Auction Springs Few Suprises

This years IPL auction threw up few suprises as only 11 players out of a possible 70 were sold.

West Indian Kieron Pollard and New Zealand star Shane Bond were the big buys as both were sold for a whopping $750,000. Pollard, who impressed in this years Champions League, went to Mumbai after the first ever IPL silent tie-breaker, whilst Bond, who has recently quit Test cricket, went to Kolkata.

Other signings included the likes of West Indian Kemar Roach ($720,000 to Deccan), Englishman Eoin Morgan who went to Royals for $220,000 and Indian Mohammad Kaif who was sold to Punjab for $250,000.

However, it was the amount of players who went unsold which hit the headlines. Not one of the ten Pakistan players were sold. A shock considering the national side won the recent T20 World Cup and included the likes of Shahid Afridi and Rana Naved.

DO YOU THINK THESE PLAYERS DESERVED A PLACE? Your comments are most welcome.

Here is the auction result:

Kieron Pollard [West Indies] – Mumbai Indians (£458,000 tie-break)
Shane Bond [New Zealand] – Kolkata Knight Riders (£458,000 tie-break)
Kemar Roach [West Indies] – Deccan Chargers (£439,000)
Wayne Parnell [South Africa] – Delhi Daredevils (£372,000)
Mohammad Kaif [India] – Kings XI Punjab (£153,000)
Eoin Morgan [England] – Royal Challengers Bangalore (£134,000)
Damien Martyn [Australia] – Rajasthan Royals (£61,000)
Justin Kemp [South Africa] – Chennai Super Kings (£61,000)
Adam Voges [Australia] – Rajasthan Royals (£30,000)
Thissara Perera [Sri Lanka] – Chennai Super Kings (£30,000)
Yusuf Abdulla [South Africa] – Kings XI Punjab (£30,000)

Rajasthan Ready For Delhi Battle

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Ist Semi-Final at the Wankhede Stadium Mumbai.

Rajasthan Royals are set to play the Delhi Daredevils in the first of two cracking IPL Semi-finals. Ironically Delhi have Rajasthan to thank for their admittance into this game as Shane Warnes team beat Mumbai in the final game to knock them out of the competition, putting Delhi through.

Both Sides possess quality in the bowling department. Rajasthan have the on form and leading wicket taker Sohail Tanvir as well as Munaf Patel, Shane Watson and of course Shane Warne, whilst Delhi have Mohammad Asif, Farveez Maharoof, Amit Mishra and legendary Glenn McGrath who’s economy rate in the IPL has been terrific so far.

Both sides also have some explosive batting in Graeme Smith, Virender Sehwag and Shane Watson. Both sides beat each other in the league games with Delhi being slightly the better of the two. This is a match not to be missed.

Watch out for …

 

 

Tanvir against Delhi’s openers, Sehwag and Gambhir.  

 

Glenn McGrath. Rajasthan were able to score only 33 runs off his eight overs in the league games.  

 

Yusuf Pathan and Shane Watson, who form the mainstay of Rajasthan’s power-hitting arsenal.

 

IPL Youngsters, Should They Be Considered?

There have been some big surprises from some unknown youngsters so far in the IPL but whether these youngsters should be considered to play for their international teams is open to debate. The question remains whether the performances from some of these youngsters in the IPL is proof they will be good enough to survive in the international arena.

Indian stalwart and Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag believes they should: “IPL performances should matter. Everyone is watching it,” he said. “I think the selectors should take IPL performances into account when they select the Indian squad.”

Some of the notable performances have been from youngsters such as Sohail Tanvir and Shane Watson who have already played for their prospective nations Pakistan and Australia so for these guys it is about proving they are good enough and should be considered in the future. So for these guys the IPL has provided a platform for them without the pressures to perform that are put upon them in international cricket. Incidentally, Tanvir tops the IPL wicket taking list with 21 wickets for leaders Rajasthan Royals.

Shaun Marsh is one who was almost unknown to those outside Australia before the IPL but his batting performances for Kings Xl Punjab must have opened not only cricket fans eyes but the Australian selectors, scoring 478 runs in just 9 IPL innings.

We are open to opinion and encourage your comments. Let us know what you think below.

 

Young Stars: Marsh & Tanvir

 

 

Rajasthan Through To Semi’s

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Rajasthan Royals became the first team to go through to the IPL Semi-finals after last nights victory over Kolkata Knight Riders. Full scorecard

It was the disciplined bowling of Shane Warne’s team which set up the win, as Kolkata were limited to just 147-8 from their 20 overs. Three wickets for suprise IPL package Sohail Tanvir and tight bowling from Aussies Warne and Watson gave Rajasthan an easy target and helped set up their fourth consecutive victory.

Good new ball bowling from Pakistani Umar Gul gave Rajasthan an early fright after he removed Graeme Smith and Tanvir but Indians Mohammad Kaif and Yusuf Pathan put on a big hitting partnership to make the 148 needed for the win, look very modest. Pathan in particular making 48 from just 18 balls.

It was the shrewdness of the legendary Warne though which condemned Kolkata to defeat and incidentally, virtually ruining any chance they had of reaching the semi’s themselves. His captaincy showed its class again as his bowling changes and field placements unsettled Kolkata and even the usually reliable David Hussey and Sourav Ganguly found it hard going.

Result from Eden Gardens: Rajasthan Royals won by 6 wickets.

 

Symonds Century Not Enough For Hyderabad

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Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals overcame the Deccan Chargers by 3 wickets despite a blazing century from Andrew Symonds at the Rajiv Ghandi Stadium in Hyderabad.

Symonds scored 117 from just 53 balls including 11 boundaries and 7 sixes. Hyderabad started poorly with Gilchrist, Laxman and Afridi falling cheaply to Yusuf Pathan and Warne but Symonds more than made up for the poor start, partnering Rohit Sharma (36) for 111 runs to guide the Chargers to a final score of 214-5 from 20 overs.

Rajasthan started much better than Hyderabad and that was helped when Laxman used rookie bowler Pragyan Ojha in the six over. An over which conceded 16 runs. Despite losing Kamran Akmal for 12, Rajasthan were motoring along with Graeme Smith (71) and Yusuf Pathan (61) joining for a 98 run partnership. The Royals went past 100 after just 8.3 overs. When those two were out though, it was Warne’s turn for heroics. In a final over, Rajasthan needed 17 runs and Warne scored two sixes against his former Australian team mate to spark wild celebrations.

Final result: Rajasthan Royals beat Deccan Chargers by 3 wickets.