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***Official*** IPL match discussion thread

Top_Cat

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Yea, he'd be worth it, but why in the world would they? They've signed him to $50,000 and he'll make that unless he is traded away. I mean, they can't choose pay Dhoni less if he under performs his contract of $1.5million, so why should another player get more if he outperforms?
Something will have to give, though. It's ludicrous that the most polished batter (by some distance) in the whole tournament is getting paid that little over three years. If some other team offered them half a mil for him, I'd suggest they'd take it.
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
The Delhi/Rajasthan semi will be a cracker of a match. Both teams have powerful top-orders, but Rajasthan's may have an advantage, as Delhi don't have too much with the new ball after McGrath. Or do they? Delhi has a stronger top order, on the whole.

Moreover, McGrath doesn't take too many wickets, having gone wicketless four matches in a row until recently- will this be the match where it turns around? The rest will still have to chip in with wickets, and there's a chance that Maharoof or Mishra will be a star here- as Rajasthan are a little soft in the middle.

Or is Delhi's middle-order weaker? That was often the case, until recently, Dinesh Karthik and Manoj Tiwary struck form. Shoaib Malik has been out of form, so has AB. Then there's Mithun Manhas, possibly a hidden ace in the pack.

The Daredevil number seven puzzle has a different solution each time, and it's wrong next time. First they thought they'd bolster their weak batting with an extra batsman, and their bowling was weakened, letting them down against Chennai. They then added an extra bowler, but Shoaib Akhtar ripped through them. They then had the option of an all-rounder in Rajat Bhatia, but he too lost his place after one bad match. Big game, by all means.
 

Top_Cat

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The Delhi/Rajasthan semi will be a cracker of a match. Both teams have powerful top-orders, but Rajasthan's may have an advantage, as Delhi don't have too much with the new ball after McGrath. Or do they? Delhi has a stronger top order, on the whole.

Moreover, McGrath doesn't take too many wickets, having gone wicketless four matches in a row until recently- will this be the match where it turns around? The rest will still have to chip in with wickets, and there's a chance that Maharoof or Mishra will be a star here- as Rajasthan are a little soft in the middle.

Or is Delhi's middle-order weaker? That was often the case, until recently, Dinesh Karthik and Manoj Tiwary struck form. Shoaib Malik has been out of form, so has AB. Then there's Mithun Manhas, possibly a hidden ace in the pack.

The Daredevil number seven puzzle has a different solution each time, and it's wrong next time. First they thought they'd bolster their weak batting with an extra batsman, and their bowling was weakened, letting them down against Chennai. They then added an extra bowler, but Shoaib Akhtar ripped through them. They then had the option of an all-rounder in Rajat Bhatia, but he too lost his place after one bad match. Big game, by all means.
If Delhi bowl first, reckon they'll win. Rajasthan's hitters might struggle against McGrath and co's accuracy. If they just shut him out and go after the others, reckon they'll post a decent total.
 

honestbharani

Whatever it takes!!!
Manoj Tiwary doesn't strike me as anything special at all.. even by IPL standards which is slightly less than international class. And I don't think he did special in the last game either, except for a couple of good shots. One straight down the ground stood out but Karthik looked a lot more fluent out there than Tiwary.
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
If Delhi bowl first, reckon they'll win. Rajasthan's hitters might struggle against McGrath and co's accuracy. If they just shut him out and go after the others, reckon they'll post a decent total.
Actually, they can have Smith hog the strike facing McGrath, and plan to finish off his four overs without giving him a wicket. He has gone wicketless a match a few times. The rest of that attack isn't that great, so Swapnil, Shane and Yusuf can cash in on that- and Sehwag turning his arm over.
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Manoj Tiwary doesn't strike me as anything special at all.. even by IPL standards which is slightly less than international class. And I don't think he did special in the last game either, except for a couple of good shots. One straight down the ground stood out but Karthik looked a lot more fluent out there than Tiwary.
That's yet another problem case for IPL-
  • Uthappa - ouch!
  • Saurabh Tiwary - I've seen him play one explosive, yet useful innings, when he played for East Zone. Far better than this.
  • Pinal Shah - If you've followed the ROD, you would have heard of his explosive 150+ for Baroda- but nothing he did here came even close.
  • Akash Chopra - much better limited overs batsman than what we've seen here- was running red-hot, pre-IPL.
  • Karan Goel - Didn't take off. At all.
  • Gagandeep Singh - Great List-A record, but was smashed all around
  • Mohammed Kaif - Let's not forget, he was a batting mainstay for India long ago, at an early age.
  • Manoj Tiwary - above comments.
 

