The IPL Watcher
Newsfile: April 23
Albie Morkel returns: After flying to South Africa to attend the funeral of his friend and Namibia batsman Louis Vorster, who was killed in an armed robbery last week, Albie Morkel has returned to Chennai
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Albie Morkel returns: After flying to South Africa to attend the funeral of his friend and Namibia batsman Louis Vorster, who was killed in an armed robbery last week, Albie Morkel has returned to Chennai. He missed two matches for the Chennai Super Kings - the home victories over Pune Warriors and Rajasthan Royals.
Back in chennai. Thanks for the support. Hopefully some good\positive things around the corner.
— albie morkel (@albiemorkel) April 23, 2012
Sreesanth at NCA: Rajasthan Royals fast bowler Sreesanth, who hasn't played top-flight cricket since November, has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore since April 15 for a toe injury. "We have been travelling a lot and it made logistic sense to allow him to rehabilitate at the NCA," Royals' physio John Gloster told the Times of India. Sreesanth is expected to join the team later this week, after which Royals will assess his fitness.
Binny would love to beat Bangalore: Rajasthan Royals allrounder Stuart Binny is a Bangalorean, but he says he feels no connection with his city's IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore. "To me, Royal Challengers is not a home team, my home team is Karnataka," he said. "Royal Challengers is just a franchise and all I can say at this moment is I would love to beat them (on Monday)."
Full postMumbai Indians' overseas gambit
Most IPL franchises would love to play more than four foreign players; so rich is some of the talent sitting on the bench
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Most IPL franchises would love to play more than four foreign players; so rich is some of the talent sitting on the bench. Not Mumbai Indians, perhaps – for their game against Kings XI Punjab at Wankhede Stadium, they included only three foreign players in their XI: James Franklin, Kieron Pollard and Thisara Perera.
They are the first team to field less than the maximum of four overseas players in the 2012 season.
Lasith Malinga was not fit, otherwise he is an automatic selection, but the other players warming the bench were Aiden Blizzard, Herschelle Gibbs, Davy Jacobs, Richard Levi, Clint McKay and Robin Peterson. And of that lot Gibbs, Levi and Peterson were bought ahead of the 2012 season. Mitchell Johnson isn’t in India yet, he will join the squad on April 24.
Do Mumbai Indians actually have Indian players that are good enough to keep out their international signings? Or did the franchise’s think-tank mess up in terms of the balance of overseas players?
Full postRewind to the Ganguly of 2002
Sourav Ganguly’s not one to restrain his emotions, as we’ve seen with his celebrations on the Lord’s balcony after India’s thrilling victory over England in the Natwest Series final in 2002
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
Sourav Ganguly’s not one to restrain his emotions, as we’ve seen with his celebrations on the Lord’s balcony after India’s thrilling victory over England in the Natwest Series final in 2002. Today’s game between Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozshah Kotla may not have been equal in stature, but Ganguly’s celebration upon dismissing Kevin Pietersen almost – though not quite – matched the scenes witnessed ten years earlier.
Pietersen was bowled off Ganguly’s first ball – the ball kept low as Pietersen swung at it – of IPL 2012 and the 40-year-old Warriors captain sprinted across the field with his hand raised, his hair fluttering in the wind and threatening to fall off his head. The reaction underlined the importance of the wicket – Pietersen was looking dangerous in a stiff chase – as well as provided a glimpse of Ganguly’s intense involvement in a game in which his captaincy and approach played a critical role in the outcome.
Not only did he make 41 and pick up two wickets, he made bowling changes that worked – bringing himself on, and bringing back Murali Kartik who dismissed Virender Sehwag – admonished his fielders when they slipped up, went after his bowlers when they were off target, took time between balls to set his fields, celebrated passionately when his strategies paid off and argued with the umpires when a decision didn’t go his way.
Though still early days in the IPL, Ganguly’s eye for talent has also had an impact. Steven Smith was unsold at the auction ahead of the season, but was picked up by Pune Warriors later and he has delivered with some crucial cameos in the middle order and brilliant fielding. What Michael Clarke – also a new signing – does when he arrives remains to be seen.
Full postRauf calls for protection
The ball didn’t stop chasing umpire Asad Rauf when Pune Warriors took on Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozshah Kotla, and each time it was Sourav Ganguly who was his tormentor
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
The ball didn’t stop chasing umpire Asad Rauf when Pune Warriors took on Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozshah Kotla, and each time it was Sourav Ganguly who was his tormentor. A powerful sweep from Ganguly caught him hard on the hands as he belatedly attempted to save himself while standing at square leg. He was successful at avoiding contact the second time around, though only just, as Ganguly charged down the track and drilled one for four just past him. Rauf, having just escaped serious injury, retained his humour, signaling four while lying flat on the ground and then calling for a helmet amid all the violence.
