IPL 4: Chennai Super Kings

With the World Cup madness still high on the air after the Indian win and not even a week to pass, champions took sides and battled it out against each other, with the world cup fatigues till there. India got divided and cheered madly for a Sachin hitting Zaheer for a six or a Harbhajan getting Dhoni bowled.

This time around two new teams Kochi Tuskers and Pune Warriors battled it out for the first time along with the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super-Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Dare-Devils. And we aslo had the usual glamour content with Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Nita Ambani, Shilpa Shetty and Preity Zinta cheering for their respective teams.

Gautam Gambhir, was the highest paid player this time at 11.04 crores and also moving to a complete new territory, donning the captain's cap for KKR. Swash buckling Shane Warne fought valiantly for Rajasthan Royals but couldn't retain the charm of their first IPL heroics and called it a day after their poor show. Royal Chalengers Bangalore were led by Daniel Vettori for the first time but the team was an one man Gayle show.  KKR performed better reaching the final fours after being the laggards in all 3 of the last editions with Kallis and Yusuf Pathan their main stars.

But it was Chennai Super Kings who retained their title after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in an one sided final in their home turf.

28th May 2011: Vijay for Chennai Super Kings: Murali Vijay made it a day for Chennai under the backdrop of the roaring home crowd as they retain their title after beating RCB in an almost one sided encounter. Batting first Chennai Super Kings scored 205 runs with the heroics of Murali Vijay scoring a valiant 95 runs and then defeating RCB by 47 runs. Interestingly it was Ashwin who once again rose to the occasion and got the better of Gayle in the very 3rd ball of the innings without scoring.

Orange Cap: Chris Gayle (608)

Purple cap: Lasith Malinga (28)

27th May 2011: Bye Bye MI: The Sachin-Malinga episode finally comes to an end. MI was mainly a team of these 2 players and once either of them flopped the team went down like a pack of cards. So now the Mallya's mavericks take on Chennai builders in the IPL 2011 finals after defeating MI by 43 runs and it was another Gayle storm night with him scoring 89 runs and setting up a mammoth 185 for MI for victory, which they successfully defended.


25th May 2011: Over for KKR: The KKR saga is finally over with what was their best performance in all IPL's till date. But for a Knockout it surrendered meekly to MI scoring just 147 runs and MI scoring it easily. MI set it up itself for the final Qualifier against the Gayle powered RCB, the winner of which will face CSK in the finals.


24th May 2011: Romping Raina: Chennai pulled out a clincher with a classy unbeatable knock from southpaw Suresh Raina of 73 runs in 50 balls. Batting first RCB scored a mammoth 175 runs and began their bowling well pulling 2 wickets in 2 overs with just 7 runs on board, but after that Raina steadied the innings and took home CSK to the finals. RCB though get another chance for the finals with a game against the winner of the only Eliminator match between KKR and MI.




22nd May 2011: Final Four: Finally the league stage is over and we move on to the final four. Its going to be Royal challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super kings, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders with 2 qualifiers and 1 eliminator match which in simple term means RCB or CSK gets 2 chances for qualifying in the finals.The first qualifier is going to be between RCB and CSK. The Eliminator match is between MI and KKR, so the loser in that match gets knocked out completely and the winner have to play again with the loser of the first qualifier and the one who wins here gets to the final. So the final is going to be between winner of 1st qualifier and 2 nd Qualifier match.

The man to look out for will be Chris Gayle, who has been an storm till now and made RCB win single handedly on his day since his return to IPL.


11th May 2011: Cheerless Moments: Well by now everyone knows a IPL cannot go on smoothly without its share of controversies. Somehow the creator Lalit Modi has silently added the term Controversy while writing the script and this time its about a blog by a 22 year old Mumbai Indian cheerleader from South Africa Gabriella Pasqualotto, who has publicly written what most already had suspicions about and had a silent buzz about some well to do cricketers with family lives getting over mischievous with the cheer girls and getting intimate in the late night IPL parties and Team owners covertly supporting the act. And as expected she was quickly shown the door.


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10th May 2011: Comeback Warrior & Royal humiliation: It was the day for Prince of comebacks, Sourav Ganguly to don the IPL hat for Pune Warriors against the Deccan Chargers. And once again he has shown, it is easy to write him off but can't wipe him out with a steady run a ball 32 runs in a low scoring game which PW chasing easily of 137 runs with 10 balls to spare. And well this perhaps is going to be the defining image of IPL 4 with a fan of Sourav touching his feet after his comeback.

