Jayasuriya & Tendulkar, Dilshan & Sehwag, Gilchrist & Gibbs, Sangakkara & Yuvraj, Gayle & McCullum - dream the dream, name the combination and watch it come true at the great Indian cricketing festival, IPL 2010.
Infectious and exciting, the third edition of the IPL kicks off on March 12th, when last year’s winners Deccan Chargers led by the destructive Gilchrist will face the might of Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Night Riders for the 45-day T20 - fest spread across 12 venues and 60 matches.
Throw into the mix the genius of IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, the glamour of team owners like Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty and Vijay Mallya, the abundance of cricketing talent, a cricket hungry nation, big pay cheques, even bigger sponsorship deals and controversies galore, and you begin to get an idea of what this explosive mixture is going to be about.
The eight teams, since the inaugural edition in 2008, have utilized opportunities to strengthen their sides either through player transfers or auctions and are now looking evenly balanced, with little to chose from between them. The Daredevils from Delhi, however, are marginal favourites, with Dilshan being the man to watch out for, along with Sehwag, Gambhir and Warner, at the top of the order. Farveez Maharoof will be adding to the balance of this strong team with his all-round abilities.
Kings XI Punjab, who many feel have underperformed in the previous editions, will rely heavily on their strong middle order of Mahela Jayawardene, Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh. Additionally captaining the side, Sangakkara will carry the expectations of the team owners and fans to bring the cup home for them, following the trends set by two other international captains in winning the IPL - Warne for Rajasthan Royals in 2008 and Gilchrist for Deccan Chargers in 2009.
With Tendulkar’s amazing run of form over the last 12 months, Jayasuriya will be keen to combine with him for some match winning partnerships for Mumbai Indians, just as Malinga could well be the bowler of the tournament with his lethal yorkers at the death. And no doubt, Chennai Superkings, with their relatively weaker bowling side, will be looking both at the heavens and the magic of Murali to contain and conquer their marauding T20 opponents. They will also have the services of Thisara Perera, having recently bought him in the auctions held in January this year.
Chaminda Vaas, even at this stage of his career, is too good a bowler to sit out too many matches for the Deccan Chargers, and will be hoping that the team combination works in his favour given the excess talent of overseas players available at this team’s disposal and the existing rules not allowing for more than four international players per match.
It certainly cannot be three out of three for the Kolkata Knight Riders after their poor showing in the first two editions of the IPL, and it will be interesting to see how much Shah Rukh’s investments in the all-round abilities of Angelo Mathews and the wiles of Ajantha Mendis contributes to the turnaround. Great team work and inspired captaincy in the form of Anil Kumble and Shane Warne will be huge factors for Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Rajasthan Royals respectively, both of whom will be without the services of any Sri Lankan players.
While IPL organisers are trying to monetise (convert existing opportunities to money) and polarise (create more loyal fan following for the individual teams), true cricket lovers can surely look forward, in a more simple fashion, to a great feast of cricket and some nerve racking moments and nail biting finishes. |
E-mail
