Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders

• Captain-Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir)

• Head Coach- T. Bayliss

• Mentor- Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive)

• Assistant Coach- Vijay Dahiya (@vijdahiya)

• Batting Coach- W. Raman
• Official Team Twitter Handle-  @KKRiders

• Official Website- http://www.kkr.in/

SQUAD-

 Gautam Gambhir, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Debabrata Das, Manish Pandey, Manvinder Bisla, Suryakumar Yadav, Sayan Mondal, Kuldeep Yadav, Morne Morkel, Pat Cummins, Piyush Chawala, Sunil Narine, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Veer Pratap Singh, Jacques Kallis, Andre Russel, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Shakib al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan 

               

My Views-

             Once again, KKR have a strong unit on papers. Top order of KKR contains Kallis and Gambhir, along with young talent of Bisla and power of Uthappa. Slight worry for KKR will be consistency of Yusuf Pathan. Debabrata Das and Manish Pandey will fight against each other for one spot in the playing XI, while all-rounders either Shakib or Tendo will be chosen after looking at the conditions.  
            With Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel and Pat Cummins, fast bowling won't be a problem for Gauti. Veteran spinner Narine is always a magician and he will be accompanied by leggie Piyush Chawla! All in all, KKR will be favorites for the title this year, with strong bowling line-up and quality batsmen in the squad!  

According to me, SRH's playing XI will mostly be as follows:-

1. Manvinder Bisla
2. Jacques Kallis
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Robin Uthappa
5. Yusuf Pathan
6. Debabrata Das/ Manish Pandey
7. Shakib al Hasan/Ryan Ten Doeschate
8. Piyush Chawala
9. Umesh Yadav/Vinay Kumar
10. Morne Morkel/Pat Cummins
11. Sunil Narine

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad

• Captain-Shikhar Dhawan (@imshikharD)

• Head Coach- T. Moody (@TomMoodyCricket)

• Mentor- Krish Srikkanth, VVS Laxman

• Bowling Coach- Waqar Younis

• Official Team Twitter Handle-  @SunRisers
• Official Website- http://www.sunrisershyderabad.in/

SQUAD-

 Shikhar Dhawan, Aaron Finch, Amit Mishra, Amit Paunikar, Ashish Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Brendan Taylor, Chama Milind, Dale Steyn, Darren Sammy, David Warner, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Jason Holder, Karn Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Manpreet Juneja, Moises Henriques, Naman Ojha, Parvez Rasool, P. Parmeshwaran, Shrikant Aniruddha, Venugopal Rao 

               

My Views-

             Shikhar Dhawan will lead the strong Sunrisers Hyderabad unit this season. With the captain himself, they have Finch and Warner, two of the most explosive T20 players. To accompany them in middle overs SRH have young players like Naman Ojha Manpreet Juneja, Ashish Reddy! 
            Dale Steyn, will be the spearhead of Sunrisers' bowling unit. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma will fight for one spot whereas Karn Sharma will be first choice ahead of Jammu-Kashmir's off-spinner Rasool to partner Amit Mishra.  
            Irfan Pathan and Darren Sammy will balance the playing XI with their all-rounder skills. But if the opposition is able to take three wickets of Dhawan, Warner and Finch, then it will be a test of character of these 2 all-rounders. They will have to play like a proper batsman rather than only trying for big shots.

According to me, SRH's playing XI will mostly be as follows:-

1. Shikhar Dhawan
2. Aaron Finch
3. David Warner
4. Naman Ojha
5. Manpreet Juneja
6. Irfan Pathan
7. Darren Sammy
8. Karn Sharma/Parvez Rasool
9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Ishant Sharma
10. Amit Mishra
11. Dale Steyn

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils

• Captain-Kevin Pieterson (@KP24)

• Head Coach- Gary Kirsten (@Gary_Kirsten)

• Bowling Coach- Eric Simons

• Fielding Coach- Rob Walters (@RobWalter17)