In one of the biggest setbacks of the season Mumbai Indians led by Sachin Tendulkar tumbled in the King's court after perishing for just 87 runs in 13 overs while chasing a decent a target of 163 runs against the bottom tablers Punjab Kings. As many critics has pointed out MI is perhaps too Sachin and Malinga dependent team. Either of them fails and MI is struggling in those games.

Well on another note there is too much noise over the pitches this time with teams whoever scoring below 100 quick to describe the pitch as an 'Ordinary pitch'. And the one who has made a joke of himself is spin wizard Shane Warne, who has been caught in the wrong foot after winning against Mumbai Indians and defending the poor Jaipur pitch while criticising Sachin Tendulkar's remark over the pitch and finally was haunted and found himself in the wrong line when Chennai Super Kings drubbed them in the poor Jaipur pitch and then had to eat his words and went out of the way to criticize the Jaipur pitch and curator, which a few days back he himself defended.

Shane Warne has earlier also criticized the Eden Garden's pitch after losing to KKR, so the pitches continue to haunt him. Ostracized founder Lalit Modi also criticized the CSK management and BCCI bosses behind the Sawai Man Singh Jaipur pitch in a twitter update.


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6th May 2011: A Gayle Affair: Chris Gayle has once again struck gold for RCB by scoring his second century of the season and once again single handedly demolishing the opposition this time Punjab Kings. Batting first RCB scored a mammoth 205 runs with gayle scoring 107 of just 49 deliveries and then going on to take 3 wickets to stop Punjab for just 120 runs.

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5th May 2011: The Match Winner: It was one man's day and that was Virender Sehwag. after finally waiting for 3 editions finally Sehwag struck gold with his maiden IPL century after playing a single handed match winning innings of 119 runs in just 56 balls chasing a competitive Deccan Chargers score of 175. IPL has run into an overkill with public fatigue setting in amidst fears of killing the golden goose itself with too many matches this time.


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23rd April 2011: Delhi Daring: It was Delhi's day today as they registered the highest ever IPL score till day of 231 runs but not without a great fightback from Punjab with Shaun Marsh almost seeming to take the game away with his classy 95 runs before falling to Morkel.

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22nd April 2011: Gayle storm: The losing syndrome has returned to KKR with once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and today it was powered by a powerful hurricane Gayle, who single handedly smashed KKR all over the park with his classy 102 of just 55 balls and returning his earlier team the favour for refusing him in their team. KKR batting first scored a competitive 171 runs, but Bangalore took away the game with 2 overs to spare, such was the effect of the Gayle storm.

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20th April 2011: Kochi Roll: Kochi Tuskers are on a roll now. They have won a cliffhanger by just 6 runs in a close finish and breaking the KKR wiinign momentum. KTK batting first manged to score just 132 runs with a good bowling finish from KKR but KKR's unpredictable batsmen once gain let them down with some un-imaginative batting towards the end.

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18th April 2011: First Rains: It was the first rains of the IPL season and Kochi Tuskers enjoyed the mango showers to the disadvantage of Dhoni Giants CSK. CSK batting first set a target of 135 in the rain-truncated match but Brendon Mccullum smashed his way to let KTK become giant killers once again.

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17th April 2011: Kolkata -Delhi Mail: It was the turn of Delhi dareveils today to open their account with their favourite son Sehwag striking back finally and chasing a mammoth Pune Warriors score of 187 successfully. On the other match the Gallant KKR stampeding Rajasthan in a one-side match with RR scoring just 81 runs and KKR chasing it successfully.

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15th April 2011: Master Strokes & RR Chokes: The KKR dream run continues with once gain demolishing Rajasthan Royals with 9 wickets and 9 balls to spare chasing a competitive target of 160 runs. Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis with their sensible hard hitting took away the match completely from RR. The aura of RR has not been same again since its dream debut in IPL in which they were the unexpected champions.

And on the other match it was for the Master Sachin Tendulkar to show he has conquered all the frontiers of modern day Cricket by scoring an unbeaten century of just 66 deliveries against Kochi, but the party didn't last long with the already written off Kochi striking back with a vengeance. Chasing a huge 182 runs Kochi Tuskers Kerala pulled off a surprise victory with Mahela Jayawardene and Brendon Mccullum  paving the way and halting the Mumbai Indian saga.

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14th April 2011: Home Coming: It was the first win by Deccan Chargers at home in the last 4 seasons of IPL and that too against favourites RCB. Batting first they scored a formidable 175 runs and won comfortably by 33 runs.

