KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS V KINGS XI PUNJAB- MATCH PREVIEW: BOTH TEAMS LOOKING FOR ADVANTAGE

Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Kings XI Punjab in an important fixture of the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Eden Gardens Kolkata.

This is an extremely crucial encounter for both franchises as the Kings XI is at number seven in the points table, whereas the Knight Riders have done reasonably well in the tournament so far and they would like to beat the Kings XI in order to strengthen their position.

Shahrukh Khan’s men have eight points after seven games so far, whereas the Kings XI have six points from five games. There is not much to choose between the two teams but their match could prove to be vital for the future of these two teams in the tournament.

Kolkata failed to make an impression in the previous three editions of the IPL but change of personnel in management and the players have brought good luck for them and they are doing well in the current season under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir.

Kolkata seem to have a very nice balance with both bat and ball, as Brett Lee, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Jaidev Unadkat, Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan and the young left arm spinner Iqbal Abdullah have gelled well, as a bowling unit.

Kallis and Manoj Tiwary have been the pick of the batsmen for the Knight Riders and their management would be hoping that Gambhir and Pathan can showcase their abilities better during the crunch part of the tournament.

Paul Valthaty has so far been the best batsman for the Kings XI and the management of Punjab would be looking at, Adam Gilchrist, and, Shaun Marsh, once again to give them a substantial start and be more consistent at the later stages of the tournament.

The Kings XI have lost many of their key players this season, as the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Bret Lee, Mahela Jayawardene, and, Kumar Sangakkara, have been bought by other franchises.

However, their absence does not seem to have hurt the Kings XI that much, as they have not done that badly in the tournament so far and a win against the Knight Riders could put them in the top four of the points table.

Kings XI have done well in the previous three seasons and there is no reason why they should be disheartened about their chances in the current season. Still there is a lot of cricket to be played in the ongoing season and they can turn the tables by raising their game at the right time. There have been countless instances in the past when teams came from behind and won the tournament.

Although, Kolkata has done better in this season till date and they will start as clear favourites, both teams are evenly matched on paper and the team that will play good cricket on the day will come out victorious. Let’s hope that we as cricket fans are delighted with some magnificent cricket on the weekend

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CORPORATE BOXES, A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS FOR INDIAN STADIUMS AND INDUSTRIALISTS

The Corporate industry has always had a lot of say in every walk of life. Utilizing the power of money, the corporate owners extend their patronage and sponsorship to sports that are considered to be potential sources for through- the- line advertisement.

With India being a rapidly emerging world economy, the corporate culture in the country is gaining roots quickly. With over a billion people, India has great potential for business development. Some leading Industrial tycoons of the world hail from India as well.

Since half a decade, a new trend, ‘cricket under corporate’, has been on the rise in India. All the ace industrial groups have owned cricket, thanks to the Indian Premier League (IPL).

At the start of every League season, different players and teams are auctioned and purchased often by wealthy industrialists.

The IPL has now given birth to a new trend that is ‘corporate boxes in cricket stadiums during matches’.

Some top Indian cricket stadiums like Eden Gardens and Wankhede Stadium have developed boxes comprising 10 to 12 seats. These boxes are erected at the forefront of stadiums.

Before the start of any game, some ace industrialists bid for boxes and purchase them. During the game, these boxes are used to entertain clients and business partners with wine and dine.

During the ongoing IPL season, the cost of a box is roughly estimated at $ 1.25 million.

The just concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 also witnessed many such activities especially in the Semi-Final and Final games.

Some Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan and some big industrialists like Mukesh Ambani were included among the top box buyers. Some banks and multi-national companies also invested in the luxury.

Eying more lucrative opportunities, the stadiums are redesigning and increasing the number of boxes to provide comfort and facilities to the buyers. Eden Gardens has increased the number of corporate boxes from 12 to 32 and Wankhede stadium contains 57 boxes currently.

The boxes are equipped with all modern facilities of dining, seating, entertainment, fun and much more. They are prepared with great care and furnished with great symmetry.

The stadiums sell their boxes for heavy amounts and for long periods of contract. Recently, the Mohali stadium has sold each of its boxes for seven million rupees for a period of 10 years. The Wankhede sold its 57 boxes for 55 million rupees on a 10-year contract.

