Stars to watch out for in IPL-3
It’s that time folks when the so-called fast food cricket will take over our eyeballs, tv screens and not to mention our nails.
The Indian Premier League season-3 will commence in a colourful ceremony at the DY Patil Stadium on March 12 with the defending champions Deccan Chargers taking on Kolkata Knight Riders.
Deccan Chargers have scripted one of the memorable comebacks witnessed in the Twenty20 history when they won the title in South Africa after being down in the dumps in the first. They will be one of the teams to watch out for in a format where fortune changes every over.
While every team boasts of superstars in the form of Sourav Ganguly, M.S. Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Virender Sehwag, Shane Warne, Yuvraj Singh and Anil Kumble in their ranks, the winner of this edition will be a team that performs the best in the pressure-cooker situations and comes out trumps.
Twenty20 cricket might be an infant when compared to the likes of Test cricket and ODIs but this format can give the other two, a run for their money. Last year’s Deccan Chargers versus Kolkata Knight Riders went all the way down to the wire with Chargers’ Rohit Sharma sinking the hopes of KKR with a magical sixer off the last ball.
That’s just one instance of how this game can make the fans chew off your nails in tension and anticipation. Going by the success rates of the first two editions has achieved, this IPL-4 promises to only get better.
With two new teams set to be added in the coming days and 10 team from IPL-4, the competition levels too would soar.
So who are the stars to watch out for in IPL-4?
Adam Gilchrist: The legendary Oz wicketkeeper has scripted one of the greatest turnarounds for Deccan Chargers and he will once again hold the key for the Chargers’ run in the tournament. With his attacking brand of batting and brilliant leadership skills, the left-hander will be the one to watch out for.
Herschelle Gibbs: He may not have set the world on fire in the first two editions, but Gibbs has the experience and skill required to set the pace for the defending champions. Gibbs can lift the spirits of his team with his fielding skills and can disrupt the apple-cart of any team on his team.
Manish Pandey: He has been part of the U-19 World Cup squad that won the tournament under Virat Kohli and gave his resume a boost when he scored a superb century against Deccan Chargers in the South African edition last year. He has since been spoken highly as a prospect in the Indian team.
Sachin Tendulkar: Never ever count the Master out. That’s what he said through his batting in that monumental knock at Gwalior against the Proteas. He will be a vital cog for the Mumbai Indians and the batting legend will want to lift the title for his team.
Sanath Jayasuriya: Opens with Sachin and you don’t require me to tell you how destructive he can be on his day. He is electric on the field at a grand old age and can be quite handy with the ball.
Rohit Sharma: May not have done full justice to his talent at the international level but this youngster has enough firepower to fire on all the cylinders and come up trumps. His show at the IPL could prove to be a great case in getting him back into the Indian team for good.
R.P. Singh: This talented left-armer made a great start to his career and was in the scheme of things till an indifferent form with the ball for a prolonged period saw him out of the selectors’ sight. He was the purple-cap owner in the last edition of the cash-awash tournament and it will be interesting to see how he comes about with the ball this time.
Shane Warne: The legendary leggie from Oz has been instrumental in getting his franchise — the Rajasthan Royals clinch the inaugural edition of the tournament and there is no reason why he will not be want to try his luck yet again in India.
M.S. Dhoni: The talismanic Indian skipper has been leading the Chennai Super Kings with aplomb but in the first edition they lost out on the last ball of the tourney while they failed to cross the hurdle in IPL-2 too held in South Africa last year. Dhoni has a team that is not short of talented souls but a collective approach towards victory on a given day is what will differentiate the winners from the rest.
Virender Sehwag: With lady luck failing him in the first two editions, Viru promptly asked the owners to name Gautam Gambhir as the skipper for the third edition. Known for his dashing skills on the wicket, he is also a player who plays the game in the most simplest manner possible. Despite his captaincy gone, expect no mercy from the Delhi Devil to the cherry hurlers.
Yuvraj Singh: Another talented lad whose leadership skills came into question and teammate Kumar Sangakkara was made the captain. But the Punjab Puttar will leave no stone unturned in proving that ‘Singh is King’.
Irfan Pathan: He may be the last man but never the least. For someone who was the mainstay in the Indian side not long ago, life surely has gone awry. Such has been his plight that he was not in the 30-member probables for the World Cup to be held this year in West Indies. Nevertheless, Irfan is the one to watch out for in the IPL extravaganza and he will more than ready to settle a few scores on the ground.
Also, there are so many cricketers who have been left out of the XII as it was difficult to accomodate them here. Names such as Matthew Hayden, Kieron Pollard, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene too can prove to be more than handful in the coming event.
