IPL teams and the formation 4-3-2-2

It certainly isn't soccer but no less than that. Every team in IPL has to look at all the pieces and play the puzzle to the best. And guess what, the team that has the best formation looks, at least on paper, set to go.

IPL3 has seen the likes of Mumbai and Bangalore set the tempo. Though a bit inconsistent, Delhi seems to have found the momentum at the right time. Being someone interested in numbers, I was wondering what thoughts went through the franchisees and the coaches before getting to the field.

Coming to the formation...it is common knowledge that you can have only 4 foreigners in your team. Every franchise has loads of foreigners to fill this and in fact, abundant riches to fill this quota. Next come the 7 slots for Indians. More or less, each franchise has 2-3 Indian players and 2-3 upcoming stars. This leaves us with 2 slots for the unknowns or the players in wilderness.

This means the sector combo of the rising stars plus the local unknowns make up the important chunk for the teams to perform. If you look at the various teams and have a look at this segment you would find that this is what differentiates the teams:

Chennai: Jakati, Tyagi, Badrinath, Gony, Parthiv, Ganapathy, Joginder Sharma

Bangalore: Manish Pandey, Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Uthappa, KP Appanna, Mithun

Hyderabad: RP Singh, Mohnish Mishra, Suman, Venugopala rao, Jaskaran, Anirudh Singh, Rahul Sharma

Mumbai: Rayudu, Tiwary, Dhawan, Sathish, Murtaza, Tare, Nayar

Rajasthan: Trivedi, Naman Ojha, Munaf Patel, Jhunjunwala, Dogra, Raut, Narwal

Punjab: Piyush Chawla, Bisla, Kaif, Shrivastav, Powar, Sodhi, VS Malik, Luv Ablish

Delhi: Mishra, Sangwan, Umesh Yadav, Dheeraj Jadhav, Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia, Ladda

Kolkata: Monoj Tiwary, Saha, Pujara, Agarkar, Kartik, Shukla, Vignesh, Iqbal Abdullah, Parmar

If you see the trend, the teams that are doing well (Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi) have some deep pockets of reserves. And more so, the players in the differentiating pool have performed admirably well for them. If you look at the teams vying for the wooden spoon or the ones struggling for consistency, you find that the pool itself is inconsistent.

No wonder, Sachin insisted on investing in Indian youngsters in IPL2. Mumbai are reaping good benefits already. Interesting to see if this pays off till the end!

World footballer

It was Cristiano...then Messi...who is it going to be this time?

We are at that time of the season, when the discussions inadvertently end up at who's the footballer of the year? Yes, of course, none of the leagues have been decided yet and are no where near a point of absolute certainty. However, it should not stop us from discussing the contenders. Isn't it?

Forgive me for being outrightly blatant, but it is more often the glamorous leagues (read as English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga) that end up serving the contenders. And do we really see beyond these leagues this season? I very much doubt. It is more of an unwritten rule that the Ballon d'Or champion ends up courting the world footballer trophy too.

So who is it going to be this time?

Didier Drogba - there are actually very few people outside Ivory Coast and Chelsea support group that like him. Never a contender for attractive football or silken touches, Drogba nevertheless is effective. How else can you explain the surge of Chelsea...they are still in line for FA and Premier League double, were in CL till rolled over by the 'chosen one'...Ivory Coast almost coasts on the rough riding skill of Drogba. Most people don't like the thought but if Chelsea completes the double and Ivory Coast does better than expectations in the world cup, who can stop the elephant?

Wayne Rooney - when Cristiano left United, there were all sorts of talk on how United will take ages to recover. They did show vulnerability early on in the season, but they recovered. And buoy! how did they do that! Apart from the odd contribution from the natural wingers (yes, Valencia, Nani were the traditional wingers this season...a whiff of change from a particular Ronaldo till last season) and the old guard, Rooney made sure he netted every chance he had. Using his head in the best way possible, Rooney made sure that Ferguson had less headaches when it comes to hit-men. With Owen and Berbatov not up to their usual self, Rooney burdened extra duty.

As it happens every world cup year, England are pinning their hopes on an encore. And if Rooney can inspire England to a victory (I doubt if it would happen even if Rooney is at his best) and United to a double....will there be a debate?

Lionel Messi - somehow the favorite...not just because of his skill but because of the exhibition too! A purist's dream and a defender's nightmare, Messi probably scores points even from his opponents. A couple of games without a goal or without a superlative effort would mean a drop of form That would warrant a world-wide discussion on what happened to the little genius!

