IPL 2021- REVIEW

IPL -2021 – 24th & 25th MATCH  REVIEWS

29th April 2021 the day saw a  double-header as MI & RR locked horns at DELHI(D/N) and KKR and DC at AHMEDABAD( N).

RR taking on the defending champion, MI in the afternoon, started with a bang as the opening pair of Jos Buttler and  Yashasvi Jaiswal pulverised the MI’s bowling attack and scored briskly adding 47 in the powerplay.  Coulter -Nile’s bowling  was put to swords as  his first over cost 14 runs as the young turks from U.P.  Left arm rookie batter Jaiswal cut lose against him.  

The pitch at Kotla seems to be an ideal IPL match as it has good pace and bounce and carry.  Some swing early on and a decent amount of turn.

Jos Buttler, England’s gloveman, who’s not having a great series so far played a cameo knock of 41 runs  at Arun Jaitley stadium, ( formerly Kotla stadium)  DELHI in the D/N encounter perished when he  charged too far from the crease  against the canny leggie, Rahul Chahar  and was deceived by the googly and completely missed the trajectory of the ball and was stumped by QDK by a day light distance.

And RR was losing wickets in a cluster.  Then came the 50 runs partnership between the skipper Samson and Dube.  Then Samson trying to shore up a big score, found his outside edge on to the stumps.

Jasprit Bumrah , the miserly bowler in this format once again bemused RR batters with more dot balls took a dolly from Dube and finished with his quota conceding just 15 runs.

The final over saw some drama.  Coulter-Nile was driven for a boundary by another young turks Parag.  Next ball Parag was reprieved when the MI captain Rohit dropped a sitter.  

His next ball was declared as ‘NO BALL” as the ball pitched outside the strip and the Freehit saw Parag bowled through the gates but they ran a single with David Miller striking a boundary to finish the innings with 171/4.

MI batters started well with Rohit and QDK scoring well over 8 runs per over until Rohit miscued a hit.  QDK who found his mojo was striking well completed his first half century i n this edition and Krunal Pandya promoted up the order played a cameo of 39 runs with 20 runs coming with boundaries.  And Pollard in his inimitable style finished off in style and MI won in the penultimate over losing just 3 wickets and in the second leg of the tournament MI found its winning ways.

And in the second match of the day KKR took on the burgeoning DC at Ahmedabad in the night encounter.

KKR’s batting woes continued as their top order batters struggled, consuming a lot of balls to score off with disciplined bowling by the DC bowlers.  The struggling Opener S. Gill top scored 43 runs off 38 balls.  But for Andre Russell’s late hitting the score would not have touched even 150 runs and KKR finished with a moderate score of 154/ 6 and DC’s spinners , especially the part timer Lalit Yadav scalped a couple of wickets conceding just 12 runs and Axar Patel, the local boy also took 2 wickets.

And DC’s openers made a mockery of this score as they went about ruthless leather hunting.  With just 156 runs to defend, it was intriguing that KKR’s captain Morgan opened the bowling with a young rookie bowler Shivam Mavi against a marauding the diminutive Prithvi Shaw, who was merciless hitting all his legal deliveries into the ropes, setting the stadium on fire.  And it was ironical that P. Shaw had captained the hapless bowler Mavi in the U-19 World cup and he had confided in the post-match presentation that he knew where Mavi would bowl as he was his under study for the past 4 years.    And the orange cap holder, Dhawan played a second fiddle in the chase scoring 42 runs in 132 runs partnership allowing Shaw to dominate the bowling.  

It does not bode well for a World cup winning captain Morgan bereft of ideas to marshal his arsenal in a combat situation like this.  As time and again his handling of bowling resources is much left to be desired. And the consistent and wicket taking bowler Pat Cummins was introduced only in the last over  of the first Power play who could arrest the run flow.  By the time they were well settled and carting every bowler either pace or spin with equanimity.  And the first breakthrough came only in 14th over when Cummins had Dhawan plumb in front of the wicket and Cummins cleaned two more batters of DC including P. Shaw who aimed for  an ambitious pull only found his top edge carried to the fielder at Point and he carried the batting within the striking distance of a win for DC.  And DC middle order batters finished the match in style with 21 balls to spare losing only 3 wickets.

