Comments on In the Name of Cricket: IPL - Twenty20 is a specialist's game

IPL also needs specialist writers in a team who w...

2008-05-02T09:04:00.000+05:30

IPL also needs specialist writers in a team who will suport his team man even if he is blatently wrong. With sport writers joining teams u cannot expect unbiased reporting from them anymore when they go back to test and odi reporting.Call it one of the IPL effect.Other effects will follow as the tounament proceeds.

I thought Dinda of the k riders is a good prospec...

2008-05-02T08:56:00.000+05:30

I thought Dinda of the k riders is a good prospect,Ho bowled a no of yorkers and got blocked.Others who impressed were Diwan of dd,p amarnath of sk,chawla of k11,Vridhiman of riders,lr shukla,Gambhir,raina ,parthiv patel,and nayar of bi

David,There has been a pattern. The team that lose...

2008-05-01T19:38:00.000+05:30

David,

There has been a pattern. The team that loses wickets upfront tend to struggle.

So top-order wickets are essential.

So far the K riders have the best attack with Shar...

2008-05-01T17:58:00.000+05:30

So far the K riders have the best attack with Sharma .Dinda.Gul Agarkar and other options like Ganguly Hussey LR shukla.But all this come to knot becos of the fielding restrictions.I hate this aspect of the short versions of these games.

David - I noticed your lack of interest in the IPL...

2008-05-01T14:47:00.000+05:30

David - I noticed your lack of interest in the IPL but i know u've been traveling of late too.

Dinda attacks the bowling for KKR - his military medium pace with some swing is ideal for 20-20 and hes been tough to get away.

Vettori, Jayasuriya, and Murali have better econ rates bu Warne has more wickets. Plus Warne has usually come on while the power play has been on to bowl at the top order the others have come on later with protected boundaries.

A few of the stars are going away but many are coming in - hayden, hussey, ponting, mcullum, symonds, lee have left but hodge, gibbs, gul, butt, misbah, ntini, morkel have come in.

I did a very basic statistical post earlier, maybe that will interest you.

I'm not paying too much attention to the IPL, but ...

2008-05-01T14:38:00.000+05:30

I'm not paying too much attention to the IPL, but I'm having a look at the stats tables every now and then. (I'm reluctant to read too much into T20 stats after only a few games, but whatever, there's nothing else to do....)

On spinners: Vettori, Jayasuriya, and Murali all have better economy rates than Warne.

Others: Ashok Dinda (Kolkata) has great numbers, but no-one seems to care. Does he only bowl in situations where the game's already been decided?

In general I'm not sure how useful wicket-taking is in T20 matches - there's only twenty overs, so wickets aren't as important as they normally are. I'm tending to just look at economy rate.

But with the overwhelming success of the foreign batsmen compared to the Indian batsmen (which has surprised me a lot, to be honest), I'm re-considering. Perhaps top-order wickets are a useful thing to take into account.

The overall run rate for the IPL is about 8.5 (batting strike rate about 140), so things should be considered relative to that number.

Anyway, with half of the big stars disappearing, it's going to make good analysis of the individuals in this tournament difficult at best.

I would add Umar Gul to that list Suave. He has th...

2008-05-01T11:43:00.000+05:30

I would add Umar Gul to that list Suave. He has the ability to bowl 24 yorkers on the trot as he showed in last years 20-20 WC.

I'm not sure about 20-20 specialists but surely the game requires players who can adjust to all sorts of conditions quickly.

I dont agree wit Bravo saying that proper cricket shots won them the game. It might win you a game if you're chasing 130 odd in 20 overs but it wouldn't if you're chasing 180+. This was proved by Kallis and Dravid last night when they were playin proper cricket.

R,Let us see how interesting the matches are witho...

2008-05-01T09:43:00.000+05:30

R,
Let us see how interesting the matches are without the Australians.

I think from now on the DC's have a real chance of making an impact.

Warne is another bowler who bowled well so far. Dr...

2008-05-01T08:57:00.000+05:30

Warne is another bowler who bowled well so far. Dravis and kallis are good for one run per ball but u need atleast two per ball and a random 4 or 6.
Mcgrath mixes his deliveries without
the batsmen knowing it Look at jaffrers dismissal .The ball looked hittable yet jafffer played it to the sky.
GEnerally speaking the aussies have enlivened these ipl matches.

Tri,Glad you agree with me.

2008-05-01T07:01:00.000+05:30

Tri,

Glad you agree with me.

Today's match between 3D and RC showed that good t...

2008-04-30T23:49:00.000+05:30

Today's match between 3D and RC showed that good technique can bring you to a better position but cannot win you a match. Both Kallis and Dravid were playing well with the help of proper cricketing shots. However they weren't able to manage the asking rate of 12 per over.
To add to it, it was the spin of Vettori which took the match away from the RC's.
I feel for T20, you need specialist batsmen in crucial positions as well as u need one very good spinner in your side.

Pan,Dravid is protecting his arse.

2008-04-30T19:17:00.000+05:30

Pan,

Dravid is protecting his arse.

Suave,I have to disagree. Bravo and Hussey have sh...

2008-04-30T19:16:00.000+05:30

Suave,

I have to disagree. Bravo and Hussey have shown us only one good innings. It remains to be seen whether they can replicate it consistently.

I am in complete agreement with your thoughts on the bowlers.

I liked the fact that Dwayne Bravo highlighted the...

2008-04-30T17:57:00.000+05:30

I liked the fact that Dwayne Bravo highlighted the fact that proper cricket shots were the factor in Mumbai's win yesterday..

20/20 bowlers..
Shahid Afridi
Nathan Bracken (short form specialist )
Andrew Hall
Chris Schofield
Yasir Arafat
James Kirtley..

These are the leading international and english domestic bowlers of the two years.

Quick Legspin, and quicks with lots of variations (off/leg cutters, boucers)

very well put OTT...theres a statement from dravid...

2008-04-30T17:50:00.000+05:30

very well put OTT...

theres a statement from dravid today in newspaper that good player can play any type of cricket well...

but the million dollor q here is...

is your good is good enough?