It began with plenty of razzmatazz and lots of dazzle. Over the last month and half India has been captivated by it. Big hits, controversies, glamour and with many stars, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a cricketing revolution unlike any other. Now as the tournament enters its final week, the men have been separated from the boys. Four teams will fight for the right to be called champions of the IPL.
Fifty-six matches have been played and now there are no more league tables; no more moving on from losses. It's the knock out stage.
In a one-hour special Kaun Jeetega IPL? show, CNN-IBN debated which team among the final four is the going to lift the IPL trophy. The panelists included former India skipper Krishnamachari Srikkanth and former India pacer and International Cricket Council Match Referee Javagal Srinath, Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, who is playing for Kings XI Punjab and former South Africa skipper and coach of Chennai Super Kings Kepler Wessels. The discussion was moderated by CNN-IBN Sports Editor Gaurav Kalra.
Rajasthan Royals
The Shane Warne's team has been the biggest surprise of the tournament topping the league phase losing just three matches out of the 14. At home they maintained a clean sheet and with Warne giving his players all the freedom to play their natural game, they are certainly the hot favourite to win the IPL.
Even Chennai Super Kings Brand Ambassador Krishnamachari Srikkanth agrees.
"I think they have been fantastic. They have a fanstastic captain in Shane Warne. He has been very inspiring leader for Rajasthan Royals. There has not been any kind on pressure on the players. And it is a good thing. They also have no big names and you don't have any big expectations. If the expectations are less then the pressure is also less. When the captain gives you the freedom to do whatever you want and go play your natural game, you will definitely get the best out of the players," Srikkanth says.
Shane Warne's team seems to have an answer for every Twenty20 situation. The team is not depended on any one player and almost every one has risen to the occasion when the situation demanded.
"Yeah, sure. They have the best side. They paid the least of all the side and they were even penalised for that and I think that was very wise. If you go by the average age, I think they are the best. They must not be even crossing 25. Two men who have really made the big difference apart from Shane Warne are Sohail Tanvir and Shane Watson. They have been terrific throughout the tournament and the catchment area players have performed well for them. So all these thing have fallen perfectly for them. That's the reason why they looked to be seeming champions of the tournament," Javagal Srinath says.
PAGE_BREAK
Shane Warne has also brought the uncluttered, fearless form of game to the forefront. All the talks of coaching with laptops, psychologists etc are disappearing. So is this the new form of coaching. Even Warne has said that international players don't need coaching.
Srinath says, "I think you cannot discount of the fact that strategies should not be in place. All this things will have a place. But it is new concept, a new tournament that has invaded the world of cricket. So it will take sometime before the laptops start working. Maybe in a couple of seasons you will see a lot of strategies coming out of the laptops. I always feel that technology has a huge role to play. Lets not undermine technology."
"But they have not much of expectations and that has given them the freedom to just go and play the game naturally. That is the reason why they have flourished so well. Even I didn't expect Shane Warne to be so intense in this tournament. But if you really see that of all the captains, he has been the most proactive and innovative," he says.
Rajasthan’s brilliant run in the tournament has been attributed to a large extent to Warne’s captaincy and Srikkanth explains why the role of a captain is so important.
“What is the job of a captain? The job of the captain is to motivate his players and give his players support and back them. Shane Warne has done just that. Yes captaincy is important. But most important apart form captaincy is the guys putting up their hands and saying that they will deliver. Guys like Sohail Tanvir, Shane Watson and Swapnil Asnodkar have delivered. Asnodkar is a revelation here. They have a plan of action also,” Srikkanth explains.
But Kings XI Punjab player Kumar Sangakkara opines that Delhi Daredevils, who face Rajasthan Royals in the first semi-final of the IPL on Friday, are the favourites.
“Well at the end of the day it doesn't matter because of you are going to win the tournament, you need to win all the other teams. I am not really sure how Rajasthan will recover from yesterday (the loss to Kings XI Punjab in the last league encounter on Wednesday) even though they rested some of their key players. Sometime it might be hard to get back. But Delhi is on a roll and they have waiting for this opportunity. They had to wait for Mumbai to lose and they had to wait for Chennai to win over Deccan.
I think its Delhi's momentum is right. I thing they are very hungry and its a toss up between them and at the end of day for Delhi, if their top order fires they will do well. If it doesn't fire then they are in trouble,” says Sangakkara.
On his own team Sangakkara says, “It was very solid performance (in Wednesday’s match). A great batting performance again by Shaun Marsh. It was an amazing innings and James Hopes coming back into form at the perfect moment for us. But if you take the overall performance then there are a few areas where we can still tighten up especially in our bowling department. We can still execute our plans better, bowl to our field and put more pressure on the batters. Other than that the fielding and batting are absolutely outstanding. In the bowling department a special mention for Irfan Pathan. He led the bowling attack from the front.”
PAGE_BREAK
He discounted the theory that marsh, the leading run-getter of the IPL, has Marsh peaked too early.
