Starting afresh

Enter the part-timers in the stands,it's time for the Indian Premier League.The League this year is gonna be a novelty in a few ways.First and foremost,the absence of Lalit Modi at the helm of the event.This year's edition was once potentially a doubtful case with outrageous disclosures on procedural abuse in between the administrators and the constituent franchisees.Not only have Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals,despite cases pending in court against them,have been allowed to feature in this edition of the IPL,but we will have two new teams competing it out this time,namely Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers Kerala.The constitution of the teams have completely been revamped this time after the expiry of the original contracts between the players and the franchisees they have been representing,a fresh auction having taken place earlier this year.

The last 3 seasons have been utterly disappointing for us down here with our home favourite,Kolkata Knight Riders,failing to impress with their game.Rather they have been more in the news throughout for the never ending controversies revolving around the team,and for Shah Rukh Khan,its owner,of course.So,while KKR looked to start afresh releasing all its former players,each team having been provided the option of retaining four,a new debate was sparked off concerning whether it was right to to let go of their original icon player,Sourav Ganguly,who also captained the team in the 2008 and 2010 editions.

Controversies are plain fond of our favourite Dada,it seems.You must acknowledge the emotions associayed with Sourav in the heart of the average Bengali cricket fan.He almost represents the nearly extinct Bengali nationalism.Successful as KKR has been in their market strategy,a lot of the local demand can be credited to the status and prestige of the former Indian captain.We remember the resentment evoked when Sourav was scrapped off the captaincy before the 2009 season in South Africa as a result of the experimental team management theories of the then coach John Buchanan.His batting position was also toyed with throughout the entire edition.Last year,leadership was restored to his aegis and he led from the front in many occasions with the bat and in the field.He finished as the highest run getter for the Knights last year and fourth overall in the Orange Cap table after Sachin Tendulkar,Jacques Kallis and Suresh Raina.It is not difficult to comprehend the intensity of the furore created by Ganguly going unsold in the entire auction spanning two days.It was insulting indeed on two counts.The first of the brought upon by Dada himself.He was one of the two players to have augmented their base prices before the auction,the other being V V S Laxman.The latter was purchased by Kochi.The second one came in the very last minutes of the auction.After the business was supposedly over,the names of the few players unsold yet,who were shortlisted on requests from the representatives of the teams at the auction.Contrary to our hope,Sourav's name did not feature in the list.All set to be wrapped up,it was announced that one final call was to be made on an unsold player due to a last moment request.To our rude shock and jaw dropping disappointment,it was Mohammad Kaif,of all people,whose name came up and was even sold to Kings XI Punjab.

The KKR management was under severe attack from its home followers.There were strong hopes in the air that Dada's home team might include him in their plans.Thr rage threatened to rob the franchisee of its local fan following and Shah Rukh Khan the good wishes of his admirers.The 'King' Khan,as he is often called,had to publicly offer Sourav a role in the management,which was declined by the Prince of Kolkata.Lots of retrospective claims were made and reported.Arguments over the rationale of the total wipeout faced by Ganguly.It was not only a case of KKR 'ditching' him.If it were,well,I could give you a good many reasons in favour of KKr's strategy.Like perhaps the Knight Riders,despite acknowledging his contribution to the team in the last three years,are looking for more impact players with the bat in the side,with a more intimidating strike rate to flaunt.Or hunting for fresher legs.Or maybe the fact that Dada doesn't play enough competitive cricket any more went against him.(Of course,the same consideration holds true for stalwarts like Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne,but they are still playing.)But a player of his standing failing to find favour with all the teams is a little too much to digest.Even when Kochi made efforts to make a post-auction purchase of Ganguly,Royal Challengers Bangalore vetoed it,ensuring he remained an untouchable.I have been forced to concede that various non-cricketing factors were at work which I am in no authority to dwell upon here.

Perhaps,it wouldn't have come to this if Sourav chose to retire from domestic twenty20 cricket,as I had remarked to many a friend when speculations were at peak if he'd feature in the future plans of KKR,after the decision was not taken not to retain him.If it was humiliating,it was enough by then.Anyways,as expected mass agitations were afoot after the auction,mostly through the social networking sites and SMS campaigns,so much so that many Sourav fans went on to endorse the 'No Dada,no KKR,no IPL' hardline.

