IPL: Initial thoughts

So IPL finally kicked off this weekend...giving millions of indians something to look forward to, this summer. i must complement lalit modi and his band of rebels for pulling it off. and kudos to south africa for the welcome....even their president was at the opening, highlighting the importance being given to IPL...however, let me talk briefly about the cricket..after all, thats what IPL is all about right...or is it?

rajasthan royals totally vindicated my belief that they'll end up as the worst team in season 2. they just do not have the fire power to propel them. shane watson and sohail tanwir were clearly instrumental, and the current line up are way too dependent on pathan and smith....risky.

royal challengers seemed a different unit than season 1, but they will find it hard to sustain the momentum.

KKR has been embroiled in everything else besides cricket. had the misfortune of seeing one of their ads yesterday, where a boy throws a dart and gets beaten. then this boy again throws a dart, this time pointing the dart to the genitals....and the message being we may have been beaten, but we'll hit back reloaded. pretty corny. they look a very disjoint unit, and i won't be surprised if they end up towards the bottom of the heap.

delhi daredevils rocked, however, they got only 6 overs to show their skills. lets wait to see them go through the entire 6 over stretch. for sure, this unit will be in the top 2 this season.

punjab kings XI got off to a great start, and they do look balanced, though with a very weak bowling attack. they'll perhaps end up in the top 4, purely on the back of their batting prowess. but will that be enough to take them till the end? i dont think so

deccan chargers may have won, but this just doesn't look like a winning unit to me. something's missing. that t20 spark is not there somehow.

mumbai indians were nicely balanced. watch out for abhishek nayyar. great temperament. remains to be seen if they're batting will revolve around tendulkar...

chennai super kings, you are still my favorites. doesnt matter you lost, you have a great side out there. dhoni will probably promote himself up the order (at no. 4) in remaining matches, and that should do the trick.

hence, my revised prediction for season 2 (and this wont change now):

1. chennai
2. delhi
3. mumbai
4. punjab
5. bangalore
6. hyderabad
7. kolkata
8. rajasthan

This season is gonna be different. Spin's back in action, the pacers will play a more active role than season 2, get ready for abridged matches due to the weather, 160 will be a winning score in most games, and batting prowess will be tested rather than mere bludgeoning. its good that IPL moved to south africa....theories that worked last time around will be thoroughly tested, and in the first half of the tournament, teams will be experimenting trying to figure out the best way forward...and hence the 2nd half of the tournament will result in much more closely fought matches. yummy.