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13th April 2011: a star is born:Well today was one of the major upsets of the season with a complete one man show which took everyone by surprise. CSK batting first scored a massive 188 runs against the weak on paper Punjab Kings XI and when Dhoni was already starting to plan for the next match came the superman in Paul Valthaty who single-handedly took the game away from CSK with his 120 unbeaten off just 63 runs. Dhoni for once didn't have a clue on how to stop this un-expected hurricane and KXIP won with 5 balls to spare bringing smile and relief in the face of the charming bubbly owner Preity Zinta.

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12th April 2011: Sachin Rules: It was a big match between RCB and Mumbai India but it turned out to be a pretty lopsided contest with MI ruling all the way. First restricting RCB to just 140 runs and then scoring it with 9 wickets and 9 balls to spare with Sachin showing he rules the shorter format of the game too with his classy 55 of 46 deliveries.


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11th April 2011: Empty stands of Eden: Well that will tell you how Kolkata still love its favourite son. After showing dada the exit, SRK & Co. was rest with only one thing to do, slash the ticket prices by 20 to 75 percent (believe it or not) in an attempt to bring the cricket loving fanatics of Kolkata back. Although KKR had a smooth ride with Deccan chargers today with a comfortable victory, but surely SRK would have loved a few more knights to cheer the rare sweet success.

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10th April 2011: Slinga Malinga & Yuvraj's Redemption: While on the first match of the day it was Lasith Malinga for Mumbai Indians who single handedly took out the steam out of Sehwag's Delhi Daredevils to bowl them below 100 and then MI scoring it easily.

On the second game of the day, Pune Warriors this time made an impressive debut under the captaincy of Yuvraj Singh, who still the last season was under Preity Zinta's Kings XI Punjab and was stripped of his captaincy due to lacklustre form and poor run of KXIP. For once in the match Warriors didn't allow KXIP to stand tall in the match with first bowling them cheaply and then Yuvraj Singh finishing off in style.

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9th April 2011: Impressive Debut: Kochi Tuskers made an impressive debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their home turf only to beaten by the luck of AB Devilliers who hit 3 sixes in one over and Asad Pathan hitting 3 boundaries in the last over to give RCB a thumping victory.

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8th April 2011: The fourth edition of the grand Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off today with much fanfare with two more teams, more glamour, more cricket and more fizz this time only without its Modi the maverick and the brain-child behind it. Lalit Modi has been un-ceremoniously ousted after the last edition of the game after the spat with Sashi Tharoor over Kochi Tuskers.team.

So it needs to be seen whether IPL can retain its past flavour or it will just fizz out sans its creator and sans the after-match late night parties. And to open the show this time was none other than the Baadshah of Bollywood Shahrukh Khan tapping his feat in the show opener and speaking some fluent Tamil with the audience.

And its his team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) taking on reigning champions Chennai Super Kings(CSK) in Chennai with Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni face to face as captains respectively. But Dhoni had the last laugh in this thrilling encounter with KKR losing by just 2 runs. CSK setting 154 runs for win, KKR started the chase well with once looking as if the match will finish well over the allotted overs but not to be they kept losing wickets in the last few overs and handed over the match to CSK.

For a complete schedule of the IPL 4, you can download a pdf version here by right clicking on the link and hit Save as.

And for those who have to work in office late hours or just want to catch it on your mobile online anytime, you can visit this link for watching live online matches.

Click on the pictures below for visiting the official sites of the respective teams.

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The Comeback Dada

Sourav Ganguly, the Prince of Kolkata and Indian Cricket also belovedly known by Dada to everyone  is one player whom you cannot write-off completely. He still has something and can easily copyright the term, Comeback Player.

The more you write him off, the more he will try to show his worth and that too successfully. Remeber his ignonimous spat with Greg chappel a few years back which ulitmately led his ouster from the team.

And when everyone almost forgot him, remember that Pepsi Ad and immediately. And luck was such after that Greg Chappel has to chew his pride when he made a dream comeback with him being the most consistent player in the Indo-Pak Test series and scoring his maiden test double hundred.



Sourav is about the man of a Never Say Die attitude, it's about the man who never quits no matter how odd the circumstances are, it's about the man who made the best ever comeback in the history of World Cricket. And that is the spirit which have made him the most loved player in Indian cricket perhaps only after Sachin Tendulkar. His fan following even in the worst days has been tremendous and each city of India has showered their love towards him with his home city Kolkata always staying solidly behind him.

Sourav Ganguly has become a mile stone of Indian Cricket team. He became the center of talks in cricketing world from the day he started his carrier against England and why not his start was special once he hit two back to back tons against a highly competitive team like England. Since than he lead India to some unimaginable glories more importantly he led the team after the betting crisis that rocked the Indian cricket team.

