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With IPL version 2.0 all set to dazzle its audience in the same manner that IPL 1.0 did, it's time to stick one's neck out and jump into astrologer territory and make predictions for what will unfold. There is the risk of ending up with egg on my face, but there is also the infinitely satisfying reward of having an 'I-told-you-so' smirk on my face to consider. So here goes (drumrolls reaching a crescendo) - Ladies, Gentlemen and those who merely watch the cricket to ogle at the cheerleaders - the predictions for how teams will fare.
The four semi-finalists this year are likely to be the following:
Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.
Here is why:
Both Chennai and Delhi have used a smart buying strategy and built a very good core of Indian players. Bearing in mind that of the playing XI, seven have to be Indians, this is a hugely important fact.
Mumbai and Rajasthan are also well balanced, and with Rajasthan you have to take into account the X-factor of Warne's charisma and the franchisee's talent-spotting ability.
To take my prediction (and my sticking-out-neck) further, Chennai and Delhi are the teams that I see contesting the finals on the 24th May. They edge out the other two, simply because they look better balanced in all the departments of the game - they have powerful batting lineups and bowling attacks with considerable teeth. Mumbai and Rajasthan are also brimming with potential - and I can̢۪t wait to see how Ryan McLaren and Graham Napier of Mumbai and Tyron Hendersen of Rajasthan perform - but they're not quite at the level of Chennai and Delhi.
I see Punjab and Hyderabad at the bottom of the table this season. Hyderabad has a very weak bowling attack, and as last year showed, an awesome batting line-up on paper is no guarantee of even an average performance. Their batting would need to click in every match for them to have a chance at all - and I don't see that happening.
Change Hyderabad to Punjab in the above paragraph and you have the story for the King's Eleven, except that their batting, if anything, looks weaker than Hyderabad's on paper. Punjab will be sorely hit by the absence of Brett Lee, James Hopes and Sreesanth - leaving their bowling looking like an orphaned child. They sorely need Shaun Marsh to be fully fit and available, which also doesn't seem likely.
The Bangalore and Kolkata outfits seem to have got their strategy wrong. After Pietersen leaves, the Bangalore captain would be Jacques Kallis - whereas he hasn't done enough last time to merit an automatic selection in the starting XI. Including him at the expense of either Boucher, or Cameron White or Ross Taylor might not be the soundest strategic move.
As for Kolkata, their balance - like last time - doesn't look good enough. They will also be sorely hit by the absence of Pakistani and Australian players. And Chris Gayle is available for only 2 weeks. If that wasn't enough, Buchanan (who probably needs to stop reading Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' and start reading Don Bradman's 'The Art of Cricket') has stirred up a hornet's nest with his multiple captain theory. Somebody ought to tell the man, that captains are not like orgasms - multiple ones are not a good idea.