Manee

Cricketer Of The Year
What has been up with the Uthappa hate in the IPL, he has been in quite shaky form but has good returns. 320 runs at 35.55 with strike rate of 114.69.
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
What has been up with the Uthappa hate in the IPL, he has been in quite shaky form but has good returns. 320 runs at 35.55 with strike rate of 114.69.
He's batted without a brain. Getting out playing rash shots, often at the wrong time- when he's a frontline batsman in a relatively weak batting side.
 

honestbharani

Whatever it takes!!!
What has been up with the Uthappa hate in the IPL, he has been in quite shaky form but has good returns. 320 runs at 35.55 with strike rate of 114.69.
that strike rate is hardly anything to write home about. For a majority of the tourney, he was only above Ganguly, Kallis and someone else in the strike rate lists. And he has looked out of his league on a number of occassions against good bowlers.
 

duffer

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
He's batted without a brain. Getting out playing rash shots, often at the wrong time- when he's a frontline batsman in a relatively weak batting side.
Pretty much. He can't read a situation to save his life. That plus his haircut and his utterly wankerish habit of bowing to the crowd every time he takes a catch is the reason I would love us to trade him ASAP, there's plenty in India who still rate him and would give good pieces for a guy like him.
 

four_or_six

Cricketer Of The Year
Interesting (but good) questions for the Rajasthan team in terms of which batsmen to play. I'd think the following are inked in (assuming Smith is fit)

1. Asnodkar
2. Smith
3. Yusuf Pathan
4. Shane Watson
5.
6.
7.
8. Shane Warne
9. Sid Trivedi
10. Sohail Tanvir
11. Munaf Patel

Therefore as you need a wicketkeeper you have to play Rawat, and you have two spots left for N. Patel, Jadeja and Kaif. That's a really interesting one I think.

Of course, if Smith isn't fit, Akmal plays and Rawat misses out and the problem doesn't come up.
 

duffer

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Jadeja should be a lock for a spot in the team. Niraj v Kaif is interesting though, on form Niraj wins it, but Kaif has the better pedigree and is a quality field too. Either way I know Warnie will get it right on the day.
 

Manee

Cricketer Of The Year
Interesting (but good) questions for the Rajasthan team in terms of which batsmen to play. I'd think the following are inked in (assuming Smith is fit)

1. Asnodkar
2. Smith
3. Yusuf Pathan
4. Shane Watson
5.
6.
7.
8. Shane Warne
9. Sid Trivedi
10. Sohail Tanvir
11. Munaf Patel

Therefore as you need a wicketkeeper you have to play Rawat, and you have two spots left for N. Patel, Jadeja and Kaif. That's a really interesting one I think.

