one day replace the
bowler for great Ian Botham, he
that matter. rose to fulfill his prom -
ise in the 2005 Ashes
series when he was
one of the pillars on
which the long overdue
English triumph was built.
Since then there has been no
looking back as he even led the
England team, although that
ended in a miserable failure. And
after that he was plagued by
recurring injuries.
But that hasn’t deterred his will
power and he eventually made a
return to the national fold, the
highlight of his comeback being
the scorching spell he bowled to
Jacques Kallis in the test series
against South Africa in 2008.
And it is this spirit which
makes him what he is
today. The fire in his
belly, when stoked
whether batting or
bowling, is sure to
destroy all that is in
front of him. It does-
n’t matter to him
whether it is the
best bat in the
world, or the best
bowler for that
matter, rest
assured he will
come out on
top. Not with -
out reason, he
is one of the
best all-
rounders this
game has
ever seen. 
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

24

t
eam Owner: Preity Zinta, Ness
Wadia, Karan Paul, Mohit
Burman
Kings XI Punjab is owned and
promoted by a consortium
which includes leading actress Preity
century and five half-centuries.They
too were involved in the Bhajji-
Sreesanth saga, but since the opposi-
tion player was the culprit, Sreesanth
escaped the ban and managed to play
the whole of the IPL, though still carry-
aged to win nine of its next ten match-
es and thus clinching a berth in the
semi-finals. In the semis though, their
run in the tournament came to an end
after a comprehensive nine wicket loss
to the Chennai Super Kings.

Kings XI Punjab
by Chetan Narula
Zinta and well known industrialists Ness
Wadia and others. They are the self
proclaimed people’s team in the IPL and
aim to be the most significant, progres-
sive and valuable franchise in the years
to come.
Preity Zinta is a well renowned film
actress and as a co-owner, she is
responsible for actively promoting the
franchise and its team. A leader, vision-
ary and perfectionist, Ness Wadia is the
joint managing director of the Bombay
Dyeing Pvt. Ltd., the flagship company
of the Wadia Group. Mohit Burman,
Director, Dabur India is the driving force
behind the Dabur Group’s foray into
several high growth and sunrise sectors
of financial services like life insurance,
annuities and asset management,
besides agriculture and retailing. Karan
Paul is the chairman of the Apeejay
Surrendra Group, which is worth
Rs.4500 crores, and looks after the
financial planning of the franchise.

2008 RECORD: SEMI-

FINALIST
They got off to a slow start in the
tournament, losing their first two
games, but recovered and learnt quick-
ly from their mistakes to string togeth-
er a winning combination. They lost
some sheen in Australians Brett Lee
and Simon Katich who were committed
to tour the West Indies with Australia,
but the coach Tom Moody had planned
well with good re-enforcements com-
ing in, especially Shaun Marsh who was
without doubt the find of the tourna- ing on with his antics. Powered by their COACH: TOM MOODY
ment. He finished the tournament as balanced bowling lineup and effective A player of international stature, Tom
the highest run scorer with an average top order, coupled with some fine lead- Moody was instrumental in Australia’s
of 68.44 and a strike rate of 139.68 in ership from both Yuvraj Singh and triumph in the 1999 World Cup. Moody
eleven innings. His innings included one Mahela Jayawardene, the team man- was a medium pace swing bowler, a
Cricket
Today
April 2009
25
hard hitting batsman, a safe slip fielder
and a natural leader during his playing
days. He and Steve Waugh together
became the first two Australians to win
the world cup twice. Moody’s greatest
service has been to Worcestershire and
Western Australia, leading both to all
kinds of success. He called time on his
international career in 2000-01. Moody
came close to becoming India’s coach in
May 2005 only to be piped to the post
by Greg Chappell. That same year he
was appointed Sri Lanka’s coach. He
then led the Lankan team to the World
Cup final in April 2007.
SQUAD:
Yuvraj Singh (ICON & captain), Shaun
Marsh, Mahela Jayawardene, Simon
Katich, Luke Pomersbach, Sunny Sohal,
Karan Goel, Tanmay Srivastava, Sahil
Kukreja, Yash Gandhi, Ravi Bopara, bowler good enough to hold his
James Hopes, Wilkin Mota, Ramesh place in the team with Brett Lee
Powar, Irfan Pathan, Ryan Ninan, still out injured, physically and
Piyush Chawla, Kumar mentally; while Sreesanth is
Sangakara (wicket-keeper), nowhere near his best. Irfan
Uday Kaul, Brett Lee, Pathan was their all round solution
Jerome Taylor, Burt to back up the middle
Cockley, VRV Singh, S. In a team filled order and he hasn’t been
Sreesanth, Ajitesh Argal. with hitters and too convincing of late. So,
in that light, their purchas-
STRENGTHS & all rounders in the es have been up to the
WEAKNESSES: IPL, Sangakkara mark. Ravi Bopara has
This is the second fran- holds his own grown leaps and bounds
chise which has a ever since he first made his
Bollywood connect as
because of his presence known to the
well as a business one dual ability to bat international cricketing
and they did well last high up the order world and at the time of
year, reaching the semi- and keep wickets writing was scoring his test
finals. Their problems are debut ton. He can even
actually quite different with equal turn his arm over, finish
from the ones faced by zeal. matches, use the long han-
other franchises. While dle and even open the
their opponents are reeling from the innings, so his flexibility will
effects of Pakistan players not playing mean that for the three
or the mix of the side not good weeks he will be here, Pathan can
enough, Kings XI has a well balanced expect to sit out. The other purchase,
team atleast on paper. Their players Jerome Taylor will be an asset to the
were all in good shape last season but depleted fast bowling stable. Even
twelve months is a long time in sport though he isn’t the most fearsome of
and things inadvertently do change. the current Windies fast bowlers, he
And so, they now don’t have a fast managed to run through a strong-on-
paper English batting. So, four overs
day in and day out won’t hurt much.
PLAYER TO WATCH OUT
FOR: KUMAR
SANGAKKARA
A steady batsman and wicket-keeper,
Kumar Sangakkara has continued to
grow steadily on the international
stage. He is the most consistent bats-
man of his national team, probably only
after Aravinda de Silva and achieving
such consistency at such a young age
means that he will be around for quite
some more time, scoring runs galore
and leading his team from the front.
In a team filled with hitters and all
rounders in the IPL, he holds his own
because of his dual ability to bat high
up the order and keep wickets with
equal zeal.
This lends a fine balance to the side, be
it the Sri Lankan team or the Kings XI
Punjab. Furthermore, he can even open
the innings if need be, to up the tempo,
or stabilize the innings later down the
order. He has a penchant for big knocks
and with a two month window free of
international cricket, in all probability he
will be the one on top of the batting
charts for his franchise this year. 
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

26

t
eam Owner: GMR Group
GMR Group is a global infra-
structure major with interests
in airports, energy, highways,
urban infrastructure, manu-
facturing sector and agri-business
including sugar and ferro-alloys. The
Group is also invested heavily in various
ventures in education, health, hygiene
and sanitation, empowerment and
community based programmes.
They are led by G.M.Rao, a mechanical
engineer by profession and their
founder. Hailing from a small town of
Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh,
he established his business empire in
1978, starting with a jute mill in Rajam
district. A visionary businessman, Mr.
Rao recognized the huge business
potential in the infrastructure space,

DELHI
DAREDEVILS
especially with the opening up of the
power sector in the 90s in India. Under
his guidance and vision, the company is
also modernizing the Delhi International
Airport and also developing the new
Greenfield International Airport at
Hyderabad.
2008 RECORD: SEMI-
FINALIST
With the squad they boasted after the
first round of auctions, it was amply
clear that the Delhi DareDevils will go a
long way in the first season of the
Indian Premier League. They started
with a bang, beating eventual champi-
ons Rajasthan Royals convincingly in
their first match. And then went on a
winning spree to climb the charts with
four wins out of their first five games.
They had most of their players available
to them for the entirety of the tourna-
ment, barring Daniel Vettori, but Shoaib
by Chetan Narula
Malik and Amit Mishra teamed up well
to share the spin burden. More than
that, it was their explosive top order
batting and sharp bowling that won
them more than half of their games.
They recovered well to finish with
seven wins and six losses in the league
phase, after losing steam in the middle
stint of the league.
But their deficiency in the middle order
caught up with them in the semi-finals
when they succumbed to Shane
Warne’s team on a mission, Rajasthan
Royals by a huge margin of 105 runs, as
their batsmen faltered in chasing a
mammoth 193.
COACH: GREG
SHIPPERD
Gregory Shipperd is a former Australian
first-class cricketer and coach, and he
led the Delhi DareDevils to the semifi-
nals of the IPL in the very first season.
As a player, he represented Western
Australia from 1977 to 1984 and fin-
ished his career with the Tasmanian
Tigers in 1990-91. He then went on to
coach Tasmania and is also the current
coach of Victorian Bush Rangers.
A right-handed top order batsman,
Shipperd never played a test or ODI for
Australia but has coached Tasmania for
eleven seasons and guided them to
their maiden Sheffield Shield final in
1993-94. He also has to his credit the
slowest first class century ever scored
by an Australian taking 481 minutes to
score his hundred.
SQUAD:
Virender Sehwag (captain & ICON),
Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik (wick-
et-keeper), Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra,
Aavishkar Salvi, Manoj Tiwary, Mithun
Manhas, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat
Bhatia, Tejashwi Yadav, Umesh Yadav,
Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh, Yogesh Nagar,
Paul Collingwood, Farveez Maharoof,
Andrew McDonald, Glenn McGrath,
Owais Shah, Dirk Nannes, Tilakratne
Cricket
Today
April 2009

27
Plus one of the pillars of their bowling
attack, Mohd. Asif doped his way to
glory and Glenn McGrath was ini-
tially unsure about his return
this year. More than that,
Daniel Vettori will be playing
the full season this time
round and while that is
indeed great news for the
management, this will
cause many problems for
the team balance, keeping
in mind the four foreign-
ers limit for the playing
eleven.
And so, they went into the
transfer season and the
auctions trying to sort out
their deficiencies and
problems at the same
time. They signed upcom-
ing David Warner from the
Australian youth ranks and his reputa-
tion as a big hitting opener
already precedes him. This lent
an even heavier look
to the top order,
so they
offloaded
Shikhar Dhawan to Mumbai and
got Ashish Nehra in his place.
Not only he adds to their fast
bowling options but also gives
them a chance to bring in anoth-
er foreign player in the
eleven.
David Warner Moving onto their pur-
known to be chases this year, the pur-
chase of Owais Shah
pretty explosive becomes yet another
and will only great business done. For
add to the fire- Shah is hot commodity
right now, especially with
power that the Middlesex doing so well in
Delhi team T20 last year. But at the
same time, what is ques-
boasts at the tionable is the signing of
top of their bat- Paul Collingwood. It is
hard to fathom both
ting order. Englishmen making the
playing eleven and in
that scenario, wasting
money on two Englishmen in
a similar mould, with both available
for only three weeks doesn’t
make much tactical sense. But
looking at the bright side, it will
rid them of their dependence on
the top order.

PLAYER TO WATCH
OUT FOR: DAVID
Dilshan, David Warner, AB de Villiers, WARNER
Daniel Vettori. The young Aussie opener is the first
player in his country’s 132 years old
STRENGTHS & cricketing history to wear national
WEAKNESSES: colours without playing first-class
One look, last year, at the squad of the cricket. Though he will only get a short
DareDevils from Delhi showed that window to play in the IPL this season,
they did not really have a well bal- for he might be included in the team
anced team. Instead, they had to play Pakistan in the UAE. But having
some really good players who said that the very fact that the
are well known exponents in DareDevils management moved swiftly
their respective arts. In for his signature, when he shone with
Sehwag and Gambhir, they a brilliant 89 off 43 balls on debut
boast of two very fine bats- against South Africa, means that he is
men at the top of the order some one to watch out for!
and some equally gifted He is known to be pretty explosive and
bowlers in McGrath and will only add to the firepower that
Maharoof who could strangle the Delhi team boasts at the top of
any batting line-up at any given their batting order. With him in the
time. What they lacked was a side, probably Gautam Gambhir
backbone in the team, a sure shot will drop down to number three
match winner at number five or six, to anchor the innings the way
who would help the chase down tar- he sometimes does in the ODIs
gets, and even build the innings for India. And with Virender
depending on a good or bad start to Sehwag at the other end, the
the innings. That was to prove their 22-year-old New South Wales batsman
major failing when they were eventually will surely be a treat to watch as
knocked off their perch in the semis boundaries rain down from both their
last time around. blades. 

t
eam Owner: Reliance Industries
Limited
The Reliance Group, founded
by Late Dhirubhai Ambani, is
India’s largest private sector
enterprise, with businesses in energy
and materials value chain. The Group’s
annual revenues are in excess of USD
27 billion. The flagship company,
Reliance Industries Limited, is a
Fortune-500 company and is the
largest private sector company in India.
Starting with textiles in the late seven-
ties, Reliance has pushed the same
strategy through the years, entering
various verticals in polyester, fibre
intermediates, plastics, petrochemicals,
petroleum refining, oil & gas explo-
ration and production.
India’s largest private sector company
is headed by a charismatic persona
Mukesh Ambani. He is a chemical engi-
neer from the University of Bombay
and pursued MBA from Stanford
University, USA. He directed and led the
creation of the world’s largest grass-
roots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar.
He also set up the largest and most
complex information and communica-
tions technology initiative in the world
in the form of Reliance Infocomm
Mumbai
Indians
by Chetan Narula
Cricket
Today
April 2009
28
Limited. He is ranked 42nd amongst the
World’s Most Respected Business
Leaders. He is also a member of the
Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and
Industry.
2008 RECORD: FIFTH
The whole of the first season can be
said to be a case of what could have
been especially after they got off to a
nightmarish start having lost their cap-
tain Sachin Tendulkar to a hamstring
injury he sustained during a test series
against the South Africans just prior to
the IPL. They saw many changes at the
helm of affairs which can also be cited
as a reason for their overall failure to
reach the knock-outs. After Sachin,
Harbhajan Singh took over as captain,
primarily because Sanath Jayasuriya
refused the offer. The inexperience
showed as the team proceeded to lose
their first four matches of the tourna-
ment.
Singh was sensationally suspended for
hitting Sreesanth after their match in
Mohali and in the first few days, that
was the most exciting happening in this
camp. In the meanwhile, Shaun Pollock
assumed leadership duties until
Tendulkar’s return in mid-May. It was
during this time that the team turned
their fortunes around, putting togeth-
er a six game winning streak and an
opportunity to make the semi-finals.
Tendulkar returned and alongwith
Jayasuriya, formed a potent pairing at
the top of the order and together the
duo provided the team momentum.
Especially the Lankan as he played a
vital role in securing two important
wins for the team. They were however
unable to take advantage of this
opportunity as they lost three of their
Cricket
Today
April 2009

29
next four games. This really hurt their while Sanath blazed away, but plug the holes and, in Mohd. Ashraful
morale for the three losses were in what was missing in the first and JP Duminy, they
truth very close affairs and could season, was support to them have got exactly
have gone either way. The from the batsmen coming what they
Mumbai Indians finished fifth later in the order. The story wanted.
with a record of seven wins was similar in the bowling depart- Duminy was a
and seven losses, and as ment as after Bhajji was hot cake ever
afore said, mulling what An opening banned, there was simply since his debut
could have been. no one else to carry the Down Under and lived
batsman burden barring Shaun up to the hype at the
COACH: beyond par, he Pollock. Obviously auction. With the two best
LALCHAND will form a most these problems openers firing at the top, a
RAJPUT
Though he doesn’t have
crucial partner- needed ing.
re-dress- potent pace attack and
the most exciting
the charisma of a Tom ship with Sachin But fresh talent to
Moody or a John Tendulkar Plus anchor their middle
Buchanan, Lalchand Rajput there is his order, the Mumbai
has managed to erase the Indians are looking
notion that only successful potent spin good already.
players make successful bowling to
coaches. He made his test fall back on. PLAYER TO
debut in 1985 against Sri WATCH OUT
Lanka and did well as an FOR:
opening batsman but due to a string of
low scores was forced out of the squad. expect the SANATH
After the 2007 world cup disaster, the Ambanis to do sharp JAYASURIYA
BCCI was skeptical in getting a new for- business. They are missing He will be touching
eign coach so soon and he took over Shaun Pollock this year for he forty when he plays
the reigns as manager in the T20 world refused to sign a further exten- the second edition of
cup and since then his record has been sion to his one year contract the IPL. He already
outstanding. He is known to keep a low from last year but he might be has the record of the
profile but has a shrewd tactical brain. back as mentor come coach with oldest century maker
Known to have a good relationship with the highly rated Mumbai Indians. in the ODIs and if he
a young Indian team, he was sidelined Though his absence as a player so much even repeats
after Gary Kirsten was appointed the is a low indeed but for cover, his antics from last
new Indian coach. they got Kyle Mills, who will play year, he will also
the entire season and will cost become the oldest cen-
SQUAD: less too. He can bowl four tury makes in the T20
Sachin Tendulkar (ICON & captain), Jean- overs decently enough, with form of the game.
Paul Duminy, Mohammed Ashraful, pace and get a few runs if An opening batsman
Shikhar Dhawan, Saurabh Tiwary, the situation demands so, beyond par, he will form a
Ajinkya Rahane, Jaydev Shah, Sanath too. They also got Shikhar most crucial partnership
Jayasuriya, Ryan McLaren, Dwayne Dhawan in a barter for with Sachin Tendulkar at
Bravo, Graham Napier, Kyle Mills, Nehra from Delhi DareDevils the top and even if they
Abhishek Nayyar, Luke Ronchi (wicket- during the transfer win- get going half the times in
keeper), Pinal Shah, Yogesh Takawale, dow, so that will bolster the fourteen game league,
Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, their top order as they Mumbai Indians will be assured
Harbhajan Singh, Dhaval Kulkarni, Rohan didn’t have anyone sup- of a place in the knock outs.
Raje, Zaheer Khan, Chetanya Nanda, porting Jayasuriya and Plus there is his potent spin
Rahil Sheikh. Tendulkar at the top (not bowling to fall back on, adept at
that the duo need much quickly slipping in four danger-
STRENGTHS & support!). ous overs, and there is no
WEAKNESSES: They also got Zaheer Khan wonder then, why skipper
They are strong only at the top of the back to his Ranji team in Tendulkar was adamant on
team line-up where two of the greatest exchange for Bangalore Royal having his good friend
batsmen bat for them together, Sachin Challengers’ Robin Uthappa and and a gem of a
Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. If they so their pace attack bears a men- cricket player
get going, then it is curtains for the acing look with Dilhara Fernando and on his side
opposition without even facing a ball Andre Nel too in their ranks. But the when the
and it will only seldom happen that both main point of business at the auction teams were
of them will fail. Generally it so hap- for Mrs. Ambani was to purchase a cou- first selected
pened that Tendulkar built the innings ple of solid middle order batsmen to last year. 

t
eam Owner: Red Chillies
Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment is a
film production company
owned by none other than
Bollywood’s leading personality Shah
Rukh Khan in partnership with good
friends actress Juhi Chawla and indus-
trialist Jay Mehta along with his wife
Gauri Khan. The prestigious banner has
some of today’s biggest hits under its
belts, including Main Hoon Na, Om
Shanti Om and Billu Barber. Apart from
production, the company also boasts of
a state-of-the-art visual effects studio
known as Red Chillies VFX. King Khan is
all set to enhance it to a world class
visual effects studio with Hollywood
giants Walt Disney Pictures likely to
invest a whopping amount in the com-
pany.
Shah Rukh Khan is a household name
and a brand in himself. He is an excep-
tional actor, one who is guaranteed
success at the box-office. He has had
no godfathers in the film industry and
it was his sheer determination and hard
work that has paid. Even after more
than two decades, he still somehow
manages to exude the same charm and
flair. He is also an ardent sports lover,
who didn’t intend to be an actor
always. In fact, he always wanted to be
a cricketer or a footballer and acting
came to him by default.
Kolkata
Knight Riders
by Chetan Narula
Cricket
Today
April 2009
30
2008 RECORD: SIXTH
SRK is seldom wrong for he is amongst
the few people who know what they
are talking about. But even he cannot
predict the uncertain game that is
cricket. The self proclaimed favourites
for the championship in the first year
fell flat as they fell on their face after
a whirlwind start to their campaign.
It was a mix and match run for them in
the first year of the IPL. After the
blitzkrieg in Bangalore they went on a
winning spree of four matches, taking
them straight to the top of the table,
only to fizzle out with three consecu-
tive losses. Clearly they did not have
enough reinforcements for the likes of
Gayle and McCullum. The arrival of
Shoaib Akhtar rejuvenated their spirits
and lifted them to three wins in a row.
But even that effect didn’t last long as
they were bowled out for 67 runs
against the Mumbai Indians, which was
the lowest total in the IPL and really
made sure that they would not qualify
for the semis.
COACH: JOHN
BUCHANAN
John Buchanan will go down as one of
the most triumphant modern day crick-
et coaches as he almost single handedly
revolutionized the coaching manuals.
With barely any cricket playing experi-
ence the tall, teacher by profession,
coach had new methods to get the
best out of his players. He had highly
successful stint with the Australian
team, the highlight being the back to
back world cup wins. He has an amazing
ability to identify the best players at
the youngest levels and no wonder he
was employed by the Kolkata franchise
and put in charge of all young recruit-
ments.
Cricket
Today
April 2009
31
SQUAD:
Sourav Ganguly (captain & ICON), Brad
Hodge, Aakash Chopra, Debabrata Das,
Cheteshwar Pujara, Brendon McCullum
(wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha, David
Hussey, Moises Henriques, Chris Gayle,
Mashrafe Mortaza, Angelo Mathews,
Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ajit Agarkar, Iqbal
Abdullah, Sachin Rana, Ashok Dinda,
Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma, Ajantha
Mendis, Mohnish Parmar.
STRENGTHS &
WEAKNESSES:
Sourav Ganguly is rated as one of the
best captains in the modern day cricket
and his presence alone make sure that a
great thinking process is behind each
and every move of the franchise. With
him in the side they are not only
assured of an amazing leader of men
but also a brilliant batsman and a crowd
puller, all in one. But he has his limita-
tions too, especially since he can
sometimes get into argu-
ments with his own
management.
That will howev-
er be the last
thing on his
mind as he sets
his sights on win-
ning the IPL crown to re-
affirm that he is still the best when it
comes to donning the captaincy hat.
Along with Rajasthan Royals, they are
the worst hit in terms of losing their
Pakistani players. Umar Gul was superb
last season and Mohd. Hafeez was use-
ful. Shoaib Akhtar is always an asset if
fit and it took him one match to prove
it last year. Suddenly all three aren’t
there anymore and there was no time
to decide on alternates or money to
buy them with.
For the Knight Riders are one of the
two franchises who were bought by
Bollywood stars and unlike some other
owners, they don’t carry a million
dollars as pocket change, however
rich they may be. This year they
will have Brendon McCullum avail-
able throughout the tournament
and Chris Gayle is fit again too. Plus
coach John Buchanan meticulously
signed a host of bits and pieces
players in the off-season from
India and Australia. So everything
said and done, SRK not having
the money to splurge is
actually working out very
well. Mortaza is a good
purchase considering his aggressive this batsman played in
bowling and ability to use the long han- the first ever match in
dle but he came a bit expensive. But the IPL! To say that the
then that is what auctions are all about! opposition was hit for a
six would be kind on
PLAYER TO WATCH them and that the specta-
OUT FOR: BRENDON tors were blown
MCCULLUM away would be an
Who can ever forget the blistering Sourav Ganguly under statement.
innings that Claiming that
sets his sights on Bangalore
winning the IPL Royal Challengers’
problems began
crown to re-affirm with this innings
that he is still the won’t be wrong
for Vijay Mallya
best when it was clearly embar-
comes to donning rassed every time
SRK danced
the captain- around on his
cy hat. sixes. He provided
the team with the
momentum that
gave them the high-
est run rate in the league
till about the tenth match.
The fact that the Knight Riders went
down after that was in keeping with
the departure of Brendon McCullum
for international duty. It was as if the
spark had gone out of them for he
single handedly provided them with
the all important x-factor. Since
that night in Bangalore the New
Zealand wicket keeper has gone
on to open the innings for his
country in both the ODIs and
T20s, for who wouldn’t want
his fire power at the top of the
order.
This year he is bound to play
the entire tournament for his
country does not have any
international commitments. It
inadvertently means more
spectacular hitting from the
Kiwi and he is bound to score
atleast a couple of similarly
swashbuckling innings in four-
teen games. His wicket keep-
ing skills will provide the nec-
essary balance to the
Kolkata team and they will
only benefit by his contin-
ued presence. The whole
of Bengal, and India, will
unquestionably be
watching with great
anticipation everytime
this Knight Rider goes
out with a willow in his
hand. 

