Everything Required: IPL 2009

Showing posts with label IPL 2009. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Bangalore on winning track

Johannesburg: Jacques Kallis hit an unbeaten 58 and pace bowler Praveen Kumar took three wickets Tuesday to guide the Bangalore Royal Challengers to a seven-wicket victory over the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

Kallis struck two boundaries and two sixes in 56 balls to take Bangalore to eclipse Delhi's 134-7 with one over to spare.

In Images: Kallis scripts Bangalore's seven-wicket win

The South Africa allrounder completed a fine all-around performance having bowled accurately to take 1-17 in four overs.

Kallis shared a second-wicket stand of 70 off 69 balls with Rahul Dravid (38 off 34 balls) after opener Robin Uthappa nicking Yogesh Nayar's outswinger to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik to be out for 1 in the first over.

"He (Kallis) is a superb cricketer with a great attitude," Bangalore coach Ray Jennings said. "I respect him as a legend ... I'm privileged to work with four legends - Kallis, (Mark) Boucher, Dravid and (Anil) Kumble."

Nagar, a 19-year-old offspinner playing in his first IPL match, was the pick of the Delhi attack with 2-20 in two overs.

Nagar got his first wicket when he caught Dravid off his own bowling in the 13th over.

Ross Taylor came in and scored briskly, smashing a boundary and three sixes in 12 balls on his way to 25.

He departed in the 15th over trying to hit another boundary off Nagar and was caught at long on by Daniel Vettori.

Kallis and Mark Boucher (10 not out) then took Bangalore home, putting on an unbeaten stand of 39.

Full Coverage: IPL 2009

Delhi stay top of the IPL standings with 18 points.

Captain Virender Sehwag, who continued to underperform after getting out for a duck, was forced to defend his personal form and shrugged off suggestions that his team was losing its early rhythm.

"As long as we are winning, my form is not important," Sehwag said. "It's a team game. If it's not me performing, then it's someone else. It's part and parcel of the game."

"I don't think we have lost momentum ... we haven't lost two games in a row. (The) momentum is still with us. It's just a matter of the openers getting a good start and we will be fine."

Earlier, Kumar took 3-30 in four overs, while captain and legspinner Anil Kumble claimed 2-24 in four overs to restrict Delhi.

Dinesh Karthik top-scored for Delhi with 31.

Source:- Sify

IPL Points Table

Team	Played	Won	Loss	N/R	Point	R/R
Delhi Daredevils	13	9	4	0	18	0.25
Super Kings	13	7	5	1	15	0.93
Deccan Chargers	13	7	6	0	14	0.26
Royal Challengers	13	7	6	0	14	-0.25
Kings XI Punjab	13	7	6	0	14	-0.42
Rajasthan Royals	13	6	6	1	13	-0.36
Mumbai Indians	13	5	7	1	11	0.40
Knight Riders	13	2	10	1	5	-0.89

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

IPL Round UP

NEW DELHI: Here's a glimpse of DLF Indian Premier League coverage in the daily newspapers.

It's all down to nerves now. Times Of India writes as the Indian Premier League enters its last week, nail-chomping has all but become a national phenomenon and by the time the semi-finalists are identified, cricket-lovers will have to start looking for something else to chew on. It adds that the last few days have seen so many close matches that even the point's table is now scratching its head. In all likelihood, the teams that fail the nerves-test will not come down to winning matches anymore and it will all be about not losing them.

Everyone was talking about brother Yusuf before IPL II. Quietly, the junior Pathan has come up the ranks and played a big role in the survival of Kings XI Punjab so far. Hindustan Times says that in the world of bubbles that T20 or IPL can sometimes be, players come to the fore by turn. A few good outings bring them under the spotlight for a while before someone else displaces them. There isn't anything constant about it. "I just wanted to play before the tournament started. I hardly played any international cricket last year because other players were doing well. So, before the IPL and looking ahead to the T20 World Cup, I was praying that I get a chance to play regularly. When you perform at crucial times, it makes a big difference to your confidence. For me, it's done a world of good, especially before the T20 World Cup," Irfan tells Hindustan Times.

