A lot of hype has surrounded the batsmen when it comes to twenty 20 cricket. One can easily say that cricket has always been a batsman’s game. When twenty20 first arrived, it was mentioned that it would sound the death knell of good spinners or generally good bowlers. Fortunately though bowlers, spinners as well as fast bowlers hold the key in this version of the game too. The IPL is a good example. Most of Delhi Daredevils success has got to do with their deadly opening duo of Glenn Mcgrath and Mohd Asif. And don’t forget the brilliant job that Daniel Vettori did for them before he left in the middle overs. In between they make life miserable for 8 overs , which essentially means half the match is over before the opposition comes to term with them. This is where in fact a team like Deccan Chargers have struggled. Although they boast of some big names in the batting department, their bowler coffers look empty. Chennai Superkings have had their moments with bowlers such as Muralidharan and the new find Gony. Rajasthan Royals have ofcourse got the legendary Shane Warne turning around matches. Sadly for Bangalore Royal Challengers, excepting for Dale Steyn in certain spells, almost every other bowler has looked off color, resulting in their demoralizing losses. The same holds true to a large extent in the case of Mumbai Indians too. The results therefore are clear, whatever may be the version of the game, the bowlers still hold the key.

Everything, well virtually everything, excepting for their team song, ‘hila kay rakh denge’, seems to have wrong for the Mumbai Indians. Their next opponent is the formidable Kolkotta Knight Riders, against whom, in their current form, no one would like to put their money on Mumbai Indians. Their batting hasn’t clicked and their bowlers have been tonked around by every other team in the competition. In between all these mauling they had to contend with the Bhajji controversy. Add to this the continued absence of Sachin , their cup of woes seems to overflow. Sachin’s presence would have been a psychological boost to the team to at least get the crowd behind them ( the crowd on their part have been patient enough to support them throughout , at least till now). Remember they could not do much in even in a domestic Twenty 20 tourney even with Sachin in the team in the not so recent past. Chaos is the word that one would associate with Mumbai Indians right now. Only an impact player, ala Sehwag or Dhoni could have had some impact on their performance. Although they have Sanath Jayasuriya, he too is sadly out of form. The early recovery of Sachin and some innovative thinking on the part of the team’s management are the only things that can make some difference. Otherwise, the team that was tom tommed as being one of the contenders for finishing on top would definitely finish at the bottom end of the table.

Mumbai: Preity Zinta, who is currently stationed in Mohali with her Indian Premier League (IPL) team - Kings XI Punjab, is aghast to hear stories that some of the players of the team were shabbily treated and asked to move out of the Taj hotel to a less opulent place.

Says a source close to Bollywood actor: “Preity and Ness (Wadia) are aghast at these stories. The last thing they have on mind is to discriminate against any player. But you see, there’s only one super-luxury hotel in Mohali and the main players in the squad of 16 were all housed there.
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A lot of questions were raised over the South African players’ participation in the IPL tournament, since it clashes with their domestic Pro20 series. Now, it’s been officially announced that Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, and Mark Boucher will take part in the IPL action, while other stars like Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs will miss out the first few matches in IPL as they take part in the Pro20 series back home.

Now, I can approach this news item from both ends. First, the plus. Kallis, Prince, and Boucher can play for IPL. They are of course star players and can (hopefully) pull in some crowd. So, it’s good for the teams that own them. Now, the minus. If Kallis, Prince, and Boucher are considered misfits (a not-so politically correct way of saying ‘they were dropped’) for the T20 series in their own backyard, what in the hell are we going to do with them in the IPL?

PS: Why on earth would any one drop someone like Mark Boucher for a T20 tournament?

PPS: Why on earth would any one even consider someone like Jacques Kallis for a T20 tournament?

Official Kolkata Knight Riders Website has been launched its kolkataknightriders.com. It has been designed by bcwebwise.

About This Video:
The Badshah of Bollywood — Shahrukh Khan — unveiled his team — KNIGHT RIDERS — just before the second round of the Indian Premier League auction on Tuesday (March 11). Shahrukh Khan’s team’s colour is that of black and gold. Shahrukh Khan said that black being the colour of goddess Kali, who symbolises power, and gold being the mark of voctory. SRK reasoned out gold being the other colour and said, “We can never win silver, We can only lose Gold”. The logo of the team was also unveiled and the mascot of a royal bengal tiger was put presented in the event.
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All About Rajasthan Royals
City: Jaipur
Front Office:
Owner - Emerging Media (Manoj Badale, Lachlan Murdoch, Suresh Chellaram)
CEO - Fraser Castellino
President - TBA
Coaches:
Head Coach - Shane Warne
Assistant Head Coach - TBA
Physiotherapist - John Gloster
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Kepler Wessels, the former South African captain, has been named the coach of the IPL’s Chennai franchise, the Chennai Super Kings.

“We wanted somebody who would keep the focus on cricket, be a good task master, and help us win the tournament,” VB Chandrasekhar, who is part of the Chennai management, told Cricinfo.

L Sivaramakrishnan, the former India player and currently, a commentator, mooted the idea of roping in Wessels, it is learnt. Sivaramakrishnan and Wessels are part of the commentary team in Bangladesh for the home series against South Africa.
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Kolkata Knight Riders is the Official Team Name of IPL Kolkata announced On March 11th For More Details Of Kolkata Knight Riders Click HERE

MUMBAI: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan appears to be a fan of TV series Knight Rider, (which made David ‘Baywatch’ Hasselhoff famous), as the Bollywood actor’s Kolkata team for the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be called either Night Riders or Knight Riders.

According to top sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the actor has registered both the titles for his team. “He wants to be doubly sure that he gets the title he wants,” a BCCI official familiar with the development said.

The IPL’s 44-day cricket bonanza will have a total of 59 T20 matches beginning April 18.

King Khan also seems to be on a great wicket with sponsors. According to sources, his company Red Chillies has received as many as 36 proposals for sponsorship. “Almost all brands associated with Shah Rukh want to piggyback on him to the cricket ground as well,” the official said. One of the largest telecom operators and an auto major are close to signing sponsorship deals, it is learnt.

The high-profile IPL has big daddies of India Inc, such as Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Malya and N Srinivasan. who own teams but sources say (K)Night Riders is the most sought after team by sponsors. “Rest in the fray like Reliance, Kingfisher, India Cements and GMR have industrial houses or brands to support. King Khan’s is the only team that doesn’t have industrial brand behind it. That makes it most attractive for sponsors,” an official said.
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