chris gayle

Mumbai Indians face possible relegation from IPL play-offs

Mumbai Indians crashed to their third defeat in a row. Shane Warne had the last laugh in the clash of titans.

Surprising how the side that looked so consistent and formidable at the start of the tournament is suddenly found wanting on slower pitches. The first three seasons witnessed the team heavily dependent on the genius of Sachin Tendulkar and to a lesser extent, Sanath Jayasuriya’s.Kieron Pollard’s bludgeoning club added heft.

Shane Warne’s comeuppance: Who the blazes is Sanjay Dixit?

Who the blazes is Sanjay Dixit?

Very few cricket fans could have bothered to discover who Shane Warne’s bete-noire was.

Twittering masses have focused on heaping invective on the Rajasthan administrator for his role in making the legendary leg-spinner eat humble pie.

A hefty fine of $50,000 was slapped on the ace cricketer for losing his cool and terming the IAS officer“egotistic” and “a liar”.

Adam Gilchrist rallies Kings XI Punjab to cusp of IPL play-offs

Royal Challengers Bangalore were brought down to earth by a double whammy of G-forces.

Adam Gilchrist came to the party exhibiting his prowess in a master-class of aggressive batting at the top of the order. In his previous 12 games he aggregated a mere 226 at a measly average of 18.33.

Combining with Shaun Marsh, the Australian great produced runs at will and with such abandon, that Virat Kohli—captaining in Daniel Vettori’s absence—was left flustered, flabbergasted and clueless.

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Random thoughts on the IPL, Chris Gayle and Saurav Ganguly

Random thoughts on cricketing happenings last week:

The Sri Lanka Premier League, in my opinion, has a couple of advantages over the IPL.

• It will have just seven teams.
• It will last only 18 days.

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What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t: Tillakaratne Dilshan

Cricket Diary : Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Hashan Tillakaratne and ‘Dada’ Saurav Ganguly

2nd May, 2011

Shivnarine Chanderpaul continues to raise a ruckus about his axing from the West Indian side.

In a second letter to West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Ernest Hilaire, the batsman questions his dropping for the Pakistan tour of West Indies.

Hilaire had squarely blamed the West Indies Player Association (WIPA) for Chanderpaul’s outburst in his response to his earlier missive.

The Guyanese was quick to respond saying:

“I may not be Dr. Chanderpaul, but I have been a top-ranked international batsman and we have to be able to think critically under the most intense and stressful situations.

It is therefore distressing that you blame WIPA by implication, if not overtly, for my letter saying that WIPA was offering me "ill advice". You may not be aware but I have faced the best bowlers in the world in my career and I know how to counter-attack. Furthermore, I am my own man and would ask that you respect that!"

The West Indian bat raised issues on the mishandling of injuries by the administrative body.

Coming on the back of a controversial decision by Chris Gayle to play the IPL rather than represent the band of nations that is the West Indies, the episode paints a sorry picture of the state of Caribbean  cricket.

Chanderpaul may no longer  be a sprightly young man but he should be allowed to decided when to quit the game.

Chanderpaul rarely courted scandal in his distinguished career but the lackadaisical attitude of the powers-that-be raised his hackles.

This man will not go quietly into the night. 

Weekend Cricket Diary: Chanderpaul,Pataudi and the IPL

29th April, 2011:

WICB chief Ernest Hilaire’s comments about the West Indian team hit a raw nerve—Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s.

When he termed the West Indian cricketers of the past 15 years as lacking application and discipline, he overlooked the chip on Chanderpaul’s shoulder.

The Guyanese bat of Indian origin who uncomplainingly carried Windies hopes, oft receiving less than his share of glory—overshadowed first by Brian Lara and later Chris Gayle—, came out strongly in a letter addressed to Hilaire .

Questioning the use of ‘we’ in his interview, the Guyanese asked him, “Are you speaking for yourself, albeit as CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board or are you speaking for and on behalf of the West Indies Cricket Board itself?”

Chanderpaul threatened to take whatever action necessary to safeguard his reputation.

The boot is truly on the other foot.

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What they said and what they definitely didn’t mean: Ray Jennings

What he said:

“What he’s produced tonight scares the hell out of me and hopefully will scare others going forward.”

RCB Coach Ray Jennings on Chris Gayle’s extraordinary opening act in this year’s IPL.

What he meant:

“If this is how he (Gayle) plays jet-lagged and after a scrap with the WICB, I wish he’d have them (scraps) every day.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Scary Movie X, here come Gayle and RCB as starring cast.”

Random cricketing thoughts on the IPL and beyond

The Ducksworth-Lewis method of calculating second-innings totals has come under the scanner.Mahela Jayawardene and Stephen Fleming criticised the system as being ‘unfair’ and not really suited to T20 cricket.

Brickbats are justified since T20 is a racier, pacier form of cricket compared to ODIs, which are in comparison relatively sedate.

Franchise owners, at the IPL auctions, took player availability into account while making their selections. No team wished to have key players missing during the critical part of the tournament.

League of Champions: Out of the Indian Premier League (Satire)

Image via Wikipedia

The dust has settled on the IPL auctions.The players have been bought (or not).The teams have been formed (or not). The franchises are happy (or not).

The rumour mills ,however, have been overactive.

Among the numerous reports floating around, these are the more salient ones:

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