He had his ups and down and even in the shorter format of the game in slam bang 20-20 IPL championship, he has tried to make a mark even in the winter of his career. And now after being ignored in the 4th edition of the IPL auctions, he has once again comeback mid-way to join the Pune Warriors to prove his point after declining lucrative mentoring offers from his home state side Kolkata Knight Riders.

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Cup of Joy

The tenth edition of the Cricket World Cup was played in the Indian sub-continent with India being the host country and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh sharing matches. The glitz started on 17th February 2011 with the first match between India and Bangladesh on 19th February  played in Bangladesh. India went on to lift the World Cup trophy after a span of 28 years after a thrilling final between Sri Lanka and India on the way also became the first home team to lift the World Cup.

Yuvraj Singh was rightly decided the Man of the Series after playing some match winning innings in most of the games India played.The biggest upset of the tournament has been the defeat of England by Ireland on 2nd March with Ireland's Kevin O'Brien scoring a century in just 50 balls, the fastest World Cup Century. Along with it Ireland also made the highest successful run chase in World Cup history by chasing England's score of 327 runs successfully. These are some of the highlights of the major games of the World Cup:

2nd April 2011: Ramayana II: India struck gold after a long 28 years by defeating Sri Lanka in a closely fought encounter in the 2011 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup finals in the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.. Mahendra Singh Dhoni playing a captains knock and Gautam Gambhir a rock steady innings to reach this herculean feat and taming the Sri Lankan bowling onslaught. It was pitted to be a match between Ram and Ravana as per the Indian media taking a cue from the mythological epic Ramayana and once again it was Rama's side having the last laugh. Nonetheless the hype was certainly mellowed for a final after the Indo-Pak encounter as if that itself was the final and this was going to be just another match.

Sachin's wish of being in the winning side and holding the trophy  in the final of the biggest extravaganza of cricket was finally fulfilled, with this going to be his last World Cup after creating the record of playing 7 world cups. The grit of the Indian team to atleast win this cup for Sachin didn't go unheard. Sachin all though once again failed in a final match, but it was made up by the other batsman to follow to hold the coveted trophy once again.




Sri Lanka batting first started this match slowly with Zaheer Khan bowling 3 maidens unbelievably for a final match but Sri Lanka scored heavily in the final few overs to get a respectable total with Mahela Jayawardene scoring another century. It was also the last match of his glorious career for Muttiah Muralidharan, who perhaps would have wanted to end in a winning note, but he can take heart from the fact that he has already been in the winning side in the 1996 World Cup. But after that it was just India's day today. Indian's have a reason to celebrate after a long long time and a grand Diwali in April.

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30th March 2011: World War III: And the battle is over. Once again the dream of Pakistan of beating India in an World Cup encounter remained elusive. India remained on top by beating Pakistan by 29 runs, inspite of a poor batting finish towards the end by India. Pakistan missed a good batsman to stand tall in these matches and their in-experience in the batting line-up cracked up.Sachin missed his 100th century once again falling short by just 15 runs but it was high drama with 4 missed chances, an appeal turned down under UDRS, luck seemed to be in his favour. India though managed 260 runs on board after a promising start by Sehwag but the later batsman failed to capitalise on it with Wahab Riaz turning out to be star for Pakistan with 5 crucial wickets at important junctures. But now is the time for the big finals in Mumbai with India taking on giants Sri Lanka to have a tryst with the World Cup after a long 28 years after missing out in the 2003 edition.

The d-day is here and it can't get any bigger and better. It is the final before the finals. The hype this time has been just massive and enormous and why not, in a game like this its bound to. From Politics to Bollywood, the best out is there except for the common public who can only watch from the comfort of their couches. It all started with the Prime minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh inviting Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, which they gladly accepted. The public frenzy has also been quite high with calls from the public to declare the day as a National Holiday with Pakistan already declaring a half-day and both nations treating the match like as if its a war out there. And how can Bollywood be left behind. With Aamir Khan cancelling his shooting and confirming his presence for the match in Mohali, there are a array of stars from Sunil Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, Rahul Bose among others and an up-coming model already declaring to bare it all if India wins the match. Its a battle out there!

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29th March 2011: Wingless Kiwis: Once again New Zealand did at what they are best at, losing their Sixth Semifinal encounter and for the second time against Sri Lanka in a semifinal in a World Cup. Scoring a meek 217 runs, Sri Lanka chased their target with 13 balls to spare and reaching the finals easily. And they will face the winner of tomorrows mother of all encounters India against Pakistan.