• Official Team Twitter Handle-  @DelhiDaredevils 
• Official Website- http://www.delhidaredevils.com/

SQUAD-

 Kevin Pieterson, Dinesh Kartik, Murali Vijay, Ross Taylor, Q de Kock, Mohammad Shami, Jaydev Unadkat, manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, JP Duminy, Wayne Parnell, Saurabh Tiwary, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, James Neesham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Kedar Jadhav, Siddharth Kaul, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Shukla, Milind Kumar, HS Sharath, Jayant Yadav 

               

My Views-

             This season, Delhi Daredevil's top order is looking well balanced, but they need to be consistent. Murali Vijay, Dinesh Kartik, Manoj Tiwary, KP, Ross Taylor are in the top order while JP Duminy and James Neesham will be coming in to explode in the death overs. Strong batting line up will lead to slightly weaker bowling line up with not a single foreigner premieum bowler in the team. With the ball, KP will have to depend on, Mohammad Shami, young Siddharth Kaul, Jaydev Unadkat and one of the spinners either Rahul Sharma or Shahbaz Nadeem. 
             If they decide to play an experienced foreign fast bowler then they will have to drop JP Duminy and Jaydev Unadkat and instead pick up Wayne Parnell and either Kedar Jadhav or Saurabh Tiwary.

According to me, DD's playing XI will mostly be as follows:-

1. Murali Vijay
2. Dinesh Kartik
3. Kevin Pieterson
4. Manoj Tiwary
5. Ross Taylor
6. JP Duminy/Kedar Jadhav
7. James Neesham
8. Jaydev Unadkat/Wayne Parnell
9. Shahbaz Nadeem/Rahul Sharma
10. Mohammad Shami
11. Siddharth Kaul

Kings XI Punjab

Kings XI Punjab

• Captain- George Bailey

• Head Coach- S. Bangar (@ImSanjayBangar)

• Bowling Coach- J. Dawes

• Fielding Coach- R. Shridhar

• Official Team Twitter Handle-  @lionsdenkxip
• Official Website- http://www.kxip.in/

SQUAD-

 George Bailey, Virender Sehwag, David Miller, Shaun Marsh, Cheteshwar Pujara, Manan Vohra, Glenn Maxwell, Thisara Perera, Rishi Dhawan, Mandeep Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Akshar Patel, Karanveer Singh, B. Hendricks, Murali Kartik, Parwinder Awana, L. Balaji, Sandeep Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Anureet Singh, Shivam Sharma, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Wriddhiman Saha

               

My Views-

             According to me, KXIP had the best auction. They got a mix of young talent with some of the modern era T20 stars. KXIP buying three Aussies (Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell and Geoge Bailey) have been the main attraction of this year's auction. Along with these players, they have bought Virender Sehwag, Murali Kartik and Cheteshwar Pujara ,the experienced trio! KXIP had retained David Miller and Manan Vohra before the auction.  And they bought back the young guns of Punjab, Mandeep Singh, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Sandeep Sharma and Parwinder Awana. To strengthen their fast bowling attack, they bought experienced campaigner L. Balaji and the 2013 new born hero of Mumbai Indians, Rishi Dhawan. 
             Choosing the players for 2 spots in the playing XI would be a difficult job for Captain George Bailey, since has plenty of options to choose from.If no unfortunate injury, Virender Sehwag, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Johnson and Captain George Bailey would play all the matches. It will be challenging for Bailey to choose one from Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra and Cheteshwar Pujara...as all are very talented batsmen. Mandeep Singh holds upper hand as he can bowl as well. Another spot that KXIP think tank will be worried of is the no.7 position. If you play proper batsman, then it will mean that Maxwell and Mandeep will have to complete the 5th bowler's quota of 4 overs. Otherwise they can play Rishi Dhawan (medium pace bowling all-rounder) or Akshar Patel (explosive batsman and leg break googly bowler). David Miller will be an obvious choice ahead of Shaun Marsh as Miller bats lower down the order. Wriddhiman Saha will keep wickets and open the batting with Sehwag. Laxmipathy Balaji, Parwinder Awana will back up the fierce pace bowling of Johnson along with the left arm experienced spinner Murali Kartik.

