Indian Premier League T20 Cricket 2009 Winners Results
IPL 2009 Winners T20 Cricket 2009 Results
IPL- the way its shaping up
IPL has been just the kind of cricketing extravaganza we dream of. No matter how tired we are, a game is enough to infuse vitality in us. This year, IPL looks like a real humdinger.
Yes, Delhi is through and Chennai is nearly there but at least four other teams are in the fray for the remaining two positions. Lets take a look at their chances this year.
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Delhi Daredevils
It is the hottest curry this season. Hasn’t put a foot wrong, whatsoever! Yes, every time it has seemed invincible, it has suffered a defeat but keeping players like McGrath, Vettori and Warner on the bench speaks highly about their bench strength. Delhi has perhaps the highest number of match winners.
Dilshan, DeVilliers have been in great nick and Nannes and Nehra have lent a lot of solidity to the bowling department.
There are a couple of worries though. First, Sehwag and Gambhir have not really fired and second, their complacence might do them in as knockout stages are just one match affairs and your league standings do not come to your rescue.
Overall, a tight fielding, bowling and batting unit has surfaced though the batting has been off color in the last couple of matches.
Chennai Super Kings
“Shivmani is on drum and Dhoni is at helm.” He is navigating the team quite brilliantly. Especially after the dubious start, their performance becomes more praiseworthy. Chennai has a stalwart like Hayden at the top and his performance needs no emphasis.
Time after time, he has given chennai rollicking starts that the bowlers have been able to defend rather well. There are a string of weaknesses disguised beneath the victories though.
First, they are poor chasers and it has been evident that even Hayden does not find his touch while chasing. Middle order has not been tried too much and hasn’t clicked at all when given an opportunity.
Oram and Morkel have acutely disappointed with the bat. Also, their fielding has been on the fringes of pathetic, dropping skiers and letting go ground balls. Murali has been hot and cold. High point has been the performance of Raina both with the bat and the ball.
Deccan Chargers
It is a mindless team. You can expect miracle and hara-kiri from them. Deccan has perhaps the biggest string of batting names in the world. Presence of Gilchrist, Gibbs, Symonds and “Latest-messiah” Sharma, can be quite demoralizing for the opposition. Since the arrival of Vaas, their bowling has got an added rubber, too.
Let’s not forget the champion performances of Ojha and Pratap Singh. Rohit Sharma has been joining the party lately with his accurate off-spin bowling.
A hat trick has not done him any badly. There are plenty of negatives to wade through though. Gibbs has been in shoddy form and Deccan batsmen are masters at losing their wicket at haste. Venugopal Rao has not done anything to deserve his position except running brilliantly.
The team is over dependant on Gilchrist for the right kind of start and more generally flounders when Gilchrist goes early. Another huge lacuna in their strength is their bowling in the death over. This can cost them dear if they make the semi-finals. Trivia- gilchrist has vowed to hit 25 sixes in the tournament.
Kings XI Punjab
It is a maverick team. It is laden with stalwarts yet seems to be in some kind of imperceptible fetters. With Katich, Sangakkara, Yuvraj and Late-entrant Pomersbach (the guy who partnered Marsh last year), their batting looks like stuff of dream. However, the batting has fallen short of landing the goods on several occasions.
Katich hasn’t done anything exceptional since those three tall sixes against Chennai. Pomersbach has failed and Jayawardhane is out with injury. He was exceptional against Deccan when the teams first met this year. Yuvraj and Sangakkara have been their mainstays but they have been off and on too.
Yuvraj’s bowling has been a revelation and two hatricks in a single tournament is perhaps unprecedented. Bowling lacks the rubber at times and fielding gets just as shoddy. While Chawla and Powar are doing well, Lee is yet to pack the right artistry (he was good against Delhi though).
Punjab is inconsistent yet on their day, they can be quite a handful. Also, if they make the semi-finals, they will have to do so by winning the last three league matches and in that case they will be riding on very high momentum.
Rajasthan Royals
They are champions and they know how to win. This is probably their biggest advantage. Another point is their team spirit. The team lacks big names, Smith and Warnie notwithstanding.
It is the tightest knit unit though and Warnie has been nothing short of inspirational. The team hasn’t done half as well in this edition and till late, they haven’t won three games in a row.
Yusuf Pathan has been cursed by the Law of averages. Smith is finding ingenious ways to throw his wicket and Quiney and others haven’t done too well either. The timely inclusion of Botha can heal many wounds though and let the team rise from the “proverbial phoenix.”
Rajasthan will have to be on the guard from here on. Not only do they have to win all the matches but they also need to do it without their captain. (To be ruled out with a hamstring injury.)
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Not many gave this team a chance and bookmakers are holding back eggs on their face. The Mallya brigade is shining rather well. Yes they have been pathetic in certain matches and have made rough weather of modest targets but there is something in them that comes close to resilience.
Kumble is a hard taskmaster. The “never say die” attitude breathes though him. Ross Taylor has come of age and he can hit the ball very sweetly. The performance of Kallis with the bat and ball has been equally inspiring.
Yes, he still has to make a big score but then “cometh the hour cometh the man”. Kumble has been brilliant with the ball. Bangalore is picking up fielding nuances and covering the mistakes they made earlier.
They are good team but are vulnerable to performing very badly on certain days. If they gather the right kind of momentum, the Kumble-boys can be handful for the knockout stages, though it’s a distant road altogether.
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