With the World Cup in our hands now,most of it seems to have died out.The exalted people are now waiting to erupt in celebration with the crickentertainment bonanza.Cricket,we know,is a great unifying force for our nation.But the IPL has set an unmistakable opposite trend.Domestic cricket rivalry is a living reality today in India.We in Kolkata are now rooting for a refurbished team under the leadership of former Delhi DareDevils captain,Gautam Gambhir.A lot of thought seems to have been put into the composition of the side this time,unlike in 2008,when despite bagging a handful of foreign stars,they got the balance all wrong struggling to recruit good Indian players.This time,along with the likes of Jacques Kallis,Brad Haddin,Brett Lee,Shakib-al-Hasan,Eoin Morgan and Ryan ten Doeschate,national players of the calibre of Yusuf Pathan,Manoj Tiwary,Laxmipathy Balaji and Pradeep Sangwan fill up the ranks.Strength in the allrounder department also means strengthened chances in this format of the game.However,due to the coinciding ODI series between Australia and Bangladesh in Bangladesh from the 9th to 13th of April,KKR will not be able to avail the services of Brad Haddin,Brett Lee,Shakib-al-Hasan and James Pattinson in the first two matches,against the Chennai super Kings on 8th in Chennai and the Deccan Chargers on 11th in Kolkata.

Like everytime else,only a fool may strive to compare the strengths of the sides.Barring CSK and Mumbai Indians to some extent,every team that has featured in the earlier editions have undergone a thorough change in their core.The Indian Premier League is one hell of an unpredictable tournament.I remember,after the first ever auction in the League in 2008,the Deccan Chargers looked the strongest on paper before play ever began,closely followed by the Knights in public anticipation,even helped by the thunderous start they provided to the first season in Bangalore.But the tournament has had the habit of throwing up unlikely heroes and making ants of giants.The Rajasthan Royals,the most underestimated team before the first edition,ended up lifting the trophy for the first time under their illustrious coach-cum-captain,the legendary Shane Warne.Decaan Chargers finished last,only to emerge champions the next time.So,heed my advice,play your fantasy cricket steady and wise,and get ready for the 50 day long battle to make you dance to its excitement like never before.Enjoy!

Final blow of the Blue-smith and the incineration of a photograph

India is my country.Cricket is my religion.And I witnesses the salvation of my religion two nights ago.When almost 28 years ago,Kapil Dev's underdogs stunned the world to snatch the Prudential World Cup from the mighty West Indians on June 25,1983,I was more than 6 years from being born,the seniormost playing member of the current Indian team was a little over 9 years of age,the captain about 1 and some of the rest hadn't yet seen the light of the world.It was a Saturday.Now,28 years later,on April 2,2011,another Saturday,finally,that nostalgic afternoon at the Lord's could peacefully retire to the past.We can afford to bask in the glory of the present.That trophy of dreams of a 1.21 billion-crazy-nation is ours again!

Ever since I've watched and understood cricket,I've known that India were world champions once.Just for that once.I've always tried to imagine,from reminiscences of people who lived the moment,how it would have felt celebrating being top of the world.

I was acquianted with World Cup cricket,and cricket in general,as early as 1992,incidentally,the first Cup Sachin Tendulkar featured in.Of course,at just about 3 years old,I didn't understand the game,but at least picked the fact that it was an enjoyable activity,which kept people (at least my father) happy.I would try to imitate the poses I watched the players make,mostly shots played by batsmen with some wooden plank I'd find lying around.Soon,I was holding a plastic bat,much to my father's amusement.

It was the Wills World Cup 1996 held in the subcontinent that thrust me into watching full time.I was about 6 and a half and imbibed the enthusiasm that my infant mind noticed centred around a sporting event.I was rather quick learning the bare physics of the game at that tender age,because I didn't wanna be left out of the fun.Within no time,I started reading and memorizing the names of the participant teams and their players.This was the first occasion that planted the seeds of nationalism in my mind.I understood that I lived in a country called 'India',where cricket is pretty important to people and the World Cup means everything.And that in the Indian team played a childish looking bloke who they called Sachin Tendulkar,who was the centre of all the craze.