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26th March 2011: English Wave Finally the English wavelength cam to a complete halt for one final time in this edition of the World Cup. Lady luck somehowe have never been in the English side. They were sent by God to introduce Cricket to the World, but somehow took away their power to win the ultimate glory, even in Lagaan. Sri Lanka today just mauled the England team with a comprehensive win over them, first by restricting them to a mere 229 runs and then chasing it in only 40 overs with all 10 wickets intact and both openers Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan scoring centuries. England today for once never looked like they were playing for a semi-final berth. Meanwhile Sri Lanka after this win take on last night winners New Zealand on the all crucial semi-finals.


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25th March 2011: Chok Chokers: South Africa once again went back to the best what they do in almost every World Cup since their inception, losing matches they could have won any other day but not in a big World Cup game and thus proudly retaining the tag of Chokers if not the Cup itself. Needing only 222 runs for victory South Africa perished 49 runs shot to give New Zealand another Semi final berth. And for trivia lovers South Africa has never won a Knock-Out game in the World Cup.

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24th March 2011: End of the Aussie Era: It was almost inevitable and the final nail has been stroked to end the Australian reign of 3 consecutive world cup victories. It was almost eminent from the way we have seen their downfall in the last few months and this perhaps sealed the fate on Ponting. India today was on top from the very beginning while restricting Australia to just 260 runs and then chasing it with 14 balls to spare. It could well perhaps be the last match for Australian captain Ricky Ponting, but with his fine century today, it will be a fitting end to an illustrious career. But now the matches of matches is coming up with two sworn enemies clashing in the all crucial semi final for a final berth. It will be a clash of titans with India taking on Pakistan in the semi-finals and Pakistan also looking on top in this edition of the world cup. It could be another thriller of a match and this perhaps will be the Defining Image of World Cup 2011

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23rd March 2011: West Indies have to wait for another world cup to repeat their 1975 and 1979 feats once again, till then they can only bask in their past glory and hope for another re-incarnation of the likes of Vivian Richards, Malcom Marshall, Clive Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge among others to bring back to their World Cup winning ways. The current teams seems to be only a shadow of what it has been even a decade ago. Really not a single player stood out in this edition of the world cup. Kemar Roach and Sulieman Benn showed some promise but that was only in bits and pieces. It was a complete mauling today for the Indies, who were bowled out for a paltry 112 runs against Pakistan and after that Pakistan could have only some batting practice for the crucial Semi-finals.And once again Shahid Afridi shown on a crucial encounter, he still remains a match winner with his crucial 4 wickets.

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20th March 2011:The last of the encounters for the league stage between India and West Indies with both team already having qualified for the last eight. It was a lacklustre match with perhaps the notable moment coming in from none other than the master Sachin Tendulkar. Once gain he has opened up the debate on whether a batsman should walk on his own after a umpire decides not-out.

Playing to Ravi Rampaul, Sachin knicked a ball to the wicketkeeper which the umpire couldn't spot and while nodding his heads, Sachin decided to walk-off himself. Although his decision was praise-worthy but some raised the fact that he didn't do the same in the IPL 3 finals where he had a much clearer knick and on that occasion was also adjudged not-out.

Sachin fans on the other hand have to wait for another match for his 100th century. And well from the next match the Knock-out stage starts with India pipped against four time World Cup champions Australia. But with Australia on the decline can India make it up, or Ponting still carry on his un-beatable oomph?

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18th March 2011: Finally the Aussie dream run is halted today. After an unbeaten streak of 34 matches, Australia today at last bowed to Pakistan and Guess what it was Pakistan who beat them the last time in a World Cup match. It was a overall poor show from Australia today scoring just 176 runs on board and Pakistan reach it with 9 overs and 4 wickets to spare. It was perhaps a perfect halt from the decline that has set in the Australian camp in the last few months.

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18th March 2011: The Irish high-rises. Ireland seems to be developing chasing 300 runs with ease these days. After the English, now its the turn of the Dutch to give away a match even after scoring a 300. Quite a fitting end to the Irish dreams in this edition. Hope they come back better in the 2015 edition of the world cup.

17th March 2011: Another English Summer....The English wavelength continues and this time they are on the upper side. In what most have written them off after their lackluster batting performance against west Indies, luck seemed to be on their side today. Chasing a mere 243 in Indian conditions.