It was Joginder Sharma a couple of years back. Today, it's Irfan Pathan. He has become a bit of a last over hero for whichever team he plays and it's no different in the IPL either. If he did the job with the bat against the Knight Riders and Team Delhi on Monday, it was Pathan's chance to show what he can do with the ball. Times Of India writes he is the first one to concede that there's an element of luck attached to winning matches in the last over. "It was my luck tonight and I won. If you ask me, I would say the pressure was on them. The key to winning these moments is not to take the pressure on yourself and I guess that worked," Pathan said with a characteristic smile on his face to Times Of India.

Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist are giving leadership a good name in the IPL and it's not just by accident. Sandip Patil writes in Mid Day that while Gilchrist's leadership for Deccan Chargers is poles apart from that of VVS Laxman last year, Warne has shown that he is numero uno in extracting the best out of his players no matter how talented or limited they are. Gilchrist seems determined to prove that he could soon be on par with the great Victorian in this aspect.

Mahela Jayawardene wants to perfect his swing; Jacques Kallis is wondering why it's difficult to hit the stationary ball; and Mark Boucher is just happy to be wearing knee-length shorts as he makes his way up from a bunker. The Indian Express writes that it may seem that the three have taken a wrong turn and ended up at the Wanderers Golf Course rather than the cricket ground, but in reality the cricketers have a fascination for golf. "It's a very relaxing sport, and great fun," says Jayawardene, as he prepares to embark on the backward journey, after saving par on the ninth. "Even though cricket and family take a lot of time, I try to play golf at every opportunity available - it's a great stress buster."

Amit Mishra has been the Delhi Daredevils' premier spinner in their nine victories (from 12 matches) that helped them secure a semi-final berth. When Daniel Vettori had to sit out in order to allow four other foreigners to play, Mishra more than held his own. By his own yardsticks, though, Mishra has fallen short. Talking to Hindustan Times Mishra, said, "I had set out to get more wickets than I have managed. If you don't take wickets, you cannot put the opposition under pressure. T20 is not always about economical bowling."

Unlike in Tests and ODI, where the path has been paved by years of experience, Twenty20 still remains unchartered territory. Cricketers haven't quite mastered the art of excelling in cricket's shortest format. But, then, it's not just about trying to hit every delivery into orbit; many during the IPL are showing there's scope to construct innings. "In the 120 balls you play, 100 may be really difficult but even if you can take advantage of 20 deliveries then it makes all the difference,'' says AB de Villiers of Delhi Daredevils to Times Of India.

Icon players have had a torrid time in this season of the IPL. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid had started off brilliantly, only to taper off as the tournament progressed, while Sourav Ganguly has had a woeful run and is now hoping that the tournament ends soon so that he can go back. Sehwag was not even close to being at his best. Barring Yuvraj Singh, who's done it with the ball and not the bat, none of the big boys of Indian cricket have really come to the party. Times Of India writes that the left-hander, along with Sehwag, still has a week left to stamp the mark of the icons on the tournament. It's time for us to wait and watch.

As the DLF Indian Premier League enters its last stage, pressure on players is beginning to tell. Jacques Kallis in his column in Times Of India writes that there are no laws which dictate that certain players will be affected by nerves and others not. "We are seeing more and more effects of pressure on players. We have seen a team score 21 off the last over to win and we have seen a team defend a mere four runs in the final over. Experienced players may react negatively under pressure less often than young players, but it can strike any one of us - at any time. It may be one of the oldest sayings in cricket, but it has never been truer than now in the IPL -- the game is never won until the last ball has been bowled."