And there were some other important guys as well,I heard,like Shane Warne,Brian Lara,Allan Donald,Courtney Walsh,Wasim Akram,Dominic Cork,Graeme Hick,etc.I remember watching Tendulkar score a century,for the first time in my life,against Sri Lanka in Delhi.The first conscious tinge of defeat in the same match.I was overwhelmed by the fanaticism around the Indo-Pak quarter final in Bangalore.The delight of victory.Bit by bit,I entered into an irrevocable emotional attachment with 'India' and cricket.Then came the semifinal at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta.School broke about an hour ago than scheduled on account of the match.I was reminded that Sri Lanka had already beaten in the match I mentioned earlier.A sigh of relief when Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana dismissed cheaply after the Lankans were put into bat by Mohammed Azharuddin even after winning the toss.Sachin Tendulkar's run and hopes of India making the final receiving a death blow and the crowd turning violent soon after.Who can forget that black day in the history of Indian cricket and the legendary Eden Gardens.120-8 chasing 258,the umpires marched the teams out of the ground,a weeping Vinod Kambli bringing out my bloody tears - which I can't explain till today.The match was awarded to Sri Lanka on default.

Sri Lanka went to lift the Cup in Karachi,but the humiliation painted on our face has since lived in my heart.There was a photograph in the newspapers the morning following the Eden debacle showing a garland of shoes adorning a larger than life image of the Indian cricket team,put on by angry and disappointed fans.That photo has remained indelible forever in my memory.Since then,every time India took on Sri Lanka,or appeared in the following editions of the quadrennial event,the photograph returned to haunt me,calling for revenge,kinda satisfied when India returned the humiliation in a World Cup event,in a Group match in Taunton,during the English summer of 1999.

What was I thinking of when Sachin Tendulkar nicked that ever so slightly leaving the bat delivery to the safe custody of Sangakkara's gloves?I can't swear that I wasn't thinking of that picture.Maybe more than of the tumbling Sourav Ganguly's men took in 2003 at the Wanderers,Johannesburg.And above all,eight years on,will the last dream elude the man just walking out the pitch of his home stage once again?And that,I did not have it in me to wait for another four years to well up fresh hopes of that ultimate prize.

I placed a pillow on my lap seated on a chair,rested my legs on my bed right beside,fetched a book,kept it on the pillow and started reading.M mother turned around on the bed and lay with her face turned away from the telecast.As if it's gonna work!If I was superstitious by nature,I'd say,it worked!Gambhir and Kohli slowly put the chase back on track,as I kept on reminding myself of how Kohli had it in himself to handle the pressure like he had done a few times before,one being the magnificent match winning century against Australia last year,bringing the team out of a similarly tight spot.Some of my friends had almost lost hope as Tendulkar flattered to deceive,taking a cue from the thunderstruck crowd at the Wankhede,some stopped watching the match itself.Even then I had a chuckle to myself as I spotted the legendary Rajnikant in the stands,thinking of the superhuman jokes about him in the market.Perhaps he could win it for us?

Just as I was starting to relax a bit,Kohli hit one back in the air for Tillekaratne Dilshan take an acrobatic catch off his own bowling.What happened next took everyone by surprise.I received a text from a friend claiming that Yuvraj would play another match winning innings only to watch the largely out of touch captain,the former no. 1 batsman in ICC ODI rankings,Mahendra Singh Dhoni,promoting himself ahead of the man with the Midas touch.And I think,hmm,logical though,with having already seen three off spinners into the attack,Randiv,Muralitharan and Dilshan,and having noticed that Kohli was exercising greater ease in handling them.With Yuvraj coming in,they might have settled into a rhythem with two left handers at the crease.