“I don't think he is peaking too early. He has been very consistent through out the tournament. He has a very simple technique, very simple plan and a very simple strategy. He just does it amazingly well. His innings have been incredible. The way he is batting, he is just getting stronger and stronger,” Sangakkara says.
On Kings XI’s top order, Sangakkara says, “We want every one firing and ready when we go into the semi-final and it looks that way. But come Saturday, it’s a whole new game. It a new start. We have to be prepared, practice hard and have every base covered when we get into the semis. But batting seems to clicking and hope that it will be the same on Saturday.”
“They are a very strong team. They are very strong in batting and they rely a lot on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Albie Morkel and Suresh Raina. I think that’s the key. The pressure that we put on the batters and how well we contain those guys, how well we bowl to our field and our plans are going to be crucial. At the same time their bowling attack especially Makhaya Ntini at the top has been doing very well. Muttiah Muralitharan has been doing fantastically throughout the tournament. I think he has been one of the most economical bowlers going around. But there is a lot of work to do to before Saturday. But the best thing is to again stress on our strengths, what we can control and do our thing well. Our execution of the strategies should be spot on. The responsibility is ours and it’s all in our hands,” Sangakkara says about Chennai, the team that has defeated King’s XI Punjab twice in the league stages.
In the second semi-finals on Saturday Chennai Super Kings take on King’s XI Punjab.
Kings XI Punjab
The Yuvraj Singh-led team has really exploded in their final few league encounters. Their batting has been on fire and the bowler, too, have been coming up with decent performance.
Srinath is all praise for Kings XI Punjab’s batting especially Shaun Marsh.
“Two aspects here. One their batting is the best in the tournament led by Shaun marsh. If you see his batting its all about straight shots. He can use the bat across once in a while but he has been hitting the ball straight. They have a long batting line-up. Also their bowling especially the initial spell from S Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan has been impeccable. They have really struck gold in the initial five overs. Their strong batting line-up is the most formidable in the tournament,” Srinath says.
Srikkanth agrees with Srinath. “Yes, Sreesanth is bowling well. But batting is their strength. So the opposition will have to focus on the bowling. Find little bit of weakness in the bowling and take advantage of it. That is what the opposition will be doing. But it is a batsman game. If someone like Shaun Marsh fires and starts scoring from the first ball it is going to be good for that side,” he adds.
PAGE_BREAK
Sangakkara says he is feeling a little nervous before the semis and added he is very proud to be a part of Kings XI Punjab.
“The butterflies are always there for me whether it is a club game or for my country or this. I always get excited and I always look forward to a contest. This is just huge for me. The first time it has happened, a new format that has taken the world by storm and now we are in the semi-finals. All eyes will be on us. I don't think as a cricketer you can ask for much more than this. We know we can do. But before we become the champions we have the semi-final and if we win then the final. So I think we must concentrate on one game at a time. First we try and win the semi-final but whatever happens on Saturday or Sunday, I am very proud to be a part of Kings XI Punjab. I have grown as a player. I have gelled very well the guys. I don't have any regrets and I will leave India a very happy and contented man,” he adds.
Chennai Super Kings
Chennai began the tournament with a bang riding on their two Australian imports – Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey. But after the duo joined their national team, the team has been through ups and downs.
Srikkanth, who obviously has a bias in favour of Chennai, says: “We are not too dependent on any one player. As a team especially in batting there is Raina, Morkel, Dhoni, decent openers and Subramaniam Badrinath. One good thing about Chennai Super Kings is batting is spread out and pretty solid. Bowling has also reasonably improved and we have Ntini coming back and Murali is also bowling well. Manpreet Gony and Lakshmipathy Balaji are also doing reasonably well. So there is a balance. We have beaten Punjab both away and at home. So Chennai have got a good chance.”
Srinath, however, is not so optimistic of Chennai’s chances and says the absence of some of their overseas players can hurt in the knock out stage.
“I think the exit of Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey as well Stephen Fleming, who is not playing. is going to upset Chennai to some extent. I see a bit of instability in their batting now. They haven't found a good opener and their catchment players are not really contributing apart from Badrinath and that’s where the problem is. In bowling Gony has been very impressive through out and Murali is always a big time player. I strongly feel in their batting they heavily depend on Dhoni, Morkel and Raina. These three batsman come a little down the order. If you see the pattern in this tournament, if the openers do well you always see than reaching a very respectable or a competitive score. I strongly feel Dhoni should come higher up the order and that can solve a lot of problem for them. The batting is the one, which I really suspect in the Chennai side,” Srinath cautions.
Chennai Super Kings coach Kepler Wessels says it is relief that his team is in the semi-finals.
PAGE_BREAK
“Definitely it was pretty tough going for us in the last couple of weeks. The players held their nerves very well. Clearly we are very relieved,” Wessels says.