Royal Challengers
t
eam Owner: Vijay Mallya
Son of the industrialist Vittal
Mallya, Vijay Mallya was elected
the chairman of the UB Group
in October 1983. Since then,
he has followed a process of defining a
corporate structure with performance
accountability, inducting professional
management and consolidating the
empire into individual operating divi-
Bangalore
sions. Apart from being a dogged busi-
nessman, he also has a passion for cars,
car racing and sports. He is the first
Indian to own a Formula One team,
named Force India. From East Bengal to
Mohun Bagan to United Racing and
Blodd Stock Breeders horse racing
company, Mallya’s kitty is filled with
various sporting clubs.
The Bangalore based UB Group is a cor-
Cricket
Today
April 2009
32
poration of diverse companies having a
sharp focus on the brewery and alco-
holic beverages industry. Under the
chairmanship of Vijay Mallya, the UB
Group has flourished into a conglomer-
ate of over 60 companies in India and
abroad. The recent ones are Air
Deccan, White & Mackay, Scottish and
Newcastle. In India, they market most
of its beer under the name Kingfisher,
which is also the name of their domes-
tic-cum-international airlines.
2008 RECORD: SEVENTH
They got off to the worst start possi-
ble, when they were not only defeated
on the ground but also morally and in a
way humiliated on their home turf
when Brendon McCullum ground them
into submission in the first ever IPL
game. It was a crushing blow from
which they really couldn’t recover and
there were problems galore during the
tournament’s course as well. Only one
of their frontline batsmen, Rahul Dravid
managed to score more than 300 runs
in the tournament and they had to
even bench their costliest foreign play-
er, Jacques Kallis for few of the match-
es due to his poor form. The string of
failures mid-way through the season
led to the sacking of the CEO, Charu
Sharma who was replaced with Brijesh
Patel.
by Chetan Narula
Even coach Venkatesh Prasad was
about to be sacked, but he saved his
job by publicly apologising for the
team’s failure. Vijay Mallya went on to
publicly criticise Dravid and Sharma for
the failures by saying that they had not
selected the right team. He regretted
that he had made a mistake by not get-
ting involved in the selection of the
team. They were the only team in the
Cricket
Today
April 2009

33
IPL to try out 11 opening combinations ready to listen to and has thus missed
in 14 games. So much so, that they
STRENGTHS & the trick yet again. If Dravid is anywhere
were even called a test team in T20 WEAKNESSES: as intelligent as he is made out to be,
clothing. The owner Vijay Mallya could- Last year Mallya’s complaint was pretty he would do better to stay away from
n’t come to terms with their poor per- much that he had been fooled into buy- captaincy in Pietersen’s absence.
formances and the add-on insult. All ing a ‘test’ team in T20 flannels. On that Because one expects much of last
this infighting and low morale saw them pretext he fired Charu Sharma, climbed year’s disaster to repeat itself!
in winning only four matches in this sea- all over Rahul Dravid and now started
son, losing ten matches and managed this year by replacing Kiwi great Martin PLAYER TO WATCH OUT
to secure only the seventh position in Crowe with Ray Jennings (former South FOR: KEVIN PIETERSEN
the points table. African coach). Seems he has assumed At USD 1.55 million, obviously he is the
full control of the pro- player on whom all eyes will be trained.
COACH: RAY ceedings That is because the owner of
JENNINGS the franchise has
Ray Jennings’s career as a wicket-bats- created so much
man almost entirely spanned South there and hype about him,
Africa’s year of isolation. For Transvaal now will do pretty that anything less
and Northern Tranvaal he was ever- much what he wants than a miracle will
present and he was South Africa’s No. 1 and rebuilt the side be considered a
for more than a decade, but limited to in the transfer failure. But how
only 14 appearances for his country season and the will be able to do
against rebel touring sides. When South auctions. that remains to be
Africa returned to the fold he was But that doesn’t seen as the
expected to be handed the gloves, even necessarily mean England player will
though he was then 38, as much as a that what he does be here in India for
reward for his service as anything, but is right. And that’s no more than twen-
the selectors opted to pick Dave where his purchase ty to twenty five days
Richardson. Jennings, a fitness fanatic of Kevin Pietersen and might not play more
and disciplinarian, started coaching at comes out to be a than five games in all. In that
Gauteng before moving to Easterns and big mistake. He had scenario, what will be impor-
from there to South Africa A. His the chance to right a tant is the momentum he
appointment as South Africa’s coach few wrongs of can give to his team in that
came in October 2004, surprising many last year with the short term. If he can just
as he had a reputation as speaking two million dollars conjure up a way to lift
too bluntly for some of a more available to him the team that became a
sensitive nature which has and he spent most laughing stock of IPL last
more than once landed him in of it on one player, year, he would have
hot water. He didn’t have a who will be available been worth every
very successful stint with for just three penny.
them and after the first weeks. On top of And Kevin Pieterson
season disaster replaced If Kevin it, he is in the has the ability to do
Martin Crowe as the Pietersen can running to be that. When he first
coach of this IPL fran- just conjure up a captain as well. made his test debut
chise. He will be assisted way to lift the How Mallya for England, people
by India’s bowling coach team that expects doubted if he would
Venkatesh Prasad. Pietersen to be able to con-
became a turn the tide all tribute much in
SQUAD: laughing stock by himself in 21 the Ashes, but in
Rahul Dravid (ICON), Kevin of IPL last year, days is unfath- the end, he
Pietersen, Shivnaraine he would have omable? walked away with
Chanderpaul, Ross Taylor, been worth The better thing to all the accolades as
Wasim Jaffer, Gaurav do would have been England emerged
Dhiman, Robin Uthappa, every to buy two-three victorious. His antics
Mark Boucher (wicket- penny. players - in the Jesse in the ODIs have been
keeper), Shreevats Ryder mould - who no less entertaining;
Goswami, Dillon du Preez, Jesse Ryder, are there for the what with the switch hit
Jacques Kallis, Cameron White, Virat entirety of the tour- now coming into real
Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Balachandra Akhil, nament and would also bring prominence. He may come
Ranganath Vijay Kumar, Dale Steyn, about the much needed for five games only, but rest
Nathan Bracken, Abdur Razzak, Pankaj balance he wants in the assured, he is going to deploy
Singh, Anil Kumble. side. But one thinks, that that shot a lot more than just
is not something Mallya is once a game. 
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

34

t
eam Owner: Deccan Chronicle
Deccan Chronicle is a
Hyderabad based company
which is involved in printing
and publishing newspapers and
periodicals alongwith advertisement
services. Established in 1938 Deccan
Chronicle is the number one daily in
Andhra Pradesh and the fourth most
read English daily in India. It enjoys the
readership of more than a million peo-
ple within the world. It is also the only
Indian newspaper with an international
edition from London. Deccan
Chronicle’s venture into the Chennai
market produced spectacular results
within three months of its launch in
March 2005 as it took over more than
half the market share of the English
dailies.
Deccan Chronicle Holdings plans to
pump in more than one billion dollars in
the air cargo business. They are all set
to launch India’s first international dedi-
cated cargo airline, Flyington Freighters
based out of Hyderabad.
Better described as a media baron, T.
Venkattram Reddy already owns two
editions of his flagship Deccan
Chronicle in Hyderabad and Chennai,
with another one to go in Bangalore.
Reddy recognized the importance of
internet in India and he is intent on by Chetan Narula

Deccan
highest caliber. However, these were
the only two wins for them in the first
season and the owners were quite
clearly not impressed.

COACH: DARREN
LEHMANN

Chargers
exploiting it with online newspaper
communities and e-papers. He is a
graduate in commerce and holds a
diploma in printing technology. He has
also served as a Member of the
Parliament.
2008 RECORD: EIGHTH
There is nothing much to write home
here except that this team was per-
haps the biggest disappointment in the
history of cricket, where eleven players
have been randomly been chosen to
form a team. At the beginning of the
first season, it was not an under state-
ment that this team was one of the
favourites, boasting of players like
Gilchrist, Gibbs, Styris, Symonds, Afridi
and Vaas. But two and two did not
equal to four for this team as they
crashed from the beginning itself.
They did not win even a single match at
home which was in fact their biggest
disappointment. The fact that they
beat Mumbai Indians in Mumbai and
Chennai
Super Kings in Chennai was proof
enough that they had a team of the
The Aussie world cup winner replaces
Indian fielding coach Robin Singh and
obviously this move has been inspired
by the change in leadership. Adam
Gilchrist and Darren Lehmann have
been team mates for quite some time
and surely the team management
believes that this paring holds the key
to success for them this season.
He has been in the captaincy race for
Australia and is bound to have some
ideas of its own floating around as well
to complement Gilly. He played for the
Rajasthan Royals in the first season of
the IPL and the fact that he was in the
company of Shane Warne strengthens
his resume all the more.
SQUAD:
Adam Gilchrist (captain & wicket-keep-
er), Chamara Silva, Herschelle Gibbs,
Cricket
Today
April 2009

35
around for he only got to play a hand- all, they weren’t expected to
ful of matches. This time though splash around after the splurge
he will get to play a lot more of 2008 and seem to have made
since he is missing out on sound cricketing investments.
international cricket action They can only go up from here!
and then only will every-
one know if he is really PLAYER TO
worth being one of the
Gilchrist is now WATCH OUT
most expensive players FOR: ADAM
in the IPL. captain and
Rohit Sharma was the Darren Lehmann GILCHRIST
brightest spark for is the coach, so Will he prove to be the
them last year and he they will bring Shane Warne of the second
was given company only season, for Deccan Chargers
by RP Singh and Prgyan fresh and aggres- are undoubtedly wearing
Ojha. However, they will sive ideas suited the crown of underdogs,
miss the services of to this format, something that rested on
Shahid something VVS Rajasthan Royals’ head
Afridi the most, whose Laxman was before the tournament first
contract they ended began last year! And after
due to the squabbling unable to. that, all know how one
between him and VVS Aussie great turned the for-
Laxman. The Pakistani tunes of his team around.
didn’t really fire last year but there is Mind you, he was never the
nobody in world captain of his country!
cricket who under- Adam Gilchrist, on the other hand, has
estimates him. led Australia on a fair bit number of
How much occasions and to be really honest, the
will his team also did well in his lead. But again,
absence sting that was the great Aussie team which
the team remains really didn’t know how to lose and this
to be seen! is the IPL team that doesn’t know how
In the last to win. For in the initial few weeks, it
eight was all a puzzle for VVS Laxman and by
VVS Laxman, Arjun months, a the time, he realized he wasn’t cut out
Yadav, Venugopal Roa, lot of for the job and gave it to Gilly, it was
Rohit Sharma, Ravi changes already too late.
Teja, T Suman, have taken place To his credit, Adam Gilchrist did bring
Abhinav Kumar, behind the curtains. about a certain consistency in the side,
Dwayne Smith, Scott Gilchrist is now in a short span of time. No they were
Styris, Andrew Symonds, captain and still not winning any games but they
Ryan Harris, Halhadar Das, Darren were regularly threatening to do so,
MS Bisla, RP Singh, Fidel Edwards, Lehmann is the coming close on a number of occasions
Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, D coach, so they as the tournament reached its last
Kalyankrishna, Prgyan Ojha, Sarveesh will bring fresh stages. The advantage that the leg-
Kumar, HS Bansal, Jaskarandeep and aggressive endary wicket-keeper has this season is
Singh, Vijay Kumar. ideas suited to that he knows he will be incharge from
this format, day one and can plan accordingly, as the
STRENGTHS & something VVS last time around the sorry state of
WEAKNESSES: Laxman was unable to. affairs didn’t really give him a chance to
Their biggest strength is Dwayne Smith is an all- explore on all possible fronts.
their batting of course. rounder but won’t be able Add to that the magic of the batting
If the collective might of to fill the void of Shahid phenomenon that is this player. He hit
their batting line up fires Afridi, that is, if and when one of the fastest centuries in the IPL
then they will zoom right the Pakistani fired. last year and if he is able to bring about
towards the top of the Otherwise Smith would be an assured look to the team, it will only
league table. Andrew a good investment. Fidel be most beneficial for him as he will be
Symonds has been in the wild Edwards might prove to able to focus his mind only on one goal:
for the past year and he will be be the fire power that to send the ball out of the park. And
keen to prove a point to his Chaminda Vaas lacked with Adam Gilchrist in that sort of
detractors. He was not and now seems to have mood, it can only be bad news for the
an entire failure last time lost completely. All in bowlers! 
 Cricket
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36

w
hen a well established
player scores another
milestone on the interna-
tional scene, heaps of
praise are showered on
him and reams of pages dedicated to
his class act. But every single feat
always borders on expectation before
it is achieved. There is a sense of antici-
pation every time he takes the field
and in that, perhaps the slight degree
of expectation that precedes him takes
away the element of surprise.
But there is something equally special
when a relative unknown bursts onto
Manpreet Gony
the scene, creates a sensation and
was not the
enraptures the audiences. There was
Chennai team’s first
entertainment in the form exhilarating
choice. However,
talent utilizing the platform for expres-
once Sudeep Tyagi
sion, creating a brand new league of
was rendered
rising stars. In fact, expect the unex-
unavailable
pected, became the mantra of last
through injury,
year’s IPL.
Gony was brought
Take a look at some of the names that
into the team’s
impacted both, IPL and cricket, in the
scheme of things
ascending order of their impact (in
and suffice it to say,
keeping with the building suspense that
they had no
they continued to provide through the
regrets.
tournament) in this enthralling
Twenty20 extravaganza!

JEWEL 1: THE NAME’S

GONY, NOT DHONI
The similarity of his name with the
Indian skipper amused many. But the
only on field trait that the duo shared
was their calm, cool demeanour in the
face of a sandstorm. It made a lot of by Sreelata S. Yellamrazu

Ten
sense, in hindsight, that two of the
coolest heads were operating in the
Chennai Super Kings’ dressing room.
Admittedly Punjab’s Manpreet Gony
was not the Chennai team’s first
choice. However, once Sudeep Tyagi
was rendered unavailable through

Sparkling
injury, Gony was brought into the
team’s scheme of things and suffice it
to say, they had no regrets. A tall, well
built fast medium bowler, he caught
more than one batsman by surprise
with his ability to bowl bouncers, to do

Diamonds
so with accuracy and to lead as the
strike bowler in the side contrary to
the relative lack of experience he has
had in the game.
No mug with the bat, he averaged 35
though he batted in only five innings of

in the Rough
the tournament. But he showed his
ability as someone who could really hit
the ball hard (enhancing that skill fur-
ther will make him another in the mould
Cricket
Today
April 2009
37
of perhaps an Irfan Pathan for India).
That he picked up seventeen wickets,
equalling Albie Morkel’s tally for
Chennai, meant that he has surpassed
the likes of Makhaya Ntini and Muttiah
Muralitharan who picked up seven and
eleven wickets respectively. To outshine
his more esteemed colleagues would
have been immensely satisfying but so
was his 26.05 average, again way ahead
of the established men in his team.
Batting personal issues or exploding
batsman, Manpreet Gony was shown an
unruffled intensity about his game that
belies the depth of the fight in him and
clearly marks him as one of the most
tenacious competitors on the field.
JEWEL 2: SWAPNIL
ASNODKAR – GOD’S
GIFT TO GOA
Swapnil Asnodkar. Not many even in
cricketing circles would have heard of
him. That is a shame because Asnodkar
is breaking barriers, coming from a tra-
ditionally football oriented land called
Goa, and he is doing it with numbers
that would make most first class bats-
men proud. But while his name has
eluded the ears of the selectors, the
roll call of the Rajasthan Royals beck-
oned the diminutive dynamite and he
responded with resplendent strokes.
Asnodkar played only nine games in the
IPL but it was a deliberate ploy on the
part of the Royals skipper Shane Warne.
Unleashing him on unsuspecting oppo-
nents, Warne got out of Asnodkar
exactly what he wanted – an unexpect-
ed bomb that exploded to destructive
effect. His whirlwind knock of sixty in
the game against Kolkata Knight Riders
showed what talent in a conducive
environment can do, even when not
picked regularly in the team.
Asnodkar proved to be one of the
most well known names of the tourna-
ment and that is credit to his perform-
ances in the opening position alongside
the South African powerhouse Graeme
Smith who was also dwarfed by
Asnodkar’s feats. With 311 runs in just
nine matches at an average of 34.55
and a strike rate that is simply phenom-
enal, he will be earmarked for more
features in forthcoming years. He is no
longer the stock weapon; he is the well
established pint sized arsenal in the
Royals camp.
JEWEL 3: DHAWAL
KULKARNI – WAITING
TO BE DISCOVERED
An understated gentleman would per-
haps describe Mumbai’s
Dhawal Kulkarni best. But
only a fool would equate
his demeanor with his
talent. As a medium
fast bowler, he is no
small sensation. He
may not have had his
share of the lime-
light yet. But it
does not, in
any way,
undermine
the potential,
which the Mumbai
Indians were also
shrewd to spot.
It was always a great
opportunity for such a
young and upcoming bowler
to share the dressing room
with a stalwart like Shaun
Pollock and that is perhaps
one of the biggest attributes
that Mumbai has benefitted
from. Kulkarni’s opportunity to
refine his bowling, perhaps only polish
it, reaped rewards majestically in an
unfortunate scenario where his team
did not really make the impression
for him to truly stand out. But
the medium pacer, who like
Pollock likes to hit the right areas with
regular consistency, grew in stature in
the eyes of the spectators as the tour-
nament wore on.
 Cricket
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38
JEWEL 5: ALBIE MORKEL
– ZULU’S BACK?
South Africa lost Lance Klusener some-
where in the chaos of the 2003 World
Cup. The manner in which Lance “Zulu”
Klusener took the 1999 World Cup by
storm, there was little doubt that the
need of the hour for other teams was
not just an all rounder, but one that
doubled up as a terrific finisher of the
game. South Africa’s yearning for a
Zulu-like character in the side put mas-
sive pressure on Justin Kemp.
A big hitter and valuable all rounder,
Kemp somehow did not bring to the
fore the depth of his talent. But the
search need not be exhaustive anymore
because the IPL was a showcase for
Albie Morkel not only to announce him-
self to the cause of the South Africans
in a stronger vein after three years of
struggling to establish himself but also,
send a warning to the rest of the crick-
et world.
Morkel, the older of the Morkel broth-
ers, has been preferred to play in the
one day version of the game while

Where his team failed, Kulkarni pursued eyes as he makes the team in the
on and was rewarded for it. With eleven national colours, a dream he shared
wickets from ten matches, just one with his late mother.
wicket less than Ashish Nehra but a far But as an all rounder, he has shown a
better average of 21.45, Kulkarni’s spark, and it refuses to dwin-
maturity far outweighs the opportunity dle or fade despite the fact
presented to him. Holding his own in that enormous expectations
the midst of a slog is also something rest on his young shoulders
he is capable of as he showed in and tender mind. But Jadeja is
the league game when the not new to pressure. He
Rajasthan Royals suffered a showed he could take it in his
shock defeat and in no small stride, whether it was as
measure, to Dhawal Kulkarni an teenager in the his-
who came back well in the
As an all rounder, toric under-19 World Cup
match with two wickets. Ravindra Jadeja that India won or in the
Certainly an understated has shown a IPL where Shane Warne
talent, but one worthy of spark, and it marked him for great-
pursuit. refuses to dwin- ness.
dle or fade Not inexperienced with
JEWEL 4: despite the fact the bat and not a novice
RAVINDRA that enormous with the ball, Jadeja pre-
JADEJA – expectations rest sented his skipper with
on his young all rounder’s options, one
GRADUATION of the facets that made
TO THE BIG shoulders and Rajasthan Royals team
tender
LEAGUE mind.
distinct as Warne’s dis-
His seemingly lack of runs cerning eye kept his faith
can be deceptive as also the in the young man for the
lack of wickets in his IPL wickets column. entire duration of the
But there are no statistics that would tournament. Groomed for
measure determination on a scale. the future, Jadeja’s first steps of lin-
Ravindra Jadeja, at just twenty years of gering success could continue to the
age, finds himself in the cynosure of IPL.
Cricket
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39
young brother Morne, who features
prominently in the Test arena, is being
called South Africa’s next ‘White
Lightning’ by none other than Allan
Donald himself. Morkel is an all rounder
with cool, level headed batting under
pressure that can convert probable los-
ing positions into match winning ones
and whose bowling contributions give
captains an additional option to fall
back on to contain as well as pick up
wickets.
Morkel’s figures in the IPL include 241
runs at an average of 34.42 that do
not mention his penchant for lusty,
unflappable batting in the face in
seemingly insurmountable odds. His
range of shots, his depth of tenacity,
the sheer distance that the ball covers
after caressing Albie’s bat, makes one
of the world’s most dangerous bats-
men lower down the order. It is a tall
resume for a cricketer whose real mark
came from last year’s IPL. The fact that
he took seventeen wickets, the same
number as Chennai Super Kings’ other
highest wicket taker – Manpreet Gony,
at a better average of 23.47 makes him why he has found a place in the one He notched up the tournament’s
one for the future, and an indubitable day squad for team India. fastest fifty against the Deccan
star of the IPL, overshadowed only by One of the cleanest hit- Chargers in only twenty-one balls and
others that shone a bit brighter than ters of the ball in the showed an amazing nonchalance when
him. game, Yusuf dis- setting the ball sailing for maximum.
played remark- For someone coming from a family
JEWEL 6: able calm and where there was already an interna-
YUSUF confidence tional player, it appears that the need
PATHAN – and cer- to prove himself almost did not matter
tainly to him. Self assured and tailor made for
ANOTHER the game, Yusuf Pathan set his career
ONE OF A took off to a rollicking start and that he is
CLAN the IPL by now a regular in the Indian team is only
India is fortunate storm. If he ever vindication of the fact.
not to have one but needed an oppor- With 435 runs to his name at an aver-
rather two Pathans in tunity to come into age of 31.07, not to mention his tally of
the line up. That the his own without the eight wickets in the tournament with a
Pathan brothers are both preordained talent of his best of three for twenty-two in the
capable of decently holding younger brother lurking in final of the IPL when he had the
their own in all departments the shadows, he could not Chennai Super Kings in a tail spin,
of the game is a huge advan- have timed it better. A tall makes him a dangerous and crucial
tage. While Irfan Pathan has striking batsman, Yusuf player for the Rajasthan Royals and his
established himself as a bowling showed an ability to pick a Man of the Match award in the final
all rounder years ago, elder bowler early and send the was only testimony to it. The Pathan
brother Yusuf took a while to ball sailing high and over the has truly arrived.
break out of the shell that boundary ropes whether
shielded his talent. But he over midwicket or over the JEWEL 7: GAUTAM
could not have asked for a covers. That added to his GAMBHIR – CATCHING
better platform than the IPL pesky off spinners, proved THE SPIRIT
to showcase the destructive valuable traits in a team He lost the orange cap (bestowed on
talent he poses potently as that was short on star the batsman who makes the most runs
another one of the most power. in an IPL season) narrowly to Shaun
dangerous batsmen in Yusuf flourished and the Marsh. But that did not diminish in any
the world. There was lit- Rajasthan Royals did too way the value and significance of
tle wonder thereafter by having him in the side. Gautam Gambhir’s performance and its
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

number of sixty-four boundaries to his
name, he remains unsurpassed in the
first edition and an established crowd
puller in his own right now.
JEWEL 8: HAIL, SOHAIL
TANVIR
Pakistan perhaps did not even know
Sohail Tanvir’s worth. Although his
name has floated around prior to the
IPL, his talent was only prominently evi-
dent when the first season of the IPL
eventually concluded. That he was a
clear league ahead of the rest of the
bowlers and a more than useful bats-
man was a matter known prior perhaps
only to Shane Warne and Tanvir himself!
Tanvir picked up a colossal twenty-two
wickets from just eleven games at
average of just 12.01. His impressive
strike rate of 11.2 and a decent econo-
my rate of 6.46 made him the catch of
the IPL from the sub continent. His
stand out performance was clearly the
league match between his team, the
Rajasthan Royals, and the Chennai
40
Super Kings where he returned with
figures of six wickets for just twenty
runs in his allotted four overs, a record
by any stretch of the imagination in a
Twenty20 match! His exploits with the
bat in a pinch hitter’s role were not
overlooked either. The man with the
Purple Cap (awarded to the bowler who
takes the most wickets in the IPL) had
clearly set the benchmark amongst
bowlers, vying for recognition and
glory in the IPL.
JEWEL 9: SHANE
WATSON – SHERLOCK’S
FIND!
Indeed it would have to take someone
with the keen eye, acuteness of mind
and accuracy in belief to back this
young man. Shane Warne did and he
managed to convince his franchisee,
the Rajasthan Royals, that Shane
Watson was the man to snare. It was a
gamble, a calculated one but one that
paid off marvelously for the Royals
cause.