SACHIN TENDULKAR BIRTHDAY

SACHIN TENDULKAR’S MOMENTOUS DECISION

Sachin’s defining moment came in the Test at Sialkot, Pakistan on December 13, 1989.  When he was hit by a searing bouncer from the Pakistani speedstar ,Waqar Younis( who debuted with him in the Karachi Test) and he was bleeding.  He didn’t call for medical assistance and decided to carry on and in fact hit the very next ball for a boundary.  He went on to score a half century and saved the Test . “Waqar’s bouncer and playing through pain defined me. After those kind of hits you are either stronger or you are nowhere to be seen” Sachin said later. Yes, I didn’t call the physio as I didn’t want to show them that I am in pain. My pain threshold was fairly high. It’s okay to get hit. So what? You don’t show your pain to the bowler.”  When he played under childhood coach Achrekar, he had already learned to deal with pain because pitches were often used for 25 days straight at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana. “I was used to getting hit on my body from my days in Shivaji Park as Achrekar sir would make us play on that and it would have enormous wear and tear,” Tendulkar recalled.

 In his Autobiography “Playing it my way”  Sachin mentioned “ I have to decide at that moment whether to play the game or leave it.  I decided to stay in the game.” A decision at the tender age of 16 years was momentous. That “decision”  gave the cricketing world a genius.  And the rest is history.

MOMENTOUS DECISION AND ITS IMPACT

• 664 INTERNATIONALS ; 34,367 Runs ; 200 wickets : 100 centuries

In a country already predisposed to cricket, Tendulkar gave the people a hero they could look up to regardless of age, colour, creed or sect – and catapulted cricket from a sport to a religion in the subcontinent.

Tendulkar was the runaway leader, with nearly 13,500 runs at No. 4 in Tests.That represents around 85% of his career. This is also the highest tally of runs scored in any position.

Tendulkar is a servant of the game. He does not play out of indignation nor for indulgence. His aim is not domination but runs. It is the nature of his genius.

Among contemporaries only Shane Warne could draw an entire stadium’s energy towards himself. 

WINDFALL IN EARNINGS

Tendulkar wrapped up his illustrious career on 16th November 2013. The same year he was listed on the Forbes “The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes” at #51.

Tendulkar’s net worth in 2019 was  estimated to be around $170 million. 

and endorses over a hundred global brands like Phillips, Britannia, VISA, BMW, Pepsi, Luminous and more. In fact, he was the first cricketer to sign a deal of ₹100-crore with MRF in 2001 and became their brand ambassador. He earns USD $ 18 million every year through the deals he has signed.

Tendulkar’s house at Bandra is worth at $5.4 million and also has many luxury cars in his garage.

BIOPIC ON TENDULKAR 

On May 27, 2017 released the sports docudrama, “Sachin: A Billion Dreams” , the ‘authorised’ biopic of Sachin Tendulkar. The film was by James Erskine and produced by Ravi Bhagchandka, and captures Tendulkar’s cricket and personal life in detail. The film also reveals a few aspects of his life which have never been heard of or seen before.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SACHIN TODAY (24th April)!

IPL 2021- CSK Vs KKR

 A HUMDINGER – CSK Vs KKR REVIEW – MATCH No.15

Courtesy : Times of India

Another humdinger at Wankhade stadium , Mumbai tonight in a high scoring IPL match.  This time it  was between CSK and KKR.  And the men who set the stadium on fire were KKR’s late order  all rounders Andre Russell, Pat Cummins and wicket keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik. It was an excellent Bat and Ball contest. It was KKR’s All Rounders batting Vs CSK’s Pace bowlers.

Chasing a mammoth total of 221, KKR top order batsmen crumbled under the weight of heavy score.  CSK’s Deepak Chahar, the Power Play bowling specialist, dented the early hopes of KKR’s chase claiming four wickets for 29 runs with his excellent swing bowling. And the KKR was in a precarious situation tottering at 31/5  within the Power play.

Enter the dragon, the hard hitting power house Andre Russell, the thunderstorm started and the runs were flowing in torrents .  He and Dinesh Karthik (DK) added 79 runs for the 6th wicket in just 42 balls.  Russell’s firework ended when his misjudgement to leave a ball around leg stump bowled by Sam Curran and only to see his woodwork disturbed and cartwheeled.  His cavalier knock got him 54 runs of 22 balls with 3 x 4 and a breathtaking 6×6 and this has raised the  hope of KKR a chance to win.  And DK joined the party with a flourish of boundaries and sixes.  He and Pat Cummins added 34 runs in 22 balls for the 7th wicket before DK misread an incoming delivery from Lungi Ngidi and was plumb in front of the wicket.  DK ‘s cameo exploits got him 40 runs of 24 balls with 4 x4 and 2 x 6. 

When DK left at 146/7  in the 15th over still needing 73 runs, it was an arduous task. But the  Aussie All rounder Pat Cummins took up the gauntlet of the challenge and took the match deep with tailenders till the last over. He almost pulled off victory for KKR.

He added 30 runs with K. Nagarkoti for the 8th wicket in just 8 balls. He added 24 runs in 12 balls with Varun Chakravarthi for the 9th wicket. The tailenders’ contributions were  just 0 runs.