West indies fell short by just 18 runs with some fine bowling from Graeme Swann who took 2 crucial wickets in the 43rd over of Ramnaresh Sarwan and inform Kemar Roach to bring England back onto the match. But even after their win, England can only wait and watch results of the other games to have any chance of going to the quarters. The group is quite wide open with all the teams except Ireland standing a chance to go to the quarters.

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12th March 2011: A crucial encounter today with two giants India and South Africa facing each other in this crucial match with both teams un-predictable and the Group B quite wide open with the Bangladesh win yesterday. The summary of the match for todays match has to be 29 runs, I0 overs and 9 wickets.

The dream Indian batting lineup just kept falling like a house of cards. From 267 for 1 in the 40th over with the master-blaster Sachin scoring another century, South Africa could only have then dreamt about winning the match. But from the 40th over of the Indian innings it was all to the Proteas. Although Indian bowling had some highs but really couldn't live upto their expectations. At this stage all the major 8 teams are favourites to lift the world cup this time with no-one emerging clear challengers this time.

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11th March 2011: Today England will just say Not Again. Now they are twice been unlucky in the same edition of the world cup to have been beaten by two minnows viz. Ireland earlier and now by Bangladesh today who just a few days back were packed out for a mere 58 runs in their own home soil by West Indies. Bangladesh today was good both with the ball and the bat. At first by restricting England to just 225 runs, Bangladesh managed to score the runs with 1 over and 2 wickets to spare. We can only say England Snatch another defeat from the Jaws of Victory.

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8th March 2011: I guess today's match have to be aptly titled "The Last 6 Overs". The Taylor blitzkrieg simply blowed away Pakistan's any hope of winning this match. It was almost a comfortable score till the 45th over for Pakistan, when perhaps in their mind Shahid Afridi & Co. perhaps would have started thinking already about their post-match celebrations.

But not to be, then came the Taylor Strike and after that Pakistan could have only thought about making a come back in the next match. Newzealand scored a whooping 114 runs in their last 6 overs to take the the score to a challenging 302 runs, with a century from Ross Taylor which he and the Kiwis will perhaps savour for a long long time to come. For those that may have missed the last 6 overs, here is the video.



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6th March 2011: The English today took a classic revenge of their last match mauling Ireland by winning a nothing short of a thriller against favourites South Africa in a low scoring match. Needing just 171 runs to win the Africans fall short by a mere 6 runs with 14 balls to spare. At last England has something to bring smile to their face after their back to back clinchers and this time it is in their favour.

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6th March 2011: But for Indian fans a challenge seems to be waiting for the Sunday encounter with Ireland just brimming with energy after their classic British mauling few days back. Its time now for Kevin O'Brien to show he is not just a one match wonder boy.

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5th March 2011: The much awaited and an epic encounter between Australia and Srilanka got washed away in rains the Australian epic dream run in the world cup of remaining un-beaten now in 32 matches continues. It was set to be a cliff-hanger which seemed to be a slowish pitch but the rains had the last laugh today and the audience missed a classic game in the weekend.

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2nd March 2011: Well today a new wonder-kid was born on field and surely his name will be remembered for a long long time to come. He is none other than Kevin O'Brien the giant killer who has taken the English-Irish rivalry to the next level now in the cricket field. England surely needs some inspiration after this humiliating set-back from one of its biggest rivals but minnows in the cricket field.

It was all going on smoothly for England with a more than comfortable score on its belt and Irish wickets tumbling in the beginning till Kevin O'Brien took centre stage and thereafter it was almost a thunder-storm and in the process he also registered the fastest century in a world cup match with just 50 balls and ending with 113 runs of just 63 deliveries to take Ireland to one of their ultimate victories.

Kevin O'Brien in action

27th February 2011: What a beginning to the world cup! A classic match between two giants and the result showed that however the glitz and hoopla of 20-20 cricket, 50 over matches is here to stay. The India vs England encounter at the filled up M Chinnaswamy stadium was tied with both teams ending at 338. The little master Sachin Tendulkar showed why he still is the un-disputed king of the longer version of the game with his classy 120 runs of just 115 balls but it was Andrew Strauss who broke into his party with an almost match winning 158 runs and guiding the English team to a heart-breaker tie. All in all it was a complete Paisa-wasool show for the Sunday crowd in Bangalore. 

This was the entire highlights in a capsule of the major aspects of the Cricketing bonanza with the next World Cup scheduled to be held at Australia and New Zealand in 2015. Hope you enjoyed going through it.

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IPL Entertainment

Update: To get the official ticketing partners and the links for IPL tickets for 2011, scroll below.

