• Another close game for us, this time against Deccan Chargers but just short of where we would have liked to be. Hayden, Raina, Dhoni and Oram did well to take us to 165, a tough score, but perhaps 20 runs less than ideal. Though our bowling has improved considerably, we need to get more accurate, take more wickets.

     

    Tomorrow, we come up against Rajasthan Royals and this is a good time to play them as we are more or less in the same boat at this stage of the competition. They have not been as consistent as they were last year when they were deserved champions. This time round, their form has fluctuated, whereas we have been playing good, consistent cricket despite the results not going our way. It is, however, still early in the tournament, so teams still have the chance of turning things round.

     

    Shane Warne is a good leader who has the ability to instil confidence in his team. Their win over the DareDevils, who had won their opening three matches, will just boost that self-belief. 

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  • Two weeks into IPL II and things have not been very different from the inaugural edition a year ago. Okay, the venue has been changed from India to South Africa, but there is no dearth of excitement in this country. The discussions in offices and homes, clubs and on the streets is still about the IPL even if there is a general election on, giant hoardings about the various participating teams are seen in various cities and towns, clubs continue to have big screens for the patrons to enjoy the action from South Africa and fans are still glued to the television from afternoon to near midnight. The very fact that Bollywood has gone easy on new releases to me signifies the greatest impact that IPL has made on the public at large. It is still cricketainment at its best and will continue to be so for another three weeks.

     

    The cynics might say that it is all hype and not so much about cricket as it is about glitz, glamour and mega bucks. Yes, it is not classical Test cricket, it is not even

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  • In its inaugural year the IPL succeeded in exploding many myths about the Twenty20 game – that it is a batsman’s game, that it is a format of, by and for the youngsters and oldies have no place in it and that it is all slam bang with little by way of strategic moves or tactical planning.

     

    This time around there is no change in the scenario. If anything the oldies are having a whale of a time, the bowlers are relishing the more responsive tracks in South Africa and the new innovation of strategic time out – though the cynics might term it as nothing more than an extended commercial break – has played its part in teams making tactical moves. There is no denying the fact that more often than not the 7-1/2 minute breaks have resulted in a change in a team's fortunes for better or worse. 

     

    Just examine some tell tale statistics. The top five run getters (Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Herschelle Gibbs) are all aged between 34 and 37. The best innings

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