In Twenty20 cricket one big thing is not to plan too much, writes Ross Taylor in Times Of India. He says that on his day any batsman can bat unbelievably or any bowler can bowl a great spell, so all your plans can go for a toss. "Planning is important, but be prepared for an element of surprise when you get into a Twenty20 game," writes Taylor, adding that the final week is the time when the fortunes will be decided for good or worse. "Our next rivals Delhi Daredevils have played well right through this year and that will be a big challenge for us going forward. It's a big game, one which we must win to reach the semifinals. It is just basically down to the fact that we need to win our final two league games to make it through to the semi-finals. And if we don' beat Delhi, it is pretty clear that the tournament is pretty much over for us."

Brendon McCullum is a relieved man, at least for the time being. The Kolkata Knight Riders captain revealed in a press conference that he finally felt a lot better and will enjoy the night after his team managed to snap their losing streak in the Indian Premier League against Chennai Super Kings on Monday. According to a report in The Telegraph, McCullum said, "It feels a lot better, having won this match. We have been playing well for the last couple of matches, but we ended up on the wrong side in them. It was better this time."

He is yet to fire in the ongoing Indian Premier League but his side has already qualified for the semi-finals. Virender Sehwag is hoping to find his form ahead of the last-four stage of the tournament. According to agency report in DNA Sehwag feels it was just a matter of time before both he and Gambhir started scoring and if that happened it would be a bonus for his team. "I hope I will get runs in the next couple matches that we have to play before the semi-final. And if Gautam and I manage to find our form, that will be bonus for our team," he said.

Fielding has begun to have a great deal of say in the IPL as it heads into its business end. Ravi Shastri writes in Hindustan Times that as matches are being decided on the final balls and the margin of runs is little, the result is often decided by fielding. "The margin of error in this IPL has been very little. Just imagine if Rohit Sharma, on Sunday, hadn't got out in the final over, the task of 4 runs from 4 balls should have been easy against the Kings XI. Or Mumbai Indians' tail conceding critical run outs in the final over against Rajasthan Royals to end up losing by just two runs. Or that final over of Mashrafe Mortaza when 21 runs couldn't be defended," writes Shastri.

Allan Donald recalls the time South Africa were known as the greatest chokers and has some balm for Mumbai Indians' skipper Sachin Tendulkar. Ironically, Donald was at the centre-stage of the biggest heartbreak in South Africa's cricket history - the 1999 World Cup semi-final defeat to Australia. The Indian Premier League is all about high pressure situations and when you talk to Donald about pressure, his thoughts instinctively go back to that 1999 game. "Being run out on the fourth ball of the last over of the greatest semi-final in the World Cup history was the biggest disappointment of my career. A lot of people blamed me for that. It was the worst period of my career," Donald told Mid Day.

Empathising with Sachin Tendulkar and his team, Donald says, "He's experienced enough and has seen the ups and down. He will be better off for the experience. He's the best batsman I have ever seen. As a teenager, he took to batting as duck to water." Donald felt that Tendulkar would be better off without the extra burden of captaincy. "He has so much pressure of expectations from everyone that it's best he is not burdened with captaincy," he said to Mid Day.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Chat with IPL Players

mig33, a social networking platform, together with five DLF IPL teams, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers, Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings, has managed to bring the real excitement of cricket straight from South Africa to your mobile phone. With the IPL fervor that has gripped fans, mig33 has been engaging its members with real-time chats with players from the five IPL teams. While both registration and chat are free, charges are applicable for data transfer.

Once a member joins a particular fanclub, say Kings Eleven Fanclub, he can enjoy live ball-by-ball commentary, be updated with sports news, buy virtual club merchandise, cheer on his favourite team players, and discuss the match religiously, all while chatting with his fellow Kings Eleven fans. He is alerted before a team coach, cheer leader or a player comes on board to chat and connect via text messages on the screen with the fans.