Here is the new era of Cricket in India and the world. On this journey, things are not going to be same anymore. As players from across nations unite in this new found bonhomie, international players once rivals all playing for the same team, boundaries are getting redefined now. Players once sharing the same dressing room will now fiercely stare at each other all in a drive to win for their home teams.

Curtains have already risen over the most extravagant cricket bonanza cricket buffs have been waiting with bated breaths for! Its cricketing buzz redefined. Cricket was said to be losing its sheen to Football in the country, especially in the urban areas but IPL promises to get back all those football crazy youth once again to cricket. It is BCCI’s magnum opus for everyone to watch over with friends. IPL has made a ‘crore’ look very tiny now!

IPL has commercialized cricket like never before: players were auctioned, corporate team bosses snubbed icons icons and big money rolled in. It is all about segregating the Cricket crazy nation that we are into clubs and creating entertainment in them. With the likes of Vijay Mallya, Mukesh Ambani, Shah Rukh Khan, Preety Zinta helming various clubs, the maestros of entertainment at IPL are unveiling their wares with mega entertainment bonanzas also nicknamed as the 'manoranjan ka baap'. A huge amount of money has been spent by them on bidding for players on their team. IPL has brought Cricket to every possible untrodden field and created several ways to flaunt your loyalties.

Initially 8 city based teams are sweating it out and are involved in neck to neck battles with the likes of Bangalore Royal Challengers, Chennai Super Kings, Chandigarh Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. IPL has thrown up another set of loyalties, even alternate, loyalties – the club as in professional football. For many the individual games appears to be as alluring as an Indo-Pak encounter.

Cricket and Bollywood have always been India’s premier mass entertainers. Now with Bollywood stars as owners millions of middle-aged moms and pre-pubescent teenage boys know who to cheer for, city loyalty be damned and Bollywood brand ambassadors available at a discount along with the cheerleaders shimmying heard, the marriage between glamour and cricket is all but complete.

IPL has also become the hub for popularisation of local content. Not just big names but players are coming from everywhere, from outbacks, small towns to state backwaters. These clutch of nerveless unknown talents are taking the IPL by storm as they outscore all the big names. They are to be seen, recognized and admired!

Everyone thought Twenty20 is just slam-bang. But it has shown that Twenty20 is not easier: it’s just a different ball game. It isn’t just improvisation and instinct but much more about planning and teamwork than one never thought.

The first edition of the IPL has also received its fair share of controversies with it now termed as the ‘Controversies ka baap’. From the already infamous costliest slap of the century termed as the slap gate, by Harbhajan Singh on his IPL rival S Sreesanth, which saw the formers exit from this edition of the game. Then the skimpily cheerleaders who shaked their hips and jived to the music during the games. They quickly became the darling of the crowds and cynosure of all eyes, but how can the moral police of the country stay behind which forced them to jive in long outfits for a short period.

The Bangalore team also nicknamed the ‘Test Team in T20 disguise’ never royally challenged any team which initially saw the sacking of its CEO Charu Sharma and a few more heads would have rolled in the form of Venkatesh Prasad, had not ‘The Wall’ in the form of Rahul Dravid had come in between the owner and the team. Martin Crowe added more fuel to fire by asserting the team was too old and slow and wholesale changes are expected in this team for the next season.

As teams went on exiting one after the other at later stages, gossip mills ran hayware with portraying conflicts between team owner’s coaches and the captains. Shahrukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly, John Buchanan, Preity Zinta, everyone was on the firing line. SRK even threatened to take on the ICC when he was banished from the dugout and the dressing room and SRK’s counterpart Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia was also not far behind with controversy after controversy running each other.

In all this how can players be left behind. They also wanted to share the limelight and be a part of this ‘Controversy ka baap’ with Shane Warne and Sourav Ganguly publicly slamming each other and teaching each lessons from the ‘Spirit of the Game’ textbooks. The ever so silent Sachin Tendulkar slamming the third umpire for losing a crucial match by one run. The IPL has seen it all…

Now with so much success of the first edition of the IPL other nations are trying to emulate the implementation of this format with the likes of Australia and Pakistan. England is also believed to be reviewing its County Cricket structure.

Cricket has hardly ever been a global game like football but with this red hot bonsai version, cricket finally has a chance. Beers, Bollywood, cheerleaders, and thrills IPL is one glare example of big time marketing around the world. IPL has turned India into world cricket’s premier big bucks destination, the place where all top global professionals want to be.