impact not only on the IPL but also, on

his own career in international cricket.
For the rather short lived memories,
when Gambhir was first considered for
the opener’s slot in the Indian Test line
up, the perception of him came across
as someone who was a slow accumula-
tor of runs and the perfect foil as
anchor for the more explosive Virender
Sehwag. Gambhir, by that measure, was
a surprise choice for the World
Twenty20.
He showed the first glimpse of his
capabilities in the inaugural World
Twenty20. And while his name is a
slightly strange sight in this list of large
unknowns, his untapped talent until the
IPL makes his name relevant amongst
his peers who, like him, grabbed the
opportunity and made it count. What’s
more, in Gambhir’s case, he has been
able to translate his success in the IPL
to a fortified role for team India in a
form and manner that it is hard to
imagine that it was the same Gambhir
before and after the IPL.
His consistent partnerships with Delhi,
ONGC and team India opening partner,
Sehwag, were one of the scintillating
highlights of the IPL. With an average
of 41.07 and 534 runs, Gambhir’s may
have missed becoming the leading runs
scorer in the IPL, but with a mammoth
Cricket
Today
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41
Watson, who battled for five years to
establish himself in the Australia team
with a spate of injuries and inconsisten-
cy of form, found a believer in Warne
and the relationship of faith was vindi-
cated. The first man in the IPL to win
two Man of the Match awards, Watson
steered his team with a solid seventy-
six against Mohali to follow it up with
sixty-one in the Royal Challengers
Bangalore. Priced at a modest USD
125,000, Watson emerged as one of a
handful of brightest stars to have
grabbed the opportunity with both
hands.
In addition to his batting, making 472
runs at a strike of 151.76 with a valu-
able average of 47.20, Watson’s ability
as an all rounder proved to be the dis-
tinct advantage of the Rajasthan Royals
team. With seventeen wickets in his IPL
stint, it is little wonder then that
Watson was soon competing with
Andrew Symonds for the all rounder’s
spot in the Australian team soon after.
With stress fractures affecting him this
year, he has sought the describe his style. Shaun Marsh
resources of Dennis Lillee brought new energy to the team
and will once again look to with his consistency bat-
recapture the magic of the Shaun Marsh ting at the top of the
IPL ahead of the all impor- brought new ener- order. The fluency of his
tant Ashes. gy to the team with strokes, the effortless
his consistency bat- ease with which he provid-
CROWNING ting at the top of ed the anchor as well as
GLORY: SHAUN the order. The flu- the impetus was breath-
MARSH – TURN- ency of his strokes, lessly spectacular, his
the effortless ease technique impeccable, and
ING MARSHES with which he pro- his aura, one of supreme
INTO GOLD vided the anchor as dominance. It was hard to
SPOTS well as the impetus imagine that the
Very few people get to was breathlessly Australian team had wait-
impact the international spectacular. ed so long before making
scene even before their him an integral part of the
international debut for one day line up.
their country. At 30,000 dollars, his With 616 runs to show in
price was clearly understated as was his the tournament at an
talent. Yet every muscle movement on extraordinarily incredible average of
the crease was worth its weight in gold. 68.44 in the course of a Twenty20
Even the franchisee owners of the tournament and a handy strike rate of
Kings XI Punjab would fail to win the 139.68, the Mohali team certainly
argument that they knew the exact found a diamond in the rough. Son of
worth of having him in the team. His the former Australian wicket keeper
unbeaten knock of eighty-four against Geoff Marsh, this son surely did make
the Deccan Chargers was only the taste his papa proud!
of things to come as he went onto Men of unpolished brilliance like these
make five astounding half centuries make the journey all worthwhile. There
and a terrific century to cap off his is little doubt that they would have
performances. It is hard to imagine required big boots after their stint in
that the Mohali team would have had the IPL because the expectations on
the kind of success they had without them have only become enormous! One
this young charmer with the bat. could only ask in wonderment, has tal-
Sublime dominance would perhaps best ent finally found its match? 
 Cricket
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42

Million Dollar
Men: Dollops of
Flops
by Sreelata S. Yellamrazu
Cricket
Today
April 2009

43

t
hey made not have made all
their millions directly from the
IPL. But their heroics in cricket
history have assessed them as
being worth millions, such
being the wealth of their talent and
power of their performance. Yet some-
how their allure failed to add to the
glitz of the IPL. In what must be
counted as one of the biggest disap-
pointments, while the IPL has
sprung up a whole bunch of new
names, the stars simply failed to Fleming knew
shine, taking just a little bit of
sheen away while also, adding to his batting was
the need to make amends a sec- failing the team
ond time round. and spent time
Here are ten top cricketers who
never quite found their radar in off the field and
IPL’s inaugural year, in the in the dug out
descending order of degree of
disappointment. than on it, giving
way to younger,
1 DOWN: THE nobler inten-
VOCIFEROUS
SHAHID AFRIDI tions.
Not only did the Hyderabad
Deccan Chargers become one of the
most talked about teams but there was
also a member of the team who did
most of the talking, ironically, not with
his bat. Shahid Afridi’s big hitting is now
legendary. But his presence in any team
can also mean a double
edged sword in that if he
gets going, it is Boom
Boom Afridi. But
aggression can get
the better of him,
with him perishing
often as many failed to find the ignition being overshadowed by Twenty20, “I
times to injudicious button. But perhaps he can’t say if 50-overs cricket would be
thinking that was speaking for affected by the popularity of
betrays the himself when he Twenty20 but certainly Test matches
talent he is spoke about the would be hit hard as people are more
capable of cheerleaders interested in seeing instant and exciting
unleashing to being a distrac- cricket.” But his bat chose to remain
tornado tion and that silent right through.
effect. The cricket was The fireworks continued to elude
Hyderabad entertainment despite repeated trials. While his bowl-
Heroes enough with- ing was still handy with nine wickets in
certainly out the need the tournament, Afridi’s primary role as
saw the for additional a swashbuckling batsman was not vindi-
Dr. Jekyll crutches. He cated in the first season with a paltry
side of Mr. had plenty of average of 10.12 to show for his
Hyde. other talking eighty-one runs. Undeterred he went
In a version of points, not about giving his opinion on the two
the game that involved his skippers in the team, Adam Gilchrist
designed for bat though. He who took over from an injured V.V.S.
trailblazers was also con- Laxman, “Laxman led the team well in
such as him- cerned about the first six matches. But it was a les-
self, he Test cricket son to learn how Gilchrist treated the
 Cricket
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44
players after our two losses under him. start and Ponting’s own form (at a 9.75 4 DOWN: GIBBS – GUZ-
He (Gilchrist) must be feeling bad, but average!) spoke volumes of how silently
he does not show it. He tries to absorb Ponting went about through the tour- ZLING DOWN GLOOM
it and speaks nicely to teammates. It nament as opportunity to see arguably Another reason why such a batting
was amazing.” That only fuelled further one of the world’s three best contem- heavy Hyderabad Deccan Chargers
when Afridi’s statements were inter- porary batsmen at his best went amiss. failed to take off was because of
preted as those that eventually led to There is no chance of seeing Ponting in Herschelle Gibbs’ form. In fact, it would
the change of guard for the Deccan the second season as he has chosen to be appropriate to say that the collec-
Chargers. opt out in favour of forthcoming tive failures of their batsmen, a cluster
He though apologized to the crowds assignments for Australia and it would of some of the world’s best explosive
that turned up to support his team and hurt him to hear Lalit Modi batsmen, led to their eventual low rank-
stated, “I know I disappointed and let say that the absence of one ing in the points tally.
down my fans with my batting fail- man would not make IPL Priced at a 100,000 less than the USD
ures. My team finished at bottom poorer. 675,000 paid to Afridi, Gibbs could have
because of my ordinary form. It viewed the faith of his franchisees as
really hurts me. This version of 3 DOWN:
cricket suits my aggressive FLEMING – NOT
style of batting. But I took QUITE THE
pressure in the league. I Gibbs could not
wanted to give my best in provide the SILENT ASSAS-
this shorter version but Chargers’ innings Stephen SIN
unfortunately I failed.” Fleming was
There is always time to the momentum one of the men who
make amends. With the kind they desperately held the international
of figures he had in the first needed. His off banner of the IPL when
season, anything above and it was officially flagged
beyond would be an field amusements off. A slightly unusual
improvement. and positive mind choice, much like the
2 DOWN: LOW frame failed to Indian counterparts who
stood witness to the
POINT FOR inspire the event despite shunning
PONTING team. the World Twenty20
Ricky Ponting was not too championships, the for-
unhappy with the auction amount he mer New Zealand captain
was eventually bought for by the did have his explosive and
Kolkata Knight Riders. At USD 400,000, exquisite innings such as the one during
it was considerably lower than the 2003 World Cup against hosts
Australian team mate Andrew Symonds’ South Africa in the limited version of
1.35 million dollar deal for the Deccan the game.
Chargers. Ponting expressed his feelings Bought by the Chennai Super Kings,
the way he always does, without a Fleming was predictably expected to
hitch, “I thought I might have been able translate the finesse of his opening role
to attract a little bit more than that. I to the cause of getting the Chennai
have had my fair share of endorse- team to steady starts. But Fleming
ments over the years and always felt appeared largely out of his element,
the Indian people have warmed to me often searching for the middle of his
quite often when I have been there. bat or desperate to pierce the field.
Lots of things have gone through my Sedate and undermined, Fleming knew
mind, even my involvement in the his batting was failing the team and
Harbhajan (Singh) thing, but I thought spent time off the field and in the dug
hang on, Symo (Symonds) was involved out than on it, giving way to younger,
in it as well.” nobler intentions.
But that was not the only reason why It is little wonder then that with a view
Ponting was miffed. The failure to to using him in a role where he will per-
launch cost Australia’s top cricketer, not haps be able to serve best, the Chennai
to mention the highest paid cricketer Super Kings decided to employ
that year, additional grief compounded Fleming’s services in the position of the
by the fact that he was playing under team coach, Kepler Wessels’ contract
skipper Sourav Ganguly, a man he did standing not renewed for a second
not always see eye-to-eye with. The year. Perhaps Fleming’s innovations as a
Knight Riders flattered to deceive after captain will now yield better results for
Brendon McCullum’s stupendous kick Chennai than his own bat did.
Cricket
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45
One would want to be less harsh Ganguly would win the war of
on Rahul Dravid simply because half centuries, having made one
he was by far the highest run more than Dravid’s two and top
getter in the Royal scoring with ninety-one to Dravid’s
Challengers Bangalore team seventy-five. But neither
and led like a true captain, Sourav Ganguly stood out for memorable
with grit, when many ques- and Rahul Dravid, performances as an
tioned his captaincy as well enduring image of the IPL,
as his presence in a
failed to justify now established as a pow-
Twenty20 arena. But their icon status erhouse of Twenty20
being icon players and and if anything, tournaments. It would be
captains of their respec- raised uncomfort- too critical on Ganguly but
tive teams, both, Sourav able queries about given his lasting image as
Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, why men who one who could turn it on
failed to justify their icon rejected the World with some panache and
status and if anything, Twenty20 would one who has been a veter-
raised uncomfortable lead a young an of successful one day
queries about why men man’s team matches for India, he
who rejected the World would naturally come
Twenty20 would lead a
in the IPL. across as the favourite to
young man’s team in the adapt to the format, while
IPL. Dravid was clearly the under
Their figures are dog in a competition of expec-
virtually identi- tations between the two former India
cal. While captains.
Ganguly
made 349 6 DOWN: KALLIS –
runs at an LEAVING SOMETHING
average of AMISS
29.08, Dravid There was a furore when Jacques
made his 371 Kallis was left out of the South
runs at 28.53. African squad for the World
an opportunity Twenty20 hosted at home, so much
to earn back his so that Mark Boucher, his South
form and a permanent African team mate and now also at
place in the South African the Royal Challengers Bangalore, was
team, something that has tailgated up in arms over the decision. That
him without doubt until the last couple though only meant a rap on the knuck-
of years. An explosive batsman at the les for the South African wicket keeper
top of the order with a hand-eye coor- and Kallis feeling the need to redeem
dination to rival only the likes of a himself.
Virender Sehwag or Sanath Jayasuriya, Kallis may be enjoying a bit of limelight
Gibbs has the ability to win a match sin- this year, having surpassed 10,000
gle handedly, apart from boasting of international runs in both, Test and one
being an electrifying fielder. day internationals, but it was not easy
But Gibbs could not provide the going during the inaugural IPL. The
Chargers’ innings the momentum they Royal Challengers Bangalore were
desperately needed. When he landed in dubbed largely a ‘Test’ side and the
India, he had hoped that he would be criticism extended to Kallis as well,
able to change the team’s fortunes. rather harshly given that Kallis has
But at an average of 18.55, the been a colossus in the one day ver-
Chargers were going nowhere, at least sion of the game as well. That
not to the top. Gibbs’ off field amuse- Misbah ul Haq could have well
ments and positive mind frame failed made this list with an
to inspire the team; it appears only his average of 16 was not
bat can do the trick. discounted. But that
Kallis has had not
5 DOWN: JOINT only three addi-
SHARING VENTURE - tional matches
GANGULY AND but also, a
wealth of expe-
DRAVID rience makes his
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

presence a must on this list.
And the first year of the IPL was not
where Kallis managed to change that
mindset. He averaged a measly 18.09
with 199 runs in eleven matches with a
lone half century to his name. His bowl-
ing did not really prove the Royal
Challenger’s stock weapon either with
just four wickets at an average of
77.75. Kallis had under achieved, and
the unsavory expectations received an
unusual day in the sun.
7 DOWN: SPECIAL
APPEARANCE BY
SHOAIB AKHTAR
That could per-
haps explain his
career really.
Shah Rukh Khan
felt almost vindicat-
ed in his pursuit of
ensuring that the Rawalpindi
Express did make his mark in the IPL
when Shoaib Akhtar made a spec-
tacular show on debut. But
like with most matters
pertaining to cricket in his
life, success was short
lived mired amidst con-
troversies, and memories
even shorter.
Shah Rukh Khan was pre-
pared to go the distance
to get his USD 425,000
worth fast bowler from
Pakistan into the Kolkata
Knight Riders’s ranks. Akhtar
nearly missed the entire IPL
after the Pakistan Cricket
Board (PCB) imposed a five
year ban on him to virtually
kaput his international career.
That he even made it to two
matches then was as much
SRK’s lobbying for him as
was the enormous pres-
sure of watching
stars in action in
the IPL.
His debut at
Eden Gardens
was sensational.
Defending a
modest 133,
Akhtar gave
his team a
performance
that involved
taking four
Despite Anil Kumble’s colos-
sal success as India’s pre-
46
mier leg spinner, one had to wonder
what Kumble was doing in a Twenty20
trade when he was not even in India’s
strategy in the one day format. Picked
to play for the Royal Challengers, he
further strengthened the ‘Test’ tag
attached to the Bangalore team by
simply failing to make an impression,
much like the team he represented.
While Twenty20 started out with the
image of being a bludgeoning game for
batsmen while skewed negatively in
favour of the bowlers, increasingly a
case is being made for genuine bowlers
who are adept in their skills and at vari-
ations. But there was hardly a formida-
ble reason to justify his place purely
looking at his performances last year.
Yet Kumble was sought after, sadly
though he could not bring his skills to
the fore in the format of the game
where he could have set the precedent.
At USD 500,000, he did not come
cheap. Picking up seven wickets from
wickets for only
eleven runs. It
included the prized
scalps of the form
of the dynamic
duo from Delhi,
skipper
Virender
Sehwag and
Gautam Gambhir,
to send the Knight Riders
to a rollicking victory.
But Akhtar lasted just
two matches before
injury got the better of
him. The journey of the
IPL, like his cricket life,
came full circle when
Akhtar, who was
backed to the hilt by
Shah Rukh Khan and
his franchisee, was
put up for trade
for the second
season as soon
as the trad-
ing window
opened.
8
DOWN:
KUMBLE –
NOTHING TO
RUMBLE ABOUT
Cricket
Today
April 2009
47
ten matches in the IPL,
three of which came in a single game,
Kumble’s average of 43.42 and a not so
economical economy rate of 7.93, it is
hard to imagine that Kumble made a
lasting impression, one that made a
case for making him a regular in the
starting line up. He will have to draw
from his past successes in international
cricket, if he wants to continue to be a
force to reckon with post retirement
and make a dent in the RCB’s favour.
9 DOWN: ISHANT –
WHEN BEING
“SHAANT”(SILENT) IS
NOT GOOD!
“I’ve been off my game lately” would
perhaps apply best to the man, nay, lad
who walked away with a huge pay
check (USD 950,000 to be more accu-
rate) beyond his imagination within six
months of being a pivotal member of
the bowling attack that took Australia
down in the Commonwealth Bank
series. Ishant Sharma missed a chance
to tour South Africa a year earlier
when the selectors had a change of
heart at the eleventh hour. But that he
had arrived was never in question.
Ishant Sharma found himself in great
demand in the days leading up to the
IPL and it was quite a catch and a
match to watch Ishant in the same
team as Ricky Ponting who would have
found it bemusing to be sharing the
dressing room with his nemesis. But
apart from the odd moments when
Ponting was seen discussing matters on
the field with the fast bowling sensa-
tion, Ishant himself struggled to pick up dubbed a player better suited for a
wickets at will.
In fact he was hardly creating a name
for himself with only nine wickets in the rather casually when in supreme touch
entire tournament at a not so econom-
ical rate of 7.80. He was also perhaps
one of the reasons why despite
having such a star studded line
up, Knight Riders failed to
Though Sachin may the former the highest paid
have been placed icon player but also, because he
in the list in a mat- was a phenomenal name in
ter of being the
lowest of disap-
pointments, so
much is expected
of the man who
spectators never
tire of watching
that there was no
way he could have they had clearly underachieved.
been left out
of the team.
even make it to the semi finals. As
young as he may have been, he had
raised the expectations and based on
his then form and ability, it has to be
said that he was a star but one that
faded into the background in the
course of the tournament as did his
team.
10 ALL OUT: NOT QUITE
SACHIN TENDULKAR
One may wonder why Sachin Tendulkar
is being singled out when he, like V.V.S.
Laxman, battled with injury in the
course of the duration of the IPL. V.V.S.
Laxman fought the indignity of being
Test team as he warmed the bench. His
penchant to throw away his wicket
has often been Laxman’s bane. Like
Dravid and Ganguly, the IPL could
have been the platform to prove his
critics wrong and led his respective
regional team to success with the
backing of local support. But the
expectations from Tendulkar was
exponentially higher than those from
Laxman because not only was
cricket history whose milestones
belonged as much to the one
day game as they did to the
Tests.
While injury is a valid reason,
when these two batsmen of flu-
ency and flair took the field,
their performances suggest
With an identical average of 31,
Tendulkar played one game
more than Laxman’s six, it was
simply a case of not having left
behind performances that inspire
instant recall in a game tailor made
for the likes of Tendulkar.
Though he may have been placed in
the list in a matter of being the lowest
of disappointments, so much is expect-
ed of the man who spectators never
tire of watching that there was no way
he could have been left out of this
team, leniency of injury notwithstand-
ing.
That the IPL shone without the light
shining from such men of brilliance is
extraordinary. One has only to shudder
at the imagination of the kind of luster
that would surround the IPL should one
or all of these men suddenly decide it is
their time to shine! 
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

48

The best of the

IPLSeason One
by Chetan Narula
Cricket
Today
April 2009

49

t
he Indian Premier League is not just gold dresses with golden helmets and gear
about cricket only. If anybody thinks were the most pleasing to the eye, any part
so, they are grossly mistaken of the country one went to. No wonder their
because they just need to look into merchandise was the one outselling that of
the months of preparations that go all other franchises. It was plain and simple,
into staging the matches, getting the cheer- their design. They were the king’s men and
leaders ready, the clothing designed and thus the golden hues painted brightly on
stitched, the marketing and media campaigns their uniforms. Plus they were the knights
running overtime and getting the crowds and thus had to be in a shade which not only
worked into a frenzy. Yes, it wasn’t about stands out people but at the same time,
the cricket alone and if the first season did- doesn’t hide their strong points, rather
n’t impress you enough, just wait up for the brings them out in the open. Clear winners in
second season to enthrall your imaginations. this area, the Kolkata franchise.
Meanwhile we are fairly convinced that a lot And if there is place for a close runner-up,
of effort was put in which was beyond the then the Delhi Dare Devils clothing is as close
boundary and therefore that needs to be as it gets. The red and black colouring was
highlighted as well. For only then will they be yet another treat to the eye, making the
inspired onto the next level, presenting prob - team look serious about their work on the
ably an even better show this year. field and all the more dangerous at the same
time. Even the Chennai Super Kings weren’t
BEST CREST: that bad with a bright yellow hue to their
The identity of the eight teams involved was clothing, giving them a pleasant and fun-
everything to them. They chose fancy names filled yet business minded look about their
and needed fancy designs on their crests to antics on the field. The worst: well that was
symbolize what they stand for. The colours reserved for the Kings XI Punjab who could-
and the name need to fit in fancy fully and n’t get their clothing right from the very
live on in the minds of those who not only start and changed designs and colours
cheer for the teams but also follow their atleast three times before one stopped car-
progress. More than that, they should be ing!
unique and recognizable from a distance
whenever they are viewed in any part of the BEST STADIUM:
country if not the world. All the franchises did their very best in this
There are a few contenders for the best respect, for although the tournament was a
crest and they are: Kolkata Knight Riders, domestic one, the presence of international
Deccan Chargers, Rajasathan Royals and stars meant that the whole world would be
Kings XI Punjab. Deccan Chargers could have watching and probably even coming down to
been the outright winners here but their watch some of the matches. Most of the
team didn’t perform anywhere near the existing grounds like Mohali, Delhi, Chennai
charged up bull they display on their badge and Bangalore were renovated
and therefore miss out – probably next time! while some other new ones also
Kings XI Punjab is an example where they came up like the one in
may have cluttered it up a bit too much for Hyderabad. The best one though
comfort, with two lion manes flowing but was host to the most important
there are many unexplained initials on game of the tournament that is
their crest. Knight Riders run the even - the all important final match. The
tual winners close but the Rajasathan DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai
Royals are clear winners here for is a world class facility and
their crest represents what their DY Patil Stadium in one of the best grounds in
team, franchise and host city is all Mumbai is a world the country at present. No
about: royalty. Complete with gold- class facility and one wonder then that the BCCI
en hues, crowns and trumpets, of the best grounds chose this particular venue
there is a kingly feel to the symbol in the country at for the finals when the top
they wear on their clothing. present. No wonder honchos of world cricket
Oh, by the way, the Bangalore Royal then that the BCCI descended into the country.
Challengers have the worst one, no chose this particular Having said that the worst
thinking going into it, just two plain venue for the venue wasn’t far away
alphabets, R and C. finals.when the top either, with the Wankhede
honchos of world Stadium across the city,
BEST CLOTHING: cricket descended taking the cake for this one!
The Kolkata Knight Riders are the into the coun- The plight of the common
clear winners here. Their black and try. man was beyond words as

people were made to sit on wooden
slabs and not even proper seats. This is
the venue for the world cup final in
2011 and it is only apt that it is being
renovated as one writes.
BEST HOSPITALITY:
With the best grounds
and the stadiums,
comes in the hospi-
tality factor. The
write has been
to a large
number of
IPL matches as
a part of the
crowd and as a
member of the
press, and the
experience is entirely
different in both the
cases. And that is what is
wrong with Indian cricket.
Unless and until the Board
realizes that the people who
come in to watch the game are
the driving force behind it, and the
money that they earn, then only will
things improve for the better for
Indian cricket and their fans.
Having said that, the crown for the
most hospitable hosts has to go to
Vijay Mallya! He may not know how to
pick a side for T20 match but he does
know how to treat his guests. The first
match of the IPL, while his team was
being tanked to all parts of the ground,
people sitting and watching were not
only enjoying sumptuous food but also
beer from his Kingfisher stable! Beer at
a cricket ground is an almost unheard
of concept in India, a country where
even water bottles are sometimes for-
bidden past the gates.
BEST CHEERLEADERS:
The other part good about the
Bangalore team were the girls they had
in their cheerleading squad. They
brought in the girls from the
Washington Red Sox for the opening
game and a few of them stayed back
Cricket
Today
April 2009
50
for the length of the tournament. Even
the new ones brought in weren’t a
shade on the ones they replaced and
throughout the duration of the cham -
pionship, there was one din which when
heard could only be associated with the
Royal Challengers: the test team in T20
clothes with the best cheergirls!
No one could figure out what it was
with poor teams and best cheer girls
for the Deccan Chargers had Russian
troupers flown in for the IPL. Needless
to say, they had the second best girls
of the lot, while having the worst team
in lieu of points scored in the league.
The worst cheerleading squad was of
the Mumbai Indians as they, as per
their name, decided to go local and
hired from the city itself. The end
result was some pathetic artistry every
time a wicket fell or a boundary scored.
Why, there were even boys in their
troupe!
BEST ENTOURAGE:
This one has to go Shah Rukh Khan. He
conjured up the Knight Riders which
will surely get more tag-
awards but this one was
the most unlikely one they
would have got. But consid-
ering that the Eden Gardens
had more than twenty thou-
sand tickets reserved for the
members of the Cricket
Association of Bengal, this was
one party that couldn’t be
topped. And as if it wasn’t
enough, SRK had his personal
friends and family following him
around all over the pavilions and
the grounds. Even the usual cul-
prits the DDCA were not able to
dole out as many free passes and
tickets for the GMR people kept a
strict watch and checked back the
numbers to just around five thousand.
BEST CAMPAIGN:
It is the Delhi Dare Devils who trump up
every one in this category. The GMR
group came up with some really decent
and innovative ideas when it came to
bridging the bond between the fans
and their local heroes. All the teams
got their local catchment areas’ news-
papers and radio stations on board,
that was a given. But the Daredevils
went one step ahead.
First things first the team bus didn’t
have tinted windows like any other
cricket team bus in this country. The
Cricket
Today
April 2009

