Chatter
mattroberts (29 Apr 2009):
Get Bob Willis back in the side, he's still got fire in the belly. And at least it'll get him off our TV screens
nshah (29 Apr 2009):
None of our bowlers seem to be man enough. Tremlett, Harmison. Where have the men of English bowling gone?? Fred Trueman, Bob Willis and more.
nshah (29 Apr 2009):
I thought I told you Boucher could do it. Both these two teams are poor. Very poor. They are going to have to get their houses in order next year. I fancy John Buchanan to get the sack shortly and Ganguly to be appointed player and coach in a similar vain to Warney.
mattroberts (29 Apr 2009):
In response to your earlier comment... Plunkers was rubbish. Tremlett was good but not man enough. Seems to have faded recently.
mattroberts (29 Apr 2009):
Game over with a four. Bangalore win! Wow, that doesn't happen very often
nshah (29 Apr 2009):
WICKET for Ishant Sharma. Van man is out and Bangalore still need 11 runs from 5 balls. Close.
nshah (29 Apr 2009):
Whatever happened to Plunkett or Tremlett? I think our bowling is a bit of a shambles. Onions has a first class average of 32 or some such. You'd think he wouldn't even be in contention.
nshah (29 Apr 2009):
14 runs from 12 balls needed. They should see it home. Boucher's a pretty good finisher.
mattroberts (29 Apr 2009):
25 needed from 3 overs. Van der Merwe and Boucher are quite capable of this... right?
mattroberts (29 Apr 2009):
I agree. Brave move putting Bopara in there, but he's proving in the IPL that he's got the talent. Bresnan and Onions are decent bowlers but England need a strike bowler. Maybe Saj Mahmood needs another go?
nshah (29 Apr 2009):
KP and Bangalore have been a rather disastrous combination. Vijay Mallya will probably be happy to see the back of KP. He'll probably even get one of his own planes to ship him off home.
nshah (29 Apr 2009):
Just wanted to say that I'm glad that the trio of Bell, Vaughn and Shah have all been left out of the England squad in favour of Bopara. I am also glad that Harmison has been removed, but I must say the English bowling looks very poor.
nshah (29 Apr 2009):
Another wicket now. Kohli's gone to Brad Hodge, who I didn't even know bowled. Is KP going to play a lone hand and go home with chin held high?
mattroberts (29 Apr 2009):
6 and out for Kohli. Are Bangalore going to bottle this? 34 required from 26 now.
The second instalment of the Indian Premier League, the explosive Twenty20 competition. Last year's IPL brought us controversy, Bollywood glamour, grit and all out fisticuffs. More of the same this year please.
- Location: South Africa
- Ends: 21 May 2009
Bangalore Royal Challengers is what you get when one of India's most exciting businessmen is looking for a vehicle to express his dull side. Their performance in 2008 was 20/20 played fifty years ago. But 2009 has ushered in a new dawn, with Vijay returning to his effervescent self and even going a little nuts. That's right, KP nuts (sorry). This year sees the arrival of cricket's most unfathomable talent, Kevin Pietersen. Chastised after his recent dealings with the England Cricket Board, everybody's best friend KP has a lot to prove in a short time. Whatever happens, it won't be boring. As for the details, coached by well known hard task master Ray Jennings and star players including Dravid, Kallis, Steyn and Tinu Yohannan. Oh, and Katrina Kaif might be along for the ride too.
- Matches Played in Series: 14
- Matches Won: 8
- Matches Lost: 6
- Home Stadium: M.Chinnaswamy Stadium
Kolkata, owned by ShahRukh Khan, coached by John Buchanan and captained by the icon Sourav Ganguly (and maybe others) are a team of personalities. The team started with a bang last year, but wilted in the latter stages of the tournament. There have been all sorts of controversies in the build up to the start of IPL 2009, including John Buchanan's new masterplan of multiple captains, ShahRukh Khan's public attack on India's finest Sunny Gavaskar and Sourav's public admissions of not knowing what anybody's talking about. Unless everybody starts working together, another low finish looks on the cards. Still, there's always the possibility of ShahRuhk taking his top off, even if the chances of Sourav baring himself again seem slim. Key personnel include Ishant Sharma and the firecracker Brendon McCullum.
- Matches Played in Series: 14
- Matches Won: 3
- Matches Lost: 10
- Home Stadium: Eden Gardens