"Cricket is a social activity and the mobile-phone provides the ideal platform for fans globally to engage directly with one other, as well as chat to their cricket heroes. We are delighted that the IPL teams have established their official mobile fan clubs on mig33 and are using this new communications channel to help build their fan globally," said Steve Boom, chief executive officer, mig33.

Preity Zinta, co-owner, Kings XI Punjab, said, "We are excited with this association with mig33. mig33 has brought our fans across the globe on a common platform. It is amazing to connect with them and be so close to them while sitting in South Africa. Our fans are using this platform to ignite passion and to support the team during the IPL."

Sunday, May 3, 2009

IPL 2009 Orange Cap & Purple Cap

Orange Cap (Highest-Run Getter) Orange Cap
Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s
ML Hayden 6 6 0 246 65 41.00 153 160.78 0 2 0 32 7
SK Raina 6 6 0 232 98 38.66 160 145.00 0 1 0 20 11
AC Gilchrist 6 6 0 210 71 35.00 135 155.55 0 1 0 23 13
SR Tendulkar 5 5 1 198 68 49.50 157 126.11 0 2 0 19 8
HH Gibbs 6 6 2 191 69* 47.75 147 129.93 0 2 1 19 6
TM Dilshan 6 5 2 189 67* 63.00 143 132.16 0 3 0 17 8
JP Duminy 5 5 2 185 59 61.66 161 114.90 0 2 0 11 6
KC Sangakkara 6 6 1 182 60 36.40 171 106.43 0 1 0 16 3
AB de Villiers 6 5 1 181 105* 45.25 127 142.51 1 1 1 11 7
YK Pathan 6 6 1 169 62* 33.80 105 160.95 0 1 0 17 10

Purple Cap (Highest Wicket Taking Bowler) Purple Cap
Player Mat Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 4 5
YA Abdulla 6 19.0 1 146 13 4/31 11.23 7.68 8.7 2 0
RP Singh 6 21.4 1 136 12 4/22 11.33 6.27 10.8 1 0
SL Malinga 5 18.2 1 80 11 3/11 7.27 4.36 10.0 0 0
PP Ojha 6 22.0 0 124 10 3/21 12.40 5.63 13.2 0 0
L Balaji 5 16.2 0 125 10 4/21 12.50 7.65 9.8 1 0
A Kumble 7 27.1 1 152 10 5/5 15.20 5.59 16.3 0 1
IK Pathan 6 20.0 0 136 9 3/35 15.11 6.80 13.3 0 0
A Nehra 5 20.0 0 147 9 3/27 16.33 7.35 13.3 0 0
MM Patel 6 20.0 1 147 9 2/14 16.33 7.35 13.3 0 0
P Kumar 6 23.0 0 169 8 2/7 21.12 7.34 17.2 0 0

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

IPL 2009 Orange Cap & Purple Cap

IPL has created a distinction for the highest wicket-taking bowler and higest run getter. bowler this time. The ‘Purple Cap’ will be awarded to the bowler with the most cumulative wickets to his name on each day of the season and the Orange Cap will be awarded to the batsman with the most cumulative runs to his name on each day of the season.

Orange Cap (Highest-Run getter)

Player	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s
ML Hayden	4	4	0	215	65	53.75	132	162.87	0	2	28	6
HH Gibbs	4	4	2	183	69*	91.50	133	137.59	0	2	18	6
SR Tendulkar	3	3	1	163	68	81.50	121	134.71	0	2	16	6
AC Gilchrist	4	4	0	163	71	40.75	95	171.57	0	1	16	11
R Dravid	4	4	0	144	66	36.00	106	135.84	0	1	15	3
RS Bopara	4	4	0	132	84	33.00	105	125.71	0	1	8	7
AB de Villiers	3	2	1	126	105*	126.00	77	163.63	1	0	5	6
KC Sangakkara	4	4	0	120	60	30.00	104	115.38	0	1	12	2
TM Dilshan	3	2	1	117	67*	117.00	74	158.10	0	2	12	4
RG Sharma	4	4	1	109	52	36.33	86	126.74	0	1	4	8