All in all, there is unlimited entertainment on the cards - both on-field and off-field - for all of us. This version of cricket is generating a lot of appeal because of its fast entertainment providing way. No more waiting for days or hours to watch the outcome of the match. Like in popular sports like soccer or tennis, less boring moments can be expected by the spectators. The IPL has succeeded in providing a lot of cricketing entertainment to spectators.

Visit the following links as per team preference, by clicking on the links on team names.

• Kings XI Punjab : bookmyshow.com
• Deccan Chargers : ticketgenie.in
• Rajasthan Royals : bookmyshow.com
• Mumbai Indians : bookmyshow.com
• Delhi Daredevils : bookmyshow.com
• Kolkata Knight Riders : ticketgenie.in
• Chennai Super Kings : csk official site 
• Pune Warriors : kyazoonga.com
• Royal Challengers Bangalore : ticketgenie.in
• Kochi Tuskers Kerala : kyazoonga.com

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Indian Test Cricket

India completes it 75 years of playing international Test cricket, a game that is almost a religion in this country of one billion and has simply overshadowed every other sport in passion and popularity.

From humble beginnings when cricket was still considered a game of the elite, cricket is today perhaps the only sport that can nearly bring the country to a halt - more so if India is winning.

Led by the redoubtable Col. C.K. Nayudu, a bunch of novices stepped on to the hallowed turf of Lord's on June 25, 1932 to face the then mighty England on a glorious summer. But the backroom intrigues that are so much a part of Indian cricket now were very much around - if not greater - then. Well before the Indian team left for England in April 1932, there was intense jockeying for who would sponsor the team.

The frontrunner was a minor prince - the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, better known as Vizzy to the cricketing fraternity. In end-1931, he offered to pay Rs 50,000 to the cricket board, of which Rs 40,000 would be for the England tour.

He, however, had a formidable opponent in the Maharaja of Patiala, who in November 1931 announced his intention to sponsor the trials for the Indian team as well as take care of the touring party’s expense for a whole month. Patiala’s offer won the day.

India had to wait until February 1952 for their first win, a victory by an innings and eight runs against England in Madras. It was not until February 1968 that India won its first Test match and series away from home shores.

India has thus far played 405 Tests but the country's dismal record away from home remains a cause for worry. Of the 198 Tests India have played abroad, it has won only 28, lost 84 and drawn 86. Overall it's been a paltry 90 wins and 131 losses.

It’s the Englishmen that they have faced the maximum number of times – 94, followed by the West Indies, who have played India in 82 Tests. Australia and Pakistan are the only other two of the 10 Test-playing nations to have faced the Indians in more than 50 Test matches. Until 1932, all countries had played their inaugural Test match against England but since then Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have all chosen to face India for their opening Test, indicating a definite power shift in the cricket world.

Bangladesh, who have faced India in five Tests, remain the only nation yet to play a Test match on Indian soil, something the neighbours are trying hard to correct. This has, however, met with stiff opposition from the Indian cricket board so far.

The Chepauk ground in Chennai, the scene of India's first Test victory in February 1952, has been witness to 11 Test wins for the country, followed by New Delhi's Ferozeshah Kotla and Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, where India have nine Tests each. Kolkata's Eden Gardens has played host to the maximum number of 34 Tests followed by Chennai and New Delhi with 28 apiece.

During the past 75 years, India has seen 29 captains, though five were stand-in leaders for only one Test. Sourav Ganguly holds the record for having led India in the highest number of 49 Test matches, two more than Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin. The captain’s club is rather exclusive when looked at from another statistic: only 13 players have led the country in more than 10 Tests. Lala Amarnath was the first to achieve the landmark and current skipper Rahul Dravid is the latest.

The youngest Indian Test captain was Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, nicknamed Tiger, who took over from Nari Contractor in very unfortunate circumstances during the 1962 West Indies tour. Ifitkhar Ali Khan Pataudi and 'Tiger' Pataudi have the rare distinction of being the only father-son duo ever to lead India. Sachin Tendulkar leads all Test players with 137 appearances and still counting. Currently Anil Kumble (115) and Rahul Dravid (108) are the others with more than 100 Test caps. Sourav Ganguly has 93 and would be hoping to join the elite club by the end of the 2007-08 season.

Test cricket, though it still retains its charm for purists, has been relegated to a secondary status behind the limited overs version of the game. Having completed 75 years, the infrastructure needs more attention. The level of domestic cricket has also gone down.

Its an irony, The Marylebone Cricket Club is marking the 75th anniversary by commissioning a Pataudi Trophy, named after the Nawab of Pataudi Senior, who played for both England and India during his 14-year career. The UK post office is bringing out a stamp in honor of 75 years of Indian test cricket.

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