According to me, KXIP's playing XI will mostly be as follows:-

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Wriddhiman Saha
3. Mandeep Singh/Manan Vohra/C.Puajara
4. George Bailey
5. Glenn Maxwell
6. David Miller
7. Rishi Dhawan/Akshar Patel
8. Mitchell Johnson
9. Parwinder Awana
10. L. Balaji
11. Murali Kartik

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals

• Captain-Shane Watson (@ShaneRWatson33)
• Head Coach- P. Upton (@PaddyUpton1)

• Mentor- Rahul Dravid

• Official Team Twitter Handle-  @rajasthanroyals 
• Official Website- http://www.rajasthanroyals.com/

SQUAD-

 Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Steve Smith, Abhishek Nayar, Iqbal Abdullah, Kevon Cooper, Rahul Tewatia, James Faulkner, Ben Cutting, Brad Hodge, Karun Nair, Unmukt Chand, Ajinkya Rahane, Dishant Yagnik, Ankush Bains, Sanju Samson, Tim Southee, Dhawal Kulkarni, Kane Richardson, Deepak Hooda, Vikramjeet Malik, Ankit Sharma, Rajat Bhatia, Pravin Tambe, Amit Mishra

               

My Views-

             As usual the RR have not gone for the star players. RR may not have big names but they have a solid team and a great bunch of talented young players. They have got plenty of options in their middle order as well as in their bowling attack. But they will lack experience at crunch situation for sure. The top 3 will mostly be Rahane, Chand and captain Watson. Sanju Samson will be part of the XI throughout the tournament. If they want to choose experience over young talent, they will have to play Brad Hodge, instead of Steve Smith. Abhishek Nayar, Rajat Bhatia and Kevon Cooper will play the roles of all rounders. Whereas Faulkner and Kulkarni will be the premium medium fast bowlers in the team. One of the spinners either Pravin Tambe or Iqbal Abdullah will have to be part of the playing XI. 
             They can even think of playing an extra batsman instead of Rajat Bhatia if Watson can deliver couple of overs with ball and part-timers like Steve Smith or Brad Hodge and Abhishek Nayar to chip in with couple of overs.

According to me, RR's playing XI will mostly be as follows:-

1. Ajinkya Rahane
2. Unmukt Chand
3. Shane Watson
4. Steve Smith/Brad Hodge
5. Sanju Samson
6. Abhishek Nayar/ Dishant Yagnik
7. Rajat Bhatia
8. Kevon Cooper
9. Pravin Tambe/Iqbal Abdullah
10. James Faulkner
11. Dhawal Kulkarni

The Royal Challengers Banglore

Royal Challengers Banglore

• Captain- Virat Kohli (@imVkohli)

• Head Coach- D. Vettori

• Bowling Coach- A. Donald

• Batting & Fielding Coach- T. Woodhill 

• Official Team Twitter Handle- @RCBTweets
• Officail Website- http://www.royalchallengers.com/

SQUAD-

 Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Yuvraj Singh, Albie Morkel, Vijay Zol, Parthiv Patel, Yogesh Takawale, Ravi Rampaul, M. Muralidharan, Mitchell Starc, Varun Aaron, Shadab Jakati, Abu Nechim, Harshal Patel, Ashok Dinda,  Sandeep Warrier, Nic Maddinson, Tanmay Mishra, Sachin Rana, Yuzvendra Chahal

               

My Views-

             It is almost certain that RCB will back their stronger side, which is batting. They will pack their playing XI with Gaylestorm, AB de Villiers, Yuvi and all rounder Albie Morkel! RCB's captain, Virat, is in fine touch and he will look to extend his dream-run. In middle order,talented uncapped player Vijay Zol will be eager to prove his great batting abilities. Parthiv Patel will keep the wickets and open with the destructive Christopher Henry Gayle!