Messi could be a little lucky in that he is surrounded by a wonderful team...Xavi, Iniesta, Ibrahimovice (themselves contenders) who always give him the freedom to exhibit himself. Barca may not be all-conquering like they were last season but they still are going strong. What might be the barometer would be Argentina's performance. Coming through a turbulent qualifiers, no one is expecting Argentina to be a favorite. This could well be the catalyst for Messi and Maradona.

What if teams share the honors and not be all-conquering like the Barca '09? I somehow feel World cup could tilt the honors...interestingly, Spanish Armada have a better shot at the World cup; will it be one of them who will win this honor too? I doubt...

Is Robben gonna hurt United?

I woke up at around 2 in the morning to catch a glimpse of Chelsea facing Portsmouth. I actually wanted to see Pompey running Chelsea ragged and giving them a run for their money. But there were no signs of that. On the contrary, Pompey looked every bit the side it is - going down!

But what caught my imagination is the DFB-Pokal semi final match between Bayern Munchen and Schalke. I caught the action deep down in the second half of extra time; so, there was no first hand information on how the match went. However, the signs were clear! Bayern showed Schalke who the champions are. Probably they had the next week show down in mind and wanted to prove a point.

Arjen Robben proved every bit a thorn in the flesh of Schalke. Running in the wings as if he has nothing to fear and striking fear in the defenders', Robben looked like a predator. And his goal! A peach...an amazing piece of skill coupled with Robben's sense of the pitch. Bayern were the worthy winners, as every one in the stadium would have (even grudgingly) accepted.

But what made me think is, which Robben will turn up in the tie with United? Is it going to be this Robben who is wrecking havoc in the defences of Bundesliga? or the Robben of La Liga who was nothing more than a flop? I hope for the latter (being a red devil) but for the beauty of a wonderful contest, I wish it is the former!

Killer combos in the box

The world of cricket has thrown some great partnerships...Sachin, Ganguly; Hayden, Gichrist; Wasim, Waqar; Warne,Healy...there are all types there - bowlers, batsmen, bowler-fielders... there always was a synchronization between all these pairs. To say the least, it was a treat to watch them.

How about the ones with the microphone? We almost always end up talking about the action in the middle but what about all those who make it interesting with their talk. Ever since I woke up to the graceful voice of Richie Benaud, there have been so many greats who made cricket what it is. Tony Greig, Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell, Ranjit Fernando, Harsha Bhogle, Michael Holding, Rameez Raja for one reason or the other made commentary exciting.

Which brought me to an interesting thought...who in the current set are a good pair at the box and conversely who are the dreaded pair. Since IPL is hogging the lime light now, let me restrict to the pairs in the box in this tournament.

Interesting Pairs

Harsha B & Danny Morrison

Harsha, for me, is one of the best commentators around; probably because he brings a whiff of fresh air with his view in a non-international player angle. Speaks from the heart and almost always makes it interesting. He would gel with a dull Ranjit Fernando (one gets a feeling...) and a mystique Rameez Raja(lovely hitter of the cricket ball) as well.

But what makes Harsha's pairing with Danny exciting is the energy they bring to the box. You can feel the action right in the middle of the room. And more often than not, they follow Pommie Mbangwa and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan...do I need to say more?

Harsha & Sunny

Harsha again features primarily because he leaves his witty conversations with Danny and puts the introspection cap on. With Sunny around, there is no fooling! But Harsha does get away with some subtle niceties and ends up extracting every pound of Sunny's wisdom.

Sunny, to his part, makes sure that there is enough fodder for Harsha to make it exciting...be it the misthi doi in Kolkata or the nostalgic Brabourne at Mumbai...One thing's for sure, with this pair around, there never is a dull moment!

Now, to the easier part...choosing the dull pairs. For me, there is a unanimous choice.

Pommy Mbangwa and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

Pommy has proven that he always sticks to his line...he has been a boring bowler (I used to wonder if batsmen actually felt sad hitting his lolly-pops) and carried that tradition to the box. LSK, on the other hand, is wonderful at killing the interest.

Simple example...in a match at Mumbai a banner read "Sachin...turning people into atheists since 1989" If you ask me, this is one of the best we have seen for some time. And what does LSK interpret this as..."1989 is the year Sachin made his debut"...can you have a more lame comment than that?

Yes, you can...proved Pommy. He, at the same time, was talking about two ways of getting a good start in T20s. According to the professor Pommy they are "scoring runs and not losing wickets"...Richie Benaud and Bill Lawry would have been happy not to be associated with them!

Mouth watering...

...to say the least. I mean, how on earth can you describe a Champion's League ties Arsenal Vs Barcelona and Man. Utd. Vs Bayern Munchen???

