Things that are overhyped often fail to live up to their billing – Murphy, we have to concede, is a very powerful man after all. Tonight’s match was no exception as well – Delhi vs. Mumbai is a big rivalry in Indian cricket. Add to it the exciting line ups and of course, the Kotla pitch which has been courting a lot of attention both on and off the field, and the evening was set for a lip smacking encounter. But then our man Murphy struck, and the Mumbai Indians put on a totally professional performance, outclassing the Daredevils in their own den.

Put into bat by Gambhir, the tone for the match was set by the Mumbai skipper, Sachin Tendulkar himself. Runs flowed from his blade in the same elegant hurry as we have been used to for the past 20 years and though the home team was at the receiving end, there was no shortage of support for the Little Master at the Kotla. He scored a quick-fire 63 of 32 balls, an effort which earned him the Man of the Match award as well. Youngsters Tiwary and Rayudu came to the party too, and some late over lusty blows by the Calypsos – Bravo and Pollard – ensured Mumbai never let their foot off the pedal, posting a very formidable score of 218 in their 20 overs.  The Delhi fielding was patchy barring the 12^th man Yogesh Nagar, who probably took the catch of the tournament to get rid of Sanath  Jayasuriya.

The Daredevils were already a batsman short due to an injury to their skipper, Gambhir, and the onus was on Sehwag to fire. Dilshan finally managed to open his account in IPL  3 and Sehwag showed a preview of his trademark pyrotechnics, but some very disciplined bowling and a brilliant fielding performance by the Indians never allowed Delhi a sniff at the target. They won by a whopping margin of 98 runs, their biggest ever victory in the IPL.

Mumbai now have 2 out of 2 and Delhi tasted their first defeat of the series. However, Gambhir’s injury and his subsequent unavailability will make sure that the Delhi think tank has a lot to ponder before their next match against the Super Kings.

Meanwhile, tomorrow is the battle of the leggies, Kumble and Warne at Bangalore. With RCB hitting some serious form against the KXP, the Royals are going to have a real challenge to open their points tally this season, especially since Smith and Mascharenas have been ruled unfit. Join us here for the review.

The Super Kings stormed back in style on Tuesday night, hammering the Kolkata Knight Riders by 55 runs to take them into third place in the nascent IPL league table. As this correspondent noted two days ago, the Bengali outfit are nearly as overhyped as their owner’s acting skills, and their meek capitulation to a Dhoni-driven Chennai side went some way towards proving it.

KKR got off to a more than decent start, getting rid of the potentially dangerous Matthew Hayden early on. Things were going swimmingly, with regular wickets being taken, until MS Dhoni got going with Badrinath providing an able supporting role. Shane Bond bowled a beautiful line and length, while Murali Karthik made yet another case for a return from the international wilderness – his 4 overs yielded no boundaries, a rarity in this form of the game.

However, Ganguly’s men were powerless when faced with the might of the Indian Captain’s bottom hand. Having scored a measly 81 runs from the first 14 overs of their innings, one would have thought anything from here on in would be too little too late. What followed was nothing short of a violent assault, as 83 runs came off the final 36 balls, Dhoni finishing with a stunning 66 of 33 deliveries – the highlight undoubtedly being the flattest six you will ever see, knocking over a couple of tiger mascots stationed just beyond the mid wicket boundary.

In reply, Kolkata were never really allowed to get going – the rot started in the first over, when Brad Hodge pulled the ball straight to Ashwin at mid wicket. Manoj Tiwary smacked a couple of fours off Manpreet Gony before having his stumps rearranged – he scored 8 runs off 3 balls. Wickets continued to fall with alarming regularity, and every single bowler (bar Suresh Raina) got in on the act. A great team performance by the boys in yellow.

Tomorrow night promises to be a right corker though – the Mumbai Indians take on the Delhi Daredevils in what promises to be the match of the tournament thus far. Come back tomorrow for the review.

Picture Courtesy: Chennai 365

While one might say the Super Kings have always been slow starters, that things will come together in the fullness of time, that Yes, we will most definitely reach the semi-finals, I believe the thing that says it all last night was the fact that a stray dog spent more time on the pitch than all the CSK batsmen combined.

Admittedly, the ground staff were more than a little lax – after the first few abortive attempts to chase it off the field, they sort of adopted an air of resignation. Even the fielders ignored it completely, which is a shame, because if they’d put their foot down and waited for it to leave, Chennai might have earned a creditable draw against the current IPL champions (thanks to the match being abandoned, of course).

Anyway, I digress. There were very few positives to take from last night’s performance at the M A Chidambaram stadium. Ashwin Ravichandran bowled fairly well, and the Kings’ fielding was more than adequate, as evinced by the three run outs they effected. Two things puzzled me – firstly, why on earth did Dhoni give Sudeep Tyagi the final over of the Chargers’ innings? It was clear to all and sundry that he wasn’t hitting his straps and was low on confidence. Which brings me to the second bewilderer – why didn’t Raina get a bowl last night?

