The IPL Watcher

Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan fast bowler who is working with Sunrisers Hyderabad this season, is a "big fan" of South Africa's Dale Steyn. Sunrisers have been on a roll so far in IPL 2013, sitting third on the points table seven games in, and Steyn has played a central role in getting them there with eight wickets at 19.00 and an economy rate of 5.46. "Not only me but everyone in the cricket world loves Steyn for the way he plays the game. That's not only because of his bowling but other things that he brings to the table," Waqar told the IPL website on the eve of Sunrisers' game against Chennai Super Kings. "He likes to talk. He's amazing when he talks to the coaches and youngsters alike. He participates and shows interest in all the team matters. That's one reason why the team is doing so well." Steyn has the potential, Waqar said, to be the greatest quick in the game ever: "There have been some seriously great bowlers in the last four-five decades that I can remember. We've had Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Wasim Akram, Michael Holding and so many big names. But Dale Steyn is definitely in the top three for me. And if he keeps going like this for the next two-three seasons, he'll hit the top. Not many bowlers have swung the ball at his pace and have had his fitness. He's an amazing athlete."

MS Dhoni added another entry to the list of his achievements when he became the first captain in the IPL to lead a team to 50 wins. The landmark came with Chennai Super Kings' tight win against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 20. Super Kings have made it to four IPL finals, winning two of them, under Dhoni's leadership and in 2010, they became the first IPL team to win the Champions League Twenty20. Gautam Gambhir and Adam Gilchrist are the next two captains in the list with 31 wins each.

Rajasthan Royals have perfected the art of winning at home. They are the only team in the IPL to have won more than twice the number of matches they have lost at home. Even this year, Rahul Dravid's Royals have won all their three matches in Jaipur. However, Dravid is not satisfied with just securing home wins, he wants to extend that dominating form to away matches too. On the eve of their game against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk, Dravid said: "We have played well at home, winning all our three games but we won one game away and lost two. We are going to have to improve our record there and try and win a few more games on the road, while trying to maintain our strength - playing in Jaipur." This season, in away matches, Royals started with a victory in Delhi, but lost badly in Pune and, most recently, in Bangalore.

Following his success at the London Olympics last year, Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake had spoken about his love for cricket and his IPL ambitions. "I want to play in the IPL. I am working hard for it," Blake had said. His friend Chris Gayle, in a column in Indian newspapers, has hinted that Blake's not given up on that goal just yet. "Yohan sure loves his cricket and I can tell you that he hasn't given up on his IPL dream just yet," Galye wrote. "This year, he hasn't been able to realise his dream simply because he's focused on the upcoming track and field World championships. Considering that he's got me out in quite a few of the charity games we've played, I don't mind if he takes his time, unless of course, he joined RCB." Blake, meanwhile, in Outlook India, has tribute to pay to Tendulkar in the lead-up to his 40th birthday. "While most of my mates were Brian Lara fans, I always felt an affinity towards Sachin. I even have DVDs of some Sachin classics and watch them off and on," Blake said. "The day he scored his ODI double hundred, we were watching the match at a pub in Jamaica, and when he reached 120, there was talk among us about how many he'd get in that innings. Some of my friends suggested he'd get 150 and no more. I was the only one who suggested he'd get a double. We had a bet, and the deal was they'd take me to dinner if he did. I was thrilled when he scored his double, and if I had had his number then, I'd surely have called him and thanked him for winning me a fabulous dinner."

Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman AB de Villiers has words of high praise for his team's captain, Virat Kohli. This IPL is Kohli's first assignment as full-time captain of a senior team and he has, at times, been a little hot-headed when under pressure. De Villiers, who is South Africa's limited-overs leader, said Kohli would improve with time. "Obviously, he is very young and inexperienced when it comes to captaincy. Having said that, he has made some really positive moves; he has led from the front, he has the batting ability as well," de Villiers said. "He has shown a lot of leadership qualities, he will learn more along the way and in the next few years, he will become a world-class captain. He is already showing signs of that."

Allan Donald, the former South African fast bowler, fancies being part of a pace attack comprising his fellow countrymen Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. Donald, who retired from international cricket in 2003 with 602 wickets (330 in Tests and 272 in ODIs) is the bowling coach at South Africa and, currently, the head coach at Pune Warriors in the IPL. Donald said the pair of Steyn and Morkel is the best fast-bowling combination in cricket. "I wish I did [play with them]. If I were to bowl with Dale and Morne Morkel, we would have formed the most prolific attack," he told the IPL website. "Working with them is unbelievably special. They are at the moment and hopefully will remain the best fast-bowling pair in the world for quite some time."

Following Chennai Super Kings dramatic heist against Royal Challengers Bangalore, in which they knocked off the 84 runs they required off the final seven overs to win by four wickets, Royal Challengers' death-bowling skills has come into sharp focus. In that game, RP Singh was unable to defend 16 off the final over, crucially bowling a no-ball with what should have been the final delivery to hand Super Kings the win. Ravi Rampaul, who finished the games with the best figures, on Royal Challengers debut, admitted that the team was having issues in the area: "We have definitely been having some problems in the death overs. The execution was not all that well. So it is something that we need to work on." Talking to Deccan Herald, Rampaul said he would be open to taking on the responsibility: "I am comfortable bowling at all times of the innings. There are a lot of games coming up and so there are a lot of opportunities." His team-mate, Vinay Kumar, who bowled a fine last over to win the match against Mumbai Indians by two runs, said it was unfair to expect the bowlers to click each time: "Death bowling is very difficult actually. When you are up against big hitters like Cameron White and MS Dhoni, six times out of ten the result will go the other way."