IPL glitz in Cape Town
Kolkata seek to do more than look good:
Chris BURNES
|
“Mumbai Indians” cricket team players (note Sanath Jayasuriya in
front) wave to the crowd as IPL cricket teams parade in the
streets of Cape Town on open buses on Thursday one day ahead of
the starting of the tournament. AFP
|
CRICKET: CAPE TOWN, April 18, 2009 - Their owner may have been the
most visible presence in the pre-tournament build-up, but the Kolkata
Knight Riders will seek to show they are capable of playing good cricket
when they open their Indian Premier League campaign against the Deccan
Chargers at Newlands on Sunday.
The Delhi Daredevils meet the Kings XI Punjab in the early match of
the second double-header at the ground in which all eight teams were due
to be in action over the first two days of the five-week tournament in
South Africa.
Knight Riders owner, film star Shah Rukh Khan, admitted that his team
didn’t perform as well as he hoped in finishing sixth out of eight last
year, although he said they were the “coolest-looking” outfit. West
Indian captain Chris Gayle will only be available for the early matches
but most of the other key players, including New Zealander Brendon
McCullum, will be able to play in all the games.
McCullum hit a spectacular 158 in the opening match against Bangalore
last year and has been appointed captain for the 2009 season.
Other experienced players in the team include former Indian captain
Sourav Ganguly, Australia’s Brad Hodge and Sri Lanka’s mystery spinner
Ajantha Mendis, together with Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma and
left-arm spinner Murali Kartik.
If the Knight Riders were under-achievers last year, the Deccan
Chargers did even worse, winning only two out of 14 games and finishing
bottom of the table.
The Chargers signed a galaxy of big name, quick-scoring batsmen whose
performances were erratic, while the team paid for a shortage of
experienced bowlers.
Elegant Indian batsman VVS Laxman remains on the team’s books but was
fired as captain in favour of Australia’s Adam Gilchrist, who together
with South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs spearheads what should be an
exciting batting line-up.
India’s RP Singh will carry a heavy burden as the team’s leading
bowler.
The Daredevils look one of the strongest teams in the competition
with a potentially devastating opening batting pairing of India’s
Virender Sehwag and Australia’s hard-hitting David Warner preceding
batsmen of the quality of Gautan Gambhir and AB de Villiers.
|
Rajasthan Royals captain Australian Shane Warne (L) and
Bollywood actress and shareholder of the Kings XI Punjab Preity
Zinta (R) laugh as they sit on stage at the Alexander Sinton
High School on Friday in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa.
Several captains, senior players and Bollywood celebrities
attended on Friday, the launch of the DLF IPL’s major 8 million
rand education project in South Africa. AFP |
The bowling looks reasonably strong, too, with Australian veteran
Glenn McGrath backed up by capable Indians in Ashish Nehra and the
promising Umesh Yadav and international bowlers in Farveez Maharoof and
Daniel Vettori.
With England all-rounder Paul Collingwood also in the squad, the
biggest problem for Delhi might be which four international players to
use.
The clash between the Daredevils and Punjab, who also reached the
semi-finals last year, could be one of the best of the opening weekend,
The Kings XI are led by Indian star Yuvraj Singh, arguably the most
devastating hitter in the 20-over game.
They will be missing key bowlers in Brett Lee and Shanthakumaran
Sreesanth, who are both injured, while West Indian Jerome Taylor, who
was recruited as cover, was hurt in a car accident.
But Punjab have capable Indian bowlers in all-rounder Irfan Pathan,
VRV Singh and Ramesh Powar while late signing Yusuf Abdulla has been one
of the better Twenty20 bowlers in South African domestic cricket.
Yuvraj will be backed up by prolific Sri Lankan batsmen Mahela
Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. AFP
|
