All to play for

We're down to the final eight games of the IPL, and it's Ian Chappell who is still on top, leading Sambit Bal by a slender margin of 197 points.

Monday's game between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Super Kings turned out to be a big letdown for our Star Wars league members in terms of earning points. Ian, Sambit and Sanjay Manjrekar all went with Matthew Hayden as trump, only to find that he had been rested. Ian brought in Chennai's Shadab Jakati for the game, who disappointed, fetching him only 15 points. Meanwhile Sambit - the only one not to have made any changes after the bonus transfers were added - had Suresh Raina in his team, who earned him a crucial 78. This enabled Sambit to reduce Ian's lead by 63.

The 10 bonus transfers have changed the complexion of the game. A few smart changes, and a few lucky picks as trumps and the contest could just be wide open. "I was feeling reasonably comfortable with my position, but the added transfers change things dramatically," said Ian. "This is a stimulus package to match that of our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. I missed out on that one. I hope I can cash in this time."

David Lloyd, understandably, is quite chuffed with the new development. "The competition is hotting up now," he said. "Ten transfers will really help me after my tactical blunders earlier on. But 'The Godfathers' team is way out in front and will take some pegging back, though."

Royal Challengers Bangalore play Delhi Daredevils today. While David and Sanjay have already brought in Ross Taylor and Jacques Kallis into their teams, will Ian and Sambit also punt and use up some of their transfers to get some Bangalore players in? Watch this space.

It will be interesting to see how Ian and Sambit now ward off this new threat. Stay tuned for lots of action and upheavals in the Star Wars points table.