In the 16th over bowled by Sam Curran, the lanky Aussie all rounder Cummins hit a grand 30 runs and it reads like this : 2, 6, 6,6,4,6 . 

In the 17th over of Ngidi only 5 runs were scored and lost a wicket.  

In the 18th Over Shardul Thakur conceded 12 runs including a horrible 3 consecutive wides.

In the 19th over of Sam Curran 8 runs including a six by Cummins were scored and Varun Chakravathy was Run out.

In the 20th over needing 20 runs bowled by Thakur with only the last batsman at the non-striker’s end, Cummins hit the ball to long-on and to keep strike he ran 2 runs but Prasidh Krishna was late to react and so when the throw came from deep, he was short of the crease by a few yards at the danger end and was RUN OUT.  Pat Cummins was left high and dry with unbeaten 66 of just 34 balls in a heap of 4×4 and 6x 6  and CSK romped home by 18 runs. And this is CSK’s third straight win in this edition.

Earlier put into bat , CSK amassed 220 runs thanks to the brilliant batting exploits of the “Player of the Match” Faf du plesis who remained unbeaten 95 and  whose mojo with the bat continued today also.  His opening wicket partnership of 115 runs with the rookie Ruturaj Gaikwad, who found his form today with a fine half century laid the solid foundation for a grand total of 220 runs. 

FEARLESSNESS- THE NEW BRAND OF INDIAN CRICKET

FEARLESSNESS – NEW BRAND OF INDIAN CRICKET 

In the twilight  of GABBA Test in  early 2021 , India’s gloveman the flamboyant  Rishab Pant hit the ball into the long off boundary off Hazlewood  in the 97th over , as India broke another streak of Aussies, this time their fortress “GABBATOIR” breech after 32 years and India romped home this Test with 3 wickets to spare chasing  329 runs.  It also signalled a 2-1 scoreline win in the Test series, a repeat of 2018-19 margin, retaining the BG Trophy. And he continued his sublime batting form when England toured India for a 4 Test series a couple of months back, hitting a powerful century at Ahmedabad . And now the 23 year old Pant’s given the mantle of leadership in an IPL team this year.

 And a new buzzword “Fearlessness”  became a brand in Indian cricket now. And the player who started it was an intrepid young southpaw, Rishabh Pant. 

 Shubman Gill making debut as opener at SCG last year made a memorable debut series including a match winning 91 at GABBA and a half century against England in the recent series.

Overcoming a personal tragedy, Mohammad Siraj, who lost is father while on tour to Australia with his indomitable spirit, made a remarkable debut at SCG and  in that series taking 13 wickets with his swing and seldom bowling bouncers, including a fifer at GABBA, leading the pace bowling attack only in his second Test in the absence of senior pace bowlers.

T.Natarajan, raised in a small hamlet with no formal coaching, with his rusticity appeal  made a dream debut across formats in Down Under Tour last year came into  reckoning with his stinging “Yorkers” claimed 3 wickets on his Test debut innings. 

Washington Sundar, the rookie off spinner for the GABBA  Test in the absence of India’s ace spinners, with his 3 scalps on his debut innings made a mark..  But his batting came in handly for India in Australia tour and against England in India scored two half centuries including an unbeaten 96 at Ahmedabad. 

Shardul Thakur , another debutant all rounder at GABBA with his beautiful swing bowling claimed 7 wickets and also scored a scintillating half century and helped India win GABBA test. 

Axar Patel made a sensational Test  debut at Chennai in the second test  against touring England a couple of months back with his left arm tweaks claiming 7 wickets in the Test including a fifer in the second innings helped India win the Test.   And twoTests at Ahmedabad , his home ground, he had 20 wickets in his kitty and India trounced England in both Tests

Ishan Kishan, the diminutive left arm , a product of IPL’s Mumbai Indian team with his swashbuckling cameo knock i on his debut T20I for India against England came into prominence for India in T20.  His knock included a star-studded 32 ball half century with 5 boundaries and four sixes last month played at Ahmedabad.

Suryakumar Yadav ( SKY)  another Mumabai Indian product hit the headlines with a fluent 57 runs in 31 balls in his 2nd T20I  match with  six boundaries and three sixes for India against England last month .

Prasidh Krishna, the bowling sensation in IPL circles made his ODI debut for India against England last month bowled well and got 4 wickets .  The right arm quickie known for his speed and swing was awarded the MOM award in this match.

. 

IPL 2021 MI- RCB REVIEW

IPL 2021- MI Vs RCB REVIEW

Courtesy : Cricinfo.com

“Cricket is one of those reassuring sports where long-time fans could take enormous comfort and solace  in the fact that very little was likely to change “ – a RCB Fan’s raconteur. And the little change happened tonight as RCB scored its first win at M.A.C. stadium.