Purple Cap (Highest Wicket Taking Bowler)

Player	Mat	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
SL Malinga	3	10.2	1	45	9	3/11	5.00	4.35	6.8	0	0
RP Singh	4	14.4	0	98	9	4/22	10.88	6.68	9.7	1	0
PP Ojha	4	14.0	0	73	8	3/21	9.12	5.21	10.5	0	0
YA Abdulla	4	11.0	0	91	7	4/31	13.00	8.27	9.4	1	0
L Balaji	3	9.5	0	78	6	3/19	13.00	7.93	9.8	0	0
DL Vettori	3	11.0	0	79	6	3/15	13.16	7.18	11.0	0	0
DJ Bravo	3	11.0	0	92	6	3/34	15.33	8.36	11.0	0	0
A Kumble	5	19.1	1	111	6	5/5	18.50	5.79	19.1	0	1
Kamran Khan	3	11.0	0	54	5	3/18	10.80	4.90	13.2	0	0
SB Styris	2	8.0	0	64	5	3/32	12.80	8.00	9.6	0	0

Friday, April 17, 2009

IPL 2008 Facts

Delhi Daredevils

None of the players in the team managed to score a century in the 2007 – 08 IPL campaign. Virender Sehwag scored the highest individual score of 94 not out.
TM Dilshan has the best bowling average in the IPL. He has an average of 3. But interestingly he has bowled only one over in his seven matches.
DD fast bowler Mohammad Asif was involved in a drug scandal after the initial IPL competition.
Akshay Kumar is the brand ambassador of the team.
The IPL has been criticised by a few politicians and feminists for bringing in foreign cheerleaders, which is seen by many to not be in the traditional spirit of the game, as well as being against some Indian sensibilities.
Tejaswi Yadav the son of Union Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav played for Delhi Daredevils in IPL.
Delhi Daredevils captain, Virender Sehwag was the only skipper to win six consecutive tosses between May 15 and May 30, 2008.
Gautam Gambhir was the only Indian in the top scorers of IPL Season One.

Kolkata Knight Riders

The highest batting strike rate in the first edition of the IPL was that by Umar Gul whose primary role in the KKR is that of an opening bowler. He has a strike rate of 205.26.
KKR bowled the most number of extras in an innings - 28 extras in a match against DC.
Shah Rukh Khan made maximum money in the first season of the IPL despite the fact that his team Kolkata Knight Riders failed to even reach the semi-finals.
Ricky Ponting came to be known as Kaliyug Ka Manoj Kumar, as he was less worried about his own form and more concerned with how low his compensation was, just like the Indian veteran actor Manoj Kumar in a Sukhen Das flick.
KKR is the only franchisee to have a television show to select cheerleaders for their home matches.
The main theme of the team Korbo, Lorbo, Jitbo Re (We will do it, Fight for it, Win it) has been created by the Vishal - Shekhar duo. A Knight Rider album with several singers and music composers including Usha Uthup and Bappi Lahiri will also be created.
The club is owned by Shahrukh Khan’s Red Chilies Entertainment, along with Juhi Chawla and her husband Jai Mehta.

Mumbai Indians

Dilhara Fernando has a batting strike rate of 200.00. But interestingly he scored only 2 runs.
KXIP star player S Sreesanth was slapped by Harbhajan Singh, the stand-in captain of Mumbai Indians. Sreesanth was caught by TV cameras sobbing inconsolably on the field before the presentation ceremony.
The Mumbai Indians coach was subsequently fined 50% of his match fees for not stepping in between Harbhajan and Sreesanth in their slapping controversy.
With five run-outs in their innings at Mumbai on May 21, 2008, Mumbai Indians earned a dubious distinction in the IPL.
The team logo has the Sudarshana Chakra with the team's name engraved in it.
Hritik Roshan, superstar of Bollywood, is the brand ambassador of MI.
The MI home ground, Wankhede Stadium, hosted the most number of matches in the IPL 2007 – 08. It hosted the semi-finals and final apart from the MI home games.