Rest is history.Dhoni played like a man completely different from the batsman we saw throughout the tournament.The intent was present right from the very first ball he faced,along with the resolve to guide the innings along.The bottom hand play flourished as he bullied the ball into the cover fence time and again as only he can do with his fierce cuts and push drives.And he sealed it with another old Dhoni trademark,the lofted shot into the crowd just like he used to finish when he was still raw in international cricket.Calling it a "captain's knock" will be a gross understatement.It was the proverbial blow of the blacksmith.Or shall I say 'Blue'smith?

The final was always gonna anybody's game.57 overs into the match,Sri Lanka had the upper hand.Mahela Jayawardena,choosing to stamp his class in the final with a delightful hundred,denting India's spirit towards the end with Kulasekara and Perera's assistance as they plundered 63 of the last 5 overs of the Sri Lankan innings,the bating powerplay.Malinga sent the two most feared batsmen upfront within 6.1 overs.But,seriously,it was the fielding that spelt out the difference in between the teams.India were electric in the field from the onset,Yuvraj Singh looking the same man who was once considered one of the best at point in world cricket.On the other hand,the Islanders were sloppy.Kulasekara dropped,quite a tough one at that but in a close World Cup final these are catches that win you matches,Gambhir on 30.One might repeat that legendary folklore from 1999,dude,he dropped the Cup!

There were two surprise inclusions for the final,one in each team.Sreesanth,who fell out of favour after a dismal performance in the very first match of the World Cup,found himself in for the very last match.He started reasonably well,but lost his way,leaking runs regularly.On the Sri Lankan side,as many as 4 changes were forced by the unavailability of Angelo Mathews,but none more striking that that of Suraj Randiv.There he was in the Emerald Island not selected in the original squad,he's called up as a standby and thrown into the Grand Finale of all out of nowhere.Muttiah Muralitharan was forced into playing one last match in international cricket,one last attempt at lifting the World Cup as only he among all the 22 playing had the experience of having done it before.His injury meant he wasn't as lethal a bowler and a champion like him had to finish second best.

The ghosts of the past had been exorcised,of the shock exit in 2007,the stumble at the final hurdle in 2003,and what not.Now I can mock at that photograph from 15 years ago and banish it forever!And above all,for that all important 'childish looking bloke' who came and saw for 5 consecutive editions,but never conquered,has now in the 6th attempt,made that wretched,forever elusive trophy his own,and deservedly so.He was instrumental,again - top run getter for his team,second highest run scorer in the tournament.And suddenly,I wonder if he has enough motivation left to continue representing the country in ODIs any more.At least for now,in stark contrast to a 27 year old Lasith Malinga,Sachin,soon to be 38,hasn't expressly ruled out the possibility of him playing in the next World Cup in 2015!

MS Dhoni never stops catching you unawares.A few hours from the historical victory,he emerges with his brand new,almost bald look!What is this guy,creeps?He had gone for cropping the long locks that we for long came to identify with him after that ICC World Twenty20 triumph.Thank your luck that there isn't an ICC tournament for Tests!

Had the World Cup come home 4 years back,the champions would have earned a well-deserved rest.But the richest cricket board in the world has found new ways and resources to replenish its wealth.The Indian Premier League has been a huge hit over the last 3 years and the golden goose of the BCCI,and they saw no reason for scrapping the crickentertainment package this year even if it meant kicking off the event within 6 days of the conclusion of the tournament of tournaments.I strongly felt the IPL ought to be given a miss this year.An inhuman scheme to plan another long and exacting ordeal in the heat and humidity right after we had one.I have serious doubts about how many players who have survived a reasonable length in the just concluded extravaganza will actually start in the IPL.All the more reason with the IPL having trodden a scandalous terrain since lids blew off commercial transactions concerning the franchisees.Also,the BCCI ran a huge risk of a fall in demand had the Indian team disappointed in the World Cup.

Well,now with the World Cup glory ours,at least the fans aren't tired in the least.Two more teams - Sahara Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers Kerala - and a relaid format to spice up the show.Make no mistake,if the World Cup is the achievement,the IPL's gonna be the celebration.It was noteworthy to hear the cheer of the Mumbai crowd when the name of Lasith Malinga was announced at the awards ceremony.They are waiting for their blue eyed toe crusher!