Another cliff-hanger and edge of the seat moment.  And an unexpected hero Harshal Patel claiming Firstever fifer in an IPL match  in Mumbai Indians (MI) innings set the tone for an enthralling finish at M.A. Chidambaram stadium, Chennai in the first match of the 2021 season tonight.

After being put into bat by Virat Kohli, Mumbai batsmen had an off- day today in a wretched pitch as except Chris Lynn, who was swinging his bat scored 49 runs.  All the bigwigs of MI failed with the bat including their skipper, Rohit Sharma.  And  they were restricted with 159 runs despite sloppy fielding by RCB players dropping catches at will and thanks to an inspiring  bowling spell by Harshal Patel. 

RCB  did start well scoring at the rate of 9 runs an over in the first 4 overs.  Then they started losing a couple of wickets before the new buy for RCB, Glenn Maxwell and Kohli brought cheers to RCB fans putting 52 runs in double quick time.  Glenn Maxwell’s penchant for switch hit paid off today also as he carted both spinners, Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya with mighty sixes.

Take a bow AB De Villiers for the excellent batting at the death overs almost ensured the win for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Mr.360 was in his element as he clobbered 2  mighty heaves over the rope and 2 fours each of the bowling of the leggie, Rahul Chahar and Trent Boult . 

With19 runs off 12 balls, ABD took on the game’s best death overs specialist, Jasprit Bumrah, a beautiful cover drive in the arc between fielders racing to the boundary and a slice between point and third man  clearing the ropes.  And trying to keep strike in  the next over ABD called for a single, but the tall New Zealander Kyle Jamieson, ( who debuted for IPL) who was the striker reacted late and was ambling towards the danger end sacrificed his wicket.

And the onerous task of defending 7 runs in the final over, the young rookie left arm pacer Marco Jansen, debutant from South Africa, who already had two wickets in the same over, accepted the challenge.  And without any panic reaction Jansen bowled a tight line and ABD was RUN OUT  leaving  at “2 balls and 2 runs”  and Harshal Patel, the” Man of the Match “ hit the winning run as RCB dug-out heaved a sigh of relief.

POPCORN CRICKET-IPL

Popcorn Cricket- IPL

Dime a dozen Support Staff

Millions of Fan base

Plethora of Sponsors

Strong social media connect

Best Players in the game

5 titles in their kitty

Brand value US $ 70.3 million

Owned by India’s richest Business Tycoon 

With these clamours at hand, the Mumbai Indians(MI) team is aiming to win a hat-trick of titles by winning the title this year.  

Royal Challengers of Bangalore, which is owned by  United Spirits formerly owned by the liquor baron, Vijay Mallya, who is now a fugitive in London .  RCB also having 3rd largest followers of the IPL teams boasts high profile Virat Kohli, AB de villiers.

 Mumbai Indians are taking on Royal Challengers of Bangalore(RCB) in the curtain raiser match tonight (9th April 2021) in M.A. Chidambaram stadium, CHENNAI in a bio-bubble environment sans spectators. 

Couch cricket with friends and family enjoying a pint of beer on Summer evenings In India watching IPLcricket on TV is a new spectacle viewing.

With all the IPL Franchisees wooing their fans with different innovative ideas to connect with them through various social media, it’s really exciting.

Though the IPL matches are being played with empty stands this year also, it hasn’t stopped official fan clubs  and supporter groups who act as 12th man  from planning their participation in the month-long tournament—everything from virtual watch parties on Zoom to WhatsApp groups for fans to express their opinions. Almost all the eight franchises have dedicated clubs and supporter groups that bring together millions of fans from across the world. 

The Fan Wall with LED giant Screen at the stadiums with fans interaction with TV commentators  was a fabulous experience as we have seen last year at the stadiums at Dubai & Abu Dhabi.

The official Broadcaster of the IPL, Star Sports Networks is planning to install 32-36 cameras for each match. The buggy camera, a drone camera and super slow motion and ultra motion camera will be part of this paraphernalia. It is also planning interactive sessions engaging the viewers with the TV commentators through social media feeds like FB, Twitter, Instagram. 

Like last year, this year also the TV Broadcaster announced features such as the “Fan Wall 2.0” and “Cheer@home2.0”—an audience engagement platform on Star/Disney+ Hotstar—fans will be able to experience in a stadium-like environment. The Cheer@home2.0 feature, for instance, will collect reaction data from fans to trigger custom chants at the stadiums for their teams and players. 

The broadcast integrates live and curated fan reactions, giving die-hard IPL fans from across the world a platform to support their heroes from the comfort of their homes.

Augmented reality (AR) graphics have provided a big, bold visual spectacle in the stadium and even brought back the fans in an unconventional and creative way.