Messi looks imperial with his form and United look so devastating (poor Ronaldo must be kicking himself for making an un'real'istic move to success) with a red-hot Rooney and Mourinho looks so firm with his ambition of another CL success. Who is it going to be this time?

QF 1: Lyon Vs Bordeaux

Aah...something that the whole of France would have least expected. On the positive side, one French side would be in the semis! Lyon are fresh from their conquest of the billion dollar baby 'Real' but don't strike Bordeaux off. They have been the team of the league in the preliminary stages and Laurent Blanc looks to get one good shot at the CL before he proves that he would be a worthy Sir Alex successor. Tough to predict who goes through in this relatively-lightweight contest, but I would put my money on Bordeaux

QF 2: Bayern Munchen Vs. Man Utd

Solksjaer must be twitching his thumbs to have a go at this dream tie. As Sir Alex put forth, it would be the spirit of '99. The setting has changed, the teams have changed (Sir Alex, of course, is still the same!!!) but there is an air of excitement in Old Trafford. The after effects of Ronaldo's departure notwithstanding, United have been able to trudge along, thanks to a certain Rooney. I would stick my neck out and say that United have a slight edge (Being a red devil fan, I would want Robben and Ribery to have the worst games of their life)

QF 3: Arsenal Vs Barcelona

My oh my!!!! this is going to be one heck of a tie. Of course, history witnessed some dull endings to a seemingly blockbuster contests but I hope this one proves otherwise. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta against Fabregas (will he be back?), Walcott and Bendtner....Messi might decide to steam roll the gunners but don't count the wily Wenger out...this could be one game where you put the money where it should be;right in your pocket.

QF 4: CSKA vs Inter

Jose Mourinho...something about him tells me that it would be an encore at CL for him. The charisma is for all to see. Inter have not been good in CL but will this be their year? Of course, the big wigs await for the later rounds but for now, Jose looks set to tackle CSKA and their guiles. Easy to be laidback and get a shock (look at Sevilla) but Inter looks set for a semi

Ideally I would want a Barcelona Vs United final but will the other teams have something to say? I guess, yes. However, one thing is for sure; we are set for an exciting Quarter final action coming our way

IPL --> World cup

Is it another coincidence?

IPL -2 was supposed to be the launch pad for an Indian team making its way to the top of the pile. They did end up top of the pile...but an inverted pile. Injuries to their main players during the IPL meant that we did not have our favored XI...

Deja Vu... it still is early days but the scene is almost like a pick-off from an SRK reincarnation movie. This time the injuries are more...Dhoni, Gambhir, Yusuf...are we the prickly twigs or are we injury prone close to big events?

Question marks revolve around the reasons behind having an IPL tournament breathing down the world cup's neck or having two world cups back-to-back. And yes, the ever-ready answer from the selectors injuries are part and parcel of the game make sure that the blame is not on the IPL.

Coincidence??? Whatever it is, it does not augur well...However, the twilight in the whole episode is that we have injuries at the beginning of the tourney which means the players have good time to recurperate...did some one say optimitic?

In cricket parlance

For all those who follow cricket as religiously as I do (and am sure that there are more of followers than otherwise), one thing is common...to hear all those cliches. I sometimes wonder if I hear them often than the normal things. To cut the message short, let me get straight to the point.

(In no particular order...just the top-of-the-mind recall)

Cliche 1:He is a wonderful hitter of the cricket ball!!!

I hate this cliche as much as I hated my math classes. Come on...can someone be a wonderful hitter of the tennis ball and then graduate to being an international batsmen. And what else do you hit if you are a batsman (of course, on the ground).

Agreed that people like Inzy, Afridi made it difficult to predict if it is the ball or the head that warrants a hit with...but still...

Cliche 2: Last thing they want now, is a run out!

Okay, I've never graduated beyond the college cricket level but can somebody explain me when the first thing that a team wants is a run out?

Except of course if you are working your way through a 20 ball 45 and have Jeffrey Boycott replica at the other end! But still....

Cliche 3: This is such an important period of play

Hmm...oh yeah....the first five overs are the not-so-important period followed by a medium-importance period followed by this very very important period.

Give me a break...completely agree that some periods are important for building the base to a big score but seriously...isn't every phase important for the team?

Cliche 4: He is a quick runner between the wickets

Oh yeah...we were actually looking for someone who is a wonderful runner in the outfield regardless of the ball coming in his direction...

Guess this came as a solace to all those who played in the Inzy era to distinguish that Inzy actually is not around and there is some good running in the middle...but still, it is a cliche for me

Cliche 5: There is some swing in the air

Really??? I mean, really real??? And I was looking for some swing in the pitch...how bad of me!

And the list goes...