IPL # 3: Teams I support

April 25 2010 Update: A few hours after the Final

Alright, here I go wrong yet again for the 3rd year => My favored team doesn't win the competition. Mumbai came in second best to Chennai, a team that I ranked second from bottom! A few thoughts:

• The more committed and calmer team on the day won
  
• The turning point for me was Abhishek Nayar saying to Dilhara Fernando, "it is yours" (the catch). The beneficiary went on to be the man-of-the-match.
  
• Mumbai had their chances at chasing but Tendulkar didn't receive enough support from his batsmen, after his fielders let him down in the first half.
  
• The most obvious mistake Tendulkar made as a captain was to get Kieron Pollard in too late; I'm sure he had other plans that didn't work out, yet, when the asking rate piled up to 12 an over, it might have been prudent to cancel original plans and get Pollard in.
  
• As for Chennai - they peaked at the right time in all departments. While the whole team did very well, Dhoni did very well as a captain, and notable contributions came in from Raina and all the bowlers. Very good job! Well deserved.

Final thoughts on my rankings:

• Teams I supported won exactly 30 of the total 60 matches. That makes a perfect 50/50 split, so I am statistically as reliable as a Russian roulette. I am so glad I wasn't worse.
• Only 1 out of 8 teams I ranked came in exactly at the position I had predicted -> Kolkata Nautanki Riders came in at 6th position! (FYI - I had Mumbai at # 1, but since they lost the final I've counted them at # 2 overall despite Mumbai leading after the round robin)
• The only spin I can provide for Chennai winning is that this year, Chennai were the leaders in Kingfisher Fairplay rankings, the all-important basis on which I support teams. Perhaps it is only fair that they have also won the competition.
  

Final thoughts on each team:

Mumbai:
I thought they did very well to reach the final. They have a lot of younger players, and I'm sure they'll all mature over the years. Among the younger players, Saurabh Tiwary and Kieron Pollard are worth looking out for in the future.

Punjab:
Midway through the competition, they did make me feel why I even bothered to support them on the basis of a previous year's Fairplay award ranking. Yet, even though they lost a lot of initial matches, I thought they had their chances at making it to the semi-final. I thought their losses to Rajasthan and to Bangalore in the second half of the round robin was extremely upsetting for fans. In key matches, they stole defeat from the jaws of victory. Among the players who I thought should have performed much better - Brett Lee, Yuvraj, and Sangakarra himself.


Delhi:
Ho ho ho.. they really lost their way in the last 5 matches, didn't they, when it appeared that a semi-final berth was almost a given. Almost was the word, and looking at the body language of the team in those modest total chases in their last 2-3 matches, one could be forgiven for thinking they should have been ranked at the bottom. The mojo was just missing in the end. Better luck next year! Among the players who I thought should have performed better - Sehwag and Dilshan.


Hyderabad:
If at all match-fixing allegations in IPL are true, my money is on Hyderabad being in the thick of things. They did remarkably well to make it to the semi-finals with that 5 match winning streak leading to the semi-finals. But some lost matches seemed very inexplicable, except if they were fixed. Among the matches that are strong candidates for match-fixing: The loss to Rajasthan, and the losses in the semi-final and for the 3rd place.


(to be completed with thoughts on 4 other teams)

p.s: For season # 4, I've made up my mind that it'll be based primarily on which team has my favorite bowlers, followed by my favorite captains. Until next year - Cheers!!

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April 24 2010 Update: A day before the Final

To Lalit Modi: I'm thankful to you for having seen the profit potential of IPL, and for having executed the idea quite efficiently, though it wouldn't please everyone's palate. I think though it is time for you to leave - 3 seasons of IPL should suffice for you, esp. after you got Shashi Tharoor have to leave his ministerial position (more on that below).

To Shashi Tharoor: Dude! How could you be so careless! It is one thing being a Laloo and getting away with eating millions worth of fodder. I would think you can (and should have) been on a different plane. Either play the game like a Laloo OR play it like a Manmohan. It's a regret to see you leave your ministerial position - what are you going to say to Fareed when you next come on his show? I'll look forward to it.

Now to the matches and my rankings:

I had a really bad year with my predictions. My rankings seem to have got scrambled as you see below. The Top 2 bad points first:

• My # 2 team (Punjab) were the bottom team!
• My second from bottom team (Chennai) made it to the finals!

The Top 2 good points:

• My # 1 team (Mumbai) made it to the finals, and actually came at the top of the points table after the round-robin matches.
  
• My bottom team (Rajasthan) came second from bottom! As I said "Warney, your assets do not make up for the liabilities of Shilpa Shetty".

There is so much else to be written, but I think sticking to the Top 2 point keeps it clean. As I look to the next two matches, it is obvious I'll support:

• Hyderabad over Bangalore (3rd place)
  
• Mumbai over Chennai (Final)

P.S: Alright, had my fill of T20. I understand there's another helping coming with the World T20. But I can't wait for India's next Test series to begin. I need to see Sachin heading to 50 centuries, Dravid on Ricky's tail, and the next middle order batsman - M. Vijay?