Also, next-generation Virtual Studios built on Epic’s Unreal Engine have been deployed to give a unique environment to present the match coverage and high-level analysis.

IPL 2021 PREVIEW

IPL  TITLE WINS TILL 2020

As the curtains of IPL tournament opens in a couple of days ( opening  GAME on 9.4.21 at Chennai),  I look back on a globally viewed tournament here.

INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE  (IPL)

“The IPL has been designed to entice an entire new generation of sports fans into the grounds throughout the country. The dynamic Twenty20 format has been designed to attract a young fan base, which also includes women and children.”

“”Lalit Modi during the launch of the IPL in 2008

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a premier league of T20 Cricket tournament played during April & May every year in India (Of course it was held in South Africa in 2009 & in UAE (partly) in 2014 due to General Elections in India during those years) with 8 teams representing different cities of India.  It is being conducted on Franchise model like Soccer league teams.

The league was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007, and is regarded as the brainchild of Lalit Modi, the founder and former commissioner of the league. IPL has an exclusive window in ICC Future Tours Programme.

The IPL is the most-attended cricket league in the world and in 2014 ranked sixth by average attendance among all sports leagues. In 2010, the IPL became the first sporting event in the world to be broadcast live on YouTube. The brand value of IPL in 2017 was US$5.3 billion, according to Duff & Phelps.According to BCCI, the 2015 IPL season contributed ₹11.5 billion (US$182 million) to the GDP of the Indian economy.

BIRTH OF  IPL

The Indian Cricket League (ICL) was founded in 2007, with funding provided by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The ICL was not recognised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the BCCI were not pleased with its committee members joining the ICL executive board. To prevent players from joining the ICL, the BCCI increased the prize money in their own domestic tournaments and also imposed lifetime bans on players joining the ICL, which was considered a rebel league by the Indian cricket board.

Foundation

On 13 September 2007, the BCCI announced the launch of a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket competition called Indian Premier League whose first season was slated to start in April 2008, in a “high-profile ceremony” in New Delhi. BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, said to be the mastermind behind the idea of IPL, spelled out the details of the tournament including its format, the prize money, franchise revenue system and squad composition rules. It was also revealed that the IPL would be run by a seven-man governing council composed of former India players and BCCI officials, and that the top two teams of the IPL would qualify for that year’s Champions League Twenty20. Modi also clarified that they had been working on the idea for two years and that IPL was not started as a “knee-jerk reaction” to the ICL

In order to decide the owners for the new league, an auction was held on 24 January 2008 with the total base prices of the franchises costing around $400 million.[14] At the end of the auction, the winning bidders were announced, as well as the cities the teams would be based in: Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mohali, and Mumbai.[14] In the end, the franchises were all sold for a total of $723.59 million.[16] The Indian Cricket League soon folded in 2008.

Prize money

The IPL 2021 Prize Money for the winners will be INR 10 crores, runners-up will be INR 6.25 crores and the two other teams that qualify to the playoffs stage will be INR 4.375 crores each.  The prize money in the inaugural edition for the Winner was 2008 was Rs.4.8 crores and Rs.2.4 Crores for the Runners-up whereas the 3rd Place and fourth place teams got Rs.1.2 crores each.

CHAMPIONS  SO FAR

1. 2008-  RAJASTHAN ROYALS

In a tense final at D.Y. Patil stadium, Mumbai, RR led by the spinning wizard, Shane Warne (Australia) lifted the inaugural title by BEATING CSK, led by Captain Cool, M.S. Dhoni by 3 wickets.

2. 2009- DECCAN CHARGERS

In another nail biting finish at Wanderers, Johannesburg, South Africa , the DC team captained by the Stumper Adam Gilchrist (Aussie) BEAT RCB by just 6 runs. The tournament was held in South Africa due to General Elections in India.

3. 2010-CHENNAI Chennai Superkings

The most consistent team in IPL in this season, CSK this time  lifted the trophy for the first time  led by Captain cool, MSD by defeating Mumbai Indians by 22 runs at D,Y, Patil stadium, Mumbai

4. 2011- CHENNAI Chennai Superkings

CSK continued its form where it left last year by beating RCB at MAC Stadium, Chennai in a full packed stadium by 58 runs thanks to a brilliant opening wicket partnership of 159 runs between Murali Vijay & Mike Hussey.