Full postDecline in no-balls
By Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
By Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan
Since the free-hit was introduced, the number of no-balls bowled has steadily fallen across both Twenty-20 and ODI formats. Nowhere is this more evident than in the IPL. In the first season (2008), bowlers were less disciplined conceding 82 no-balls in 58 games (1.41 per match). In 2009, the no-balls per match figure dropped slightly to 1.36 with bowlers conceding 78 no-balls in 57 games. However, in 2010, there was a sharp decline in the number of no-balls. With bowlers conceding just 60 no-balls in 74 matches, the no-balls per game figure fell to 0.81. The pattern failed to continue in the next year though with the number of no-balls increasing once again to 86 (no-balls per match of 1.17). This figure, however, is lower than the average across the first four seasons (1.29). Bowlers have been at their most disciplined so far in 2012 conceding just 20 no-balls in 25 games (0.80 per game). This figure is the lowest across the five seasons and given the extra care bowlers take to avoid giving away a free-hit, it is likely to remain the lowest.
| Season | Matches | No-balls | No-balls/match |
| 2008 | 58 | 82 | 1.413 |
| 2009 | 57 | 78 | 1.368 |
| 2010 | 74 | 60 | 0.810 |
| 2011 | 73 | 86 | 1.178 |
| 2012 | 25 | 20 | 0.800 |
| 2008-2011 | 248 | 320 | 1.290 |
Among teams that have played in each of the five seasons, Delhi Daredevils have been by far the least disciplined, conceding 56 no-balls in 62 matches (0.90 per game). Kings XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers have been extravagant too but have a much lower figure of no-balls per game than Daredevils. At the other end are Kolkata Knight Riders, who have been extremely disciplined conceding just 30 no-balls in 61 games (0.49 per game). Mumbai Indians are next, having conceded 33 in 64 (0.51 per match).
Full postNewsfile: April 21
Tendulkar fit: Following a finger injury that kept him out of four IPL games out of Mumbai Indians' five this season, Sachin Tendulkar is set to return
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
Tendulkar fit: Following a finger injury that kept him out of four IPL games out of Mumbai Indians' five this season, Sachin Tendulkar is set to return. He was forced to sit out after after being struck on the glove by Doug Bollinger in the opening game between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. He had tweeted on Saturday afternoon that he “had couple of net sessions and [was] feeling good”, and later Mumbai Indians' coach Robin Singh confirmed he will play against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday. "He's fine to play and is playing tomorrow," Robin said. With most teams bunched together on the points table and Mumbai Indians seemingly having a few problems at the top of the order, the franchise will be relieved at this news.
Had couple of net sessions and feeling good. Tomorrow is an important game for us in Mumbai.
— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) April 21, 2012
'Royals' best team in five years' - Trivedi: Rajasthan Royals have been the form team of IPL 2012 so far, sitting at the top-end of a tight points table with four wins from six games. Despite their relative lack of stars, much like in the inaugural season of the IPL, they’ve more than competed. That 2008 team went on to win the tournament, but this team is their best yet, according to seamer Siddharth Trivedi. “We have a balanced team, a good mix of players. A lot of them [people] consider us underdogs … But in my opinion, this is our best team in five years,” he said. “We have a lot of youngsters and domestic players who have the hunger to perform; they are aware that they could get noticed by the national selectors.”
Spin or pace? Delhi Daredevils' Shahbaz Nadeem might have confounded the likes of JP Duminy and Richard Levi with his left-arm spin, but if he had had his way, he might have been a fast bowler. In an interview with Cricketcountry.com, he said he had taken up spin bowling only at the insistence of his coach Imtiaz Hussain. “I wanted to be a fast bowler because Wasim Akram was my idol, but my coach Imtiaz Hussain asked me to bowl spin instead as I didn’t have the required height and the physique for fast bowling,” he said. “I was about 11 or 12 years old at the time. He told me we would see about bowling fast later, so I started to bowl spin.”
Full postThe last-over blitz
The overall run rate in IPL 2012 is so far a fairly middling 7.69, but there’ve been some sizzling last-over performances, especially by teams batting second
S Rajesh
25-Feb-2013
The overall run rate in IPL 2012 is so far a fairly middling 7.69, but there’ve been some sizzling last-over performances, especially by teams batting second. In the first 24 games, there’ve already been three last overs which have fetched more than 16 runs for the team chasing – Ashish Nehra suffered at the hands of AB de Villiers and Saurabh Tiwary as Royal Challengers Bangalore creamed 24 off Pune Warriors earlier this week; Royal Challengers themselves were at the receiving end against Chennai Super Kings, conceding 17 in a last-ball defeat, while Rohit Sharma’s assault on Daniel Christian had yielded 21, and an unlikely win for Mumbai Indians against Deccan Chargers. Warriors had an opportunity to aim for last-over glory too, but they made a mess of it, scoring only seven when they needed 20 against Super Kings.
In four previous seasons of the IPL, there had been only seven instances of teams batting second scoring more than 16 in the final over. In this IPL, thanks to all these high-scoring overs, the average last-over run rate for teams chasing has gone up to almost 12 runs per over, which is easily the best among all seasons; the previous-best was only 10.26, in 2011.