Having said all that,I've gotta concede,it'll feel incredibly awkward to see two men who steered a side to the greatest of victories 3 days ago,Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni,will be leading their respective troops against one another in only 3 days time,when Kolkata Knight Riders challenge Chennai Super Kings in Chennai in the inaugural match of Season 4 of the Indian Premier League.

Blue.................

The Indian Premier League is secure.So are the earnings of the International Cricket Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.The commercial significance of India beating Pakistan in Mohali in the second semifinal on Wednesday.

How can I be so cold?The hopes of more than a 121 crore nation on the swing and I'm counting money!Tragedy of my life.Misunderstood despite the best of intentions.So what will convince you?

INDIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..........INDIA!

This is the first time I am genuinely feeling the urge to attend a cricket match at the venue.and why not?This is the single most significant sporting occasion in the last decade to take place in India.In a few hours,for the first time in World Cup history,two Asian teams,and two teams led by their respective wicketkeeper captains will steam up the summit clash of the biggest event in cricket.

It was said that even if Dhoni's men make the final,perhaps the semifinal would be the match with the highest barometer reading.India have made the final,but now,just before the final itself,I am not so sure.It was a perfect setting at Mohali on March 29 for the most anticipated game of the tournament.And yet,almost true to my worst fears,it showed every signs of culminating into an anticlimax.Sehwag started in customary fashion destroying the prolific Gul once and for all in the match only to perish to Wahab Riaz.Sachin Tendulkar got into the clinical mood to be shaken up by the wily Ajmal.The heartbreak as the crowd favourite Yuvraj followed Kohli into the hut missing a devastating inswinging yorker onto his middle stump.The duo of Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez allaying nerves in the Pakistani camp with a comfortable start.Only that it didn't turn out to be so.Sachin had fate on his side,as UDRS and the Third Umpire gave him the first two 'lives',and he got four other off the butter fingered Pak fielders.Maybe he should have utilized them and got his 100th hundred then and there.But,justice had it,it wouldn't have worthy of the special occasion;perhaps he would wish to get there in a less forgettable fashion.And just as India looked in serious danger of wrapping up withing 230-240 with Dhoni adjudged lbw off Riaz,leaving India at 205-6,Suresh Raina struck two small but substantial partnerships in the context of the game with Harabhajan and Zaheer,so much so that India actually produced their second best performance in bating powerplays while bating first in the tournament.Zaheer picked up Pakistan's first wicket,Munaf the second when Hafeez tried to play a scoop off an almost wide delivery,but still it seemed Pakistan had the upper hand.Yuvraj again turned the game on its head by striking a double break of Asad Shafiq and Younus Khan.

Halfway through the Indian innings,Dhoni must have been under pressure of his own conscience for having replacing Ravichandran Ashwin with Ashish Nehra (because,as he conceded later,the Indian thinktank had misread the wicket).Experts were after his head during the break and the memories of Nehra's last over against South Africa coupled with a series of ordinary performances since his return to international cricket from an injury layoff earlier this year did not help his cause.Abuses were running in fan circles and on social networking sites.Suresh Raina in Motera was not under one tiny fraction of  the pressure on Nehra in Mohali.Nehra finished as the top Indian bowler,showing samples of the death bowling he's capable of and exercised so well when he led the Indian attack in the absence of Zaheer in 2009-2010!Nehra was almost the M-Seal for Indian bowling that day and India displayed an organised,compact and disciplined bowling performance supplemented by the spirited fielding and the rediscovered enterprise in Dhoni's leadership.There was no necessity to look beyond the 4 specialist bowlers and Yuvraj Singh for completing the 50 overs.When has that last happened in Indian cricket?Another special note about Dhoni and his captaincy.He has been below par with the bat,but he's not letting his failures affect his regulation of the team.Conversely,the team has also been supportive,always ready to vouch for the captain.Besides,we tend to forget that he has another important role to play in the team.He's been doing the thankless job almost without any fuss behind the stumps.