Of course, if Smith isn't fit, Akmal plays and Rawat misses out and the problem doesn't come up.
I believe the spots should go to Jadeja and Patel, Kaif has shown himself a terrible T20 batsman throughout the IPL.
 

four_or_six

Cricketer Of The Year
I believe the spots should go to Jadeja and Patel, Kaif has shown himself a terrible T20 batsman throughout the IPL.
I wasn't too impressed with him yesterday batting wise. And neither in terms of being a senior player and helping out an inexperienced captain in the field when the team was being tonked. Akmal seemed good, but Kaif and Y Khan seemed a bit annonymous.
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
I believe the spots should go to Jadeja and Patel, Kaif has shown himself a terrible T20 batsman throughout the IPL.
Kaif has hardly ever got a chance, and when he has, he's been sent in to open chasing a 220+ target. While he's not quite the batsman to have up front, he's the ideal non-striker batsman, running very fast and hard between wickets. He's a good choice in case they withdraw the boundary ropes and the ground is bigger- and the ball doesn't come on the bat fast enough for a big hit. We've seen Kaif hit a few big ones too, against Symonds, so it's a question of being in action a lot more.

Jadeja, on the other hand, is only a bits-and-pieces scorer with no substantial innings to his credit. Nothing to suggest he's a lot better than Kaif.
 

Laurrz

International Debutant
Marsh :wub:

easily the bargain buy of the tourny..8/10 top scores for punjab, unreal

hoping for Raj vs Punjab....
 
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jeevan

International 12th Man
Very ironic that every single player that tops their respective field has been a bargain buy.

Batsman Shaun Marsh
Bowler Sohail Tanvir
All rounder Shane Watson
Icon/Capt Shane Warne

So, naturally, the best team in the tournament - RR - was also the one that was best at bargain hunting. I'm stating the obvious here, but it is just absolutely striking.
 

Top_Cat

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Very ironic that every single player that tops their respective field has been a bargain buy.

Batsman Shaun Marsh
Bowler Sohail Tanvir
All rounder Shane Watson
Icon/Capt Shane Warne

So, naturally, the best team in the tournament - RR - was also the one that was best at bargain hunting. I'm stating the obvious here, but it is just absolutely striking.
Rajasthan were smart enough to pick players who had plenty of ability but were hungry. It shouldn't have been a surprise that they and Punjab would be the best performed teams because in each side, you have players with a heap to prove. Guys like Dravid, Kallis, etc. would have rocked up with the best of intentions but after the first few failures, it would have been hard for them to matintain the intensity that they'd display in a Test. They're well-paid, yes, but they're also accomplished Test cricketers so IPL wouldn't be number 1 in their eyes, even if they're giving their best prima facie. What I'm saying is that doing well in IPL won't change their lives as cricketers because they're not only already in their national sides, they're also amongst the best players. Motivation to do well would be tough. That they have the odd good game is a function of just how good they are but certainly they look a bit short of a gallop.

Blokes like Shaun Marsh, Shane Watson and co are looking to make their Test/OD sides and good a IPL will significantly impact on their chances of playing for their countries. So there's a lot more riding on it for them.
 

jeevan

International 12th Man
Rajasthan were smart enough to pick players who had plenty of ability but were hungry. It shouldn't have been a surprise that they and Punjab would be the best performed teams because in each side, you have players with a heap to prove. Guys like Dravid, Kallis, etc. would have rocked up with the best of intentions but after the first few failures, it would have been hard for them to matintain the intensity that they'd display in a Test. They're well-paid, yes, but they're also accomplished Test cricketers so IPL wouldn't be number 1 in their eyes, even if they're giving their best prima facie. What I'm saying is that doing well in IPL won't change their lives as cricketers because they're not only already in their national sides, they're also amongst the best players. Motivation to do well would be tough. That they have the odd good game is a function of just how good they are but certainly they look a bit short of a gallop.

Blokes like Shaun Marsh, Shane Watson and co are looking to make their Test/OD sides and good a IPL will significantly impact on their chances of playing for their countries. So there's a lot more riding on it for them.
To a reasonable extent, what you are saying is right. However, there were others who were extra-ordinarily paid but should've been as hungry for success. Uthappa, Ishant Sharma, M Tiwary all fall into this third category.

BTW I think you may be a bit unfair on Dravid. He may have been proven wrong in team selection and ineffective in team motivation, but dont think his own desire and dedication were wanting.
 

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