Just imagine, they only need to rope in Srinath and Prasad to complete a full length Indian bowling lineup of yore with Joshi and Kumble already in their ranks.

The IPL has captured the imagination of cricket lovers in India and - if initial indications are anything to go by - around the world. The competition is waxing with every passing day and it is very difficult to tell the sides apart. However, sides like the Royal Challengers and Mumbai Indians have almost thrown themselves out of contention even as other sides are upping the ante. These sides seem to have shot themselves in the foot with the players they have opted for.

A lot of eyebrows were raised when Dravid placed his trust in men quintessentially incongruous with the tersest format of the game. And the skeptics will feel vindicated after the Royal Challengers have hardly presented a challenge to their rivals.

The Royal Challengers, for one, have far too many batsmen who can play the sheet anchor role. Dravid, Kallis, Jaffer and Chanderpaul are batsmen who can only find a place in a T20 side based on their potential to carry the weight of the entire team on their mature shoulders and be the glue that holds the inning together. But then there is only enough space for a lone lynchpin in a T20 side – blame it on its laconic nature. They need to certainly give Wasim Jaffer the pink slip – with all due respects, of course. Rahul Dravid also needs to quickly chart out his future course and decide upon his role in the batting lineup. As for Jacque Kallis, the only thing that comes to his rescue is his all-round skills as this virtuoso has not really come to terms with T20.

They need to inject some fresh blood when the opportunity to do is made available to them next season. I don’t understand the reasoning behind picking the likes of Kumble and Joshi for the IPL. Just imagine they only need to rope in Srinath and Prasad to complete a full length Indian bowling lineup of yore. They have decent fast bowlers and the Bangladeshi left-arm spinner, Abdur Razzak, can be persisted as the lone spinner in their side.

I can almost sense a major overhaul of the Royal Challengers next season. Also I can wager my life savings on this team finishing in the bottom four this season.

The IPL has been a sort of platform for several aspiring India captains to show their mettle. Dhoni as usually has been his cool and confident self. Nothing seems to faze him and almost everything seems to be falling in place for him right now. No wonder he is hot property. Sehwag , who was once considered a potential Indian captain , before Dhoni overtook him, has shown glimpses of good captaincy. One must admit though that the presence of two miserly bowlers , Mcgrath , Asif and to some extent , Daniel Vettori ( who would be going to England soon) has helped his team’s cause. The new ball duo of Mcgrath and Asif inevitably gets breakthroughs while being stingy with runs. This has helped the team’s and Sehwag’s cause. Yuvraj after the initial fumbles seems to be learning the ropes of captaincy, although he needs to be a bit more responsible with his own batting. Lets keep our fingers crossed and see which of these captains gets to hold the cup come the final day.

After their momentum was snapped slightly by a narrow loss to Kings XI Punjab, the Delhi Daredevils, powered by Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan fifties, reached 191 for 5 to give themselves a solid chance of getting back on track. The Feroz Shah Kotla track wasn’t known for any major assistance to seam or swing and Rahul Dravid’s decision to field on a sluggish surface with variable bounce backfired, leaving his Royal Challengers with a mountain to climb.

After a quiet first over, Delhi’s openers waded into the Bangalore attack. Gambhir took Zaheer Khan for three fours, a delectable square cut tucked between two shots off the pads, before thumping Dale Steyn for a couple more. Virender Sehwag took Zaheer for 14 in three balls to get the partisan crowd swaying but was sold down the river by Gambhir, shortly after the 50 came up in the fifth over. Gambhir pushed Steyn to point, took a few steps down and then headed back, by which time Sehwag had come too far.
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Match No: 17
Teams: Delhi Daredevils vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers, Elected to field first
Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 10 runs
Man Of the match: Glenn McGrath
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Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday made it clear that it will abide by the Indian Premier League’s decision on whether or not to allow Shoaib Akhtar to play in the tournament after his five-year ban was upheld by the PCB’s Appelate Tribunal.

“We just want to be very careful that we observe all the guidelines and codes of the IPL,” said Joy Bhattacharjee, Marketing head of the Knight Riders.

“Obviously, when we bid for him it means that as a player we wanted him as a part of us but before we do anything, we have already seen that the IPL has taken very strong decisions regarding code of conduct, so firstly we have to leave everything to their hands to decide what is best for the League and then of course think of taking things forward,” he said.
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What a same!,Power failure causes match delay between Delhi daredevils and Bangalore royal challengers match in Delhi.Due to this TV coverage has been affected .Match has started but not on TV.

Update: Match Has started but not in TV worldwide,cuz to this even betting site like Bet365.com affected.

Finally TV Broadcast is resumed missed Shewag in between.

Match No: 17
Team: Delhi Daredevils vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Venue: Delhi
PREVIEW:
With almost one-third of the league matches over, the stakes are slowly rising. Captains are having a hard time juggling around their foreign players to come up with the right combination. Today’s match features Bangalore Royal Challengers against the more-fancied Delhi Daredevils. Having lost four matches already, Dravid knows the magnitude of this game.” We are lagging behind in the tournament and every match from now on is important for us. At this stage, we just cannot afford to make a mistake,” said Dravid. Sehwag on the other hand was happy that the reversal against Kings XI came at the right time as it would act as a wake up call and spur his team, which has played some consistent cricket so far (barring the last game), to greater heights.

Mini-Battle: Its India’s premier opening batsman against India’s bowling spearhead. Sehwag who took Deccan Chargers to the cleaners hasn’t really fired after that match. He would be egging for another whirlwind performance to knock the sails out of Bangalore Royal Challengers. That he doesn’t repeat his blitzkrieg will be Zaheer Khan’s responsibility. Khan has been bowling well since his lay-off from the injury and would look to tie down the butcher of Najafgarh. Whoever wins the battle shall decide the course of the match.
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Dimitri Mascarenhas, the England and Hampshire allrounder, joined the Rajasthan Royals on Monday, and he will be available for five IPL matches before returning home on May 12.Mascarenhas has signed a three-year contract with Rajasthan for an annual fee of US$100,000 and his IPL debut could come tomorrow, when the home side take on the Kolkata Knight Riders.He is the only Englishman to figure in the inaugural IPL after his county gave him permission for a brief stint.

The Delhi Daredevils have decided to do away with cheerleaders for the rest of this IPL season. Instead they will concentrate on cricket.

GMR, the franchisee of Delhi Daredevils, feel the presence of cheerleaders does not blend with the game of cricket.

So the girls who were flown in from several European countries are being packed off, at least for this season.
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The much-awaited idea of buying one and getting one free ticket for Kings XI Punjab’s match against Kolkata Knight Riders will be implemented for the IPL match to be played at Mohali on Saturday.

Neil Maxwell, CEO of Kings XI Punjab, said the tickets will be available from Wednesday.

“Tickets for Rs 750, Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 will be offered under this scheme. Since the match is against Shahrukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders, we expect a lot of people to watch the match and hence we have come up with this offer,” said Maxwell at a media conference at the Punjab Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
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