The format of the IPL has been designed in a way to perk up the box business. Every league franchise is entitled to play most of its tournament games at its home ground. Thus the franchise owners purchase more and more boxes to attract support and display their power.

During the matches of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan’s team, the cost of a box raises up to 200, 000 rupees.

A spokesperson of the KKR, Joy Bhattacharya, says, “We are getting a great response for these corporate boxes.” An official of the Rajasthan Royals claims that the boxes are an important source of revenue and benefit their business as well.

The Delhi Daredevils’ marketing manager, P. Phaneendra, tells, “While there is no way to definitely know what is discussed inside the corporate boxes, we know people do talk beyond cricket, sometimes it is business.”

Thus the corporate boxes provide fruitful business opportunities to both the stadium owners and the box buying industrialists.

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Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala

Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK) put on a lacklustre display against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the first innings of an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter. The match, being played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 20 April, 2011, saw the Tuskers restricted to a meager 132 runs by the brilliant bowling of Yusuf Pathan.

KKR, after winning the toss, decided to put KTK into bat. Brendon McCullum and skipper Mahela Jayawardene opened the innings for the KTK and provided a blistering start of 49 runs with an average of seven runs per over. Both played exceptionally well and smashed the KKR bowlers all around the park.

The opening partnership was broken when McCullum was caught by Eoin Morgan off the bowling of Shakib Al Hasan. The Kiwi made 23 runs facing just 19 balls and smashed two fours and a six.

PA Patel came into bat as a one-down batsman. After the addition of just two runs to the total, Jayawardene was sent back to the pavilion. He was caught plumb in front of the wickets and was declared LBW after being bowled by Yusuf Pathan. He scored 25 runs from 27 balls and smashed five boundaries.

Once the captain’s wicket fell, right handed batsman, Brad Hodge, came into the middle to bat. The Aussie could not impress with the bat and after scoring just two runs off eight balls, he was clean bowled by Yusuf Pathan. RA Jadeja was the next man in and tried to establish the KTK’s innings but his senior partner on the crease could not support him for long and became the next victim of Yusuf Pathan’s off-spin. He was also judged LBW after scoring just nine runs from 11 balls.

KTK lost their four top order batsmen for just 65 runs and came under an immense pressure. However, Jadeja stood tall in front of the KKR’s bowlers to stablise KTK’s innings but none of the remaining middle order and lower middle order batsmen support him and the Tuskers kept on losing wickets at regular intervals.

Jadeja was out in the 16^th over after playing a handy knock of 29 runs off just 18 balls and claiming three huge sixes. After the wicket of Jadeja none of the KTK’s batsmen could even cross the 15 run mark. KM Jadhav scored 12 runs and was clean bowled by Al Hasan. Similarly R Vinay Kumar was sent back to the pavilion by Al Hasan after scoring 11 runs.

At the end of 20 overs, KTK managed to score 132 runs for the loss of seven wickets and asked KKR to chase the target with an average of 6.60 runs per over.

Yusuf Pathan was the pick of the bowlers for KKR and picked up three wickets for 20 runs and one maiden. Similarly Shakib Al Hasan also took three wickets and gave away 28 runs. 

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Anjum Chopra raises demand for women’s IPL

Former captain of the Indian women cricket team, Anjum Chopra reckons that an Indian Premier League should be launched for the women’s side also, considering the promising potential they possess.

She suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should look into the matter in order to further promote and recognize women’s contribution to the sport.

"There should be an IPL for the women's team also because we have the potential and BCCI should think about it. They have taken lots of effort in promoting women's cricket across the globe, so this step can add value to women's cricket," she said.

Anjum celebrated the fact that the female are quickly catching up with their male counterparts in the world of cricket, especially with the advent of women’s World Cup and Twenty20 tournaments.

"Women's cricket has witnessed improvement with the World Cup, especially T20 tournaments, taking place at the same ground. So I feel that women's cricket is improving by leaps and bounds," Ms. Chopra maintained.

Regarding the launch of her book last month, Chopra said the piece of writing was her way of promoting women’s cricket. She has used the print medium to describe the journey of the Indian women’s squad, and has adopted a subjective narration style, while including the historic perspective in her writings. This work is the first of its kind in India to document the progress of women’s cricket.