59
logic was simple: the public should be
able to see that their heroes are
sweating it out, going for practice ses-
sions or on their way to the grounds
for the battle to commence. And with
the bus in tow, many would also follow
them to the stadium. The other initia-
tive that really caught the eye was in
collaboration with their official radio
partners, 104 FM. The cricketers actu -
ally went to the contest winners’ resi-
dences to award them free tickets and
give out a personalized invite to the
Delhi team’s matches at the Feroz Shah
Kotla. In a country where a cricketer is
but a demi-god, this was definitely a
once in a lifetime heavenly experience
for all those lucky contest winners to
find the likes of Sehwag and Gambhir
knocking on their doors! the spirit that Mumbai brings with it only, showman to have bought a team
to the grounds, where they wear in the IPL! And he spared no expenses
BEST CROWD: their hearts on their sleeve. in making sure that the masses, espe -
When it comes to watching, Even Rahul Dravid was surprised to cially the Bengali ones, take to his
and appreciating, cricket in hear complete silence when he hit a charm and his team. Dressed up in gold
India, there is no better boundary in his match against the dhotis with damsels in equally glittering
place in the country Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede and get-ups, SRK danced his way to glory
than Mumbai. And quite therefore that alone is testament to on the tunes of Bappi Lahiri, the cult
simply then, they have the fact that the crowds who Bengali singer-music director. And from
the best crowds rush - Preity Zinta made it thronged the three stadiums that moment on the tunes of Korbo,
ing in to watch each a point to be ever in the cricketing capital of the Lorbo, Jeetbo were on the wagging
and every cricket present at each country, took the city rivalry tongues of every cricket and SRK lover
event, or a sports match, be it at theme of the tournament in this country, and not just Bengal.
event for that mat-
ter in their vicinity.
home in Mohali or quite seriously! BEST AMBASSADOR:
Sure, they may not away, hugging one BEST SONG & The franchises really spared no expens-
always be very well and all even SRK DANCE: es as one after the other famous per-
behaved, booing did his best until he Quite clearly there is only one sonalities were roped in to promote
home heroes and was impeded by man who could have beaten the team amongst the billion strong
uttering monkey
chants at times, but
the ICC from enter- hthimissfeielfldtoanbdeitnhgatthise SbReKs.t Finor cricket fan base in this country. Be it
Kareena Kapoor with Saif Ali Khan in
then that is part of ing the pavil- he is the number one, and the tow for Mumbai Indians, or Katrina Kaif
ion. for Royal Challengers, or the daredevil
Akshay Kumar himself for Delhi
DareDevils, the stars kept popping out
at almost every occasion, like clock -
work. Some teams didn’t really need
the props thanks to star power owner-
ship and they were the ones who really
promoted their franchises and teams
to the hilt, taking the honors in this
category. Preity Zinta made it a point
to be ever present at each match, be it
at home in Mohali or away, hugging one
and all, high fiving Lalit Modi on her
team’s journey to the semi-finals. Even
SRK did his best until he was impeded
by the ICC from entering the pavilion
and then he got busy with his shooting.
With Shilpa Shetty joining in the circus
this year, it will be a good cat fight
between the new entrant and the
feisty Zinta! 

t
here was little doubt that the
IPL was a runaway success in
the inaugural year. It had all
the essential ingredients that
make for a Bollywood block-
buster – heroes with rockstar roles,
dancing girls, raucous crowds, drama,
drink and delight. But the villains were
never far either, springing a nasty sur-
prise in blind alleys in form of contro-
versies. They held their fair share of
the limelight. That it was not a pretty
sight, would be an understatement.
Here’s a run down of some of the
swirling winds and sand storms last
summer that caused quite the stir in
ascending order of significance to the
game itself!
SHOCKER NO. 1: RCB
FIRE CEO BEFORE
GAMES BEGIN!
Such can be the corporate way of
working that no one is secure in their
job, not even the CEO, or perhaps one
should say, especially the CEO. Vijay
Mallya was sitting in a grudging mood
at the pit wall of the Turkish Grand Prix.
On his mind, was the humiliation that
his IPL team, the Royal Challengers
Bangalore, was being dubbed as a ‘Test’
Cricket
Today
April 2009
60
When Trouble
Came Looking for
the IPL
by Sreelata S. Yellamrazu
he made about the IPL. He claimed he
made the remarks in jest and that he
had been “an idiot” in his own words to
goof around saying that the IPL was
“only four overs a game and it was like
a paid holiday; you only had to work
hard if you felt like it, which is probably
why we (the Royal Challengers
Bangalore) finished second-last.”
He apologized for the folly of his ways
in the following words, “The truth is, I
tried my absolute hardest for
Bangalore in every game and I was as
disappointed as anyone that we fared
so poorly. I desperately regret my
naivety and look forward to the oppor-
tunity of helping the franchise reach
the semi-finals next year.” One wonders
if Mallya could have ill afforded to put
Steyn in the trading window for his
comments, even if he did take them
team even before the IPL tournament
itself had marched into a second week.
Seeing at the turn of events that
reduced his team image to ridicule, the
first head on the chopping line was of
the CEO of the team, Charu Sharma
who Mallya accused of plotting the
wrong strategy to gather up the play-
ers at the auction. It was an allegation
Charu refuted in the politest manner
possible while still recovering from the
shock himself. The news sent shock-
waves through the team, other teams
and franchisees that sport was no
longer just sport, it meant serious busi-
ness, even ruthless at times.
It was a good thing then that Dale
Steyn made a apology in writing to his
franchisee and in public about a remark
Cricket
Today
April 2009
61
seriously. But in a dressing room that
was made to realize very early that
their transgression, nay even under per-
formance, would not be taken kindly,
Steyn was better off leaving his jest
behind in South Africa before training
ahead with the Royal Challengers.
Charu Sharma went back, as dignified as
possible under the circumstance, to
anchoring a cricket show on a news net-
work and Mallya returned back to
watching the progress of the Force
India team on the team monitors as a
busy Formula One season unfolded.
SHOCKER NO. 2:
CHEERLEADERS SEE NO
CHEER
With the cheerleaders around, how far
could the moral police be? The fanfare
for the IPL began with a competition,
not between bat and ball. Rather Vijay
Mallya won this one hands down and
caught his fellow franchisee owners by
surprise. He roped in the Washington
Redskins and ensured no other team will
be able to get hold of the cheerleaders.
Call it a shrewd move of monopoly but
Mallya was not going to apologise. But it
would be the only competition he would
successfully conquer all season. But
that is another matter altogether.
While the cheerleaders captivated the
audiences with their moves, their
clothes did not see eye-to-eye with all
viewers. While most people brushed it
off as a flimsy gimmick, one that would
fade into the background once serious
cricketing action took over, some politi-
cians threw in their lot behind those
that took up the matter of the skimpy
clothes and skin exhibition. cheerleaders to entertain.”
Subsequently franchisees were forced
to act before party spoilers had a field SHOCKER NO. 3:
day over the issue. MUMBAI’S RELUCTANT
Mumbai Indians chose to go the way of CAPTAINS –RISE OF THE
local cheerleaders as did the Chennai
Super Kings and the designs certainly NON PLAYING CAP-
involved lengthier tights over hot pants. TAIN?
The Delhi Daredevils went one step fur- The Mumbai Indians found themselves
ther – they did away with their cheer- with a non playing captain for much of
leaders altogether. Not a very daredevil the season. While teams got off to
move, but one of discretion. So, was
discretion the better part of valour?
To add to the humiliation, most of the
cheerleaders were from nations that
had little knowledge about the game
and therefore, they were slow to react
and their moves were often mistimed
and predictably robotic. But it was no
joking matter when two Afro American
cheerleaders accused the event man-
agement company of discriminating on
the basis of skin and thereby, denying
them the chance to perform with their
troupe during the IPL’s opening cere-
mony.
The idea behind the inclusion of the
cheerleaders was clearly an attempt to
organize a sports event with a more
pan global image like an entertainment
bonanza that has often been used in
countries abroad for other sports. But
all in all, all the cheer about the cheer-
leaders died with euphemism. Leave it
to Shahid Afridi to summarize popular
opinion, the latter part of his opinion
perhaps carrying more value and merit,
“The girls in skimpy dresses should be
removed from the ground as this is dis-
tracting the batsmen. Cricket itself is an
entertainment. It does not require such
start with their icon players expect-
ed to lead their respective teams,
Sachin Tendulkar posed a conundrum.
Laid low by injury, Tendulkar found him-
self benched, though not by design.
While it was a bitter blow to Mumbai’s
batting line up, it was an even bigger
loss in the captaincy department with
Mumbai being the only franchisee to
start without their skipper.
The problem then posed was finding an
interim captain on the field, while
Sachin lent his voice and hand off it. It
was compounded by the fact that the
team had two former international cap-
tains but both were rather reluctant to
take up the role. What kind of impres-
sion does it send across when no man
wants to captain a team?
Harbhajan Singh was given the captain’s
 Cricket
Today
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62
badge but when the captain is setting dire straits and although they did make would earn fifteen per cent higher than
an example of the wrong kind as his a comeback of sorts, his role as a non- the highest paid cricketer in the team
case will be visited a little later in this playing captain certainly gave as decided during the auctions.
line up, Mumbai were forced to look rise to a new, unexplored and However, the debate raged throughout
elsewhere. In a toss up between uncomfortable concept in the the tournament as the icons, apart
Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun game thus far. from Virender Sehwag for the Delhi
Pollock, Jayasuriya apparently It was certainly a polar point Daredevils, failed to really justify their
happily handed the baton to of view from Shane Warne virtu- presence as leading iconic figures of
Pollock who, it has to be said, ally ruling out the need for coach- the immensely popular and highly publi-
had had experience of what es with his role as coach- cized cricket tournament outside of the
it felt like walking on egg The choice of icons cum-captain for the international schedule.
shells when he first cap- in itself was sur- Rajasthan Royals for a lot The choice of icons in itself was surpris-
tained the South African prising. one must less money. Warne him- ing. While there is no denying the legacy
team in a role thrust upon remember that self had issues with John that these players are set to leave
him overnight when Hansie three icon-cum- Buchanan, the former behind upon their retirement, one must
Cronje confessed to the captains – Sachin Australian coach and the remember that three icon-cum-captains
match fixing scandal. His Tendulkar, Sourav current coach of the – Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and
tenure was brought to an Ganguly and Rahul Kolkata Knight Riders. He Rahul Dravid – had actually opted out of
abrupt, abysmal end after
South Africa exited from
Dravid – had actu- only reiterated his
thoughts on what he
the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup.
While Sachin Tendulkar was injured for
the 2003 World Cup hosted ally opted out of thought of coaches, in a most of the first season of the IPL,
at home, ending ignomin- the inaugural not-so-polite manner Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid were
iously after an inaccurate Twenty20 with direct reference to the leading run scorers of their respec-
reading of the Duckworth World Cup. Buchanan. But that he tive sides. Yet they failed to lend the
Lewis method brought the himself has taken up impetus of their powerhouse status to
curtains down on a show that flopped coaching, he has certainly the event, and in that, there were plen-
miserably in front of a home audience. stretched the idea of ty of simmering tensions.
The ‘will-he, won’t he’ game played out whether the captain is good enough to While Rahul Dravid felt the pressure of
before every match. But Sachin make all the calls, rendering the coach captaincy and discomfort with the
Tendulkar proved a hit with the team as as excess. dressing room after the booting out of
well as with the crowds, who were sim- Charu Sharma, V.V.S. Laxman faced a sit-
ply happy to cheer for him every time SHOCKER NO.4: uation that was perhaps a combination
his face flashed on the screens in the ICONIC DISASTER of Tendulkar’s and Dravid’s predica-
stadium. Tendulkar did eventually take The IPL structure was designed ment. Injured and out of favour, VVS’s
the field but by then, his team were in such that the ‘icon’ players absence meant that Adam Gilchrist led
the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers for the
rest of the season, with many knowl-
edgeable voices in cricketing circles
asserting that Gilchrist was indeed a
better Twenty20 ambassador while
Laxman epitomized the cricket repre-
sentation from Hyderabad. But that did
little for his icon status, once again
lending weight to the argument over
the choice of icons.
SHOCKER NO. 5:
AKHTAR’S FOLLOWING
POST BAN
The way Shah Rukh Khan and the
Kolkata Knight Riders pursued the case
of Shoaib Akhtar to have the ban
imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) lifted partially, one would have to
wonder if the tank was empty as far as
the Knight Riders’ bowling attack was
concerned. But one thing that the
Knight Riders learnt very quickly was
that Shoaib Akhtar could not be relied
on for consistency, but they still had to
learn it the hard way.
For all of Shah Rukh Khan’s vociferous
Cricket
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April 2009
63
desperation, Akhtar lasted two
matches. Injury laid low the con-
troversial fast bowler from Pakistan.
From being banned for using banned
substances, for inflicting physical
assault on his fellow player, for being
singled out for alleged lack of commit-
ment during a game, Akhtar has seen it
all. Now with the opportunity to make
money from the game that he will per-
haps look back as something he did not
quite do justice to, Akhtar was keen to
be a part of the IPL: the only glitch –
the five year ban imposed by the IPL.
While Lalit Modi was adamant that the
IPL could not bypass the verdict of a
national cricket board, Shah Rukh’s
efforts paid off in that Shoaib Akhtar
did eventually feature for the Knight
Riders. But he would leave the field as
he often did – flatter only to deceive.
Pakistan have seen that umpteen times
and the franchisee owners of the
Knight Riders tasted the bitter sweet
taste of having a temperamental, trou-
ble prone player in the team.
In his debut match for the IPL, Shoaib
Akhtar produced a match winning per-
formance as he virtually single handedly
destroyed the Delhi Daredevils team. His
wickets blast blew away the Daredevils
on a day when they were expectedly to
chase a modest total of 133 rather
comfortably. But that would be Akhtar’s
lone performance of merit in the tour-
saw the birth of the term ‘pyjama crick-
et’ and coloured clothes and the popu-
larity of the one day game. But most
felt that the IPL was not the Packer-like
revolution and their observations bor-
dered on the dangerous.
The bone of contention was the dispari-
ty between pay check and talent that
the IPL brought forth in its design. Also
amongst contentious concerns was the
IPL, and in turn the BCCI’s monopolizing
dictatorship that extended to other
boards through pressure on the ICC
which was polarizing the game into the
IPL and non IPL entities.
In so doing, it once again brought to
mind the verdict of Justice Slade back
in 1977 during the Packer era that
denounced Packer’s detractors, namely
the ICC, for not adhering to recognizing
all players and their right to earn a living
without discrimination. That the BCCI,
through a successful model, was
threatening to dictate how cricket
should be run by other boards through
moves that suggest an irrational insecu-
rity over the success of the ICL, has
nament as injury bogged him often been an uncomfortable topic of
down and the Knight Riders soon debate.
found out that Akhtar’s fortunes, like
the Knight Riders’ own, had been a case SHOCKER NO. 7:
of flattery and disappointing deception. BENDING THE LAW,
SHOCKER NO. 6: NOT PUSHING BOUNDARIES
That this was a serious cricket tourna-
QUITE PACKER LIKE ment was brought to bear by the ten-
The IPL faced a lot of criticism – sions within teams and between teams.
before, during and after. While its com- One such instance came when the
mercial success was not in doubt, the Rajasthan Royals faced the Kolkata
fate of the game as it stood caused
quite a stir. The number of players
alone that had retired on course of the
inaugural IPL – Shaun Pollock, Adam
Gilchrist, Glen McGrath, Shane Warne,
Stephen Fleming – raised doubts over
whether players would soon fall for the
lure of money, cite workload issues and
retire from their national teams. There
were already those within the puritan
society of the game that dubbed it the
shameless exhibitionism of the sports
when cricket was now played for money
and where players who complained of
excessive workloads for national sides
were happy to sign on the IPL’s dotted
line.
Some though called it a revolution in
the sport, with the intention to com-
mercialize the game and make it more
marketable like some of the sports in
foreign countries. Some even went to
suggest this was on the lines of the
Kerry Packer drama of the eighties that

Knight Riders. The Knight Riders skipper,
Sourav Ganguly, chose to question the
umpire over the clean catch taken by
Graeme Smith even as Shane Warne felt
the former should have walked off.
That Ganguly raised the query with the
umpire, which is not the norm for a
batsman of an umpire, irked Warne who
spoke out about Ganguly violating the
spirit of the game. Both players were
fined ten per cent of their match fee
and for Ganguly, it was as close to a
clean getaway as he could manage.
Cricket
Today
April 2009
64
perhaps saved the day and face.
SHOCKER NO. 8: ASIF’S
CHRONIC DOPING
DOSE
The stop start career of Mohammad
Asif reads like a chapter straight out of
a tragedy. The Pakistan fast bowler was
first caught in the act along with Shoaib
Akhtar by the Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) before the last edition of
Champions Trophy. Several cases and
counter arguments later, Asif
was once again free. But appar-
ently not from the doping that
seemed to have chequered his
career.
In random drug testing con-
ducted during the IPL along the
guidelines of WADA (World Anti
Doping Agency), it was
In random drug soon leaked out that one
testing conduct- of the IPL players had
ed during the IPL failed to pass the test and
one of the IPL had indeed turned in a
players had positive sample. Fingers
failed to pass soon pointed towards
the test and had Asif. And it was not long
after the Delhi Daredevils
indeed turned in finished their on field con-
a positive sam- frontations that Asif was
ple. Fingers nabbed at the Dubai air-
soon pointed port en route to Pakistan
towards for the illegal possession
Asif. of drugs.
Once again a red flag was
raised over his career and
for a man who had the privi-
leged opportunity of bowling alongside
Glen McGrath, he has extinguished his
candle even as it promised to burn
bright. While lawyers are fighting the
case on a technical and he continues to
tow the line of subscribing to alterna-
tive medicine that may have contained
the banned substance, it has toll a toll
on Asif and perhaps on Pakistan’s crick-
et, and in turn, the IPL, that would have
been enriched enormously with his tal-
The spirit of the game could have once ent. He now unfortunately shares the
again been brought to bear in a match pedestal of a troubled career right next
that again involved the Rajasthan to Akhar.
Royals. Skipper Virender Sehwag SHOCKER NO.9: SRK
pestered umpire Steve Davies into tak-
ing the matter of the run out of Shane BANNED FROM KKR
Warne to the third umpire. The reason DRESSING ROOM
perhaps that Davis did not consult the Shah Rukh Khan is known to be flam-
television umpire in the first place was boyant in the way he expresses his love
that the television replays were not and enthusiasm to matters that are
available earlier in the match. But close to his heart. He was rejoicing mer-
Sehwag’s insistence could have caused rily in the balcony with the Kolkata
another furore. But the technical glitch Knight Riders’ Brendon McCullum set
Cricket
Today
April 2009
65
the lung opener off to a trail-
blazing start. Against the
Chennai Super Kings, he hopped
around happily, shaking hands
and engaging in conversation with the
Chennai coach Kepler Wessels and play-
ers in the dug out. But his merry ways
were chained when he was banned
from entering his own team’s dressing
room.
While there were no malicious under-
tone Allen Stanford when the latter
gleefully posed for photographs with
the wifes of England players during a
multi million dollar Twenty20 extrava-
ganza in the Caribbean recently, the ICC
Anti Corruption Unit warned one of
Bollywood’s leading male actors from
being anywhere near the Knight Riders’
dressing room or dug out during the
duration of a match.
Naturally Shah Rukh Khan was an
aggrieved man and the bone of con-
tention that his presence could arouse
suspicion was insulting to him, “I like to
hang around with the boys. I am very
energetic. I am very disappointed that
the ICC has stopped me. I don’t know
the ICC rules. I’ll tell only one thing.
Nobody dare stop me from coming
to Kolkata. I’ll be here whenever my
team plays a match at the Eden.” The
last thing Shah Rukh himself would
want is to be caught out in a situation
of match fixing, which in recent times,
has seen even mobile phones banned
from dressing room.
MAXIMUM SHOCK:
BHAJJI’S HIT OUT,
SOBBING SREESANTH
This is perhaps one that will go down as
one of the worst incidents cricket his-
tory has witnessed between players
belonging to one team. There were no
language misinterpretations, there was
no one off confrontation got out of
hand, such as the one between Marco
Materazzi and Zinedine Zidane during
the football World Cup. And this was
decidedly worse than the head butting
incident that marked the climax of that
event.
That is what sustained provocation can
do and one cannot imagine if there is a
better case why sledging should never
be a part of the game in the first place.
Sreesanth has the annoying habit of
getting under the skin of the batsmen
he bowls to and it was most unfortu-
nate that the Kings XI Punjab bowler
decided to do it again to the Mumbai
Indians batsmen.
This was on the stand-in Mumbai
Indians skipper Harbhajan Singh was
unwilling to stand for. A hand shake was
met with a slap and the next thing one
saw was a sobbing Sreesanth being
consoled by the likes of VRV Singh,
Irfan Pathan and later by lady Preity
Zinta herself. But was Sreesanth vali-
dated in his tears when he was the per-
petrator himself? Not in the eyes of
the IPL adjudicator and former India
wicket keeper, Farokh Engineer, who
extended himself in a photo op session
with the two team India lads starkly
reminiscent of the bonhomie between
Ganguly and then coach Greg Chappell
over a pool table in Zimbabwe.
Harbhajan Singh paid heavily, literally
and missed out on the rest of the IPL
while Sreesanth dangerously walked
away with a visit to the principal’s
office.
It was one of the most atrocious acts
by cricketers and one that threatened
to completely delineate the game from
the gentleman’s image. That it had to
happen just after an equally ugly inci-
dent in Sydney, Australia where both
India and Australia had many moments
they would not be proud of, only
showed India’s image in a poor light and
one that allowed Australia to get off
saying “I told you so.” That the players
were dealt with sternly, at least to an
extent, showed that the IPL
had every intention of keep-
ing the integrity of the
game on the field and perhaps, that
was the only small consolation.
That the IPL has not only withstood the
multitude of brick bats but also, come
out looking all glossy, sheen and entic-
ing is credit then to the many highs
that have balanced the lows that
threatened to undermine not only the
IPL but the game of cricket itself. 
 Cricket
Today
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66

