Indian Premier League announced yesterday the introduction of the Purple Cap, which will be awarded to the bowler with maximum total wickets to his name. IPL had earlier introduced the Orange Cap for the batsman with most cumulative runs against his name.
According to an IPL statement, at the end of the season, the holder of the Purple Cap will receive recognition on the final day of the IPL. And in the event of a tie at any given time, the holder will be determined by superior economy rate.
“We have seen over the course of the inaugural season of the DLF Indian Premier League so far that bowlers have just as important a role to play in winning T20 matches as batsmen do” said Lalit Modi.
“DLF IPL has created a distinction for the highest wicket taking bowler in the ‘Purple Cap’. The purpose of this initiative is to continue to be innovative, create a further unique piece of history that sets the DLF Indian Premier League apart form the crowd, and to acknowledge outstanding performance by the bowlers,” Modi said.
“The bowler who wins the right to call himself Purple Cap Winner 2008 will certainly have earned the right to feel proud of the achievement, since the prevailing thought is that T20 is a ‘batsmans game’ and DLF IPL is blessed with many of the world’s greatest batsmen,” Modi added.
This is something good for bowlers like Sohail Tanvir. Laxmipati Balaji and others who deserves recognition for match winning performance.
Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Mohali
Professional cricket is here. CEOs being axed, captains getting flack in public from the team owners. Bangalore’s flight still seems to be on the runway only. On the other hand, Preity Zinta has a wide smile on her face. She is ahead of other glmorous promoters like Shahrukh, Mallya, Akshay and Hrithik. Can Mallya’s men get a punch back for him!
Men at the Helm
Yuvraj has been doing a pretty decent job at the helm. The most adorable thing has been the comradery he has been able to establish between the various international stars, Indian internationals and the rest not so well known Indian players. On the other hand, Rahul hasn’t really had a chance to flex his muscles and experiment because the batters have
consistently failed to post decent scores.
We have the bat
Absence of Sangakarra could hurt Kings XI but even in his absence they are a formidable batting unit. Shaun Marsh has run into rich vein of form. Lower down the order, Pathan and Chawla have been more than handy. The Royal Challengers on the other hand have had just odd good innings here and there from Boucher and Dravid. Not much else to speak
of. They dearly want Misbah and White to come good.
We have the ball
This is one area where Royal Challengers score over Kings XI. Punjab too have been bowling well but Bangalore, Rajasthan and Delhi have been the three stand out bowling units in the league so far. Zaheer and Steyn look in the rhythm of their lives. They are pitching yorkers as easily as targeting an elephant. Praveen and Kumble have provided good support. Irfan has bowled extremely well for Punjab and Sreesanth has come good too in the last two games but still apart from Irfan others are vulnerable.
Patrolling Party
Both teams are good fielding sides but the last match between these was a disaster as far as fielding was concerned. They will be out to prove a point this time around.
High on betting meter
Punjab are pretty high on most betting meters with a return of around 60 percent while a bet on Bangalore gives a return of plus 140 percent.
Who gets the tick?
Punjab seem to be overwhelming favourites but this is quite a funny game and this match is also probably the last turn for Bangalore to remain in contention.
England’s only representative at the IPL- Dimitri Mascarenhas believes the recent spate of players around county cricket saying they have turned down offers to play in India is because counties haven’t given their permission rather than the players not wanting to go.
Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara, who have both been in action for England Lions at the New Zealanders, have rejected IPL offers saying they want to concentrate on their international careers. After his first day hundred at The Rose Bowl, Wright said: “It was never really something I questioned at time, but it’s bad timing and all I want to do is play for England.”
“I read with interest that Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara turned down the IPL this week but, to be honest, it might not be that straightforward,” Mascarenhas said in his Daily Mail column. “I’m speculating here, but I reckon it’s more the fact that, at this late stage, their counties have refused them permission to go. I doubt very much whether the players themselves would turn it down.
“I was lucky because my approach came at a much earlier stage and I was able to come to an agreement with Hampshire that kept everyone happy. English players will be here next year, believe me.” he added.
IPL will evolve into a powerful Cricket tournament given the resources and franchisee powering it plus a cricket loving country which can feel any stadium to full unlike any other place. It is more than a national event of any particular country and will sure establish itself as a global tournament where every top player will find his true place.
After sacking Charu Sharma as the CEO of Bangalore Royals Vijay Mallaya takes aim of Captain Rahul Dravid for poor performance the team.
Mallya was quoted by a national daily as saying, “My biggest mistake was to abstain from the selection of the team. Though, I watch a lot of cricket whenever possible, I am no cricket expert at the end of the day.”
“I had a separate list of players that I wanted. But since Dravid is such an iconic player I trusted his judgment. And Charu Sharma also backed him. After seeing the final list, my friends told me it looked like a Test team. But I backed both of them thinking that they advised me properly,” Mallya added.
Earlier Charu Sharma was dropped unceremoniously and replaced by former Test player Brijesh Patel.
Mallya’s outburst was undoubtedly in the offing given the Royal Challengers’ poor performance in IPL.
Too many test players and an equal amount of baggage has already proved fatal for the Bangalore team which is yet to fit in the Twenty20 format with six loses in eight games, pushing them at the bottom of the league table.
Vijay Mallya’s frustration is aptly justified given the fact that his company United Spirits Ltd bought the Bangalore Franchisee at an overwhelming price of $111.6 million, making it the second-most expensive franchise in the IPL.
Organisers of the Indian Premier League have shifted the June 1 DLF IPL final from the originally scheduled Wankhede Stadium in South Mumbai to the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai for a variety of reasons, BCCI sources said today.
The final has been shifted and will now be held at D Y Patil Stadium. One of the main reasons might be the TV production crew which is not happy with the makeshift arrangements at the Wankhede Stadium which has already been taken up for renovation and there is space constraint for keeping their equipment.
The arrangements for the TV production crew includes temporary location of their vast range of equipments adjacent to the makeshift restaurant located just behind the Garware Stadium stands, the sources added. Basically its an array of editing tables with 30-40 monitors and equal no of computers to track and telecast data plus recording equipment also. This plus the control of all live cameras around the fields and a special center for uplink of the feed to the satellite and a sound proof room for the commentators with an active link to the base station.
Another reason is that the D Y Patil Stadium can hold 55,000 spectators as compared to 40,000 by Wankhede, which increases the revenue of the home team owners - Reliance Industries.
The decision however has not yet been communicated to the franchise owners of Mumbai Indians, the home team, by the IPL authorities who make the final call though the team owners have a say on the matter, said a representative of the franchisee.
