Rajasthan Royals is a team which was virtually written off by all Cricket Guru’s in the initial stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL) just after the auction . Even Lalit Modi was not too happy with the amounts spend for acquiring Crickets in the auction as his expectations were high given the financial clout of Lalchan Murdock - an heir of the billion dollar star TV / Fox Tv empire and son of Media Moghul Rupert Murdoch. Rajastnan Royals remained a passive observer of the ignorant hype of bollywood kings and badshah’s and million dollar splash from the Ambanis and the Mallaya’s.
Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Daredevils at Bangalore
Bangalore and Deccan are out of the race for the throne but they could be the King makers now. Apart from Deccan, Bangalore also have matches left with Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai and they could well catch the leg of one of these teams to kill their semi final dreams.
Men at the Helm
Rahul Dravid hasn’t been able to do much because his batters have disappointed consistently. Sehwag has shown confidence in his boys but the incidents like arguing with umpires at Jaipur, the break in play at Delhi breaking Venu Gopal’s flow and delaying covering of pitch when rain set in against Punjab have left a sour taste in mouth. But as far as his team goes, he has led them well and been aggressive, instinctive and innovative.
We have the bat
On paper the Bangalore batting might be even a little higher than Delhi but apart from Dravid each and everyone has failed. They would like to salvage some pride. Delhi on the other hand would need one of, Sehwag and Gambhir to fire otherwise they might not have enough runs on the board.
We have the ball
Both are pretty good bowling units but Bangalore missed Steyn badly in the last match. His pace prevents oppositions to take the attack in the early overs. Batters on both sides will find it difficult to play with the same flow as they could have against other oppositions.
Patrolling Party
Delhi are the best fielding unit in the competition and they have proved it time and again. In the last match the fielders took some sensational catches and one could have gone just to watch the Daredevils field. Bangalore on the other hand have been patchy. While they have had some sensational catches been taken by Dravid, Kohli, Jaffer and Steyn, they have conceded many free runs in some matches.
High on betting meter
On most betting meters they are placed at the same level. Kolkata are marginally lower on a few owing to their vulnerable batting.
Who gets the tick?
Delhi have the upper hand but a good spell from Zaheer or Steyn up front could knock two or three and expose Delhi’s vulnerable middle order. Bangalore would like to give their home crowd something to cheer about and look forward to, for the next season.
Afer three straight defeats Chennai finally woke up under the captain ship of MS Dhoni who spear headed a thrilling four-wicket win over Delhi in the Indian Premier League overnight.
Gautam Gambhir smashed 80 off just 49 balls as the Devils compiled a formidable 5 for 187 after being put into bat at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.
Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan (59) put on a record 121 for the third wicket and the Super Kings did well to restrict the Devils to below 200.
Chennai pulled off a fantastic run chase, led by Stephen Fleming’s 44 off 28 balls and S Vidyut (40 off 23), promoted to open in place of Parthiv Patel.
The pair put on 62 runs for the first wicket and captain MS Dhoni (33) and Albie Morkel (30) ensured their early work did not go to waste. For the first time in Inidan Premier League, the match was won only in the last ball of the game.
Delhi Daredevils got support from Religare, who will support it as the associate partner. Shachindra Nath, Group COO, delighted to be associated with the Delhi Daredevils said, “From a strategic perspective, as an organization, we are always open to such associations and we look forward with great zeal to this new relationship.”
Subhrangshu Neogi, VP – Brand and Corporate Communications said, “Religare as a brand would always want to be seen as an innovator and a paradigm buster in all its ventures. An association with something as big and much anticipated as the IPL we believe that it is a good exposure for the brand. There is a huge cultural fit and synergy that we see between GMR, Religare and Delhi Daredevil team - they are all young, vibrant and the team’s positive aggression instantly connects with the Religare brand’s virtues and attributes.”
Religare has always believed in nurturing and encouraging young, energetic and vibrant talent. Sports are all about diligence and discipline and the Religare brand is driven by the core value of diligence. Religare would like to be associated with different sporting events with a view to connect effectively with its target groups, like the partnership with Golf, through the Indian Open in the recent past.
Roshan N Chowdhry, MD NAC Advertising, the agency on record for Religare Enterprises, and also in his personal capacity as strategic media advisor was closely involved in the closure of the final deal. As per him this association will give Religare tremendous brand exposure. “This association with IPL will give high quality exposure to the Religare brand. And we believe it is a good property to be associated with from a media standpoint. Going forward we shall continue to look for more such innovations as we have consistently been doing in the past.”
GMR Sports are the owners of ‘Delhi Daredevils’, Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team of the National Capital for the 20:20 cricket tournament.
Riding high on the celebrity appeal, The ‘Delhi Daredevils’ have roped in Bollywood’s own daredevil, Akshay Kumar, as brand partner. The team is captained by Virendra Sehwag and includes Gautam Gambir, Dinesh Karthik and, has eight international stars - Glenn McGrath, Daniel Vettori, Shoaib Malik, Abraham de Villiers, Mohammad Asif, Farveez Maharoof, Tillekeratne Dilshan and Brett Geeves.
Taking a break from training day, Delhi Daredevils coach Shippard shared his views on his team’s training and about the IPL league. Delhi Daredevils coach Greg Shippard believes the coaches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams have a difficult and challenging job at hand. “The teams have players from different backgrounds. There are local players as well as international stars along with youngsters. They will have to gel as a team in this short period and that will be a challenging task for any coach,” said Shippard.
“IPL is a new concept. The players will have to bond together, develop a team relationship and play as a unit,” he added.
Shippard, who is the successful coach of the Australian state team Victoria, said Twnety20 cricket is getting huge popularity and is a very energetic and entertaining format of the game.
“It is very popular format in Australia. Crowds have swelled in T20 matches unlike in other domestic competition. T20 is very demanding physically and mentally for the players,” he said.
“We have got a good team and we are hopeful about our chances in the tournament. In the next few days we will assess the skills of the players and prepare them for the tournament,” he added.
Cricket director of Daredevils T.A. Sekar said the six fast bowlers whom they have picked in the side will be up for the task at hand.
“Mohd Asif and Glenn McGrath have the experience. Then we have Farveez Mahroof, young Pradeep Sangwan and Yo Mahesh. With Daniel Vettori in the side, we have variety in our attack.”
The Delhi Daredevil captain Sehwag and Coach Shippard will have to work hard with the boys and gentlemen of their team to win the cup.