n
ew Zealand's Brendon
McCullum destroyed the There were many ups
home team in the inaugural
match of the IPL at the
and downs in inaugural
Chinnaswamy Stadium in Indian Premier League
Bangalore on April 18th. It was a brutal
one-man assault on the Bangalore Royal
last year. As many as
Challengers, McCullum blasted an 58 matches were
unbeaten 158 from a mere 73 deliver- played. The match
ies with 13 sixes and 10 fours, thus
putting his name on the top of the lad-
between Delhi
der in terms of highest individual score Daredevils and Kolkata
in a Twenty20 match, which propel
Kolkata Knight Riders to an imposing
Knight Riders at Delhi
222 for 3 in 20 overs. Before was abanonded with
McCullum, Somerset's Cameron White out a ball being bowled.
was the one who had this record in his
kitty. He made an unbeaten 141 off 70
Here are the some
balls with 14 fours and six sixes against world records and mile-
Worcestershire at Worcester on July
9th 2006 which McCullum blew away
stones from inaugural
with his well crafted innings in the IPL. Indian Premier League
The 13 towering sixes smashed by
McCullum during his hard hitting knock,
was the most in an innings of a
Twenty20 match. The previous
record was held by West Indian
Chris Gayle who hit 10 sixes
during his 117-run
knock against
South
Africa

in the

WORLD RECORDS
Twenty20 World
Cup at Johannesburg on
September 11th 2007.
McCullam completed his
century off just 53 balls
with eight fours and seven
sixes which is the sixth
AND MILESTONES
fastest century in T-20
cricket. After completing
first 50 off 32 balls with
five fours and three sixes,
IN INAUGURAL IPL
he just took 21 balls and
smashed three fours and
by Pervez S. Qaiser back after that battering, and collapsed
four sixes to complete his limply to 82 in 15.1 overs to lose by an
second fifty. His third 50 embarrassing margin of 140 runs, the
came even faster, it only fourth-largest defeat in the shortest
took him 17 deliveries with version of the game. Extras (19)
two fours and five sixes to topped the score for Bangalore team.
reach the landmark. The It was the sixth time that extras being
punch-drunk Bangalore highest scorer in an innings.
team was in no con- **Chennai Super Kings recorded the
dition to fight highest ever total in Twenty20 cricket
on Indian soil by scoring 240 for five in
20 overs against Kings XI Punjab in the
second match of IPL at Punjab Cricket
Association Stadium, Mohali,
Chandigarh, on April 19th 2008.
Cricket
Today
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67
It was also the fourth highest total in
this form of cricket after Sri Lanka's
260 for six against Kenya at
Makhaya Ntini became the third South African to complete a hat
trick in Twenty20 cricket.
Johannesburg on September 14th
2007, Somerset's 250 for three against
Gloucestershire at Taunton on June
27th 2006 and Nondescripts 245 for
four against Sri Lanka Air Sports Club at
Colombo on October 16th 2005 being
the third best score imposed by a team
in a Twenty20 match. Kolkata Knight
Riders who scored 222 for three in 20
overs against Bangalore Royal
Challengers in the opening match, helds
the previous record of highest innings
total on Indian soil.
**Michael Hussey became the seventh
batsman to smash nine or more sixes in
an innings of a twenty20 match. The
left hand middle order batsman hit nine
sixes during his unbeaten knock of 114
runs. It is the eighth highest individual
score in the shortest format of cricket.
As many as 447 runs were scored for score two or more centuries in twenty-
the loss of nine wickets in 40 overs 20 cricket. Symonds blasted his way to
which is the second highest match reach the landmark in just 41 balls
aggregate in Twenty20 matches. A which is joint sixth fastest in
total number of 449 runs were scored Twenty20 cricket. He also
for the loss of nine wickets in 40 overs holds the record of fastest
in the match between century in T-20 version of
Worcestershire and Northampton the game. Playing in Kent col-
shire at Chester Road North ors against Middlesex at
Ground, Kidderminster, on June Maidstone in 2004, Symonds
29th 2007 which is the highest thrashed the bowlers to
ever match aggregate in 20 complete his ton in 34
overs format Chennai Super balls during his 112-run
**Andrew Symonds became Kings recorded knock thus setting the
the 14th batsman to com- the highest ever bench mark for the
plete a century of bound- total in Twenty20 years to come
aries in Twenty20 cricket. **David Hussey became
Playing for Deccan Chargers, cricket on Indian the first batsman ever
the hard hitting middle order soil by scoring to complete a half cen-
batsman achieved this fate 240 for five in 20 tury of sixes in
when he hit four off overs against Twenty20 cricket. The
Rajasthan Royals' medium Kings XI Punjab in right hand middle order
fast bowler Shane Watson
during his class act of the second match batsman from Morley
achieved this record by
unbeaten 117-run knock in of IPL. hitting first six off right
the ninth match of the arm medium fast
Indian Premier League at bowler Siddharth Trivedi
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, during his battling knock
Uppal, Hyderabad, on April 24th. of 42-run while playing
Symonds' century was his second in against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian
28th innings of 29 matches of Premier League at Sawai Mansingh
Twenty20 cricket saga. The Australian Stadium, Jaipur on May 1.South African
all rounder also became only the fourth Loots Bosman and Australian Cameron
player after Ian Harvey (three hundreds White shared the record of most sixes
in 31 innings of 32 matches), Graeme in Twenty20 cricket before Hussey.
Hick (two hundreds in 27 innings of 28 Bosman smashed 49 sixes in 30
matches) and Cameron White (two hun- innings of 30 matches while
dreds in 27 innings of 27 matches) to White hit same number of sixes in
 Cricket
Today
April 2009

68
27 innings of 27 matches. The
Australian also became the second
player to appear in 50 or more match-
es in Twenty20 cricket. The only player
who appeared in 50 Twenty20 matches
before Hussey is Martin van Jaarsveld
.He played 52, Twenty20 matches
between 2004 and 2007 for Kent and
Northampton shire in England and for
Titans in South Africa.
**David Hussey and Wriddhiman Saha
set a new record for the sixth wicket in
Twenty20 cricket by adding 104 runs
for Kolkata Knight Riders against Kings
XI Punjab at Punjab Cricket Association
Ground, Mohali on May 3rd. After los-
ing their fifth wicket at 50 in 9.4 overs,
Kolkata Knight Riders seemed to be
heading for a massive defeat but David
Hussey and young Wriddhiman Saha
had other ideas intact. The pair started
slowly, playing out a couple of overs
before producing a sensational 104 off
55 balls - a world record in Twenty20
cricket and first ever century partner-
Scott Styris became ship for the sixth wicket. Previously
only the sixth bats- Robert Key and Matthew Walker who
man to complete added 98 runs for the undefeated
1000 runs in T20 sixth wicket partnership for Kent
cricket.The right against Middlesex at Beckenham on
hand middle order July 4th 2006, were the proud owners
batsman from of this record.
Auckland achieved **Sohail Tanvir recorded the best ever
this milestone dur- bowling performance in Twenty20
ing his unbeaten cricket by taking six wickets for 14 runs
32-run knock for in 4 overs for Rajasthan Royals against
Deccan Chennai Super Kings at Sawai Man
Chargers. Singh Stadium, Jaipur on May 4th. He
also became only the fourth bowler to
take six wickets in a Twenty20 match.
Slow left arm orthodox bowler
Sanjeewa Roshan Abeywardene who
took six wickets for 15 runs for
Panadura against Sri Lankan Air Sport
Club at Colombo on October 20th
2005 was surpassed by Sohail Tanveer
**There were as many as five batsmen
who went on to score knot in
Bangalore Royal Challengers' innings
against Kings XI Punjab at
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on
May 5th.The first three wickets fell
without scoring - Wasim Jaffer and
Cameron White falling off successive
deliveries after that Jacques Kallis was
also run out before he could score.
Praveen Kumar was the next to go
without troubling the scorers, edging
his second ball off Piyush Chawla to
Uday Kaul while Zaheer Khan only last-
ed for one delivery before becoming
the scalp of Piyush Chawla's googly. It
Cricket
Today
April 2009

69
was the first time when five batsmen
could not get their names among the runs
in an innings of a Twenty20 match on
Indian soil and third time overall in
Twenty20 cricket. Kenya holds the 'unwant-
ed' world record of most ducks in an
innings. Six of their batsmen failed to open
their accounts in a Twenty20 World Cup
match against New Zealand at Kingsmead,
Durban on September 12th 2007. Also in
the match between Chilaw Marians Cricket
Club and Burgher Recreation Club at
Athletic Club Ground, Colombo, on March
1st
2007, five batsmen in Burgher Recreation
Club's innings even failed to open their
accounts.
**Scott Styris became only the sixth bats-
man to complete 1000 runs in Twenty20
cricket.
The right hand middle order batsman from
Auckland achieved this milestone during his
unbeaten 32-run knock for Deccan
Chargers against Chennai Super Kings at
M.A Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk,
Chennai, on May 6.The New Zealander who
made his debut in Twenty20 cricket
against Australia at Auckland on February
17th 2005 batted in 45 innings of 47
matches to reach this landmark. The other
batsmen to score over 1000 runs in this

form of cricket before Styris are
Brad Hodge (1651 runs in 49
matches), Darren Maddy (1391
runs in 47 matches), David
Hussey (1324 runs in 51
matches), Hilton matches), Hylton Ackerman (11
Ackerman (1224 runs in
35 matches) and
Martin van Jaarsveld Gambhir became the in 21 matches) to score nine
(1089 runs in 51 first ever batsman to or more fifties in Twenty20
matches). score 500 runs in a
**Gautam Gambhir single Twenty20
became the first
Indian and fourth
cricket tournament.
batsman overall to The left hand open-
score nine or more ing batsman from
fifties in Twenty20 Delhi completed his
cricket. The left hand 500 runs during the
opening batsman 39-run knock against from Delhi,
from Delhi achieved Bangalore Royals
this outstanding feat Challengers.
by making 80 off 49
balls with 11 fours
and one six for Delhi Daredevils against
Chennai Super Kings at Feroz Shah
Kotla, Delhi, on May 8th. Gambhir's ninth
half century came in the 20th innings
of 21st match in Twenty-20 cricket.
The other batsmen to score nine or
more half centuries before Gambhir
include the likes of Brad Hodge (11
fifties in 49 matches), Darren Maddy
(11 fifties in 47 matches) and Hylton
Ackerman (11 fifties in 35 matches).
**David Hussey became the 15th bats-
man to score a ton of boundaries in
Twenty20 cricket.
Playing for Kolkata Knight Riders, the
right hand lower middle order batsman
achieved this ever praising task when
he hit four off Deccan Chargers' medi-
um fast bowler Scott Styris during his
unbeaten 57-run knock in the 32nd
match of the Indian Premier League at
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium,
Uppal, Hyderabad, on May 11.Hussey
also became the most capped player in
Twenty20 cricket after appearing in
this match. It was his 53rd match in this
form of cricket since making his debut
for Nottinghamshire against Durham at
Nottingham, July 2nd 2004.
South African Martin van Jaarsveld who
played 52 matches between 2004 and
2007 for Kent and
Northamptonshire in
England and for Titans in
South Africa, held the
previous record of most
matches in Twenty20 crick-
et. David Hussey's half centu-
ry was ninth in 50th innings of
53 matches in Twenty20 cricket.
The Australian all rounder also
became only the fifth player after
Brad Hodge (11 fifties in 50 match-
es), Darren Maddy (11 fifties in 47
fifties in 35 matches) and
Gautam Gambhir (nine fifties
cricket.
**Gautam Gambhir became
the 16th batsman to com-
plete a century of fours in
Twenty20 cricket. Playing
for Delhi Daredevils,
the left hand open-
ing batsman
Cricket
Today
April 2009
70
achieved this phenomenon feat by hit-
ting four of Deccan Chargers' medium
fast bowler Sarvesh Kumar during his
79-run knock in the 37th match of the
Indian Premier League at Feroz Shah
Kotla, Delhi, on May 15th .
**Amit Mishra became the second
Indian after Lakshmipathy Balaji and
15th bowler overall to complete a hat
trick in Twenty20 cricket. The leg-spin-
ner from Delhi had the opposition stuck
in his spin web while playing for
Delhi Daredevils against Deccan
Chargers in the 37th match of
the Indian Premier League at
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, on May
15th.
**Sachin Tendulkar equalled the world
record of most catches in an innings in
Twenty20 cricket by holding four
catches in Kolkata Knight Riders' innings
at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on May 16th
.**Makhaya Ntini became the third
South African after Nkateko Ethy
Mbhalati and Charl Langeveldt and
16th bowler overall to complete a
hat trick in Twenty20 cricket. The
fast bowler from Mdingi achieved
this feat while playing for Chennai
Super Kings against Kolkata Knight
Riders in the 41st match of the Indian
Premier League at Eden Gardens,
Kolkata, on May 18th.
**Gautam Gambhir became the first
ever batsman to score 500 runs in a
single Twenty20 cricket tournament.
The left hand opening batsman from
Delhi completed his 500 runs during
the 39-run knock against Bangalore
Royals Challengers at Bangalore on May
19th. Gambhir has now scored 504 runs
at an average of 45.81 and a strike rate
of 141.97 with five half centuries in 12
innings of as many matches in Indian
Premier League.Justin Langer who
scored 464 runs at 66.28 in eight
innings of as many matches while play-
ing for Somerset in Twenty20 Cup in
England in 2006, was the previous best
in terms of most runs in a single
Twenty20 tournament.
**As many as 17810 runs were scored
for the loss of 689 wickets at an aver-
age of 25.84 off 2164.1 overs in 58
matches of the inaugural Indian
Premier League which is a record of
most runs in a Twenty20 tournament.
A total number of 7881 runs were
scored for the loss of 348 wickets at
an average of 22.64 off 986.1 overs in
26 matches of the inaugural Twenty20
World Cup in South Africa. 
 Cricket
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INDIAN PREMIER
LEAGUE IN
FIGURES
a
s many as 17810 runs were
scored for the loss of 689
wickets at an average of
25.84 off 2164.1 overs in
58 matches of the inaugu-
ral Indian Premier Legue last year. The
match between Delhi Daredevils and
Kolkata Kinght Riders at Delhi was
abanonded with out a ball being
bowled.
A total number of 7881 runs were
scored for the loss of 348 wickets at
an average of 22.64 off 986.1 overs in
26 matches of the inaugural Twenty-
20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007.
Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super
Kings are the only teams who crossed
2500-run mark in this tournament.
Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals scored
2601 runs for the loss of 88 wickets
off 301.1 overs in 14 matches while
Chennai Super Kings led by Mahendra
Singh Dhoni made 2520 runs for the
loss of 79 wickets off 299.1 overs in 14
matches.
Chennai Super Kings who lost to
Rajsthan Royals in the final, conceded
the highest number of runs in this
tournament. Their bowlers gave 1471
runs off 293.1 overs with an economy
rate of 8.43.
Rajasthan Royals who won 13 out of 16
matches in this champions collected a
winners, cheque of Rs 48000000 while
runners-up Chennai Super Kings
received Rs 24000000.
The two losing semi-finlists, Delhi
Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab earned
Rs 12000000 each while Sachin
Tendulkar led Mumbai Indians collected
80 lakhs.
Kolkata Knight Riders who finished six
got Rs 70 lakh while Banglaore Royal
Challenger received Rs 50 lakh after
taking seventh spot. Deccan Chargers
who finished last collected Rs 40 lakh.
Cricket
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EACH TEAM’S REPORT CARD:
Team Runs Wkts Avg Overs Runs/ Runs Wkts Ave Overs Runs/
Scored Lost faced Over Given Taken Bowled Over
Rajasthan 2601 88 29.55 301.1 8.64 2403 109 22.04 306.3 7.83
Chennai 2520 79 31.89 299.1 8.42 2471 93 26.56 293.1 8.43
Punjab 2464 79 31.22 279.5 8.80 2387 95 25.12 280.4 8.50
Delhi 2088 77 27.11 249.3 8.36 2223 96 23.15 266.4 8.34
Mumbai 2080 79 26.32 249.1 8.35 2096 94 22.29 269.3 7.77
Kolkata 1845 88 20.90 242.4 7.60 1718 70 24.54 221.4 7.75
Bangalore 1983 106 18.70 272.4 7.27 2205 65 33.92 261.3 8.43
Deccan 2229 93 23.96 270.0 8.25 2307 67 34.43 264.3 8.72
Total : 17810 689 25.84 2164.1 8.23 17810 689 25.84 2164.1 8.23

EACH TEAM’S PERFORMANCE AND PRIZE MONEY:

Position Team Played Won Lost N/R Success% Prize money
1 Rajasthan Royals 16 13 3 - 81.25 Rs 48000000-00
2 Chennai Super Kings 16 9 7 - 56.25 Rs 24000000-00
3 Kings XI Punjab 15 10 5 - 66.66 Rs 12000000-00
4 Delhi Daredevils 15 7 7 1 50.00 Rs 12000000-00
5 Mumbai Indians 14 7 7 - 50.00 Rs 8000000-00
6 Kolkata Knight Riders 14 6 7 1 46.42 Rs 7000000-00
7 Bangalore Royal Chal 14 4 10 - 28.57 Rs 5000000-00
8 Deccan Chargers 14 2 12 - 14.28 Rs 4000000-00
Total 59 58 58 1 100.00 Rs 120000000-00
** The match between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Kinght Riders at Delhi was abanonded with
out a ball being bowled

HIGHEST INNINGS TOTALS:

Score Team Opponent Venue Date
240-4 in 20 Chennai Super Kings Kings XI Punjab Mohali 19-04-2008
222-3 in 20 KKR Banglaore RC Bangalore 18-04-2008
221-3 in 20 Kings XI Punjab Rajasthan Royals Mohali 28-05-2008
217-7 in19.5 Rajasthan Royals Deccan Chargers Hyderabad 24-04-2008
214-5 in 20 Deccan Chargers Rajasthan Royals Hyderabad 24-04-2008
211-5 in 20 Rajasthan Royals Chennai Super Kings Chennai 24-05-2008
208-5 in 20 Chennai Super Kings Mumbai Indians Chennai 23-04-2008
207-4 in 20 Kings XI Punjab Chennai Super Kings Mohali 19 -04-2008
204-4 in 20 KKR Deccan Chargers Hyderabad 11-05- 2008
202-7 in 20 Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings Chennai 23-04-2008
201-7 in 20 Chennai Super Kings Rajasthan Royals Chennai 24-05-2008
* KKR - Kolkata Knight Riders
* Bangalore RC - Banglaore Royal Challengers
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LOWEST INNINGS TOTALS:
Score Team Opponent Venue Date
67 in 15.2 Kolkata Knight Riders Mumbai Indians Mumbai 15-05-2008
82 in 15.1 Banglaore Challengers Kolkata Knight Riders Bangalore 18-04-2008
103 in 16.2 Rajasthan Royals Mumbai Indian Mumbai 06-05-2008
109 in 19 Chennai Super Kings Rajasthan Royals Jaipur 04-05-2008
110 in 18.4 Deccan Chargers Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata 20-04-2008
110 in 17.5 Delhi Daredevils Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata 13-05-2008
112-8 in 20 Chenni Super Kings Banglaore RC Chennai 21-05-2008
116-9 in 20 Mumbai Indians Kings XI Punjab Mohali 25-04-2008
* Bangalore RC - Banglaore Royal Challengers

HIGHEST MATCH AGGREGATES:

Runs Teams Venue Date
447-9 in 40 Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings Mohali 19-04-2008
431-12 in 39.5 Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals Hyderabad 24-04-2008
412-12 in 40 Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals Chennai 24-05-2008
410-12 in 40 Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians Chennai 23-04-2008
401-10 in 40 Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals Mohali 28-05-2008
385-11 in 40 Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders Hyderabad 11-05-2008
377 -14 in 40 Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab Mumbai 21-05-2008
376-13 in 40 Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers Delhi 15-05-2008
375-11 in 40 Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings Delhi 08-05-2008
372 -10 in 40 Delhi Daredevils and Banglaore Royal Challengers Delhi 30-04-2008

BIGGEST VICTORIES:
Margins Winner Loser Venue Date
10 wickets Deccan Chargers Mumbai Indian Mumbai 27-04-2008
9 wickets Delhi Daredevils Rajasthan Royals Delhi 19-04-2008
9 wickets Delhi Daredevils Deccan Chargers Hyderabad 22-04-2008
9 wickets Chennai Super Kings Kolkata Knight Riders Chennai 26-04-2008
9 wickets Kings XI Punjab Banglaore Royal Challengers Mohali 12-05-2008
9 wickets Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings Mumbai 14-05-2008
9 wickets Mumbai Indians Banglaore Royal Challengers Bangalore 28-05-2008
9 wickets Chennai Super Kings Kings XI Punjab Mumbai 31-05-2008
140 runs Kolkata Knight Riders Banglaore Royal Challengers Bangalore 18-04-2008
105 runs Rajasthan Royals Delhi Daredevils Mumbai 30-05-2008
66 runs Kings XI Punjab Mumbai Indians Mohali 25-04-2008
65 runs Rajasthan Royals Banglaore Royal Challengers Jaipur 17-05-2008
45 Runs Rajasthan Royals Kolkata Knight Riders Jaipur 01-05-2008
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SMALLEST VICTORIES:
Margins Winner Loser Venue Date
1 run Kings XI Punjab Mumbai Indians Mumbai 21-05-2008
3 runs Bangalore Challengers Deccan Chargers Bangalore 03-05-2008
3 runs Chennai Super Kings Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata 18-05-2008
5 runs Kolkata Knight Riders Banglaore Royal Challengers Kolkata 08-05-2008
6 runs Chennai Super Kings Mumbai Indian Chennai 23-04-2008
6 runs Kings XI Punjab Delhi Daredevils Delhi 17-04-2008
9 runs Kings XI Punjab Kolkata Knight Riders Mohali 03-05-2008
10 runs Delhi Daredevils Banglaore Royal Challengers Delhi 30-04-2008
10 runs Rajasthan Royals Chennai Super Kings Chennai 24-05-2008
12 runs Delhi Daredevils Deccan Chargers Delhi 15-05-2008
3 wickets Kolkata Knight Riders Kings XI Punjab Kolkata 25-05-2008
3 wickets Rajasthan Royals Chennai Super Kings Mumbai 01-06-2008
3 wickets Rajasthan Royals Delhi Daredevils Jaipur 11-05-2008
3 wickets Rajasthan Royals Deccan Chargers Hyderabad 24-04-2008

HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL SCORES:

Score Batsman Opponent Venue Date
158* Brendon McCullum (Kolkata) Banglaore Royal Challengers Bangalore 18-04-2008
117* Andrew Symonds (Deccan) Rajasthan Royals Hyderabad 24-04-2008
116* Michael Hussey (Chennai) Kings XI Punjab Mohali 19-04-2008
115 Shaun Marsh (Kings XI) Rajasthan Royals Mohali 28-05-2008
114* Sanath Jayasuriya (Mumbai) Chennai Super Kings Mumbai 14-05-2008
109* Adam Gilchrist (Deccan) Mumbai Indians Mumbai 27-04-2008
94* Virender Sehwag (Delhi) Deccan Chargers Hyderabad 22-04-2008
94 Kumar Sangakkara (Kings XI) Mumbai Indians Mohali 25-04-2008
91 Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata) Deccan Chargers Hyderabad 11-05- 2008
91 Greame Smith (Rajasthan) Chennai Super Kings Chennai 24-05-2008
86* Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata) Kings XI Punjab Kolkata 25-05-2008
86 Gautam Gambhir (Delhi) Banglaore Royal Challengers Delhi 30-04-2008
84* Shaun Marsh (Kings XI) Deccan Chargers Hyderabad 01-05-2008
81 Matthew Hayden (Chennai) Mumbai Indians Chennai 23-04-2008
81 Shaun Marsh (Kings XI) Mumbai Indians Mumbai 21-05-2008
80 Gautam Gambhir (Delhi) Chennai Super Kings Delhi 08-05-2008

MOST SIXES IN AN INNINGS:

Sixes Batsman Opponent Venue Date
13 (158) Brendon McCullum (Kolkata) Banglaore RC Bangalore 18-04-2008
11(114*) Sanath Jayasuriya (Mumbai) Chennai Super Kings Mumbai 14-05-2008
10(109*) Adam Gilchrist (Deccan) Mumbai Indians Mumbai 27-04-2008
9 (116*) Michael Hussey (Chennai) Kings XI Punjab Mohali 19-04-2008
7 (117*) Andrew Symonds (Deccan) Rajasthan Royals Hyderabad 24-04-2008
7 (115) Shaun Marsh (Kings XI) Rajasthan Royals Mohali 28-05-2008
6 (94*) Virender Sehwag (Delhi) Deccan Chargers Hyderabad 22-04-2008
6 (61) Yousuf Pathan (Rajasthan) Deccan Chargers Hyderabad 24-04-2008
6 (71*) Venugopal Rao (Deccan) KKR Hyderabad 11-05-2008
6 (75*) Rahul Dravid (Bangalore) Rajasthan Royals Jaipur 17-05-2008
6 (86*) Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata) Kings XI Punjab Kolkata 25-05-2008
6 (49) Yuvraj Singh (Kings XI) Rajasthan Royals Mohali 28-05-2008
* KKR - Kolkata Knight Riders
* Bangalore RC - Banglaore Royal Challengers
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MOST RUNS:
Batsman M I N.O Runs AVG H.S S/R 100 50 0
Shaun Marsh (Punjab) 11 11 2 616 68.44 115 139.68 1 5 -
Gautam Gambir (Delhi) 14 14 1 534 41.07 86 140.89 - 5 -
Sanath Jayasuriya (Mumbai) 14 14 2 514 42.83 114* 166.34 1 2 -
Shane Watson (Rajasthan) 15 15 5 472 47.20 76* 151.76 - 4 1
Graeme Smith (Rajasthan) 11 11 2 441 49.00 91 121.82 - 3 -
Adam Gilchrist (Deccan) 14 14 1 436 33.53 109* 137.10 1 3 -
Youns Pathan (Rajasthan) 16 15 1 435 31.07 68 179.01 - 4 -
Suresh Raina (Chennai) 16 14 3 421 38.27 55* 142.71 - 3 -
Mahendra S.Dhoni (Chennai) 16 14 4 414 41.40 65 133.54 - 2 -
Virender Sehwag (Delhi) 14 14 2 406 33.83 94* 184.54 - 3 2
Rohit Sharma (Deccan) 13 12 1 404 36.72 76* 147.98 - 4 1
Rahul Dravid (Bangalore) 14 14 1 371 28.53 75* 124.49 - 2 2
Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata) 13 13 1 349 29.08 91 113.68 - 3 -
Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi) 14 14 5 340 37.77 68* 115.25 - 4 1
Kumar Sangakkara(Kings XI) 10 9 - 320 35.55 94 161.61 - 4 -
Robin Uthappa (Mumbai) 14 14 5 320 35.55 48 114.69 - - -
David Hussey (Kolkata) 13 13 2 319 29.00 71 123.16 - 2 2
Swapnil Asnodkar(Rajasthan) 9 9 - 311 34.55 60 133.47 - 2 -
Parthiv Patel (Chennai) 13 13 2 302 27.45 54 101.68 - 2 1

BEST BOWLING IN AN INNINGS:

Figures Bowler Opponent Venue Date
6-14 Sohail Tanvir ( Rajasthan) Chennai Super Kings Jaipur 04-05-2008
5-17 Amit Mishra (Delhi) Deccan Chargers Delhi 15-05-2008
5-24 L Balaji (Chennai) Kings XI Punjab Chennai 10-05-2008
4-11 Shoaib Akhtar (Kolkata) Delhi Daredevils Kolkata 13-05-2008
4-14 Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan) Mumbai Indians Jaipur 26-05-2008
4-18 Dilhara Fernando (Mumbai) Bangalore Challengers Bangalore 28-05-2008
4-21 Makhaya Ntini (Chennai) Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata 18-05-2008
4-23 Umar Gul (Kolkata) Kings XI Punjab Kolkata 25-05-2008
4-29 Glenn McGrath (Delhi) Bangalore Challengers Delhi 30-04-2008
4-32 Albie Morkel (Chennai) Bangalore Challengers Chennai 21-05-2008
4-36 Yo Mahesh (Delhi) Mumbai Indians Delhi 24-05-2008

MOST WICKETS:
Bowler M Overs Runs Wkts AVG R/O 4WI Best
Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan) 11 41.1 266 22 12.09 6.46 2 6-14
Shane Warne (Rajasthan) 15 52 404 19 21.26 7.76 - 3-19
S.Sreesanth (Punjab) 15 51.1 442 19 23.26 8.63 - 3-29
Shane Watson (Rajasthan) 15 54.1 383 17 22.52 7.07 - 3-10
Piyush Chawla (Punjab) 15 46.5 389 17 22.88 8.30 - 3-25
Albie Morkel (Chenni) 13 48 399 17 23.47 8.31 1 4-32
Manpreet Gony (Chennai) 16 60 443 17 26.05 7.38 - 3-34
Yo Mahesh (Delhi) 11 42.1 370 16 23.12 8.77 1 4-36
Farveez Maharoof (Delhi) 10 36 249 15 36.60 6.91 - 3-34
Irfan Pathan (Punjab) 14 53 350 15 23.33 6.60 - 2-18
Rudra Pratap Singh (Deccan) 14 51.2 442 15 29.46 8.61 - 3-35
Munaf Patel (Rajasthan) 15 55 420 14 30.00 7.63 - 3-17
Zaheer Khan (Bangalore) 11 42 357 13 27.46 8.50 - 3-38
Siddharth Trivedi (Rajasthan) 15 48 399 13 30.69 8.31 - 2-25
Umar Gul (Kolkata) 6 22.3 184 12 15.33 8.17 1 4-23
Ashish Nehra (Mumbai) 14 44.5 348 12 29.00 7.76 - 3-13
 Cricket
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b
y the time you would be
reading this, there would
have been more clarity on
the short-term future of
the second season of the
Indian Premier League; whether or not
it would take place as scheduled,
whether or not the motley of crick-
eters would finally be able to pocket
those truckloads of cash. With so much
– read money – at stake, it would take
quite a Herculean task for it to be post-
poned, or invariably cancelled, at such a
late stage of the day. Although some
of the cricketers have expressed their
reservations about travelling to India,
the lure of the lucre should pull most
of them towards the IPL; unless of
course it becomes totally unavoidable.
Yes, it finally boils down to the trade-
off between the individual’s perceived
risk and the money that he would end
up pouching from the event.
So, who will stand to gain how much by Suneer Chowdhary

Transfer Window
And Auction (season II)
from this version of the Indian Premier
League? How did the bidding process
actually happen? Who were the biggest
gainers, and who were the shocking
losers in this auction? This piece delves
deep into the intricacies surrounding
the newest characteristic of a crick-
eter’s profile; his price tag.
TACTICS AND
STRATEGIES:
When Adam Gilchrist had oh-so-
famously declared that he felt like a
cow at the end of the first auction,
there had been raised eyebrows and
the media immediately jumped on to
one or the other side of the fence. This
time around, it’s no longer about
shocked expressions, herded cows or
taking sides; it is plain business.
The auction in Goa was touted as an
event as extravagant as the tourna-
ment itself; yet, it was as short and
probably, even more exciting than a
T20 match!
This time around, with the global finan-
cial condition in a not-so-healthy state,
the franchises were more interested in
getting in players who would fit in their
exact scheme of things. This was based
on a variety of factors such as their
existing set of players, the gaping holes
in the team’s previous season’s per-
formance, the loss of Pakistani players
and the cash balance left in their kitty.
The thing to remember about the last
point here is that every team was
allowed a budget of $2 million to pick
their players in this second auction,
where as there was a restriction of not
more ten foreign players per squad,
including those that were already pres-
ent!
Most teams bought virtually unheard
of players even before and after the
auctions, who they thought could fit
the above bill, and yet not rake up a
long bill! There were some shocking
omissions, either by choice or by force,
where as some of the teams
exchanged their players with another,
while others went in for a total revamp.
THE OPENING
‘EXCHANGE’:
There were a couple of smart trades
between the teams, none better than
Zaheer Khan who had played for
Bangalore Royal Challengers last year
exchanged with Robin Uthappa of
Mumbai Indians. From Mumbai’s per-
spective, Zaheer has played his domes-
tic cricket for Mumbai before, and is in
the form of his life, while Uthappa’s
batting epitomises the life in the fast
lane that a certain Vijay Mallya is so
associated with. Yet, it was a little sur-
prising from Bangalore’s point-of-view
to weaken their only area of strength
last year – the pace bowling – to be
losing Zaheer.
Bangalore went on to acquire Gaurav
Dhiman – an under-19 World Cupper –
and Pankaj Singh from the others to
try and balance their team. Then there
Cricket
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79
Sehwag, who plays test cricket and T20
without much dissimilarity, a batsman
who can hit the ball hard will do that
irrespective of whether he is a great
player or just a good one. What usually
separates a great batsman from the
good is his ability to build an inning into Challengers’ owner Vijay Mallya showed
a long enough one and nail home the
advantage. However, the format of this
game is such that even five to six
overs of teeing-off is good enough
if the batsman fits in the role.
And this was not restricted to
foreigners only. Quite a few
domestic Indian players, like
T Suman and Manvinder
Bisla bought by the Mallya had no even if Pietersen would
Deccan Chargers, and
Rajasthan Royals’ Raiphi
qualms in
the IPL.
OF POCKET-BURNERS
AND SHOCKING PICKS:
The auction day, itself, went according
to plan for most. Bangalore Royal
that his penchant for the big and cost-
ly brands is not restricted to the
accessories and clothes but
extended to the cricketers as
well. Kevin Pietersen became the
costliest ever player of the IPL
by crossing the $1.5 million record
set by M.S. Dhoni last year. Mallya had
no qualms in accepting that
have cost him $2 million, he

Vincent Gomez, a hard- accepting that wouldn’t have hesitated in

going for him. Dhoni’s own-
hitting Kerala batsman even if ers, the Chennai Super
have been afforded a Pietersen would Kings, decided to go in for
chance to represent a
team in have cost him another million and a half
dollar purchase in Andrew
$2 million, he Flintoff and in the end, he
was the Delhi-born Ashish Nehra who wouldn’t have cost the franchise $1.55 –
played for the Mumbai Indians in the
previous season, but was swapped with
hesitated in same as Pietersen. J.P.
Duminy’s stocks had shot
Shikhar Dhawan from the Delhi going for up after his successful tour
Daredevils. him. of Australia, and being a
multi-utility player, he fits
FROM A NOBODY TO this format of the game to
AN IPL PLAYER: the tee. Mumbai Indians outbid
There were many of them who had the others and attained him for
probably shone on a couple of occa- $950,000.
sions for their state side in England, Rajasthan replaced Sohail Tanvir with
Australia or South Africa, and that had Shaun Tait, where as an originally
prompted them to be picked at an top-heavy Delhi team got in Owais
end-of-season-sale price. David Shah and Paul Collingwood for only
Warner was one such commodity $275,000. Owais Shah’s 48-ball 72 in
who was first snapped up by the that rain-reduced 22-over
Daredevils and then went on to Bangalore ODI against India would
make his international debut and have tilted the scales in his favour,
smash a 42-ball 89 against the while Collingwood’s ability to bat
Proteas. Andrew McDonald was in the middle order and bowl the
another such player who was middle overs – not to mention
bought by the Daredevils, which his top class fielding at the cover
was followed by a spot in the and point region – would have
Australian test team as an all- tilted the scales in his favour.
rounder! The other signings There was an ample representation
had Ryan Harris for Deccan from New Zealand as well, as Kyle Mills
Chargers, Moises Henriques was sold to the Mumbai Indians and
for the Kolkata Knightriders, finger-twiddling, nail-biting – in his own
and Graham Napier for Mumbai. words – rotund figure of Jesse Ryder
There were a couple of reasons was bought over by the Bangalore
for these out-of-the-box purchas- Royal Challengers. Ironically, Ryder’s
es. For one, and the most obvious past has a quite a few alcohol-induced
one, the global recession had incidents associated with it, where as
ensured that none of the franchises the Royal Challengers’ owner is one of
wanted to stitch a longer coat than the the biggest liquor barons of the world!
cloth they had. Secondly, unless the Ravindra Bopara found his roots – and
player is of the quality of Virender was paid $45000 for finding them – in
 Cricket
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80
Kings XI Punjab, while Dwayne Smith
should be an ideal replacement for
Shahid Afridi at the Deccan Chargers.
Another maverick bowler, Fidel Edwards,
also found his way into the Chargers’
team.
There was also a surprise, as little-know
Middlesex player, Tyron Henderson was
repeatedly bid for and finally got for
$650,000 from a base price of
$100,000. His past record meant that
he probably deserves every bit of the
penny, as he had scored almost 300
runs in 2008 season of the English
T20s, and also scalped 21 wickets at
less than 17. However, at 35, he would
also be one of the older players to fea-
ture in the IPL, and whether that has
any adverse effect on his performance
remains to be seen.

Player Team Price (Base Price)

Andrew Flintoff Chennai Super Kings 1,550,000 (950,000)

Kevin Pietersen Bangalore Royal Challengers 1,550,000 (1,350,000)
JP Duminy Mumbai Indians 950,000 (300,000)
Mohammad Ashraful Mumbai Indians 75,000 (75,000)
Tyron Henderson Rajasthan Royals 650,000 (100,000)
Mashrafe Mortaza Kolkata Knight Riders 600,000 (50,000)
George Bailey Chennai Super Kings 50,000 (50,000)
Ravi Bopara Kings XI Punjab 450,000 (150,000)
Shaun Tait Rajasthan Royals 375,000 (250,000)
Paul Collingwood Delhi Daredevils 275,000 (250,000)
Owais Shah Delhi Daredevils 275,000 (150,000)
Jesse Ryder Bangalore Royal Challengers 160,000 (100,000)
Kyle Mills Mumbai Indians 150,000 (150,000).
Fidel Edwards Deccan Chargers 150,000 (150,000)
Jerome Taylor Kings XI Punjab 150,000 (150,000)
Thilan Thushara Chennai Super Kings 140,000 (100,000)
Dwayne Smith Deccan Chargers 100,000 (100,000)

Table – 1: Players bought in auction

Cricket
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81
However, the shocker of the day came
in the form of a certain Bangaldeshi by
the name of Mashrafe Mortaza. A bat-
tle ensued between the Kings XI Punjab
and Kolkata Knight Riders, and was
fought tooth and nail before being won
by the latter; $600,000 more than
what the player’s base price of $50,000
was. Mortaza may say that all his hard
work had paid off, but the fact of the
matter was simpler; Shah rukh Khan
wanted to exploit the Bangladeshi mar-
ket if some of the matches did get
hosted at Dhaka next year and the best
foot forward here was by having local
flavour. Yet, $650,000 looks rather too
much!
The only other Bangladeshi to get in
was Mohammad Ashraful who was
picked up by Mumbai for $75,000.
“WHAT ABOUT US?”
THE OMISSIONS AND
THE PULL-OUTS:
Even discounting his price tag, Mortaza
was a surprise pick. Especially when, an
all-rounder in Shakib Al Hasan was a
part of the bidding process and not
picked till the very end! Hasan had an
excellent 2008 with not only the ball,
but he provided excellent balance to a
very weak Bangladeshi side in the
lower-middle order, against stiffer
opposition. Yet, Hasan was ignored by
all and sundry by the teams.
Little known and T20 specialist, Yusuf
Abdulla, could have also got a look-in
after the kind of form that he had
been in the domestic T20 competition.
So could have another Protea, Ghulam
Bodi whose run-up till the proposed
Champion League had been excellent.
Brad Haddin’s hard hitting and consis-
tency could have paved way for him,
but given his international commit-
ments, and the IPL restriction of play-
ing only four foreign players in every
match would have gone against him.
Michael Clarke had reportedly got into
a tiff with Lalit Modi about his base
price and pulled out, while Ricky
Ponting, already under fire for succes-
sive series losses, decided to give the
tournament a slip after contemplating
about it for long. It has been said that
Modi was not terribly excited about
Clarke’s withdrawal and the result could
be a ban from even next year’s IPL.
Mitchell Johnson also said no to the
tournament, because he wanted to
concentrate on his international career,
just like last year. 

t
hese players light up the game
of cricket, the ones we are
going to talk about here. Every
where they go, they command
the same respect from opposi-
tion teams and fans alike. Never in awe
of the situation, they are not new to
pressure but manage to overcome it
all, especially when the going gets
tough. They are not supermen though
and bound to fail at times. But as the
cliché goes, form is temporary, class is
permanent – so they almost always
manage to come back to shine ever so
bright!
Here we take a look at the ones
expected to shine the brightest, come
the second season of the IPL.
KEVIN PIETERSEN:
When your price tag rests at USD 1.55
million, obviously you are the player on
whom all eyes will be trained. Add to it
the fact that the owner of the fran-
chise has created so many hullabaloos
about him, that anything less than a
miracle for his team the Bangalore
Royal Challengers will be considered a
failure. And God knows they need a
miracle to overcome the grim failures
from last season. But just how will
Kevin Pietersen be able to do that is up
for question as the former England
captain will be available for not more
than twenty one days as per the NOC
obtained from the ECB. This means
that he might not play in more than
five games in all. In such a case, what
will be important is the momentum he
by Chetan Narula
Players to
watch out for
–Season 2
can give to his team during his short
stay here. If he can just conjure up a
way to lift his team, as captain or oth-
erwise, he will do them a huge service
to wash away the humiliation of
Cricket
Today
April 2009
82
made his test debut for England, he
has proven his detractors wrong,
beginning with an awesome show in the
2005 Ashes, walking away with all the
accolades as England emerged victori-
ous. His antics in the ODIs have been no
less entertaining especially with the
switch hit now coming into real promi-
nence. He may come for five games
only, but rest assured, he is going to
deploy that shot a lot more than just
once a game.
ANDREW FLINTOFF:
Again, it is the USD 1.55 million price
tag that is what really stands out, but
it doesn’t mean that the player doesn’t
deserve it. The other point is that it
may look really good but only on paper,
as that high a price tag is always going
to be a real problem in the sense that
expectations will be very high from the
word go! Especially considering that his
team-mate Kevin Pietersen is in the
same value bracket and they will be pit-
ted against each other atleast twice. If
he performs better, then the media
and the fans alike will get on his
back real quick. But this is
Andrew Flintoff we are
talking about and he
thrives on a situation
when he is under pres-
sure.
All knew when they first saw
him that one day he would
replace the great Ian Botham and
he finally fulfilled his promise in
the 2005 Ashes series when he
was one of the pillars on which
the long overdue English tri-
umph was built. Since then
there has been no looking
back as he even led the
England team, although that
ended in a miserable failure. And
after that he was plagued by
recurring injuries. But that hasn’t
deterred his will power even one
bit and when he eventually made
becoming the laughing stock a return to the national fold, the
of IPL last year and prove to be highlight of his comeback that
worth every penny. instantly comes to mind is the
What’s more he has the ability scorching spell he bowled to
to do that! Ever since he Jacques Kallis in the test series
Cricket
Today
April 2009
83
against South Africa in 2008. It is this
fire in his belly, when stoked whether
batting or bowling that is sure to
destroy all that is in front of him. It
doesn’t matter to him whether it is the
best bat in the world, or the best
bowler for that matter, rest assured he
will come out on top.
JP DUMINY:
Only very rarely does it so hap-
pen that a bright new talent
can make such an important
IPL is the biggest opportunity for
Symonds to script a comeback
that is fitting enough for a player
of his status.
mark on the game of cricket in his very
first match and then can follow it up
with one master class after another. It
is very hard to recall any such incidence
in cricket, maybe the coming of
Virender Sehwag. South Africa’s newest
star Jean Paul Duminy may still be some
way off the dashing Indian opener but
the way he left the world champions
Aussies in his wake, it becomes very
easy to say that his arrival on the inter-
national cricketing scene will be remem-
bered for a long time to come.
He was always hot property ever since
he burst onto the
scene with that amaz-
ing innings on debut
that took his team to
victory before follow-
ing it up gloriously
with a maiden ton. If
ever there was a
young player that the
franchises ought to
have wanted in their
teams, it was him. And
his ‘purchase’ was the
smartest piece
of business
that the always sharp
Ambanis are known
for. The team he will
play for, Mumbai
Indians, are top heavy
with the likes of Sachin
Tendulkar and Sanath
Jayasuriya, and were in a
great need of a finisher last
season. Plus, his interactions
with such senior players will
only help him in becoming a
better player and an even better finish-
er. Truly, the age of Duminy is begin-
ning.
ANDREW SYMONDS:
He was on a high last season, being the
second highest rated player in terms of
money as well as the ability to effect
changes in a T20 game. He made a few
handsome contributions towards the
Deccan Chargers’ cause, even though
they didn’t win much. And then he had
to leave for he was indispensable for
his national side as well. But what a dif-
ference twelve months makes!
Today he is nowhere near his best with
the Australian team not wanting his
services anymore; his thinking prowess
betraying him on most occasions as he
needlessly gets into trouble and his
decision making prowess under serious
doubt with regular fishing trips. As
of this moment, Andrew Symonds is
a cricketer on the fag end of his
journey and what a different
career it could have been.
Except that it is not
all over yet for him
and the second
season of the
IPL is the
biggest oppor-
tunity for him
to script a
comeback that is
fitting enough for a
player of his status. He
can still change the game he
wants and the shortest format
of the game is only a strength
for him. He may be weak at the
moment, but he will be watched
closely, for many Aussie fans will
be secretly hoping to see the
Symonds of old!
BRENDON
MCCULLUM:
No can even remotely forget the blis-
tering innings that this batsman played
in the first ever match in the IPL! The
opposition was literally hit for a six
along with the spectators who were
simply blown away. And that would be
an under statement!
It is only fair to say that the Royal
Challengers’ problems began with his
innings as Vijay Mallya was clearly
embarrassed every time SRK
danced around on the Kiwi’s sixes.
He provided the team with the
momentum that gave them the
 Cricket
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84
suggests that it is a high possibility that
it will definitely happen.
An opening batsman like few others, he
is one half of the most exciting opening
partnership with Sachin Tendulkar at
the top of the order for the Mumbai
Indians. And if the duo gets going even
half the times in the fourteen game
league, the Ambanis can be rest
assured that their team will have a
place in the knock outs. It is also his
potent spin bowling that the team man-
agement can fall back on, as he is adept
at quickly slipping in four dangerous
overs, along with scalping a few impor-
tant wickets. With a skill set as wonder-
ful as this, is it any doubt that Sanath
Jayasuriya is still very much at the top
of his game and one of the best in the
business!

YUVRAJ SINGH:
The basic difference this year, from the
first season, is a simple one really when
it comes to this swashbuckling left han-
der from Punjab. He was woefully out
of touch and low on confidence when
the tournament first happened. And as
in other cases, the last one year has
made a lot of difference. He is back at

highest run rate in the league till about

the tenth match. The fact that the
Knight Riders went down after that was
in keeping with his departure for inter-
national duty. Since then he has also
gone on to open the innings for his
country in both the ODIs and T20s, for
his fire power at the top of the order is
simply invaluable. This year he will be
available to play the entire tournament
for he does not have any international
commitments and that inadvertently
means more spectacular hitting from
the Kiwi as he is bound to score
atleast a couple of similarly swash-
buckling innings in fourteen games.
His wicket keeping skills will provide the
necessary balance to the Kolkata team
and they will only benefit by his contin-
ued presence.

SANATH JAYASURIYA:
Already owning the record for the old-
est century maker in the ODIs, he will be
touching forty when he plays the sec-
ond edition of the IPL. And if he
could only repeat his antics from the
first season, he will no doubt become
the oldest century makes in the T20
form of the game as well. Current form
Cricket
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85
iour on the field as well and a good per-
formance with the willow will only
mean more wins for the Kings XI
Punjab and more hugs from Preity
Zinta!
VIRENDER SEHWAG:
As with the lefty from Punjab, the
same with the butcher from Najafgarh.
Not in the best of touches when the
IPL happened the first time round, he
will be keen to make amends for
Gautam Gambhir running away with the
top scores. In the last one year, he has
gone from a destructive opening bats-
man to being the most vital cog in the
Indian team’s wheel of success. Unless
he gives his blistering starts to the
team, chasing or even setting up totals
can become an arduous task. Plus in
the last twelve months, he has added
that extra edge of consistency to his
game where in the new Sehwag puts a
price on his wicket. And that price is
usually quite hefty for the opposition
teams while it is all worth for the ones
watching!
CHRIS GAYLE:
The thing about the West Indian cap-
tain is that few can bat like him when
he is in the mood. And the fact that he

being the fulcrum of the Indian

middle order and England will The fact that
only vouch for that. He is sight-
ing the ball early and hitting
Gayle missed
them cleanly out of the park. the first season
Add to it the fact that the of the IPL with-
ground at Mohali is quite small
and obviously then there is the
out hitting a
frenzy of the six sixes all over ball, he will be
again.
Yes, he can do it and probably
in the mood to
will do it if the balls are all smack a few
there to be hit as he is in that around this
good a form. His batting
prowess reflects in his behav-
time.