It’s that time folks when the so-called fast food cricket will take over our eyeballs, tv screens and not to mention our nails.
The Indian Premier League season-3 will commence in a colourful ceremony at the DY Patil Stadium on March 12 with the defending champions Deccan Chargers taking on Kolkata Knight Riders.
Deccan Chargers have scripted one of the memorable comebacks witnessed in the Twenty20 history when they won the title in South Africa after being down in the dumps in the first. They will be one of the teams to watch out for in a format where fortune changes every over.
While every team boasts of superstars in the form of Sourav Ganguly, M.S. Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Virender Sehwag, Shane Warne, Yuvraj Singh and Anil Kumble in their ranks, the winner of this edition will be a team that performs the best in the pressure-cooker situations and comes out trumps.
Twenty20 cricket might be an infant when compared to the likes of Test cricket and ODIs but this format can give the other two, a run for their money. Last year’s Deccan Chargers versus Kolkata Knight Riders went all the way down to the wire with Chargers’ Rohit Sharma sinking the hopes of KKR with a magical sixer off the last ball.
That’s just one instance of how this game can make the fans chew off your nails in tension and anticipation. Going by the success rates of the first two editions has achieved, this IPL-4 promises to only get better.
With two new teams set to be added in the coming days and 10 team from IPL-4, the competition levels too would soar.
So who are the stars to watch out for in IPL-3?
Adam Gilchrist: The legendary Oz wicketkeeper has scripted one of the greatest turnarounds for Deccan Chargers and he will once again hold the key for the Chargers’ run in the tournament. With his attacking brand of batting and brilliant leadership skills, the left-hander will be the one to watch out for.
Herschelle Gibbs: He may not have set the world on fire in the first two editions, but Gibbs has the experience and skill required to set the pace for the defending champions. Gibbs can lift the spirits of his team with his fielding skills and can disrupt the apple-cart of any team on his team.
Manish Pandey: He has been part of the U-19 World Cup squad that won the tournament under Virat Kohli and gave his resume a boost when he scored a superb century against Deccan Chargers in the South African edition last year. He has since been spoken highly as a prospect in the Indian team.
Sachin Tendulkar: Never ever count the Master out. That’s what he said through his batting in that monumental knock at Gwalior against the Proteas. He will be a vital cog for the Mumbai Indians and the batting legend will want to lift the title for his team.
Sanath Jayasuriya: Opens with Sachin and you don’t require me to tell you how destructive he can be on his day. He is electric on the field at a grand old age and can be quite handy with the ball.
Rohit Sharma: May not have done full justice to his talent at the international level but this youngster has enough firepower to fire on all the cylinders and come up trumps. His show at the IPL could prove to be a great case in getting him back into the Indian team for good.
R.P. Singh: This talented left-armer made a great start to his career and was in the scheme of things till an indifferent form with the ball for a prolonged period saw him out of the selectors’ sight. He was the purple-cap owner in the last edition of the cash-awash tournament and it will be interesting to see how he comes about with the ball this time.
Shane Warne: The legendary leggie from Oz has been instrumental in getting his franchise — the Rajasthan Royals clinch the inaugural edition of the tournament and there is no reason why he will not be want to try his luck yet again in India.
M.S. Dhoni: The talismanic Indian skipper has been leading the Chennai Super Kings with aplomb but in the first edition they lost out on the last ball of the tourney while they failed to cross the hurdle in IPL-2 too held in South Africa last year. Dhoni has a team that is not short of talented souls but a collective approach towards victory on a given day is what will differentiate the winners from the rest.
Virender Sehwag: With lady luck failing him in the first two editions, Viru promptly asked the owners to name Gautam Gambhir as the skipper for the third edition. Known for his dashing skills on the wicket, he is also a player who plays the game in the most simplest manner possible. Despite his captaincy gone, expect no mercy from the Delhi Devil to the cherry hurlers.
Yuvraj Singh: Another talented lad whose leadership skills came into question and teammate Kumar Sangakkara was made the captain. But the Punjab Puttar will leave no stone unturned in proving that ‘Singh is King’.
Irfan Pathan: He may be the last man but never the least. For someone who was the mainstay in the Indian side not long ago, life surely has gone awry. Such has been his plight that he was not in the 30-member probables for the World Cup to be held this year in West Indies. Nevertheless, Irfan is the one to watch out for in the IPL extravaganza and he will more than ready to settle a few scores on the ground.
Also, there are so many cricketers who have been left out of the XII as it was difficult to accomodate them here. Names such as Matthew Hayden, Kieron Pollard, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Robin Uthappa, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Dinesh Karthik too can prove to be more than handful in the coming event.