5. 2012 – KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

KKR under the leadership of Gautam Gambir continued its true form in this season by beating the two-times defending champions CSK in their own backyard at MAC Stadium while chasing a high score of 190 runs with little unknown Bisla, whose belligerent knock paved the way for KKR ramp home with the trophy by 5 wickets

6.2013 – MUMBAI INDIANS

MI under the young captain, Rohit Sharma for the first time lifted the eluding trophy by beating CSK this time by 23 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, thanks to all-round performance by the caribbean K. Pollard

7. 2014 – KKR

KKR again lifted the trophy by beating a spirited KXIP unit led by G. Bailey ( Australia) by 3 wickets in spite of a brilliant century by the gloveman, W. Saha at M. Chinnasamy stadium, Bengaluru

8. 2015- MUMBAI INDIANS

Again MI defeated CSK in a tense final at Eden Gardens, Kolkata by a bigger margin of 41 runs. The CSK team folded like nine pins and but for Dhoni’s knock it would have been a worst defeat.

9.2016 – SUNRISERS, HYDERABAD

A well knit unit of SRH led by  David Warner (Australia) lifted the trophy after a consistent performance in this season posted a huge total in the finals of 208 runs and RCB equally fought brilliantly by falling short of just 8 runs thanks to a brilliant opening partnership of 114 runs by Gayle & Kohli but other batsmen just caved in.

10. 2017 – MUMBAI indians

A third time victory in a thriller by MI was a cause for celebration.  The new team Rising Pune Supergiants ( replaced CSK which was banned for 2 years) under the leadership of the young Aussie, Steve Smith fought brilliantly till the last ball.  MI pipped RPS in the post just by a solitary run. This was the closest victory in the finals.

  11. 2018 – Chennai Superkings

After a ban for 2 years, CSK won the title for the 3rd time thanks to a belligerent century by the Opener Shane Watson – unbeaten 117 runs in 57 balls with 11 fours and 8 sixes played at Wankhade stadium, Mumbai  defeating SRH in the Final to win the Final with 9 balls to spare.  SRH was led by Kane Williamson as the regular captain David Warner was banned for 1 year due to a ball tampering episode.

12.. 2019 – Mumbai Indians

 J. Bumrah delivered it at the crunch situation. “Jasprit Bumrah is  the best bowler in the world at this stage”, declared Sachin Tendulkar,the Mumbai Indians icon, after the paceman had returned 2 for 14 to star in their IPL win over Chennai Super Kings in the Final..His returns – not a boundary hit off his 24 balls, and 13 dot balls thrown in – were incredible all right, making him a straight pick for the Man of the Match award too. And Mumbai Indians again held their nerves in a tense final at Rajiv Gandhi stadium, Hyderabad by piping CSK at the post by just 1 run.  The game was in CSK’s kitty till the 2018 hero, Shane Watson batting with 80 was RUN OUT  with just 2 balls to go. The uncanny Lasith Malinga , who was very expensive in this match, bowled a slow yorker to Thakur, who was plumb in front of the wicket and it was all over.  And MI won the title again for the fourth time.

13. 2020 – MUMBAI INDIANS

Due to sudden spurt of  pandemic Corona Virus in India, the entire 13th edition IPL tournament was shifted to U.A.E. and was played in Dubai & Abu Dhabi between September and November 2020.  And Mumbai Indians were the clear favourites to win the title and this time Delhi Capitals fought well till the Final.  And in the Final they were done in by the New Zeland Pace bowler, Trent Boult with his beautiful swing bowling restricted DC with just 156 runs in the 20 0vers with only their young Captain Shreyas Iyer stood tall and hit a magnificent unbeaten half century and flamboyant Rishab Pant hit a cameo half century.  And MI batsmen hit the target 0f 156 without much discomfort as their captain Rohit Sharma hit a fluent half century and Ishan Kishan finished off the game in style with 8 balls to spare.  CSK finished 2nd team from the bottom in the 7th place.

2021  – MI again favorites this time also with their players performing well in the recently held ODI & T-20 series with England team.  Of course some dark horse my bring in some surprise. This time the tournament is going to be held in India itself , of course in a bio-bubble environment without spectators at the stadium.

VIVID MEMORIES OF WC 2011

VIVID  MEMORIES OF WORLD CUP 2011

“KAMAAL KA SHOT “ ( Wonderful shot) rents the air as He lifts the delivery from Nuwan Kulasekara much to the chagrin of the  Srilankan players, into the sky.  And the whole world watching the sky rocketed shot  with unabated breath the route of the ball.  And the ensemble of VIPs including high profile Politicians, Bollywoodstars  and who’s who of the game  in the Wankhade Stadium went into delirium with the cries of “Dhoni, Dhoni “ as the ball cleared the boundary.  And the Man of the Moment, the Indian Captain M.S. Dhoni did it for India On this Day(2nd April 2011), a decade back.

And Ravi Shastri, the TV Commentator in  a dramatic voice “ Dhoniiii finishes off in style.  A magnificent strike into the crowd and India lift the World Cup after a gap of 28 years.  The party’s started in the dressing room.  And it’s an Indian Captain, who’s been absolutely magnificent, on the night of the Final” as M.S. Dhoni enchanted the crowd on the night as India romped home  with 6 wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare.

