Sportsnob – Critics Corner

The only two teams that have failed to make the semifinals in both the editions have been, ironically, the cities with the highest profiles and the cities that have been backbones of Indian cricket. If the Mumbai Indians acquired a big profile thanks to the Ambanis, the iconic status of the city itself and it’s number one player Sachin Tendulkar – the Kolkata Knightriders owe a lot to their owner (and a Mumbaiite himself) Shahrukh Khan for raising their profile.

The Inconsistent Mumbai Indians

Mumbai’s case has been one of inconsistency – in both editions they managed to follow good performances with dire ones and more significantly, ended both seasons with a string of defeats thereby ending their hopes of making the semifinals. This time around a lot will depend on (who else) Sachin Tendulkar carrying his test and one-day form into the 20-20 version. It’s also going to be interesting to see how Kieron Pollard performs considering the money the Ambanis paid for him.

Kolkata: From the sublime to the ridiculous

Everything started so well for Kolkata two years ago when Brendon McCullum launched one of the most breathtaking assaults ever seen on a cricket field in the first ever IPL match. The Knightriders’ challenge faded away in the first season after a series of poor performances, and despite a late revival, they couldn’t make the final four.

What happened last year in South Africa though was inexcusable. John Buchanan first came up with the concept of multiple captains during the tournament – something that can never work in a game like cricket. Following which Shahrukh Khan made Brendon McCullum captain at the expense of Sourav Ganguly. In the middle of all this, someone launched the incredibly popular fakeiplplayer blog – giving details about team meetings and throwing light on the chaos within the team. This mess led to a scenario where the team lost an incredible nine (NINE!) games in a row which resulted in the team ending up bottom of the table

Despite the lack of success on the field – KKR have been the most successful team financially, as Shahrukh Khan threw his brand name behind the team. In the off season, the KnightRiders spent big money on Shane Bond and re-signed Sri Lankan spinner Ajanta Mendis. Most importantly, they have signed Dav Whatmore as head coach – a shrewd signing considering his history of successful tenures with Asian teams.

My predictions

My gut tells me one if not both of these teams will make the semifinals. Why? Quite simply, they have the most to prove. 20-20 cricket is a fantastic leveler – a quick 30 here or an inspired run out there can make a big difference and produce upsets such as when Zimbabwe defeated Australia and the Dutch memorably upstaged the English.  It’s impossible to imagine such results in a five day match because test cricket offers you a second chance.

And lest we forget, the two teams that finished at the bottom of the table in Season I of the IPL  - the two finalists in Season II – Bangalore Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 7:11 am and is filed under Cricket, IPL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.