Dhoni has the
uncanny abili-
ty to fire up
his strike rate
at will and
can dictate
terms in
almost any
situation.
missed the first season of the IPL with-
out hitting a ball, he will be in the mood
to smack a few around this time,
buoyed obviously by how well the West
Indian team is doing under his leader-
ship. When he will come out to open
for the Kolkata Knight Riders, he will be
in the company of Brendon McCullum
and the combined effect that these
two batsmen will be able to bring out
will be nothing short of a spectacle.
With his gentle spin to boot as well, he
is more than a handy player in any for-
mat of the game, in T20 he is the few
priceless ones. By the way he scored a
century in the opening match of the
T20 World Cup in 2007 and given his
liking for big occasions, an encore in his
first match in the IPL can be expected.
MS DHONI:
They say he has muted his game and is
no longer the big occasion player. Well,
captaincy has the effect on people but
make no mistake that Dhoni is only bid-
ing his time to bring out those blazing
Cricket
Today
April 2009
86
shots, half of which don’t exist in any
coaching manual. He has the uncanny
ability to fire up his strike rate at will
and can dictate terms in almost any sit-
uation. He keeps wickets, that every
one knows, and the slightly less known
fact is that he also bowls a bit. More
than that, he is one of the sharpest
brains in world cricket at the moment
and although he will be the second
highest paid from the second season
onwards, but the Indian captain is every
penny worth it! 
 Cricket
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88
p
assion for the game and
eye for the minutest of
details on and off the field
of action are some of the
prime requisites for anyone
who aspires to be a cricket
scorer and statistician.
It is a very demanding, mundane job in
cricket. Not many like it. And very few
have truly excelled in it.
In addition to the above mentioned two
qualities, it also calls for tremendous
concentration and patience. You have
not only to be voraciously inquisitive
but also to be very accurate in whatev-
er you do.
Bill Frindall, who passed away on
January 30, 2009, after suffering from
Legionnaire’s disease, possessed all
these and several other virtues that
helped him build a reputation as the
undisputed king of all scorers and stat-
isticians in the history of cricket.
He was a role model for youngsters. In
fact, he could be considered the very

Bill Frindall, the

undisputed king of
cricket scorers and
statisticians
by Haresh Pandya
prototype of a cricket scorer and stat-
istician. He lent a new dimension to the
art of scoring and grew into an institu-
tion himself.
Nicknamed the “Bearded Wonder” for
his lustrous facial hair, supreme com-
mand of statistics and encyclopedic
knowledge of cricket facts, Frindall was
an inseparable feature, and a distin-
guished flavour, of BBC radio’s Test
Match Special (TMS), on which he
worked for 43 years.
He coped perfectly with long, strenu-
ous days and stuffy, noisy commentary
boxes.
“Like the best performers at any art,
he seems to have so much time to
spare. I know that when I have tried
scoring, cups of coffee go cold
because I simply cannot find time to
consume them; whereas Bill can pour
himself a cup at the back of the box
without ever taking an eagle eye off
the game.” said the former TMS pro-
ducer Peter Baxter.
William Howard Frindall, whose interjec-
tions and mischievous grunts of a laugh
on the TMS were as legendary as his
calculations were so invariably accurate,
always made it a point to say that he
was born (in Epsom, Surrey) on March
3, 1939, the very first day of the his-
toric timeless Test between England
and South Africa in Durban.
He also delighted in reminding that he
was a “record” 11 days old when the
Test had to be abandoned as a draw
“prematurely” because the English play-
ers had to catch their ship!
The TMS commentators always mar-
velled at Frindall’s pinpoint accuracy
and prodigious recall of cricket facts
and figures, including the most obscure
and arcane of the game’s trivia. He
would not flap and usually come up
with a statistic in a very short time.
But he would also play the role of a
curmudgeon in the commentary box. If
ever the broadcasters strayed too far
away from talking about the cricket, he
would bring them back.
He was Brian Johnston’s stooge and
butt for his schoolboy humour.
Johnston, who came up with the
Cricket
Today editor speaks contents letter book review interview market mania
April 2009
89 “Bearders” sobriquet and
“delighted in asking the
most impossible questions”, including
about his favourite subject cake, was
seldom or never disappointed.
Though he felt “scared” of John Arlott
when he first encountered him in 1966,
Frindall eventually got along famously
with the peerless cricket raconteur. It
did not take Arlott long to find out
that Frindall enjoyed driving.
“If you like driving, I like drinking. We’re
going to get on well,” he told an “aston-
ished” Frindall. Interestingly, Frindall
would act as Arlott’s chauffeur when
travelling to matches.
A much sought-after celebrity in his
own right, Frindall was an accomplished
after-dinner speaker, too, telling tales
of the commentary box. He would also
impersonate Arlott, Johnston and Fred
Trueman in his after-dinner speeches.
Eyewitnesses said he imitated them
brilliantly.
When former England speedster
Jonathan Agnew became the BBC crick-
et correspondent, he never missed any
opportunity to poke fun at Frindall’s
famous beard and his occasional
moments of pedantry, having built an
easy rapport with him.
Frindall was present at quite a few
episodes that have gone down in the
TMS lore, notably the moment that
Agnew prompted corpsing in the box
by suggesting that Ian Botham, who
had trodden on his stumps, had “failed
to get his leg over”.
Agnew recalled that the “initial silence
was followed by a clatter of china” as
an “aghast” Frindall dropped his teacup.
Baxter narrated an interesting jape
when one day Frindall turned up in an
Arab dress for scoring during an Ashes
series.
“I remember Bill turning up one day at
The Oval wearing a full Arab costume
complete with headdress and sunglass-
es. It came as quite a surprise to the
commentators,” revealed Baxter.
“When he arrived at the ground,
the steward told him ‘You
can’t park there – that’s Bill
Frindall’s spot.’ He replied,
‘Too bad – I’ve bought
The Oval!’”
Vic Marks said: “The
meticulous scoring Frindall was so
system, which
Frindall devised, was accurate that if
taken for granted.” his tally diverged by all the BBC radio and televi-
The former England
spinner, who is now from the one on sion
the scoreboard, to the three separate scoring
the commenta- sheets.
tors would not
hesitate in fol-
lowing his ver-
sion.
a respected cricket writer and com-
mentator, was one of the lucky few
who worked alongside Frindall.
“He brought scoring alive. This is what
Bill will always be remembered for. He
brought to life this weird and wonder-
ful world of cricket scoring that other
people might find tedious and boring.
He made scoring into an art form,”
stressed Agnew.
“He had this incredible scoring system
that made every ball an event. If you
referred back to something that had
happened earlier in the day, he would
know exactly which delivery you would
be talking about. If you had a query on
a statistic, he would have the answer in
seconds. His records were so meticu-
lous.”
A perfectionist to the core, Frindall was
remarkable for the fabulous complexity
of his scoring charts, a modified ver-
sion of the linear system developed by
the renowned Australian scorer Bill
Ferguson in 1905.
Based on a manual for umpires and
scorers compiled by the former MCC
secretary R.S. Rait Kerr, this involved
three types of scoresheets – ball-by-
ball record of play, innings scorecard
and cumulative record of bowling
analyses and extras. It accommo-
dated more facts, too.
The method proved so effective
that after 1966 it was taken up
scorers, including Frindall.
He applied many coded symbols
He would note down
shots executed or attempted as
well as the response of the field-
ers.
It is now known as “Frindallgram”
but requires quick input of a
large amount of detail, especially
after a batsman is dismissed.
“The secret is to keep calm,” he
said when asked how he managed
it so effectively and without errors,
adding that it was his time in the RAF
that prepared him for the task.
He retailed his own score-sheets to
international, county, club and individ-
ual scorers throughout the world.
Dubbed the “taciturn rock around
which commentary ebbs and flows”,
Frindall was so accurate that if his tally
diverged from the one on the score-
board, the commentators would not
hesitate in following his version.
“He could get up from his desk, walk to
the back of the box and pour himself
coffee while three balls were bowled.
But he would always know exactly what
had happened and record it. We trust-
ed him to the extent that if he said
scoreboard was wrong, we would go
with him,” said Baxter.
When the English off-spinner Graeme
Swann took two wickets in his first
maiden over in Test cricket, against
India at Chennai last December, the tel-
evision said it was the first time such a
feat had been performed.
However, within minutes the “Bearded
Wonder” pointed out that England’s

match contents letter book review interview market mania news interview
“Frindall was
stubborn, too,
particularly
over records
and what
should be
judged as a
Test or one-
day per-
formance.
fast bowler Richard Johnson was the he produced to
first to do so – against Zimbabwe at show where a batsman scored his runs
Chester-le-Street in 2003. after playing a significant innings, was
Frindall’s dedication to his job was such like a work of art. If someone in the
that long before the computerised commentary box spilt anything on his
scoring, he had taught himself to write work, he was in for trouble.
left-handed, in case an injury or a Enthusiasm for excellence and perfec-
mishap prevented him from using his tion in his work led to a certain self-
right hand. obsession. It also triggered off competi-
Always neat and clean in his writing, tiveness with fellow BBC scorers, partic-
Frindall ensured that each page was ularly Irving Rosenwater and Wendy
beautifully laid out and easy to read. Wimbush, who was initially known as the
Every scorecard, like the wagon-wheels “Beardless Wonder”.
Cricket
Today
April 2009
In 1981, during the memo-
90
rable Ashes battle in
England, he declined to provide some
important statistical information to BBC
television that he had managed to
obtain “exclusively” for himself.
Poor Rosenwater had to read out incor-
rect information to the viewers and
consequently the BBC management
slapped Frindall with a strongly-worded
memo.
A career scorer and statistician and the
longest-serving member of the TMS
team, Frindall was always armed with his
trademark scorsheets, scoring pads,
books, stop watches and, of course,
computer while occupying a large pro-
portion of the front desk in the com-
mentary box.
Considering his own importance to the
smooth running of the programme, he
was least bothered about the commen-
tators and summariser who had to
squeeze into a tiny area.
Though he did not make them often
enough, his comments were well-timed,
matter-of-fact, sometimes witty and
occasionally censorious of a couple of
commentators in the box.
He would not hesitate to tell a col-
league that he had identified a fielder
incorrectly. Henry Blofeld in particular
was pulled up every time he got the
name of a fielder wrong.
“Frindall was stubborn, too, particularly
over records and what should be
judged as a Test or one-day
performance. Right to the end
he refused to recognise the
Super Series encounter between
Australia and the Rest of the
World in Sydney. In the Playfair
Cricket Annual, performances of
Andrew Flintoff , Stephen
Harmison and others are
ignored,” wrote Angus Fraser.
“He also became upset when
the ICC decided to award one-
day international caps once the
toss had taken place, not after
the first ball of the game had
been bowled. His at times cur-
mudgeonly approach to life will
be hugely missed by those who
worked with him and listened to him.”
A schoolmaster had introduced Frindall
to cricket scoring one rainy sports
afternoon when he was at Reigate
Grammar School in Surrey. He was a
new-ball bowler with a high action in his
youth. Friends noted that he could
hardly bat and ran faster than he
bowled!
Frindall played for a string of teams
Cricket
Today editor speaks contents letter book review interview market mania
April 2009
91
from Banstead in Surrey in his prime to
the Lord’s Taverners in his dotage.
He ran Malta Maniacs, a touring side
that usually completed its matches in
Guernsey, and had its own tie with a
Maltese Cross on it. Among those who
once played for it was the Duchess of
York’s father, Major Ronald Ferguson.
He also appeared for Hampshire Second
XI, MCC, Singapore, France and the
Clergy of Oxford and Salisbury; and also
Elvinos, a nomadic touring side set up
by that great sports journalist Reg
Hayter.
Frindall was called “Hitler” by his team-
mates because of his “dictatorial ten-
dencies”.
He went on to study architecture at
Kingston-upon-Thames School of Art in
south-west London. He joined the RAF
as a National Serviceman in 1958.
Frindall called it “training in advanced
shirking”.
He rose to the rank of corporal and
was commissioned as an accountant
officer in the secretarial branch in
November 1963.
Two of Frindall’s six years of service
were spent at Nato headquarters at
Fontainebleau, outside Paris.
He left the RAF in 1965, developed his
handlebar moustache into a full beard
and fired off a letter to the BBC to fill
up the vacancy left by the death of
Arthur Wrigley in the winter. Wrigley
had been the BBC scorer since 1934.
He was lucky. Instead of architecture or
accountancy, he began watching cricket
and started scoring for a living for the
rest of his life. At 27, his association
with the TMS began in an era when a
number of scorers of first-class cricket
were of pensionable age.
Brown. “Debbie”, who survives him with
their daughter Alice and the children of
his first marriage, used to deliver his
lunch to the commentary box each day.
A consummate professional, Frindall
published a large number of books on
cricket statistics, including The Wisden
Book of Test Cricket, four editions of
The Wisden Book of Cricket Records,
and edited the highly-respected Playfair
Cricket Annual every year from 1986.
His autobiography, Bearders – My
Life in Cricket, was published in
2006. He provided statistics for
The Times as well as England and
Wales Cricket Board.
He wrote a regular column for
the BBC Sport website. He was also
the archivist to Sir Paul Getty’s
estate. He had a spell as
A consummate cricket corespondent of The
Like many of his genera- professional, Mail on Sunday in the late
tion, Frindall was from Frindall published 1980s. But he realised it was
the old school and was a large number of not the happiest time of his
convinced Test cricket books on cricket career.
was the “proper form” statistics, includ- Frindall was then inaugural
of the game. He ing The Wisden president of British Blind
appeared in the first of Book of Test Sport, a charity co-ordinat-
his 246 home Tests on
June 2, 1966, when
Cricket, four edi- ing sport for the blind and
partially sighted, between
England played West tions of The 1984 and 2004.
Indies at Old Trafford. Wisden Book of When Botham asked Frindall
He did not miss a single Cricket to help him in his famous
Test in England there- Records. charity walks, his duties
after. In all he covered included wheeling a barrow
377 Tests, the last of which was at of champagne around London.
Mohali on England’s tour of India in the In 1998, he was awarded an hon-
last 2008. In 1960, he maried Maureen orary doctorate by Staffordshire
Wesson, with whom he had two sons University for his contribution to the
and a daughter. But the marriage was field of statistics.
dissolved in 1970. The same year he He was “immensely proud” of the MBE
married Jacqueline Seager. It also ended bestowed upon him in 1994 for his
in divorce in 1980. services to cricket and broadcasting. He
He married again, in 1992, to Deborah once won even the Beard of the Year
award, too!
Frindall was the Patron of German
Cricket Board in 2005. Besides playing
club cricket and deliverying after-dinner
addresses in his free time, Frindall also
enjoyed sketching, painting, photogra-
phy and philately.
On May 16, 2001, he started the TMS
Blog and invited readers to “Stump the
Bearded Wonder”. It became a smash-
ing hit instantly.
Readers bombarded the “Bearded
Wonder” with a phenomenal variety of
questions on cricket statistics, records,
Laws of the game and a number of
other more quirky incidents which
came in regularly until the TMS Blog
finished 185 editions later in January
2009. 
 Cricket
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92
a
ustralia has a rich tradition
of producing outstanding
cricketers from time to
time. So crazy are the
Aussies about the willow
game and so well organised
is the cricket set-up down under that it
has never had to suffer from a dearth
of genuine talent. So much so, a num-
ber of champion teams have emerged
from down under. Australia is such an
ideal cricket nation that it has always
found itself bracketed with the top
sides of the world.
Warwick Windridge Armstrong was an
early Aussie cricketer who had achieved
greatness with his remarkable feats
despite being moderately talented. In
fact, he was Australia’s answer to W.G.
Grace. Not in deeds, of course, but in
bulk and in domination of the general
cricket scene. But the analogy must not
be stretched any further, considering
the two played their cricket in two dif-
ferent eras.
Armstrong did not do justice to his
name when he made his Test debut

Warwick Armstrong
Australia’s answer
to W.G. Grace
against England in the Old Country in
1901-02. Neither his arms nor his body
was strong. He was slim and tall and
loose-limbed at the time. However,
when he stopped playing cricket 20
years later, he weighed, lo and behold,
22 stones! It was perhaps in the fitness
of things that he was nicknamed The
Big Ship.
Born on May 22, 1879, Armstrong was
essentially a batsman who had a useful
role to play as a leg-break bowler.
Wielding the willow, he made good use
of his physical gifts. He was very strong
on the front-foot from which his
attack always sprang, using his massive
frame. But he was a joy to watch on
the backfoot, especially when execut-
ing rasping square-cuts
“Bowling slows, usually round the wicket
from a great height, he did not turn
the ball a lot, but his leg theory was so
pronounced that on occasions he sent
down over after over wide of the leg
stump without being punished because
he dropped the ball with what really
was deceptive flight and usually very
little break,” wrote Hubert Preston, the
famous cricket historian, about
Armstrong’s bowling.
Everything about Armstrong was on
the grand scale. He had an enviable flair
for success: as a cricketer, as a captain,
as a man, as a cricket writer and as a
businessman. While playing in Glasgow
on his last tour of England, he had a
chance meeting with a whisky tycoon.
It opened a new chapter in his life and a
prosperous business career when his
playing days were over. He died a con-
by Haresh Pandya
tented, rich man at the age of 68.
In a first-class career spanning 24
years, Armstrong scored 16,158 runs in
406 innings at an average of 46.83,
which included 45 three-figure knocks.
He claimed 832 wickets at 19.71 apiece
and held 274 catches. The statistics
suggest he was a very successful all-
rounder. His figures in Tests are equally
impressive. In 50 Tests and 84 visits to
the crease, Armstrong made 2,863
runs at 38.68, including 6 centuries.
The Aussie took 87 wickets and
pouched 44 catches as well
The Big Ship led Australia in 10 Tests, all
against England, and did not taste
defeat in any one of them. He crushed
Cricket
Today editor speaks contents letter book review interview market mania
April 2009

93 plinarian and a man of high principles. Cotter was killed in action by a sniper at
The Victorian, who was a “somewhat Gallipoli while serving in the Australian
dictatorial opponent”, could never steer Light Horse in 1917 aged 34. Ransford
himself clear of controversies, both as and Hill never donned Aussie colours
a player and as a captain. again. But Carter and Armstrong did,
On the eve of the 1912 tour of England though the latter had in store another
his forceful character led him to join row with officialdom.
the revolt – known as the Big Six dis- It so happened that in the early 1920s
pute of 1912 – of the players against Armstrong, slow in his movements
the Australian cricket officials. The owing to his huge body, was hit
authorities did not honour their prom- badly in a Sheffield Shield match
ise to the players that they could in Adelaide. Ignoring the injury
choose their manager for he went to Sydney to play
England. The players plumped against New South Wales. As ill
for Frank Laver, a man of luck would have it, a brick fell on
“breezy personality”, who his legs on the morning of the
had played for Australia game, causing so much
with some distinction. But pain and rendering him
the authorities just would Warwick hors de combat.
not agree. Consequently Armstrong led The matter did not end
the Big Six – Victor Australia in 10 just there. His enemies in
Trumper, Clem Hill, Albert Victoria, thanks to the
“Tibby” Cotter, Hanson Tests, all against rumpus of 1912, set their
“Sammy” (or “Sep”) England, and did guns against him, waiting
Carter, Vernon Ransford not taste defeat in as they had been for their
and Armstrong – refused any one of them. chance to sink The Big
to tour. He crushed Ship. “Armstrong should
The officials won the have notified of his condi-
struggle, although the England in all 5 tion earlier,” they crowed.
tour of England was a Tests in Australia in To add to the injury, literal-
disaster, “a horrible fias- 1920-21. ly and figuratively, the
co”. Trumper died 3 Victorian selectors dropped
years later aged 38. him from the State squad

England in all 5 Tests in Australia in

1920-21. He himself made a vital contri-
bution with the bat, scoring 3 centuries
in the rubber. Three more successive
Test wins followed in England, making it
8 triumphs in a row, before the Poms
could manage a couple of welcome
draws.
So much has already been written
about Armstrong’s “brilliant” leadership
qualities, particularly by the Australians.
But Armstrong, who neither lost a Test
nor a toss while captaining his country,
was fortunate in that he had at his
command a deadly pair of fast bowlers,
Jack Gregory and Ted McDonald, who
proved too good for England’s impov-
erished batting; and the batsmen of
the calibre of Charles Macartney, the
“Governor General”, and Warren
Bardsley. It is debatable whether he was
ever tested by grim adversity, consider-
ing the rich resources at his disposal as
a skipper.
He was said to be the stormy petrel of
Australian cricket in those years, one
who “spoke his mind and liked to get his
way regardless of sensitive feelings or
niceties”. Strong-willed, stubborn and
sensitive, Armstrong was a strict disci-

match contents letter book review interview market mania news interview
to play against England without call-
ing him before them. As Jack
Fingleton remarked, “Here was a
pretty how-d’ye-do – the
Australian captain dropped
from his State team!”
This triggered tremendous
popular uproar. Public meet-
ings were held and fierce
polemic in favour of
Armstrong was launched by
many in the press. The offi-
cials held a meeting in cam-
era. Needless to say, it was a
stormy gathering but out of
it came the vindication of
Armstrong. So The Big Ship,
unscarred, “sailed serenely
again into home waters”.
The huge man resumed the
national captaincy and massa-
cred the English 5-0. Ignoring
a severe bout of malaria, he
performed a tour de force in a
Test in the same series.
Before going out to bat,
Armstrong was Armstrong sent for 2
“stiff” whiskies and
said to be the drank them without
stormy petrel of water. He then ambled
Australian cricket out and smashed a hun-
in those years, dred!
one who “spoke More “seaworthy” than
ever, Armstrong sailed
his mind and liked on to England to weath-
to get his way er a few more
regardless of sen- “cyclones” in 1921. The
sitive feelings or English team was in the
niceties”. doldrums that year; so
much that some 29
Cricket
Today
April 2009
players were pitchforked
94
into action in the series
with only Frank Woolley and Johnny
Duglas playing in all the five Tests. As
said earlier, so superior was this
Australian side that it had no problem
beating the Brits 3-0, winning the first
three Tests.
However, Armstrong was flayed by the
representatives of Fleet Street for not
making Kent follow-on after the county
finished almost 500 behind on the first
innings against the tourists. He was
thought to be over-bearing by his own
colleagues and they demurred in the
dressing-room. But he silenced them, if
not actually convinced, with an auto-
cratic wave of the hand. “Put ‘em on
and do as you are told,” he roared at his
openers. “There’s a Test coming on and
I’m not over-working my bowlers for
anybody.”
The decision nearly triggered a team
insurrection. But saner counsel pre-
vailed and, in the end, The Big Ship
weathered the storm. Compared to the
tempests still to break in the fourth
and fifth Tests at Old Trafford and The
Oval respectively, the drama at Kent
was only a zephyr.
At Manchester, Lionel Tennyson, the
descendant of England’s national poet
Alfred Tennyson, had replaced Douglas
as the captain. The first day’s play was
washed out and the home skipper made
a “forlorn” bid for victory by declaring
at 5.40 p.m. on the second day with
only 4 wickets falling. But Tennyson had
erred in taking such a decision since he
had overlooked the point that with no
play at all on the opening day, the
match was now only a two-day affair,
with a consequential change in the clo-
sure rule.
Tennyson led his players on to the field
and motioned the Australians in. But
the visiting captain pointed out, guided
by his wicketkeeper Carter, that the law,
amended in 1914, showed that a clo-
sure in the circumstances of a lost first
day could not be made later than an
hour and 40 minutes before the time
Cricket
Today editor speaks contents letter book review interview market mania
April 2009

95

for drawing stumps. team – Clarence “Nip”