When Kalra asks how does he explain the start and stop campaign of Chennai, Wessels replies, “We had a very strong team for first four matches. That was our very best combination that we could put out. We weren't surprised that we did well but we knew that after that we always had to regroup, find different combinations that could work for us. It’s been tough but players have done really well. They have responded to the challenge superbly and to get as far as they have so far has been a terrific effort.”
He also says the team was not shocked after Hayden and Hussey left.
“It didn't (shock us). We always knew that was going to happen. It was real pleasure to have them for the first four matches. Their input was tremendous. They really tried had and helped us get into this position that we are in now. As I said we knew that it was coming. We knew that we had to readjust and fortunately we were able to do that,” Wessels says.
Srikkanth once again points out that Chennai’s batting is their trump card.
“Our batting is reasonably well set. If somebody doesn't score, there is some other guy who puts up his hand and scores. The team is not depended on one or two person,” he says.
Wessels also doesn’t agree that Chennai’s bowling department has been under performing.
“I think lately bowling has been good. It was superb in the match against Bangalore that we lost. It was difficult in the next match against Rajasthan for everybody because that pitch was a really good pitch to bat on. In our last match against Deccan Chargers the bowlers did well. So I think they have come through strongly. Makhaya Ntini has bowled well. The whole bowling unit has functioned better of late than some other stage of the tournament. So we have no complaints there,” Wessels reasons.
“I don't think he has under performed. He has a different role. He is normally an attacking spinner and he does bowl a lot of overs for Sri Lanka. He does get a lot of wickets, which is his main focus. But for us he had to come on and then try to contain. He hasn't been able to bowl with as much freedom as he normally would. Then of course some of the boundaries have been very small. So that’s made it very difficult for most of the spinners,” Wessels says about Muralitharan.
PAGE_BREAK
Wessels says Kings XI Punjab are a good team and the semi0final encounter will be a hard fought one.
“We have played them twice and beaten them twice. We had two very good games with them in the lead up to the competition. We acknowledge that they are a very strong side, well balanced and they have doing things very well through put the tournament with the exception of the first two matches. So they will be formidable opponent. But so is every body. There is no easy match in this competition. Every side has got match winners in their combination and this match will be no different,” he says
Wessels goes on to say that Dhoni has been an able skipper and has handled the pressure situations very well. Now the team needs Dhoni to come up with some big scores, he says.
“We want him (Dhoni) to fire. He is one of our match winners and it will absolutely tremendous if in the semi-final he can put together a performance that will really unsettle the opposition. But he has led the team very well. He has played a couple of innings that have been very significant. He is in good form and I think he is really determined to do well. He has handled the pressure though out very well and he has been under a lot of pressure. In the semi-finals and finals everything come down to basics. He has got the ability to lead the side well in a pressure situation,” Wessels points out.
Wessels says the IPL semi-finals and finals are going to be a grand affair.
“It very different when you are a player and a coach. From coaching point of view it is terrific to be involved in these sorts of games. From a player’s point of view, I have been involved in these sorts of matches many times in my career. There is always excitement and adrenaline rush. It is just tremendous to be a part of the final four teams in a major competition,” he adds.
Delhi Daredevils
Delhi daredevils have one of the most explosive opening pair in Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. Also in Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif, they have two of the best fast bowlers in the tournament. If they are to progress any further in the tournament all the four players must play their part to perfection.
“I hope its Delhi vs Chennai final and Chennai win,” Srikkanth jokes.
But the former India opener, himself an explosive batsman in his playing days, says, “Virender Sehwag is an extraordinary batsman. They have a very good opening combination. Both Viru and Gautam Gambhir are in very good form. Shikhar Dhawan has done very well. Dinesh Karthik won the last match for them. Overall it is one of the best-balanced sides on paper. They have a very good captain too in Virender Sehwag. I really appreciate this side. Delhi is a very good side.”
Former India fast bowler Srinath agrees that McGrath and Asif are very economical and can take wickets too.
“Yeah, I think they have the best balance with the bat and the ball. With McGrath you can’t ask anything better. He is followed by Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh and Asif. They are really bowling well. Farveez Maharoof is not a bad bowler too. So their bowling is pretty good. If you really see the difference between batting and bowling in all the teams in this tournament, they have the best. In batting the first three are superb and it’s ideally made for the Twenty20 and you have Tillakaratne Dilshan later in the order and them Maharoof excelling in the death overs is amazing to watch. So on the whole as Srikkanth said on papers they are the best side,” Srinath adds.
He also points out that fielding does make a big difference in Twenty20.
“Yes, this tournament has thrown up some amazing fielders. Most of the teams except maybe Bangalore or to some extent Mumbai you see some excellent fielders. I think fielding has made a huge difference in this tournament. Fielding has been instrumental in this tournament.”
However, Srinath very diplomatically declines to reveal which team he is backing.
“In sudden death anyone can win,” is all he says.
But in the next three days it would all be clear and the cricket world will have the IPL champion.
Comments
0 comment