Kings XI Punjab

Two cheerleaders from London were asked to leave the ground at Mohali "because of the colour of their skin". Both the girls also allege that an employee referred to them with the racial slur "nigger".
When Priety Zinta’s star friends came to visit her, she made a part of the squad move out of the hotel into “bargain-basement” accommodation.
An exciting last over from VRV Singh - which included a six, a four, a dropped catch and three crucial run-outs - allowed Kings XI Punjab to end Mumbai Indians' six-game winning streak.
The only batsman last year to face 400 balls in the competition was Shaun Marsh - 441. He aggregated 616 runs at an average of 68.44 in 11 games.
Even though KXI are owned by the Bollywood star Priety Zinta, their brand ambassador was Daler Maehndi.

Deccan Chargers

DC is the only team to have won by a margin of 10 wickets in IPL 2007 – 08.
Deccan Charges have lost all the matches in their home stadium.
DC captain VVS Laxman was initially awarded icon status, but he voluntarily opted out of it, so that the franchisee had more money with which to bid.
DC will be changing their colours in the second season from beige-black, to sparkling silver-blue.
The only team to have announced to change its captain after Season One was DC. They changed their captain from VVS Laxman to Adam Gilchrist.

Bangalore Royal Challengers

Bangalore Royal Challengers: The second most expensive franchise in the league stood second from the bottom.
Bollywood actresses Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone, and Sandalwood film stars Ramya and Upendra are the brand ambassadors of the team.
They were the only team in the IPL to try out 11 opening combinations in 14 games.
Charu Sharma was the first CEO of any franchisee to be sacked. He was replaced by Brijesh Patel.
Vijay Mallya wanted to associate one of his top-selling liquor brands, either No. 1 McDowell's or Royal Challenge with the team. The latter was chosen, hence the name.
A theme song called "Thakkath Geete" has been composed in support of the BRC, with the help of TV9.

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings openers, Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming provide the only instance of both openers failing to open an account in an IPL game - versus Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur.
The team logo, a lion, was the insignia of the Pallava dynasty which ruled Southern India including the areas that constitute present day Chennai.

Rajasthan Royals

Dimitri Masceranhas was the only English player to have played the IPL in the inaugural season.
Shilpa Shetty is the new brand ambassador of the RR.
RR were fined for underbidding for players in the IPL Season One.

IPL teams 2009

Founded: 2008

Profile:

The Mumbai Indians were expected to kiss the skies, captained as it is by India's most favourite cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

However, Tendulkar could not play the initial phase of the tournament after sustaining an injury. In a side that boasted of the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock, the stand in skipper's role went to Indian offs-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who made a complete mess of the opportunity.

Bhajji not only looked out of sorts with the ball but was at sea, leading the start studded side. He crossed severe limits when he slapped S. Sreesanth after a match with the King's XI Punjab.

Sree left no stone unturned to make a spectacle out of the situation, crying like a man possessed as the entire world watched in shock.

Bhajji was banned for the rest of the tournament besides being docked of all his IPL fees.

Sreesanth was also left off with a warning.

Jayasuriya had a torrid time in the beginning but came to his elements when he was joined by Tendulkar and after a couple of matches, the two senior pros went on an all out rampage.

Robin Uthappa was a disappointment in the middle order and could not make anything of his chances.

Pollock was brilliant with the new ball, restricting the run flow and came up with a few cameos with the bat.

Mumbai Indians would certainly have felt the pinch in the spin department with the loss of Harbhajan.

With Zaheer Khan swapping places with Uthappa, this time, the bowling would be spectacular. Pollock would not play this year but would act as a mentor for the boys.

Team owner Mukesh Ambani has also brought in South African sensation Jean Paul Duminy and that would pep up the middle order and leave the opposition with a lot to think.