It was surprising that no Pellew, Johnny Taylor,
England official or player Tommy Andrews and Herbie
in the pavilion knew “Horseshoe” Collins
enough to prevent such Armstrong was – and ordered them
a comic scenario. Many to share the bowling
Englishmen considered flayed by the among themselves
it a humiliating inci- representatives for the rest of the
dent in the sense that of Fleet Street for proceedings.
the home captain was not making Kent Then he himself
corrected by his follow-on after lumbered off to the
Australian counter- boundary which was
part. The umpires – the county fin- an unknown position
also at fault, no doubt ished almost for him. The specta-
– were so muddled 500 behind on tors did not like
that, when play was the first innings Armstrong’s pranks
resumed after delay against the and were furious
of 20 minutes, they that a Test was
allowed Armstrong to tourists. being treated like
commit an error by that. They yelled
bowling the next over, forgetting and booed the bulky
that he had bowled the over Aussie. But he was com-
before Tennyson made that pre- pletely unruffled; so much that he
mature declaration! Armstrong actually picked up and read a fully
thus became the first man in his- extended newspaper that was
tory to bowl two overs on the trot blown from the crowd!
in a Test innings. The Australian crossed swords in
In the final Test at The Oval, it was that same year with Lord Harris,
apparent long before the game said to be the autocrat of English
finished that it would end in a cricket. The two were engaged in a
draw. But after tea on the last day, conversation during the course of
the Australian captain rested his which betting in cricket was men-
regular bowlers and summoned tioned. While Armstrong was cer-
four non-bowling members of his tain that such a thing as betting

match contents letter book review interview market mania news interview
did exist in cricket, His Lordship pooh-
poohed the very idea of it.
“People just don’t bet on cricket.
Silly rot to say they do,” said the
Englishman. The next day,
Armstrong took up the subject
again and said: “If you would like
a couple of hundred on our
next Test, I can arrange it for
you!” The Brit was flabbergast- was regarded by
ed and greatly offended by
the temerity of the outspo-
ken Aussie; to such an extent
that he did not speak to
Armstrong for the rest of his
life
A truly great character,
Armstrong was regarded by
some of his adversaries as an
eccentric. But it was not true.
He had many good qualities as
a human being. “Beneath
this hard exterior was a
kind, generous heart which
could, and did, send him trav-
elling miles to play an
outlying school single-
A truly great char- handed, to emerge,
acter, Armstrong incidentally, once
more victorious,” said
Ian Peebles. This
some of his about the man who
adversaries as an did not like to take
eccentric. But it dictation from any-
body…
was not true. He Armstrong did not
had many good think much of Don
qualities as a Bradman. He was of
human the opinion that many
bowlers in his team
being. would have clipped
Cricket
Today
April 2009
Bradman’s wings. Nor did
96
he rate Maurice Tate and
Bill O’Reilly as world-class bowlers. This
was, of course, all stuff and nonsense.
He did not endear himself to many by
making such foolish remarks. But he
himself was aware that many people
hated him.
The gruff and domineering Aussie was
a heavy smoker. He was almost insepa-
rable from a large, crooked-stemmed
pipe. He loved a challenge and did not
believe in caving in meekly. He was a
fighter who had the killer spirit well
developed as a competitor. Only a
shade above a decade stood between
Armstrong and Douglas Jardine, the
controversial English captain of the
Bodyline fame.
Fingleton made a fine observation
about the tit-for-tat approach of
Armstrong, both as a player and as a
captain. “Slow in movement, big in tar-
get, Armstrong would have been beat-
en black and blue by bodyline but he
would have retaliated on the field very
promptly and his attitude would have
been so full of thunder that bodyline
would have died in one Test, which, as I
see it now, would have been a very,
very good thing,” wrote Fingleton while
visualising Armstrong leading and not
Bill Woodfull in the infamous Bodyline
series down under in 1932-33.
Cricket has not seen too many remark-
able men and lively characters like
Armstrong. The Big Ship had come on
the scene in the Golden Age of the
game which was not all that glittering
in reality. But he had added colour and
lustre to the willow game with his fabu-
lous personality and dynamism. Indeed,
he was a legend in his own right. 

match WOMENS CRICKET
t
he Grameenphone Women’s
Tri-nation Series was inaugu-
rated by Humayun Kabir, the
deputy commissioner, Mr.
Abdullah Redwan, Director &
Chairman; Women’s wing,
Bangladesh Cricket Board, at Bogra dis-
trict Bangladesh.
SriLanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh were
the three countries who participated in
the tournament and the SriLankan eves
emerged as the winning team and the
Pakistani girls as runners-up.
Pakistan captain, Urooj Mumtaz, said, “
WOMEN’S TRI-
NATION SERIES
by Radhika Karve
We took this tournament as a great
rehearsal or warm- up before the
World Cup” addressing the press con-
ference after the opening match of
the tournament,played between
Pakistan and Bangladesh, where a much
experienced Pak side restricted
Bangladesh to 109 runs to win the
game comprehensively by 7 wickets.
trivia content news interview Today
Pakistan opener Nain Abidi, sparkled in
this game and scored 65 runs fencing
the ball 11 times and steered her team
to success in the 34th over.
Bangladesh captain Salma Khatun said,
“Basically our promising batswomen
couldn’t play well, so we were all out
within very small score. We have to
wait for the upcoming matches for our
girls to do better. We should focus on
our batting for staying longer on the
wicket to get a big score”.
Urooj Mumtaz added, “Bangladesh is a
good side and they have played well in
the Asia Cup. The Bangladesh crowd is
great, they come in large number and
cheers for all the teams. Their team is
coming up nicely and has shown great
improvement in the bowling and the
fielding department. Their bowlers
bowled wicket to wicket with a perfect
line and length. They should work more
on their batting”.
When asked about how easy was their
win, Urooj said, “No game is easy! We
Cricket
April 2009
98
had to work hard to get
them out for 109 runs.
Cricket is a very competitive game. We
worked hard and fought our way back
since the Asia Cup”.
SriLankan women won the second
match of the tournament against
Pakistan by 3 wickets with 116 balls
remaining. CR Seneviratna was the top
wicket taker claiming 8 wickets and was
declared the player of the match.
Pakistan could write only 103 runs on
the board confronting the SriLankan
attack. Only a couple of Pakistan eves
could reach a double figure score but
in reply Almas Akram and Javeria Khan
bowled well and bagged three SriLankan
wickets each.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to
bat first in the third game of the series
against Bangladesh and scored 211 runs
in their stipulated 50 overs. Eshan
Kaushalya was the star of the game
scoring an unbeaten 60 in 43 balls with
7 boundaries and one six. Tithy Sarkar
Cricket
Today editor speaks contents letter book review interview market mania
April 2009

99 and Shohely Akhtar of Bangladesh their side.

claimed 4 wickets each in 10 overs giv-
ing away 45 & 23 runs respectively.
Ayesha Akhtar, Panna Ghosh and Tithy
Sarkar were the only Bangladeshi girls
who reached a double figure score of
33, 20 &16 respectively in their team’s
reply of 135 runs. SriLanka women won
by 76 runs with bowler Chamari
The fifth match of the tournament
was a memorable one for the
Bangladesh eves as they wrote their
first victory defeating mighty
SriLankan’s by 6 wickets. “This victory
is very special and a dream come true
for us! It has lifted the moral of my
team” said the Bangladeshi captain

Polagampola bagging three Bangladeshi Salma Khatun.

wickets for 26 runs. Sri Lanka were all out for just 67
The fourth match of the tour- runs in the 24th over. Bangladesh
nament, played between Sri bowlers turned the game miracu-
Lanka and Pakistan, was lously by sending five Sri Lankan
delayed due to rain and batters to the pavilion without let-
was limited to 31 overs. ting them open the account.
Sri Lanka won by 115 Bangladesh took only 31
runs with captain The overs to reach the target and
Shashikala Siriwardene
scoring 66 off 72 balls
Grameenphone wrote history.
The Grameenphone tri-nation
with 10 fours and a six. tri-nation series series was finally won by Sri
She was well support- was finally won Lanka. Pakistan were the run-
ed by Eshani Kaushalya by Sri Lanka. ners-up and their coach was
who hit 26 runs in 26 Pakistan were happy with the team’s per-
balls fencing the ball formance. Pakistan openers
four times. SriLanka
the runners-up put up a good show through-
scored 210 runs in 31 and their coach out the series and proved to
overs for the loss of 9 was happy with be the second best team of
wickets. In reply, the team’s per- the tournament.
Pakistani team were formance. The three teams certainly
bundled out with just picked up the weakness and
92 runs and their bat- the strong points of their
ters hardly showed any resistance to opponents and will utilize the
the SriLankan bowlers. H Fernando and knowledge and experience in the
C De Almis got three Pakistani girls out upcoming big event…THE WOMEN’S
each and marked an easy victory for WORLD CUP 2009!!! 
 Cricket
match DOWN MEMORY LANE content news interview Today
April 2009

100
b
y April 1998 Tendulkar was
not only one of the two
best batsmen in the world
(the other being Brian Lara)
but was also the biggest
name in the game. And the many Indian
fans in Sharjah gave him a rapturous
welcome when he arrived with the
team to participate in the Coca Cola
Cup tri series with the other teams in
the fray being Australia and New
Zealand. Australia were the favourites
on form and reputation and things
moved according to predictions in the
first round of matches. Australia
defeated India by 58 runs and New
Zealand by six wickets while India got
the better of New Zealand by 15 runs.
According to the format of the tourna-
ment the contestants had to play each
other one more time and the two top
teams would contest the final. An
Australia - India final looked certain but
New Zealand threw a spanner in the
works by defeating India by four wick-
ets. Australia according to expectations
beat New Zealand by five wickets to
make sure of a berth in
the title clash. But their opponents
were not known when the final league
match between Australia and India
commenced. New Zealand’s surprise
victory had opened an avenue for

put on 38 runs and then Nayan Mongia

Sachin’s magical (35) helped the maestro add 69 runs

for the second wicket. But India fal-
tered when skipper Md Azharuddin and
Ajay Jadeja left in quick succession

show at Sharjah making the score 138 for four after 29

them and the pressure was on India.
Much would depend on Tendulkar who
had notched up scores of 40, 80 and
38 in the three matches. But India’s
task became really tough when
Australia winning the toss posted 284
for seven in 50 overs thanks in the
main to a splendid unbeaten 101 by
Michael Bevan. Now the calculators
were out as during the break there was
a dust storm which hit the stadium
resulting in a slight delay. The target
was now revised. It was no longer 285
from 50 overs but 276 from 46 overs.
To qualify for the final though it was
enough if the Indians got 237 but that
was far from easy against an attack
that included Damien Fleming, Michael
Kasprowicz, Tom Moody, Shane Warne
and Steve Waugh.
Openers Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly
PARTAB RAMCHAND looks
back on when Sachin
Tendulkar virtually single
handedly won for India the
Coca Cola Cup tournament in
Sharjah
Winning a match single hand-
edly is a great feat but when a
player wins a tournament for
his side virtually off his own
bat it is an achievement unpar-
alleled. But perhaps it will not
come as a surprise when it is
pointed out that the cricketer
involved was Sachin Tendulkar.
overs. Joined by VVS Laxman Tendulkar
now took complete charge. With breath
taking shots on both sides of the wick-
et he reached his hundred and finally
the first objective – making the final –
was reached. Tendulkar was finally out
at 242 to the last ball of the 43rd over
after hitting 143 off just 131 balls with
nine fours and five sixes. India ended
with 250 for five and though the
match was lost by 26 runs the Indians
lived to fight another day thanks to the
heroics of their best batsman.
The final was held two days later and it
turned out to be Tendulkar’s 25th
birthday. Would he give a birthday gift
to the nation? That hardly seemed pos-
sible when Australia put in to bat ended
with 272 for nine in 50 overs. This time
Tendulkar and Ganguly (23) put on 39
runs before the latter fell in the ninth
over. Mongia (28) was happy playing a
supporting role during his second wick-
et partnership of 89 runs with
Cricket
Today editor speaks contents letter book review interview market mania
April 2009

101 to be deployed by his brother Steve but Indian triumph in Sharjah

Tendulkar continued with his pyrotech- was a rare occurrence.
nics. When he was finally out at 248 in Only four months previ-
the 45th over victory was round ously the Indian team had
the corner. been jeered as they lost all
Tendulkar’s masterly 134 was their three matches in the
compiled off 131 balls and he hit Champions Trophy.
12 fours and three sixes. But the last word Tendulkar had been
Azharuddin left a couple of must come from the captain and the
overs later after playing a little Shane Warne. “I abuses must have
gem of an innings of 58 off 64 was hit by the best rankled. But this tri-
balls leaving Jadeja and batsman in the umph shaped almost
Hrishikesh Kanitkar to apply the world’’ said the entirely by one man
finishing touches. The winning was something to
stroke was made with nine
world’s best spin remember for long.
deliveries to spare. bowler and in a The stadium erupted
So Tendulkar did give a cricket touching gesture as Tendulkar stepped
crazy nation a gift to remem- he sought forward to receive
ber on his 25th birthday. An Tendulkar’s auto- his man of the match
graph on his
shirt.

Tendulkar who by now was in rip roar-

ing form, doing pretty much what he
liked with the bowling. Mongia’s depar-
ture brought in Azharuddin and even
the great touch artist was content
playing second fiddle to Tendulkar who
was simply unstoppable. He reached a
second successive hundred – his 15th
in ODIs – and now accelerated further.
Mark Waugh became the sixth bowler

and man of the series awards. The

crowd gave him a standing ovation as
he went around the venue in his brand
new Opel car given to him for his stu-
pendous performance with the team
members piling on to share the glory.
But the last word must come from
Shane Warne. “I was hit by the best
batsman in the world’’ said the world’s
best spin bowler and in a touching ges-
ture he sought Tendulkar’s autograph
on his shirt. In 19 overs in the two
matches Warne had conceded exactly
100 runs without taking a wicket and
could not bowl even a single maiden
over. His one sentence and gesture
conveyed the extent of Tendulkar’s
dominance and put the two match win-
ning hundreds in proper perspective.

match THE LEGAL FIGHT
f
eroze Shah Kotla has been wit-
nessing some great encounters
and performances in the past.
Be it Anil Kumble’s world record
feat of acheiving 10 wickets or
Sachin breaking Gavaskar’s record of
scoring maximum centuries in Test
cricket. Of recently, the stadium wit-
nessed another exciting encounter on
21st February 2009 between Delhi
Chief Justice XI and Delhi High Court
Bar Association XI. This match takes
place every year between the Bar and
Bench of Delhi High Court for the Tara
Chand Mathur Memorial Cup. This year
the match was even more significant as
it was being revived after the gap of
five years. This particular encounter
was attended in large numbers by
members of the legal fraternity and
their families. The total turn-out was
even bigger than any of the Ranji tro-
phy matches.
The arrangements for the match were
immaculate. Starting in the morning
with an elaborate spread of breakfast,
the cuisine of “Delhi-6” was enjoyed by
all as a midmorning snack. So good was
the taste of the delicacies of Old Delhi
that Justice Kathju could not resist car-
rying his “Papri Chat” on to the field
and continued to savour the same even
while fielding. A special thanks to Sh.
Bench vs Bar
by Shyam Sharma
Ramesh Gupta, former Chairman Bar
Council of Delhi, for arranging the
same.
The Lawyer’s Team led by Vinay Bhasin,
Sr. Advocate, won the toss and elected
to bat as it appeared that their luck is
better on the field than in the Courts.
The lawyer’s side couldn’t get to a fly-
ing start as both their openers, Sunil
Mittal and Anoop Bagai (their best bet),
got out cheaply. The team finally man-
aged a respectable total of 194 in 25
overs, thanks to a strokeful and elegant
knock of 38 off 35 balls by Abhinav
Vashist.
The Judges’ outfit was thoroughly pro-
fessional in their approach on the field
whether it was fielding or bowling. The
bowling was so disciplined that the
content news interview
lawyer’s never had a chance to score
freely. It appeared that the Judges’
team had taken a leaf out of the book
of the Australian team, especially
Justice Badar Ahmed, Justice Shakdhar
and Justice Murlidhar, who were fling-
ing themselves all over the field even to
save singles. Justice Mridul was out-
standing behind the stumps and later
with his left-hand batting, had people
to remember of the great Adam
Sh. Shyam Sharma receiving the best bowler trophy from Justice AP Shah
Gilchrist.
In reply, the Judges’ team, led by
Justice Badar Ahmed, got off to a fly-
ing start with Justice Katju smashing
the first ball of the innings to the long
on boundary and looking ominous. It
took a low sharp catch on his follow
through by Balaji to dismiss him. The
innings was then held together by
Justice Badar Ahmed and Justice
Murlidhar, who were scoring freely, as
the judges’ team remained ahead of
the asking run-rate till the dismissal of
Justice Badar Ahmed by a googly from
Sunil Mittal, the vice-captain of the
Lawyers’ team and the legal eagle of
DDCA. The judges’s held a tight grip on
the proceedings as the submissions of
the lawyer were wayward since they
had already bowled sixteen illegitimate
deliveries in the form of no-balls and
wides. The most feared bowler
Cricket
Today
April 2009
102
amongst the lawyer’s
Meet Malhotra was strug-
gling to find his rhythm as he was
recovering from a back injury. At this
stage I was missing certain players who
would have been assets to our side but
they opted to be at Chandigarh for a
legal fraternity Golf Tournament. The
ones missed most were Jayant
Bhushan, Arun Bharadwaj, J.P.Sengh
and Rajiv Nanda. At the end of the 11th
over the acting captain Sunil Mittal
asked me to start loosening up as he
wanted me to bowl the 13th over. I was
apprehensive and told him that I hadn’t
bowled in over 15 years since I last
bowled for my club (Pelican) in the Delhi
A Division League. I told him in the
morning that I had not come to play
the match but had come only as a
spectator to watch the match as I was
suffering from tennis elbow. However,
after seeing the rebuilt stadium in the
morning and succumbed to the temp-
tation of being able to play on this
beautiful lush green ground which one
only dreamt of as a child, I agreed to
bowl. Kudos to Mr. Arun Jaitely, the
president of DDCA and his team for
making Kotla a wonderful Stadium. I
bowled straight and to be honest, luck
seemed to be on my side as my spell of
5-0-16-4 earned me the trophy for the
 Cricket
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April 2009

103 best bowler. In fact the lawyer’s team

must thank the judges who decided to
call Justice Shakhdhar back as retired
hurt when he and Justice Murlidhar
were going great guns.
Justice Siddharth Mridul, who used to
score heavily for the Lawyer’s before
elevation, was caught at the boundary
just when he was looking dangerous.
Justice Sistani who chose to play this
match instead of a golf tournament in
Chandigarh was dismissed on the sec-
ond ball he faced. However he walked
back to pavilion with a smile on his face
which shows the spirit in which the
game was played.
There were valuable contribution from
various other Judges’ including Justice
Manmohan, Justice Nandrajog, Justice
Bhasin, Justice Kait, Justice Manmohan
(L to R) Justice AP Shah, Chief Justice of Delhi Highcourt with Justice Katju, Judge supremecourt of Singh and Justice V.K. Shali who dis-
India, and Sh. Arun Jaitly, President DDCA.
played the hidden talents much to
shock and dismay of the lawyer’s team
by showing great agility and fitness on
the field.
The match was followed by prize distri-
bution ceremony. The winner and run-
ners-up trophies were given away by
Justice Ajit Pasayat, Judge, Supreme
Court of India and the individual prizes
were presented by Sh. Arun Jaitley and
Sh. Ravinder Manchanda, the patron of
DDCA. The master of ceremonies at
the prizes distribution was the secre-
tary of the Delhi High Court Bar
Association Sh. D.K.Sharma who was at
his witty best on the mike. The live on
field commentary through-out the
match by Amit Chadda, Ashok Sethi,
Rajiv Saxena, Bedi and Dinesh Agnani
Photo: Ashutosh Sharma

deserves a special mention which kept

the audience in splits of laughter with
The Delhi High Court Chief Justice XI
humorous remarks. Justice Murlidhar
was declared “man of the match” for
his valuable 52 runs, Justice Sidharath
Mridul was adjusted the “Best Keeper”
and Justice Shakdhar was declared as
the most “egile player of the match”.
There was a tuff competition for the
most “dashing and handsome player”
but the unanimous choice was Justice
Manmohan. (everything official about
it)
The evening ended with special appre-
ciation to certain officials of the DDCA
namely Sh. Ravinder Manchanda, Sh.
Sneh Bansal, Sh. C.K.Khanna, Sh. Chetan
Chauhan, Sh. Sunil Jain, Sh. Ravi Jain
and Sh. Dinesh Sharma who helped in
making the match a great success. All
the players and the audience are
already looking forward for the next
edition of the Tara Chand Memorial
Standing (L to R) with the winners trophy Sh. Ramesh Gupta (Sr. Advocate), Sh. Sunil Mittal (Vice
Chairman, Bar Council of Delhi) and Sh. Shyam Sharma Trophy. 
 Cricket
Today
news MARKET MANIA preview cover story interview April 2009

104
By Rakesh Pandey

TITAN’S NEBULA CALLIGRAPHY

Nebula, the exquisite range of solid 18K gold watches from Titan, has intro-
duced Nebula Calligraphy - a collection inspired by the art of Calligraphy.
Bollywood actor Raima Sen unveiled the collection in the presence of Ms.
Vandana Bhalla, Marketing Manager, Titan. Calligraphy means “beautiful writ-
ing”. Free spirited & uninhibited, this art form extends from alphabets to
numerals to even abstract expressions using a vivid palette of colors.
Meticulously crafted in 18K Gold, the Nebula Calligraphy collection is a unique
blend of intricate craftsmanship and the delightful art of Calligraphy.
Studded with dazzling diamonds and Italian styled leather straps, watches in
this collection are brought alive by the exquisite use of calligraphy on the
dials. Indices in the devnagri script adorn the mother of pearl dials while
Sanskrit lipi shlokas quietly form the backdrop in some of the watches. The
Classic forms and simple elegance captures the ingenuity and creativity of
an invaluable collectible.
Price: Between Rs. 65,000/- to 95,000/-

HITACHI UT42-MX700A
At 1.5inches in width, not only is this the slimmest
LCD TV around, but also the most impressive. It
coughs up lifelike colours, great black levels, and
no flickering or jitter. The fact that it’s stylish as
hell only makes the deal oh so sweet.
Price: Rs. 1,35,000/-
CANON POWERSHOT SX10 IS
This ultra-zoom from Canon is packed with fea-
tures and very easy to use. It’s a great upgrade
over its forefather, the S5 IS, and makes for a
great piece of kit for one and all.
Price: Rs. 26,995/-

PHILIPS GOGEAR SA5245BT 4GB

Striking a perfect balance between features and price, it comes with a large
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headphones for wireless music. FM radio, voice recording and a photo viewer com-
plete the package.
Price: Rs. 8,499/-
Cricket
Today
April 2009
editor speaks contents letter review interview match report
105
YAMAHA RX-V863
The triple-tuning fork strikes the right note
with this new AV receiver. Living up to its
repute, this HD-ready receiver delivers an
intense cinema experience, with its 17 DSP-
surround modes and dual subwoofer output
for that thumping bass.
Price: Rs. 68,200/-

AURA™ BY MOTOROLA
Inspired by luxury watches and handcrafted design, Motorola, Inc.’s (NYSE: MOT)
Indian subsidiary, Motorola India Private Limited, recently introduced AURATM.
The unique handset breaks convention and re-establishes artistry in the design
and manufacturing of mobile devices for the discerning Indian consumers. To
herald the Return of ArtistryTM, Abhishek Bachchan unveiled the AURA and pre-
sented the first AURA to India’s fashion designer par excellence, Manish
Malhotra, at an exclusive event.
Classic design, the world’s first 16 million color, circular display with 300 dpi reso-
lution in the mobile phone industry and fine craftsmanship help AURA deliver a
sensory experience that is second to none for those with refined tastes.
Sophisticated design, aerospace engineering, and the quality of the printed page
proved the perfect muses to inspire AURA’s creation.
Price on demand

SONY ERICSSON XPERIA X1

Opening up as an arc-slider to reveal a full QWERTY,
this WinMo phone from Sony Ericsson is crammed
with features such as a mammoth 3inch screen, 3G,
WiFi, assisted GPS and a 3.2 meg snapper. The high
spot is a customisable panel interface on the home
screen.
Price: Rs. 44,500/-

DELL XPS M1730

Intently built for gaming, this powerhouse is crammed
with top-of-the-line performance parts rarely seen on
laptops. Weighs close to 5kg, but comes with a super-
fast processor, 4 gigs of memory, a high-res 17inch
display, and dedicated nVidia graphics.
Price: Rs. 1,09,000/- onwards
 Cricket
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April 2009

106
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