Shah Rukh has sent a SMS to his team saying that he would boycott the remaining matches of the IPL till the League clarified the code of conduct and cricketing authorities.
King Khan cannot digest the fact that ICC anti-corruption department has objected his proximity to his own players. He said that he finds it really ridiculous that he would pay his players to loose when he have already paid so heavily for building a team for winning ! His main objection is to the fact that this action somewhat labels him as a bookie.
He also pointed out to the fact that while other owners are being allowed to mix freely with their team members - he has been singled out just due to his celebrity status. Earlier he had also expressed his unhappiness about the entertainment tax levied on his team by the West Bengal Government which is not applicable in any other states.
Meanwhile IPL governing body went out of its way to bend rules and issue special red passes to team owners allowing then fifteen minutes access to dressing rooms and dugout.
Perhaps what everyone is missing out the fact which probably raised concern among the icc anti-corruption is King Khans visit to the opponents teams (Chennai Superkings) dug out during the Kolkata match. This may not have been taken well by the ICC authorities and rightly so - Cricket does not follow the rules of Bollywood where everything can be scripted conveniently.
Also, the dismal performance of Kolkata Knight Riders must be adding fuel to King Khans frustration - but rules are rules - Cricket is a game of discipline and performance - emotions do not have much place here.
True we will loose out on the cheering performance of King Khan in the semis and the finals - but Virender Shewag, Gambhir, Sachin, Shaun Marsh, Yuvraj, MS Dhoni, Jayasiriya are no less real-life entertainers.
Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals at Kolkata
Rajasthan would like to win this match to statistically confirm a place in the semi finals while for Kolkata, it is a do or die match.
Men at the Helm
Both Warne and Ganguly have been inspirational for their sides but Ganguly is still to fully come to terms with the nuances of the youngest baby of the sport. The last match between these two left a sour after taste. It would be interesting to see what they come up with, this time.
We have the bat
Apart from Smith and Ganguly there are no huge stars in any of the teams but certainly there are a few in line to become stars. Watch out for Asnodkar, Watson and Pathan from Royals and Hussey, Butt and Debabrata Das from Knight Riders.
We have the ball
These two sides have bowled the best in the tournament. Kolkata are a much starry bowling line up with Ishant and Shoaib in the ranks. But Rajasthan pacers have bowled with immaculate line and length while Shane Warne has added the flair. Shoaib sustained an injury in the last match and Kolkata would dearly like him to be fit in time for this one.
Patrolling Party
Rajasthan have fielded very well in the tournament. Kolkata on the other hand have been patchy, being brilliant at times and sloppy at others.
High on betting meter
Rajasthan are high on betting meter with returns around 70 percent while Kolkata give returns of over 100 percent.
Who gets the tick?
Knight Riders have been riding on some individual performances. They don’t look a solid unit. Royals are on a roll at the moment andKolkata will have to dish out something spectacular to pull off this one.
While talking to a Kolkata daily on Friday after the fateful match at the Wankhede Stadium, Shah Rukh Khan said that these things happen, teams do end of loosing badly and this time they got taken apart, and its sad for him when that happened to his own team.
When asked whether this happening in Mumbai, his own base made it a bigger disappointment, he said that he does not have any regional issues with the team, in fact he does not believe in regionalism, but what bothers him is that the team lost both its matches with the Mumbai Indians. He also said that they should have been able to cover their weaknesses and for him the bottom-line is that its not nice to lose to any team.
There will be long debates across the coffee houses in Kolkata and the Barista’s in Mumbai on whether it was great bowling, or over confidence or a bad pitch which led to the miserable defeat of Knight Riders with the lowest total ever scored in 20Twenty Cricket. And this comes after a dream run of three straight wins.
This is not only the quickest win in this IPL. To make things even better for the Mumbai Indians, this is also a World Record for the fastest Twenty20 win ever!
Mumbai climb up to the 4th spot in the points table now, they topple Kolkata and leave behind Delhi too with one game less and better net run-rate!
This is Mumbai’s fifth straight win in this tournament, they equal with Kolkata and Delhi in the points table now but occupies the forth position due to their run-rate. While Kolkata gets displaced to the 6th position just ahead of Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Inspite of Sachin getting out for zero, Jayasuriya continued his flamboyance from where he left in the last match. Earlier Shaun Pollock plucked the vital wickets of David Hussey, Hafeez and Salman Butt and the Knight Riders managed a total of just 67 losing all their wickets. Mumbai Indians - the ‘men in blue’ met the target in just 5.3 overs won by 8 wickets with Shaun grabbing the Man of the Match.
Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders at Hyderabad
Last time these two teams met, the pitch didn’t set up a happy background but the struggle was superb. The pitch at Hyderabad is likely to be batting friendly. Expect Chargers to come out with revenge on their minds.
Men at the Helm
Ganguly inspired his boys to victory in the last game against Bangalore with a man of the match performance and that too for his bowling. Gilchrist has led the side well in Laxman’s absence but the side is sorely missing his batting.
We have the bat
Batting of both these teams hasn’t been very good. Its only Rohit and Gilchrist, who have clicked for Deccan and even they haven’t fired together. For Kolkata, only David Hussey has looked convincing. But Taibu showed glimpses in the last match.
We have the ball
Knight Riders’ bowling is much stronger than Deccan which they proved in the last match against Bangalore too. Ishant has been phenomenal. Ojha has taken wickets for Chargers but been costly. They dearly want RP Singh to strike big
Patrolling Party
Barring two or three in each side both are average fielding units. But Kolkata were an inspired lot in the field in the last match and Taibu was a revelation.
High on betting meter
This is the reason why nobody dares to speak against this team called Deccan Chargers winning. Even loss after loss they are still higher on betting meter.
Who gets the tick?
Kolkata put in a great performance in the last match but its time for Gilly, Rohit, Gibbs and Styris to write their own script this time.
