It's all going in reverse

You know it's all going in reverse when RCB are on top of the fair play chart and Dhoni's PSG are at the bottom of that list. And reverse it is.
PSG and Gujarat looked top class last week. In a week that had reversed.
Except for RCB that have done it twice no other team had won after setting a target yet another reversal of the age old "put a target on the board to put pressure on opposition" cliche.
Crowds haven't yet started turning up at matches still - reversing a trend from previous seasons.

Upsets galore

It was totally different from the week that went. I had just written that RPS were pulling away with GL. Barely hours later, KXIP (who I had written off) proved a point. Not only did they swat RPS away and sent them tumbling down the table but they also set the tone for the next couple of matches. When AB and Kohli sent DD on another leather hunt the writing was definitely on the wall. But surprise! surprise!! - DD found the Quinton de Kock juggernaut and RCB got in the way - to be crushed and pulverized. And just as if two upsets weren't enough SRH punctured MI the following day. As I write this, KXIP who started it all are getting ready to face KKR at home and KKR might just fear the worst!
Away from the cricket field Kingfisher continues to unite the IPL teams. Can't imagine how they are still able to put up a brave face and put their ads on TV. And then there is the #Pimple? ad involving the RCB players. For all their macho on the field, Pimple??????

Finch delivers the much needed punch

It's taken a full week to get a proper thriller at the IPL. The Mumbai - Kolkata match also provided the thrills. But then there was a feeling that Rohit always had the match in control. But the Gujarat - Mumbai match was a blockbuster. And how the IPL needed that match! It was almost turning into a big budget dud and Aaron Finch had to intervene to deliver. That given the fact that cramps and a niggly hamstring were hampering him spiced up the dose. Now that the gear shift has happened, let us hope the remaining teams up the ante. Kings XI and Sunrisers look dead and buried already and will have to build upon Finch's punch to prevent themselves from the drift. As for the teams at the top, the Gujarat and Pune teams that rose from the ashes of CSK and RR seem on course to glory with only KKR showing glimpses of rising up for the challenge. But anyway, these are early days...

Finally a little spark?

After 3 boring matches we had the first glimpse of the real IPL at Bangalore. Agree that even I (and Geoffrey Boycott's grandma) can score runs at Bangalore but AB did light it up. Let's hope that is the spark that would light up more fun at the IPL.

Season count - Nine. Fun count - None.

The broadcaster's tag line - Ek India happywala projects a lot of happiness. But the stone faced hosts don't look happy. The fans aren't happy and they are showing it by not turning up at stadiums. Even the teams and players look unhappy considering the T20 overkill since the turn off the year. Where is the happywala Indian?
Unless something sparks the tournament into life soon, Vivo is in for a real dud on debut. Come-on IPL! I don't want to see Arnab Goswami as the "supposed to be" crowd puller on primetime TV!!

Common sense out! Whose loss is it anyway?

After the India - Bangladesh match at the T20 World Cup Amitabh Bachchan, in a tweet, wanted to know why a few commentators, despite being Indian, were not pro-India. While the other commentators chose to be quite Harsha Bhogle, the rationalist that he is, chose to highlight the neutrality that is needed from commentators.

Now they say that that rationality has resulted in Harsha being thrown out of the IPL commentary team! I sincerely hope that this "neo-nationalism" has not resulted in Harsha's contract being terminated. One look at the IPL commentary team and you can say Harsha's absence has taken half the common sense out of the IPL.

When asked about Sachin Tendulkar's name missing from the Lord's honors board Harsha once famously quipped asking the questioner if it was Sachin's loss or if it was the board's loss?

Now with Harsha removed from the IPL commentary team - is it Harsha's loss or the IPL's?

Pune is here!

If you thought Pune's team name was silly all you had to do was wait until today to see something more silly. The Pune jersey has more colors than a crayon box. One way or other they have got everyone's attention. And judging by what they are doing in the first match - putting Mumbai in its place - RPS have arrived.