Chennai’s batting was quite possibly a tribute to Brett Lee’s band – Six and Out seemed to be the order of the day. Every time a batsman hit a six, he would end up getting out within the space of 4 deliveries. Some of the shot selection – Raina’s and Badri’s in particular – was abysmal. Chaminda Vaas bowled brilliantly – castling Murali, accepting Raina’s gift, and then drawing a false shot from Hayden.

Here’s hoping things change tomorrow night against a very overhyped Kolkata outfit.

Picture Courtesy: The Hindu

What this means for the teams

In this edition, the teams that will succeed will be the ones whose seamers can bowl tight in the initial overs – and garner wickets for the spinners bowling later. More importantly, the teams in the final four will be the ones that have their batsmen scoring the most singles and twos in the process of getting set. While we will see the occasional 100 from 40 balls knock, we will more likely see the 60 from 40 balls with 30 runs in boundary hits. And as this becomes the key, the teams that can save the singles and cut down the twos will be more successful. We will see a twenty20 tournament that will be a throwback to the era of one day cricket before WC96. Where the ‘Dean Jones’ kind of batsman is preferred to the ‘Kris Srikkanth’ kind. Finally, as most people point out, the performance of the senior cricketers in the teams will be critical especially in the first half of the tournament. Based on all this and the way the next few matches go, where do the teams stand? Who do we think are the favourites ? Watch this space for more…

After previewing the four semifinalists, it is now the turn of possibly the most popular team in the Indian Premier Leaugue – the Mumbai Indians.

Team: Mumbai Indians

Captain: Sachin Tendulkar

Coach/Mentor: Shaun Pollock

Trump Card: Zaheer Khan

X-Factor: Lasitha Malinga

Whats changed from last season: More additions than losses and some really positive ones too – JP Duminy, Mohammed Ashraful and Kyle Mills made their way in during the auction but the best purchase was made off season via the signing of Zaheer Khan. Shikhar Dhawan also makes his way into the team.

In 2008, the Indian Premier League’s most expensive team came absolutely undone during the auction through some uninspired signings. This coupled with talisman’s Sachin Tendulkar’s absence resulted in a number of poor performances. Incredibly, the team picked itself up after the infamous slapgate incident involving captain Harbhajan Singh. The inspiration didn’t come from expensive signings but from local players like Abishek Nayar. It was strange to watch the Mumbai Indians not make the semifinals considering they always seem to dominate Indian domestic cricket. This season, some shrewd signings and no fitness problems should ensure that Mumbai start better and make their way into the semifinals.

The Batting:

Sachin Tendulkar will of course be the talisman – any doubts that he might find the going tough in the IPL were put to rest last month during that incredible 160 against the Kiwis. He is fit and his presence in the Mumbai Indians’ squad will also probably mean that they will be the neutral Indian fan’s favourite. I think this format of the game will quite suit the new Tendulkar of the old. Opening with him will be Old Lankan war horse – Jayasurya; the two proving that 20-20 is not necessarily a young man’s game. At 3 should be Shikar Dhawan, signed from Delhi (for Ashish Nehra!) and following will be JP Duminy. Duminy looks a class signing but its always a risk signing a young player for a million bucks on the back of one brilliant season (read Kolkotta and Ishant Sharma). Mohammed Ashraful is one of those players who looks spectacular when he comes off but is frustratingly inconsistent. Dwayne Bravo, Ryan Mclaren and Graham Napier will all perform the roles of the all rounders. Abishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rane, Pinal Shah will all provide the local flavour with Nayar hoping to build on his performances from last season.

The Bowling:

As mentioned earlier, the big signing is that of Zaheer Khan (an exchange with Bangalore for Robin Uthappa), Zaheer is arguably in the running for the best fast bowler in the World right now. Clearly, he is enjoying the responsiblity and the Mumbai Indians will be looking to him to lead the charge. He will get good support from Kyle Mills and Lasitha Malinga. Malinga should be the real X-factor here, and if he gets into rhythm quickly, a number of Indian batsman might struggle to pick him.

Also, a certain starter will be the new kid on the block Dhawal Kulkarni – the highest wicket taker in the recently concluded domestic season. He was on that plane to New Zealand but didn’t get a match on the tour. If Dilhara Fernando plays and bowls well, it will be a pure bonus as he gets tonked around in every form of the game. Harbhajan Singh will be looking to make amends for his stupidity in last season and his recent performances in New Zealand augur well for Mumbai. Overall, the Mumbai Indians have an excellent bowling line up and if Zaheer and Harbhajan come good, it’s going to be tough going for the opposition.

The squad:

The Indians: Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Dhawal Kulkarni, Yogesh Takawale (wk), Chetanya Nanda. Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohan Raje, Jaydev Shah, Pinal Shah, Rahil Shaikh, Saurabh Tiwary

The Foreigners: Dwayne Bravo, Jean-Paul Duminy, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Ryan McLaren, Lasith Malinga, Kyle Mills, Mohammad Ashraful, Graham Napier, Luke Ronchi (wk)

Picture Courtesy: NDTV