!!!!!CRICKETER BLOG !!!!!!

Surprises galore. That has been the story so far in the second season the IPL. The pundits have been proved wrong as the bottom rung teams of last season have made a march throwing the tournament wide open.

The smiles were there in plenty as the Deccan Chargers romped home against Kolkata Knight Riders. For a team that won just two matches last time around, a new change of guard and the timely addition of a few key personel seem to have done the trick. Their captain though did see the irony of it.

Also getting a move on since last year seem to be the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Though their batting failed against Rajasthan, inRahul Dravid and Kevin Pietersen they have two men who know that Twenty20 is not always slam bang cricket.

Rahul Dravid who powered Challengers to victory against Rajasthan Royals says: "Conditions like this in South Africa will give me a chance. You have got to play some good cricket shots on wickets like this. You have to really play some good cricket, proper cricket here."

Spare a thought for the defending champions. Getting bowled out for the lowest score ever in the IPL is not a great start, their charismatic skipper though is optimistic.

Delhi Daredevils is the only top team from last year that has bucked the trend and started on a winning note. Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians too seem to have the arsenal to go all the way. But one bad match does not necessarily write off the other teams. Looks like it's going to be quite a close tussle this time.