                RCB's bowling is there to be exploited by the other teams. They have the pace but not the accuracy and consistency that Virat will be hoping for. Varun Aaron, Ravi Rampaul, Mitchell Starc, Ashok Dinda will try to be consistent. Because there will mostly be only one place on stake for Virat to chose from Ravi Rampaul & Mitchell Starc and they will be competing against the magician Muralidharan. On the low and slow pitches in UAE, Shadab Jakati will come in handy with his left-arm orthodox spin bowling. And if some bowler is not in form or is injured then they have some good young talent in Sandeep Warrier, Abu Nechim, Harshal Patel, left arm "googly" bowler Chahal. So, on paper other teams will look to exploit RCB's slightly weaker bowling!

According to me, RCB's playing XI will mostly be as follows:-

1. Chris Gayle
2. Parthiv Patel
3. Virat Kohli
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. AB de Villiers
6. Vijay Zol
7. Albie Morkel
8. Muralidharan/Starc
9. Varun Aaron
10. Ashok Dinda
11. Shadab Jakati

Champions League T-20 (2013)

 

Karbonn Smart CLT20.....

              

            

                          

                          

After all the match-fixing and betting controversies in the Pepsi IPL-6, 4 of the IPL teams will be rearing to have a go at the Champions League T-20, which will be played in India during 22nd Sept. to 6th Oct. 2013! Qualifiers will be played before the main tournament kicks off! 

           

                 Mumbai Indians (Champions of IPL-6), Chennai Super Kings (Runners of IPL-6) and Rajasthan Royals (finished 3rd in IPL-6) will directly play the main tournament, while Sunrisers Hyderabad will have to fight their way to make it to the main matches! The teams who will play Qualifier round are-

           1.Faislabad Wolves (Pakistan)

           2.Otago Volts (New Zealand)

           3.Kandurata Maroons (Sri Lanka)

           4.Sunrisers Hyderabad (India)

These 4 teams will fight for the two spots in the 2 groups formed as follows-

Group A

§   Mumbai Indians (India)

§   Rajasthan Royals (India)

§   Highveld Lions (South Africa)

§   Perth Scorchers (Australia)

§   One of the two teams qualifying from the qualifier round

Group B

§   Chennai Super Kings (India)

§   Brisbane Heat (Australia)

§   Titans (South Africa)

§   Trinidad & Tobago (West Indies)

§   One of the two teams qualifying from the qualifier round 

                  All the qualifier round matches will be held on Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, while the group stage matches will be held on Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur ; JSCA International Cricket Stadium, Ranchi ; Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad  and Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi! Knock out stage matches will be played in Delhi and Jaipur!

                  

                The big names of World Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid will retire from any kind of T-20 cricket after this tournament ends! Rahul Dravid will not be seen playing cricket at professional level, while Sachin Tendulkar will play Test Cricket. So this tournament will be surely followed by every cricket fan. 

                Another important thing for Rajasthan Royals will be, they will play all their matches in Jaipur, remember they did not lose a single match in the IPL-6! Chennai Super Kings will play 2 of their group stage matches in Ranchi which is also the home ground of CSK's captain M.S.Dhoni! Undoubtedly the Ranchi crowd will come in numbers to support their hero and his team!

                 All the teams have already announced their 15 members squads. To see the squads please visit the official website of the Champions League T20! 

To all my readers of this blog, Thank You very much for your reviews, suggestions, wishes! And I am really very sorry for not writing the reports of last couple of very important matches and as well as some of the group stage matches! Hope you all enjoy reading my blog!

 This time around I will not be able to write match reports of every single match, or of any match in that case. But will surely try to write my views in every 3-4 days. Do give your suggestions if any!  

 Once Again Thank You!! I will need your support to keep writing about cricket (at least cricket)!