The grimace  Srilankan players watched with awe the ball in the air clearing the boundary and the Srilankan Captain Kumar Sangakkara sporting a wry smile admiring the shot by M.S. Dhoni.

And the Indian players and the Team India support staff from the dug-out sprinted across the ground and hugged both Dhoni and Yuvraj, the players in the middle.  M.S. Dhoni received the glittering World Cup gleefully, handed over the trophy to his players, who were posing with the trophy.  The rambunctious celebrations started by the players with the victory parade around the ground holding the trophy and waving the Indian tricolour flag , some players chairing Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders.  India’s Master Blaster, the legend Sachin Tendulkar was doubly delighted as the World Cup was eluding him in the previous five World cup outings.

Later on, Dhoni explained why he bat ahead of Yuvraj : “  Muttiah Muralitharan the best off spinner in the world was the biggest threat for Indian batsmen especially against left handers and Yuvraj had his troubles with the legendary off-spinner in the past. Two left-handers ( Gautam Gambir the left hander  was already  batting) at the crease at the same time, in theory, could have played into Murali’s hands. Dhoni, on the other hand, is a right-hander and had often dealt effectively with the off-spinner in the past. Besides, Murali, from 2008 to 2010, played three seasons for the Dhoni-led IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.”

. “I do remember very clearly when Dhoni walked down the stairs, I turned to Gary and said ‘Do you realise Dhoni is going there to fetch us the World Cup?’ I had absolute conviction that Dhoni would come back with the trophy.” Upton, Indian team Assistant Coach recalled today. 

What egged him to go after the Srilankan bowlers and step-up the run rate and Dhoni conceded “ The selection of Sreesanth instead of the off spinner Ravi Ashwin, batting ahead of Yuvi and Dhoni himself was short of runs in the tournament till the Final made him to contribute his optimum and take up the responsibility as these are all his decisions”.  

“ Golden day for the Indian cricket.  Most memorable day for me as well, because I was a commentator (For All India Radio, Mumbai) during the World Cup Final, the biggest match of the Century “  Dr. Gokul Singh Girase , AIR Commentator, who was recollecting the memory of that day today.

When Dhoni met the batting legend Sunil Gavaskar with the WC Trophy, Gavaskar told him that “he would die seeing the winning shot of the WC 2011 Final of FDhoni”.

Dhoni is still the GOAT Indian captain as he annexed this WC 2011 with his T20 WC in 2007 and so many laurels and accolades to Indian cricket. Like his predecessor WC winning captain Kapil Dev, Dhoni also played with his intuition rather than prior planning.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP

1. At Sir Vivian Richards stadium, North Sound, Antigua (West Indies) the two Tests played in March/April 2021 have ended in a tame draw.  Both teams were happy to play for a draw.
2. Pakistan tour to White ball cricket at South Africa started well as the Pakistan team winning the first ODI in a thriller at Supersport Park, Centurion on 2.4.21 in the last ball chasing a target of 274 scored the winning run in the ultimate ball.  
3. Pakistan’s luck did not come in the second ODI played at The Wanderers, Johannesburg today (4.4.21) as chasing a mammoth score of 342, fell short of 17 runs in spite of heroic innings by Pakistan’s Opener Fakhar Zaman who almost carried the fight as a lone warrior  into the opponent’s camp till the last over. His 193 runs, the highest score in ODI in the chase ended in a dramatic finish as he failed to realise that the throw from the deep fielder was coming to his end and was short of the crease and was RUN OUT and with that dismissal.    

IPL TEAMS TITLE SPONSORS-2021

IPL – TEAMS SPONSORS – 2021

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have many sponsors and partners

The VIVO IPL 2021 is just around the corner with just 3 more weeks. The first match of the season is scheduled to start on April 9 in Chennai with a match between last season’s champions, Mumbai Indians, and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The upcoming season is much-awaited by many cricket fans as it is finally coming home to India. Last season had to take place in the UAE because of the pandemic. This season will also have more matches compared to last year. IPL betting 2021 will surely be a blast for sports punters out there.

The auction for this season is over and done with and players are now getting ready to kick off the season. However, what’s noticeable is how just one more team is missing a title sponsorship and this is the Rajasthan Royals.

Title Sponsorship in the Indian Premier League

Title sponsorship has always been a huge opportunity for businesses to promote their products and services. Sports leagues and franchises all over the world would usually have a title sponsor because this is also a great way for them to earn money.