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ORIGINAL POST DATED: March 13 2010

I tend to have my own set of rankings based on which I support teams that play in IPL. My Season # 1 rankings were based on Fairplay and Season # 2 rankings based on business-efficiency. This year, my rankings are a heady mix of Fairplay and my personal likes/dislikes (call it chemistry):

# 1 Mumbai:

I believe 2010 is the Year of Tendulkar! Riding on the back of a ODI 200 not out, I expect his confidence to boost the team's prospects. Also, Mumbai stood 3rd in the IPL 2009 Fairplay Rankings at 127 points out of 140. I value fair play rankings very highly, even though many would argue that the methodology followed isn't the best. I personally think that asking the field umpires to drive the rankings is perhaps the best method.

# 2 King’s XI:

Despite all my reservations about the swagger of Yuvraj, they were the IPL 2009 Fair Play winners with 138 out of 140 points! For that reason, I'll support them this year after Mumbai. A distant second reason is that their captain happens to be Sangakarra, someone I highly respect.

# 3 Delhi:

When I first heard that Sehwag was not playing, I dropped the team to the bottom half. Later I found that he was just stepping down as captain, so I brought them back to the top half. They were my favorites last year with few changes this year, making it very difficult for me to drop them too many notches. Finally, they ended up being Runners Up in the Fairplay Rankings in 2009 with 131 out of 140 points. They get my support right after Mumbai and Punjab. I so wish McGrath plays this year.

# 4 Hyderabad:

I'll stay true to the same reasons that they were my # 1 choice from IPL Season # 1. Also, I double-checked to see that the lamb-gentleman is playing. He is.

# 5 Bangalore:

Three reasons:

First, Kumble stands tall as bowler in a shamelessly batsman’s T20

Second, Mallya's team stays true to his lifestyle charms, starting with good dressing sense.

Third, the team stood 3rd in the IPL 2009 Fairplay awards at 127 out of a maximum of 140 points.

# 6 Kolkata Nautanki Riders:

There is too much Nautanki with this team, forcing me to name them Nautanki-Riders. But theek hai, I've slammed them too much in the past two seasons, ranking them at the bottom in both seasons. Let me give Shahrukh's team a break and rank them a couple of notches up from the bottom. I'm sure that defeat teaches you far more than victory does, though one could argue how much a Nautanki party could learn. Best wishes anyway! At the very least I hope they don't end up at the bottom of the Fairplay rankings this year too.

# 7 Chennai:

Usually always in my top 4, but I thought of giving other teams a break; also, I was pretty disappointed that they chose to not spend much on new players for the 2010 season. It's a very strong and consistent team though.

# 8 Rajasthan:

At the risk of knocking on the doors of double-entendre, let me say that the assets of Shane Warne fail to beat the liabilities of Shilpa Shetty! (Plainspeak - I don't respect most Bollywood actors, much less actresses. I let Shahrukh and Preity get away, but not Shilpa).

Results Tracker

Did my favored team beat their opponent? (Updated: April 25 2010)

30 out of 60!!

1. No > Hyderabad lost to Kolkata
2. Yes > Mumbai beat Rajasthan
3. No > Punjab lost to Delhi
4. No > Bangalore lost to Kolkata
5. Yes > Hyderabad beat Chennai
6. Yes> Delhi beat Rajasthan
7. No > Punjab lost to Bangalore
8. No > Kolkata lost to Chennai
9. Yes > Mumbai beat Delhi
10. Yes > Bangalore beat Rajasthan
11. No > Delhi lost to Chennai
12. No > Punjab lost to Hyderabad
13. No > Kolkata lost to Rajasthan
14. No > Mumbai lost to Bangalore
15. No > Delhi lost to Hyderabad
16. Yes > Punjab beat Chennai
17. Yes > Mumbai beat Kolkata
18. Yes > Bangalore beat Chennai
19. No > Punjab lost to Rajasthan
20. Yes > Delhi beat Bangalore
21. Yes > Mumbai beat Chennai
22. No > Hyderabad lost to Rajasthan
23. No > Punjab lost to Kolkata
24. No > Chennai lost to Rajasthan
25. Yes > Mumbai beat Hyderabad
26. Yes > Delhi beat Kolkata
27. Yes > Mumbai beat Punjab
28. No > Bangalore lost to Chennai
29. Yes > Delhi beat Rajasthan
30. No > Hyderabad lost to Kolkata
31. No > Punjab lost to Bangalore
32. Yes > Bangalore beat Rajasthan
33. Yes > Mumbai beat Hyderabad
34. Yes > Punjab beat Kolkata
    
35. Yes > Delhi beat Bangalore
36. No > Hyderabad lost to Rajasthan
37. No > Mumbai lost to Chennai
38. No > Punjab lost to Rajasthan
39. No > Delhi lost to Kolkata
40. Yes > Hyderabad beat Bangalore
41. No > Mumbai lost to Punjab
42. Yes > Hyderabad beat Chennai
43. Yes > Bangalore beat Kolkata
44. Yes > Punjab beat Delhi
45. Yes > Mumbai beat Rajasthan
46. Yes > Hyderabad beat Bangalore
47. Yes > Mumbai beat Delhi
48. No > Kolkata lost to Chennai
49. Yes > Bangalore beat Rajasthan
50. Yes > Delhi beat Chennai
51. No > Punjab lost to Hyderabad
52. Yes > Mumbai beat Bangalore
53. Yes > Kolkata beat Rajasthan
54. No > Punjab lost to Chennai
55. No > Delhi lost to Hyderabad
56. No > Mumbai lost to Kolkata
57. Yes > Mumbai beat Bangalore
58. No > Chennai beat Hyderabad
59. No > Bangalore beat Hyderabad
60. No > Chennai beat Mumbai