Top-dog IPL seeks a new underdog

Watching the opening match of last year’s IPL, there had been several doubts in the minds of so-called cricket experts, including myself, that the road ahead for the tournament would not be easy once the novelty of its sideshow wore out, writes Kunal Pradhan in the Indian Express.

But the signs of a potential slump did not last too long because of one “rag-tag” unit from the smallest of the IPL franchises. The Rajasthan Royals, dismissed as frugal also-rans, started writing their own script in one corner of India, defying the odds, hurling slingshots at Goliath after Goliath, highjacking the razzmatazz and replacing it with a feel-good, cricketing story of the rise of an underdog ... Now, as the second season gets ready to kick off in distant South Africa, this time from the high of last year, it will face challenges once again — some old and some very different.

Lalit Modi told an assembled gathering of journalists in Cape Town on Thursday that the IPL had encountered nothing but generosity and co-operation. In fact, that isn’t quite true, writes Neil Manthorp on Supercricket.

So untrue, in fact, that by late Friday afternoon the Wanderers stadium was prepared to withdraw as a host venue rather than accede to requests (or demands, depending on your point of view) from the IPL which they believe to be excessive and unreasonable. “They can take their tournament somewhere else, they can hold the final somewhere else,” said one member of staff. “Unless they change their attitude then I can’t see a way forward. They are renting our facility, not buying it. We have protocols which we respect and expect them to do likewise.”

It is a financial sleight of hand that this week allowed Modi to proclaim the IPL was "recession-proof". And, with the world's financial markets hanging on for dear life, he has also declared that all eight franchises will have made a profit by the end of the tournament, writes Lawrence Booth in the Guardian.

IPL conquered its home country in 2008 and shows every sign of luring South Africa to the party. Naturally Lalit Modi and chums have used every showbiz trick to ensure South Africa feels the excitement, writes Peter Roebuck in the Hindu.