For the IPL, the title sponsorship fee mainly started when the company DLF was formed with 500 million Indian rupees between 2008 and 2012. In 2017, one of the biggest smartphone companies was able to snatch the title sponsorship of the league for five seasons. This means that VIVO is a partner of the BCCI for the IPL until 2022.

However, this partnership came to a halt last year. Before IPL 2020 started, the league announced that VIVO will not be that season’s title sponsor. Eventually, it was announced that Dream11 was able to take that season’s title contract.

As soon as the last season ended, many have already wondered whether Dream11 will be this season’s title sponsor. However, during the recent auction held in February, the BCCI happily announced that VIVO will now be continuing the contract. It also became clear that what happened last year was a mutual decision between the board and the smartphone company.

Aside from the league itself having a title sponsor, each team participating is also allowed to have their own and the Rajasthan Royals has quite a resume on sponsorships. Included on the list are Jio, Kei Wires and Cables, Studds, Colgate, Kingfisher, Dream11, BKT Tires, and Kotak.

Last year, this team had TV9 Bharat as the title sponsor. However, according to reports, it’s not likely that both will still have a partnership for this season as they just couldn’t meet each other’s commercial expectations.

Currently, the team is still in talks with various brands to finally seal a deal for title sponsorship. According to sources, they should be able to make an official announcement regarding this matter by next week.

Title Sponsorships of the Other IPL Franchises

Here’s a list of all the sponsors that each of the teams will have for this season.

Mumbai Indians

Principal Sponsors: Samsung and DHL Express.

Associate Sponsors: Marriott Bonvoy, Jio, and Astral Pipes.

Official Sponsors: Kingfisher Calenders, USHA, Dairy Milk, Colgate, William Lawson’s Music CDs, Dream11, BKT, MakeMyTrip, Kotak, Myntra, boat, Mai Dubai, Performax, ESA, DNA Networks, Radio City 91.1 FM, and Fever 104 FM.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Title Sponsor: Muthoot Fincorp

Principal Sponsors: DP World, Myntra, JIO, Exide, and Nuvoco.

Associate Partners: Astral Pipes, MPL, MAX Life Insurance, and Lifebuoy.

Official Partners: Kingfisher, MakeMyTrip, MILO, Wrogn, EUME, boat, Mai Dubai, MediBuddy, DNA Networks, NVY, Royal Challengers Sports Drink, iB Cricket, Dark Fantasy, Dava India, ON – Optimum Nutrition, Swiggy Instamart, and Rainbow Milk.

Chennai Super Kings

Principal Sponsors: The Muthoot Group, India Cements, Gulf, British Empire, Clear Shampoo, Nippon Paint, and Jio.

Associate Sponsors: Equitas, Boost, BKT, Dream11, EUME, and Mai Dubai.

Digital Partners: Lupisafe, Fast&Up, FanPlay IoT, iB Cricket, and NOVA.

Radio Partners: Hello FM and Fever FM.

Merchandise Partners: Levista, The Souled Store, Sonata, NAC Jewellers, Muthoot Precious Metals Corporation, Nasher Miles, Cover It Up, Lilliputian Hub, boat, ASAP, SEVEN, and Kaadoo.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Title Sponsor: JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd

Principal Sponsor: Ralco Tyres and Kent RO

Other Sponsors: Jio, Dream11, Colgate, Nerolac, Jai Raj Steel

Partner Sponsors: Kotak Bank, IB Cricket, Double Horse, Spektacom, and Fancode

Punjab Kings

Title Sponsor: Ebixcash

Principal Sponsors: JIO, Fena Detergent, Royal Stag Music Cds, Dream11, and boat.

Official Partners: Stylam, BKT, FanCode Shop, T10 Sports (Official Kit and Merchandise Partner), Colgate (Smile Partner), CocaCola (Uplifting Partner), and Kingfisher Premium (Good Times Partner)

Kolkata Knight Riders

Principal Sponsor: Mobile Premier League (MPL)

Official Sponsors: JIO, Lux Cozi, TV9 Bharatvarsh, Astral Pipes, Royal Stag Music Cds, Greenply, Colgate, and Medimix.

Official Partners: Kingfisher Calander, BKT, Mai Dubai, and iB Cricket.

Merchandise Partners: Boat, Cricfig, Fanhood, Gully, Suniti Industries Ltd., and The Souled Store.

Delhi Capitals

Principal Sponsors: JSW, APL APOLLO, EBIXCASH

Associate Sponsors: Cornitos, GMR, Wrogn, and Jio

RAJASTHAN ROYALS

Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday announced that it has signed Expo 2020 Dubai, a world expo to be hosted in the city, as principal sponsor for the upcoming 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

As part of the association, Expo 2020 Dubai will appear on the front of the Rajasthan Royals jersey, helping to spread the Expo 2020 message to millions of cricket fans all over the world.