Climbing the ladder!

While on one hand I was thankful to the rain last night for making the night cooler, the same rain played a spoiltsport in Delhi when the washed out match between the Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders got rained off! With the washout went any slim hopes KKR may have entertained of entering into the semi-finals of the inaugural edition of the IPL. Quite a disappointing - some may say fitting - end to Dada and SRK's Journey!

A lot of promise - on paper .. They fought bravely but only in patches! Apart from 2-3 outstanding innings, there wasnothing substantial coming out of the KKR camp. Most importantly, the team had to play well together which they failed to have done in this edition atleast! Hoping for more from them the next time they come out to play! We still love you Knight Riders!

By the way, I am currently busy writing an article for the next edition of the The Charter magazine by ICFAI - so my posts may be very general till I finish with that! Additionally, I am workng on a top-secret dream project at the moment, details of which I can't furnish now. So please don't ask me! :-) I thank my argumentative friends who often ignite this I'll-show-you-how-it-is-done spirit in me - just keeps me going, trying my level best to go one step further, climb one more rung! Korbo, Lorbo, JEETBO RE!

Royal(s) Humbling the Knight Riders!

When the King of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, launched his cricket franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders, in glittering style a few weeks along with a couple of heartwarming taglines, he could neve have imagines that a few days later he would be mouthing one of those after the third consecutive defeat in the IPL tournament -- Be scared, be shit scared!

Though the Knight Riders began their campaign in style winning two matches in a row, the fire seems to have died in the bellies of the Knight Riders ever since they have returned from the 6-day break!

Or maybe the fire was nowhere there in the first place! I mean take away Brendon's dreamy, breezy, surrealistic, out-of-this-world innings in the first match, a shocker of a pitch in the second and a couple of breezy knocks from Shukla and you are left staring at a batting line up that has failed to fire in any of the matches! Ya sure the bowling looks good, especially with Ishant running in and cleaning up the left handers, but the overall standard of the Riders have left a lot to desire. Where is the fire guys?? What happened to all that aggression? Lacking any sense of purpose or a reason to perform? Or all you are concerned about is pocketing your fat pay cheque? If the Knight Riders do not get their acts together in the coming days, then they may find themselves contesting for the top 4 position in the IPL championship -- from the bottom!

But nothing should be taken away from Rajasthan Royals, who have relied on local talent and the sheer presence of their captain, Shane Warne, to cause as many as 4 upsets. For someone labelled as underdogs, they sure have done wonderfully well to have 4 wins under their belt from the 5 matches they have played so far. The same can't be said of the other, more fanciful and overpaid, franchises. The battle for the Top Spot in the IPL championship promises to be a captivating one and in my heart, I believe it's just a matter of one win -- yes, just 1 win, 1 moment of inspiration -- to set the Knight Riders back on track! So, keep cheering SRK, Kolkata, All the King's Men! Because, Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re!

The night for the Knight Riders

Be warned Rajasthan Royals: Be scared, be s*hit scared for the Knight Riders will out to regain their pride in Jaipur! The villains, the devils, all the King's Men are seething from their losses in the last 2 matches and there is no better balm for the pride than by going all out and beating the crap out of the opposition.

Though the Knight Riders began their campaign in style wining the first 2 matches, they seem to have lost the plot in their last 2 matches. Or maybe the 6 day break from the frenetic pace of this format has lulled their senses. But it does not matter, for the task masters -- John Buchanan and Sourav Ganguly are ready to kick ass! Sourav himself needs to lead from the front and silence all his detractors (once again!).

But nothing should be taken away from Rajasthan Royals, who have relied on local talent and the sheer presence of their captain, Shane Warne, to cause as many as 3 upsets. For someone labelled as underdogs, they sure have done wonderfully well to have 3 wins under their belt from the 4 matches they have played so far. The same can't be said of the other, more fanciful and overpaid, franchises. This battle promises to be a captivating one with Sourav going once more against his nemesis, the God of spin, Shane Warne. It's just a matter of leading by example -- the captain who does it better today shall prevail and in my heart, I believe it's just a matter of one win to set the Knight Riders back on track! So, keep cheering SRK, Kolkata, All the King's Men!