IPL III - Half way there!

Most teams have played 7 or 8 games and we can easily say that the tournament is heating up along with temperatures in the different stadiums! The one thing that stands out so far in this year's tournament is the effectiveness of the spinners. Each team has one or two spinners who have really kept the lid on the proceedings (to use a classic cliché that the commentators often use)!

Here is my spin on the tourney and the teams (no pun intended!):
So far from a spectator perspective the organization has been top notch. Even the geeky energy tips are interesting (delivered by the commentators just after the toss in each game). Even the weather seems to have cooperated (knock on wood!). The quality of cricket has been decent. The fielding has clearly improved but the catching has been appalling for the most part although few incredible catches have been taken. The commentators except for Danny Morrison sound too sober and banal. A tournament of this stature should include real professional commentators (and I don’t mean Harsha Bhogle) paring up with former players. The grounds and pitches seem to be doing fine including the 'dangerous' Kotla pitch (I wonder if Dilshan has not been playing off late on purpose)! Read on for my take on each team.

Indians: Clearly the Mumbai outfit has the best squad and is playing to potential. Despite Sachin's captaincy (I am huge Sachin fan but I don’t think he has the street smartness of a Warne or Gilly or even dada that is needed in today's game), the team is clicking. Shikar Dhawan, Saurabh Tiwary, and Harbhajan have really done well other than the captain himself. The only overseas player they have had to rely on is Malinga. Their fielding is probably been the best so far and it’s no surprise that they are leading the points table by a big margin.

Royal Challengers: The benefit of playing the KPL (Karnataka Cricket Association's version of IPL) seems to have done the Bangalore Challengers a world of good. Players like Robin Uttappa, Manish Pandey, and Vinay Kumar have really played beyond their potential. Anil Kumble is leading from the front (another one of the commentators' favorite cliché). Kallis and Steyn have finally joined the party. India's future captain Virat Kohli is learning from the best (Dravid). This is the only team to play at least 5 or 6 'home' players (or as they say in Kannada 'manninda maga') and have been quite successful.

Daredevils: The team has blown hot, cold, and hot again. And this has coincided with Gautam Gambhir's availability. Despite losing key players and not having a coach for a while, the team has done exceedingly well. Amit Mishra in particular has been a stand out. The usual suspects Shewag, Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, and Dave Warner have taken turns to produce match winning performances. All the fringe players have delivered. The supporting cast namely, leggie Ladda, quickies Sangwan and Umesh Yadav, all-rounder Bhatia, and batter Kedar Jadhav have also excelled. This bodes well for a Delhi vs. Mumbai finals.

Super Kings: The Chennai Super Kings haven’t been able to win games that they should have and would have in years I and II. Baring Suresh Raina no one has shown any semblance of consistency. Off the foreign recruits only Murali has been worth the money so far. Hayden has shown good intent but has not been too consistent. We haven’t seen too much of Dhoni's inspired batting. His reluctance to take singles and rotate the strike during his initial stay at the crease is hurting the team. Balaji has been terrible. If a bowler is unable to bowl six decent balls in a row then he doesn’t deserve a spot on the team. The same goes for Goni (he might be playing his last season for Chennai). Ganapathy deserves more chances and the captain needs to show faith in these fringe players instead of openly relying on 4-5 stars. Hopefully Hussey and Bollinger help this team turn it around and Vijay and Jakati continue to build on their recent strong performances.

Royals: Shane Warne has once again extracted the best out the players. Despite losing Smith early the team is very much in the hunt. The credit should go to the captain, Yusuf Pathan, and Naman Ojha (keeper/opener). Yusuf would be the most feared player thus far in the tournament. I would like to see more of Munaf in the playing XI. The Himachal boy Dogra is showing promise and one hopes that he continues to play well. Despite having the wily Warne at the helm, I would be surprised if this team reaches the knock-out stage. Royals fans would be eagerly waiting for the next player draft.

Chargers: Andy Symonds seems to be coming back to usual self (batting a bit, bowling a bit, fielding a bit, and chirping a lot). He has already inspired Yusuf Pathan for the Charger's sake let’s hope that he doesn’t continue to inspire any more opposition players. Other than him, Gibbs and Rohit Sharma seem to be playing well. Pragyan Ojha and Rohit Sharma have been the best bowlers so far. Gilly is not earning himself a lot of fans by not picking Laxman (but I wouldn’t blame Gilly for not playing him). Suman seems like a player with lot of potential but seems to be lacking the confidence to be a star. Glad to note that the Yadav (Shivlal and sons) haven’t pushed their way into this team. Hopefully next year they get Rayudu back home not at the expense of Rohit Sharma the Mumbai lad (Rayudu now plays for Mumbai).

Knight Riders: Ganguly seems to be waging a lone battle. Hopefully Gayle and junior Hussey help him out a bit. None of the Bengal players have shown up yet. Murali Kartik has been the pick of the bowlers. Ishant Sharma needs to learn from Bond if he wants to go anywhere in his career. Umesh Yadav (Punjab boy who plays for Delhi Daredevils) is waiting to take off - watch out Ishant. Saha may be the better 'keeper' on display in the league thus far.

And finally the Kings XI: A pretty owner alone is not sufficient to be a successful IPL team (as we have learned from Kings XI and KKR). Irfan Pathan has been the only consistent performer. Piyush Chawla's spin bowling has been decent. This team would still have no wins if not for the self destructive performance by Chennai. Sanga and the rest of the team seem to be totally out of form. It looks like only Dhoni or Sachin would be able to rein in the egoistic but immensely powerful Yuvraj. Maybe this is something for the owners to pay attention to in the next draft. Where are the Punjab players? No I am not asking about Goni!!

On the whole it has been an enjoyable tournament for the players, fans, and journalists. The fans world over don't seem to be missing Ponting, Clarke, or Mitch Johnson. May be they are better off keeping their little tushes safe and their egos with them in Australia.

Let’s hope that the second half is even better! Go Cricket!