Coach: Lalchand Rajput

Captain: Sachin Tendulkar

Colours: Blue

Home Ground: Wankhede Stadium

Capacity: 45,000

Owner: Reliance Industries Ltd

Official Website: http://www.themumbaiindians.com/

Founded: 2008

Profile:

Indian heroes Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were the key signings for a Delhi side that started brightly but which eventually failed to deliver the goods. The Delhi Daredevils franchisee, GMR, made sure that the team had the best IPL line-up of local players.

Local lad Shikhar Dhawan was sensational in the middle order and backed up the great starts by Gambhir and Sehwag. Dhawan came in, on most occasions after the team had got off to flying starts and never failed to carry on the momentum.

Left arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan acted as a great foil for the liked of Glenn McGrath, Fervez Mahroof and Mohammad Asif.

Leg spinner Amit Mishra pumped in a hat-trick and bowled economically to keep the opposition under check.

Sri Lankan all-rounder Mahroof chipped in with some nice contributions before wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik also joined the party with a gritty fifty after some ordinary outings.

Then Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik had a torrid time, failing to capitalise on a couple of good starts, rendering the middle order weak.

With Paul Collingwood coming in for the second edition, Delhi can count on some fireworks. Add English all-rounder Owais Shah and you have a team that could make serious bid for the title.

Sehwag's boys got off to a good start, winning four of their five games but mysteriously thereafter lost the zip despites some good individual performances.

The Daredevils have a new uniform this season and with a couple of exciting Twenty20 talents in the ranks, the fans could rest assured of a resurgent team led by a resurgent captain.

Sehwag has over the last year transformed miraculously as a player, destroying bowling attacks with consistency.

It is this consistency that would help the Nawab of Najabgargh lead his team with an air of consummate ease.

Coach: Greg Shipperd

Captain: Virender Sehwag

Colours: Black & Red

Home Ground: Feroz Shah Kotla

Capacity: 40,000

Owner: GMR Holdings

Official Website: http://www.delhidaredevils.com/

Founded: 2008

Profile:

With world class all rounders in the shape of Irfan Pathan and James Hopes, not to mention the undoubted ability of Yuvraj Singh, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara, the King's XI Punjab were the team to watch out for.

Young Australian talent Shaun Marsh joined the team after four games and stormed into international limelight, becoming the highest run scorer in the tournament.

Jayawardene and Sangakkara threw in the Sri Lankan touch and with Yuvraj Singh made up the most attractive batting line up in the tournament.

The bowling looked great with Aussie tearaway Brett Lee and S. Sreesanth letting lose some steam with the ball.

Leg spinner Piyush Chawla showed his mettle in the crucial middle overs and with Yuvraj made a potent spinning pair.

Yuvraj led the side astutely, though losing his cool more often than it looked good on TV. However, his aggression rubbed off on the boys and they marched along to the semi finals before running out of steam.

Sangakkara underlined his role as one of the best wicketkeeper batsmen in contemporary cricket, scoring some consistent runs and entreating the massive turn outs with his brilliant glove work.
Yuvraj would miss Sreesanth in the second edition after he failed to recover from an injury.

However, the addition of English all-rounder Ravi Bopara should add some much needed balance in the side that has the talent to upset all calculations.

The fielding is brilliant with Yuvi leading the way and the likes of Jaywardene, Lee and Marsh bringing up a sharp circle to pierce.

A closely knit team, the King's XI seemed to enjoy each other's success and looks determined to turn the tables this year after promising so much last year. This team can fight and the others in the fray need to watch out.

Coach: Tom Moody

Captain: Yuvraj Singh

Colours: Light Grey & Red

Home Ground: PCA Stadium

Capacity: 61,500

Owner: Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman & Karan Paul

Official Website: http://www.kingsxipunjab.com/

Founded: 2008

Profile:

The Knight Riders were led by the best captain India has ever seen and was graced by players like Ricky Ponting, Ishant Sharma, and Shoaib Akhtar.