The most runs scored in the last over by a team chasing in all IPL seasons, though, remains 26, in Johannesburg in 2009. Rohit was at the forefront again, this time for Deccan Chargers, smashing Kolkata Knight Riders’ Mashrafe Mortaza to all parts to win the match with a last-ball six. With 52 matches still left this season, though, who’s to say that this mark won’t fall too.
| Season | Runs | Balls | Dismissals | Average | Run rate |
| 2008 | 238 | 140 | 13 | 18.30 | 10.20 |
| 2009 | 256 | 171 | 21 | 12.19 | 8.98 |
| 2010 | 247 | 175 | 28 | 8.82 | 8.46 |
| 2011 | 325 | 190 | 24 | 13.54 | 10.26 |
| 2012 | 166 | 84 | 9 | 18.44 | 11.85 |
Newsfile: April 20
Critics “evil,” says Samuels: Most bowlers who have been warned for a suspect action keep mum and work on correcting it
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Critics “evil,” says Samuels: Most bowlers who have been warned for a suspect action keep mum and work on correcting it. Marlon Samuels reacted by saying those who questioned the legality of his action were “evil." "They are doing all this because they can't play my bowling. If I was hit into the galleries, my action would never have been questioned," Samuels told Times of India. "I have worked very hard on my bowling. Slow bowlers these days need to have variations and the faster ball, which goes at 120 plus, is surely a great weapon to have. It's like Saeed Ajmal, and now Sunil Narine, having the teesra."
Zinta hits the headlines: Priety Zinta, Kings XI Punjab's co-owner, made headlines for the wrong reasons during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mohali, after Shaun Marsh was given out caught behind. While television replays were inconclusive, Zinta – sitting near the boundary - was shown agitated and reacting animatedly during the time–out and had to be calmed down by her team’s captain Adam Gilchrist. The incident is now being investigated by IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla. "I have sought a report from the match referee [Roshan Mahanama] on the entire issue," Shukla said. “I will also take Preity Zinta's version on the incident.”
Mohali intruder: More drama in Mohali. At the start of the 16th over in Kolkata’s innings, bowled by Kings XI medium-pacer Dimitri Mascarenhas, an intruder ran on to the field, and managed to fling about some bits of paper before the security caught up with him. It didn't merit much media space but Gilchrist took it seriously. "You are always concerned when you get pitch invasions in any sport," he said. "Terrible things happen when someone runs like that towards the players and you just can never be sure at that stage what's going to happen. We were concerned. I hope the ground security will ensure it doesn't happen again."
Full postThe catch that wasn't
On Tuesday, Deccan Chargers coach Darren Lehmann was fuming after his team put down three chances en route to defeat against Rajasthan Royals
Siddarth Ravindran
25-Feb-2013
On Tuesday, Deccan Chargers coach Darren Lehmann was fuming after his team put down three chances en route to defeat against Rajasthan Royals. “They are professional cricketers, they should be able to catch. They should be able to stop the ball going through their legs,” he had said.
He'd have had a lot more to say after Thursday's match against Delhi Daredevils. Three more dropped catches helped Kevin Pietersen to his maiden Twenty20 century, and consigned Chargers to their fourth straight loss.
One bit of fielding from JP Duminy – arguably the finest fielder in the side and among the best in the world – in the 18th over would have irritated Lehmann as much as the fluffed catches. With three overs to go, Daredevils were clear favourites – a rampant Pietersen was in the middle, and they needed only 22. The first ball of the 18th was pummelled by Pietersen towards the long-off boundary. It was a flat and hard hit that just cleared the rope – which it wouldn't have, had Duminy been on the boundary. Instead he had come 10 yards in, and could only watch the ball fly over.
A catch there would have exposed Daredevils’ tail, and with Dale Steyn around, a come-from-behind victory was certainly possible for Chargers. Instead, the equation reduced to less than a run-a-ball and Daredevils didn’t need to take any risks against Steyn as they completed a win that took them top of the table.
Full postFriendships put to the test
Some of the magic of the IPL is the friendships it breeds between players from different countries
Firdose Moonda
25-Feb-2013
Some of the magic of the IPL is the friendships it breeds between players from different countries. Magic can sometimes turn to trickery though and that happens when hostilities develop between players from the same country. In the match between Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers, there were two occasions for that to happen and both times, it did, with deliciously interesting results.
Chargers’ Dale Steyn and Daredevils’ Morne Morkel used to share the new ball for South Africa in the Test set-up and became known as the fiercest combination in world cricket. With Vernon Philander, they are more like a thrilling trio, but the two still have a special bond from years gone by.
When Steyn had to take guard against Morkel, fireworks were expected. Would Morkel aim to bowl at his compatriot’s head? Would Steyn show off his batting skills against his bowling partner? In the end, neither happened as Morkel bowled two length balls, the second of which Steyn flicked away for two runs and then a short ball that Steyn did not survive. Steyn tried to go over cover but only got the shot as far as Virender Sehwag who took the catch to give Morkel his third wicket of the innings.
In the other incident, Sri Lankan batting pair Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were involved. They are known for their chemistry at the crease, and are great friends off it and it would be difficult to imagine them exchanging any heated words.
Full post