In the end,one might say,the pressure got to Pakistan.You drop the Little Master 4 times,he makes you pay for it.However scratchy it may have been,the 85 runs he scored will be an unpaid debt forever for Pakistan.The batsmen started comfortably,but they pushed themselves into a position of no return,the main culprits being Hafeez and Misbah.The former chased a wide delivery outside off trying to scoop it,gifting a dolly to Dhoni.Misbah,it seemed,took on the responsibility of seeing his side lose.Playing way too many dots,failing to even rotate,let alone hitting fours and sixes.By the time,he decided to use the long handle,it was too late and he had run out of partners.

The joke of the day,though,happened at the presentation ceremony when the MoM went to Sachin Tendulkar.I can't remember a more embarrassing innings by the Maestro.I had no doubts about the rightful recipent of it,and you gotta agree with me: Wahab Riaz.There were lot of speculations if he should make way for Shoaib Akhtar,who had already annonced his retirement plans after the Cup,in the semifinal as he was looked upon as by far the weakest link in the otherwise formidable looking Pak bowling.He stayed.And he scalped 5 wickets,in the match of his life yet.His scalps included the prized scalps of Sehwag,Kohli,Yuvraj and Dhoni!He and Saeed Ajmal,the only bowler to shake,stir,trouble and play on the mind of Tendulkar that day,extinguished India's chances of batting their opponents out of the match.

One thing needs to be mentioned.I had been carefully staying out of the rhetoric surrounding the semifinal for the week preceding it.Even in the Australia match,I had kept my quiet and calm for almost the whole match before standing up to rejoice when Yuvraj hit the winning runs,presenting the picture of a close follower of the game rather than the proverbial cricket fan.Last match,the script was going along the same lines,until Younus Khan holed out to Raina,duped by Yuvraj in flight.I jumped up,pumped my fist in the air thrice,shrieking my lungs out.That was India's in into the match.I didn't stop.With every wicket,I would break into an inpromptu jig in front of my applauding mother.

Bygones are bygones.Over to Mumbai from Mohali.The Wankhede Stadium.All set for the Grand Finale.

Sri Lanka have the advantage in ground experience.They have played one in Mumbai in their last Group A tie v. New Zealand,whereas the Indian team have set their foot in the relaid stadium for the first time.India have won two pressure games in a row which gives the mental practice for crunch situations.Save that,there's nothing to pick between the sides once again.

There are some undercurrents flowing,but none of them more important than the big question: Will Muralitharan overcome his injury to play in an international match for one last time tomorrow?Angelo Mathews,too,is uncertain.On the other hand,India's sole injury concern has at least helped simplifying a selection dilemma.It was commonsense that Ashwin will be back for the final in Mumbai's dry deck conditions.But who to replace?The finger injury that Nehra picked up while trying to grab a low catch of Afridi has saved Dhoni from making a choice.

Statistically,Dilshan and Tendulkar are in a tight scuffle for the leading run scorer honours.Zaheer Khan has a good chance to pip Afridi to the top wicket taker spot.The Player of the Tournament may also turn out to be a choice between Yuvraj Singh and Tillekaratne Dilshan.

But frankly?Right now,nobody cares.It's time to live the moment we have waited for since February 19.Two teams.One Cup.One team carrying the hopes of 1.21 billion cricket crazy nation for whom the sport is religion and drug from daily boredom and disappointments.The other team represents a country just trying to recover from a civil war that is almost as old as the country itself.One side has pledged to win it for their living legend,the God of Indian cricket.The other looking to throw the perfect farewell for their amazing wizard.To whom does tonight belong to?Blue?Or Deep Blue?

N.B. : It's been reported in the morning's newspapers that Dhoni is seriously contemplating about fielding Sreesanth in the XI."If you see the Mumbai track there’s a bit of pace and bounce for seamers initially. Also if there is reverse swing going, the third seamer can make an impact.At the same time if the three seamers are bowling well I can easily manoeuvre the bowling. But if you have three spinners along with a part-timer, and two medium pacers, you can’t manoeuvre too much,” he said.Well,playing him is always a huge risk.This single match can make or break Sreesanth's career,does he play.We can only hope for the best and wish Dhoni's proposed third gamble in as many matches sees success like the other two.On the Sri Lankan side,Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the final.