But the biggest impact was made by New Zealand wicketkeeper batsman Brendon McCullum, who blasted a hundred in the opening game against Banaglore Royal Challengers before the bowlers came back to fold up the Bangalore innings for less than 100.

However, the joy was short lived as the Knight Riders failed to find any momentum as the tournament progressed.

Umar Gul's precise yorkers, Ishant's accuracy and Murali Kartik's control were the buzzwords before the tourney began but, apart from Gul, few impressed.

Ponting did not justify his brief stay, scoring two successive ducks and looked completely out of sorts.

Shoaib battled his injuries before finally getting a chance to play. He did impress the massive home crowd with his sheer pace in a game against the Delhi Daredevils but did not give out much hope.

Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis joined the Knight Riders and gave his first glimpse to sub-continent audiences.

Ganguly did not get too many runs and struggled with the stars not performing to potential with David Hussey being the only exception, who waged many a lone battles.

The John Buchanan-Ganguly combination was expected to work out some more magic but the team seemed to have signed up too many players who had to leave for national assignments after the first leg.

Knight Riders were not helped by the fact that Pakistani opener Salman Butt could not continue his love affair with the Eden Gardens.

Ishant, coming off a brilliant tour Down Under, failed miserably and was a huge disappointment, considering the fact that he was the second most expensive Indian player after MS Dhoni.

Coach: John Buchanan

Captain: Sourav Ganguly

Colours: Black & Gold

Home Ground: Eden Gardens

Capacity: 90,000

Owner: Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla & Jai Mehta

Official Website: http://www.kolkataknightriders.com/

Founded: 2008

Profile:

Of all the franchisees, Emerging Media probably held their cards closest to their chest.

Undoubtedly the dark horses for the tournament, Rajasthan went on to lift the trophy, despite many pundits initially declaring that they had no chance.

However, spin legend, captain and coach of the team, Shane Warne had other plans.

Warnie chalked out his strategies very shrewdly and showed the world why he was the best captain never to lead Australia.

The team did not boast of too many starts with South African skipper Graeme Smith joining the team late but when he finally did, he did so with a bang.

The entire team was a story of underdogs. Ravinder Jadeja played beautifully in the middle order, Yusuf Pathan blasted the balls to all corners of the park and was an asset with the ball while Pakistani wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Aklam was brilliant behind the stumps.

Pakistan swing bowler Sohail Tanveer was exceptional, claiming 21 wickets in the tournament and wrecking havoc with the new ball. He was well assisted by Munaf Patel, whose aggression with the ball surprised many.

Shane Watson, who has had a chequered career for Australia as an all-rounder, thanks to injuries shone the brightest.

Watson was outstanding with the ball and played some match winning knocks, going on to become the Player of the Tournament.

Warne himself was brilliant with the ball, getting wickets, restricting the run flow and breaking partnerships regularly.

The former Aussie leg spinner nurtured the young Indian players at his disposal and was able to bring out the best in them, paving the way for a great upset when the Royals finally met Chennai Super Kings in the finals.

No one had expected Rajasthan Royals to achieve what they did. After all, they had no stars but Warne and his boys showed that cricket is a team game, where every player has a role to play and each of the Royals played their role to perfection.

Shaun Tait and Tyron Henderson are the latest additions in the Royals enclosure and though Tanveer's loss would hurt the Rajasthanis this year, Tait can rattle some nerves with his sheer pace.

Henderson has had a good outing for Middlesex and Warne would want him to replicate his success in the IPL this year.

Coach: Shane Warne

Captain: Shane Warne

Colours: Blue & Gold

Home Ground: Sawai Mansingh Stadium

Capacity: 50,000

Owner: Emerging Media, Shilpa Shetty & Raj Kundra

Official Website: http://www.rajasthanroyals.com/