Her documentary film ‘Poor cousins of million dollar babies’ was the only Indian entry that was nominated for the Arnold Sports Film Festival in Canada. All the movies in the competition were chosen by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The idea behind the conception of the 30-minute flick was to show that Indian women cricket is flourishing in the face of social disparities and inconsistencies.

Chopra has also done a television curtain raiser for Indian women’s cricket.

Anjum Chopra made her One Day Internationals debut on February 12, 1995 when her team contested New Zealand at Christchurch. She played her first Test Cricket match the same year on November 17, 1995 against England at Eden Gardens, in Kolkata. She has performed in 12 test matches and 121 One Day Internationals to date.

Former captain of the Indian women cricket team, Anjum Chopra reckons that an Indian Premier League should be launched for the women’s side also, considering the promising potential they possess.

She suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should look into the matter in order to further promote and recognize women’s contribution to the sport.

"There should be an IPL for the women's team also because we have the potential and BCCI should think about it. They have taken lots of effort in promoting women's cricket across the globe, so this step can add value to women's cricket," she said.

Anjum celebrated the fact that the female are quickly catching up with their male counterparts in the world of cricket, especially with the advent of women’s World Cup and Twenty20 tournaments.

"Women's cricket has witnessed improvement with the World Cup, especially T20 tournaments, taking place at the same ground. So I feel that women's cricket is improving by leaps and bounds," Ms. Chopra maintained.

Regarding the launch of her book last month, Chopra said the piece of writing was her way of promoting women’s cricket. She has used the print medium to describe the journey of the Indian women’s squad, and has adopted a subjective narration style, while including the historic perspective in her writings. This work is the first of its kind in India to document the progress of women’s cricket.

Her documentary film ‘Poor cousins of million dollar babies’ was the only Indian entry that was nominated for the Arnold Sports Film Festival in Canada. All the movies in the competition were chosen by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The idea behind the conception of the 30-minute flick was to show that Indian women cricket is flourishing in the face of social disparities and inconsistencies.

Chopra has also done a television curtain raiser for Indian women’s cricket.

Anjum Chopra made her One Day Internationals debut on February 12, 1995 when her team contested New Zealand at Christchurch. She played her first Test Cricket match the same year on November 17, 1995 against England at Eden Gardens, in Kolkata. She has performed in 12 test matches and 121 One Day Internationals to date.

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SANGAKKARA ASKS DECCAN BATSMEN TO RETHINK THEIR APPROACH

After facing two consecutive defeats in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Deccan Chargers captain, Kumar Sangakkara, has asked his batsmen to rethink their approach for a better performance in the remaining matches in the competition.

Sangakkara’s XI was thrashed by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the sixth match of the league. Chasing 164 for triumph at Eden Gardens, the Deccan batsmen were unable to deal with some quality bowling from the opposition, failing to build any big partnership.

After making a slow start, the Chargers lost quick wickets in the beginning and towards the end, which eventually left the side 9 runs short of the target.

Deccan Chargers have already tasted a defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals because of a terrible batting show from the side. Nonstop poor batting has been troubling the skipper, and he asked his batters to step forward and do the trick for the team.

"Our batsmen now have to start rethinking and attack slow bowlers", Sangakkara said about his batsmen’s slow approach against Knight Riders’ new ball bowlers.

The Chargers’ batsmen could not manage to make fluent runs against Kolkata’s left-arm seamer, Iqbal Abdulla, who eventually returned with outstanding figures of three for 24. "He (Abdulla) is not a bad bowler and he managed to bowl a couple of good overs at the start. We need to bat a bit smarter. A few less mistakes would have got us over the line", said the former Sri Lankan One Day captain.

Although, Sangakkara admired Kolkata’s fine bowling, the captain regarded 164 as a gettable score on a pure batting track. The skipper found ‘losing wickets at regular intervals’, as a major source of Deccan’s defeat in the crucial game.

Sangakkara backed Ishant Sharma, who was lacklustre against the Riders. However, the skipper also showed his concerns over 15 extras, given away by his bowlers.

The Lankan wicket-keeper batsman, vowed that his side needs just one win to pick the winning tempo in the tournament and with the kind of bowling attack, Deccan Chargers have, that victory is not very far away.

"As a team we need just one win under our belt", Sangakkara put in plain words.

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