Indo- Afro Premier League !!!

Back with a bang...it’s not me but ‘IPL 2009’.After all exertions and collide Mr Lalit Modi was able to pull out a stunner. What a start off to a much awaited and glorified tournament which on the opening day itself distressed the winners and runners-up of 2008. It’s very disappointing to Indian Fan’s as an extraterrestrial country enjoying the opus of grand saga of 2009.

This year also things would be very unpredictable. I am very sure that Mumbai Indians and Bangalore Royal Challengers will fare superbly well this year. The way they played yesterday reflected their strong characters despite being warped completely last year. Yesterday was the day for old Indian war horses to prove their mettle yet again; players like Sachin, Dravid and Kumble made their intentions very clear for this year and presaged the opponents at the very outset. And it was attention-grabbing to hear from Rahul Dravid in the after match presentation that “these wickets suits player like me”. To hear such words from him really hints that he’s trying prove some point to people who criticise his presence in T20 format.

This year will not be easy at all for the batters and will miss the bang-bang cricket unlike last year but truly ecstatic to see ultimately bowlers getting some respite out of the format. All the teams will have to incise their elevated scoring targets and should be setting pragmatic targets. The batters will have to toggle down their gears and will have to play level-headed in such overcast conditions.

Personally speaking I was disillusioned to see my team Chennai Super kings lost to my next preferred team Mumbai Indians.CSK tried their best under tough conditions but finally the quick fire 35 runs of just 14 bowls scored by Abhishek Nayyar for MI's made all the difference. I felt his innings down the order was very crucial and it was turning point of the game which took the game away from CSK. It took 17 overs for Mumbai Indian to score 1st Six of IPL 2009 that too came from budding talent Abhishek Nayyar which gave the indication of how knotty the pitch could be for batsmen for free-hitting. I think there is lot of homework to be done for CSK to be back in the reckoning and it was gratifying to see MI’s playing to their unsurpassed. It was a delight to see Bangalore Royal Challengers slaughter Rajasthan Royals. I always believed that there is nothing defining about Rajasthan Royals and how they managed to win last year is still a mystery to me. This time around I’m damn sure that Shane Warne’s Team will bite the dust and will keep smelling leather in bouncy-seamy tracks of South Africa.

So....stage is set for an exhilarating tournament. Only Villain could be whether this year which is very mercurial in South Africa. And as the tournament progresses I hope the vogue of IPL will pick up in SA and will get to see packed houses, also I hope finally CSK will emerge as winners.

PS: The above post is not to promote IPL but it’s a post from a Cricket Lover who always loves to see game win at the end of the day.