Twenty20 Cricket Blog

Here is the photo of Preity Zinta, owner of ‘Kings XI Punjab’, counting money after IPL Cricket Match.. Very funny.. Have a look at it..

The Rajasathan Royals claimed the inaugural IPL with a close victory over the Chennai Super Kings in the final last night in Mumbai.

Set 164 for victory, Shane Warnes team, got there off the final ball with 3 wickets in hand, to give the team that finished top of the log victory in a game that both sides will feel was there’s for the taking at some stage or other.

In the end though the best team did win, the best team for the duration of the series, and not just on the night. It was Yusuf Pathan who was the man who made the difference, first with the ball when he picked up 3 wickets for 22 runs from his 4 overs and then crucially with the bat, scoring 56 from just 39 balls, with 4 sixes and 3 fours, before being brilliantly run out by Raina.

From a South African perspective, it was unfortunate that Graeme Smith missed the final due to injury, having had an outstanding series with the bat. In general the South Africans have disappointed during this first IPL, but the ones who have performed have done so with much credit, and in so doing where part of the teams in the final, with Albie Morkel and Ntini turning out for the Wessels coached Chennai Super Kings. Shaun Pollock and Mark Boucher were the other South African to perform during the series.

Ntini had a slow start to his IPL career, but when he got going he proved to be a real force with the ball for Chennai, forming one of the best opening bowling partnerships of the series with Gony. In the final Ntini was the most economical bowler in the match going for just 21 runs in his 4 overs, including a maiden. The highlight for him will have been his hat trick in the round robin series.

Morkel has had a fine all round series, contributing with both bat and ball, showing that he is a genuine all rounder, and set to be a star on the international stage. In the final he finished with 2/25 from his 4 overs and scored 16 of 13 balls with the bat, including 2 sixes. He ended just behind Gony as Channai’s second best wicket taker and made contributions throughout with the bat, with an innings of 71 in the round robin stage falling just shy of single handedly gaining Channai a victory. Morkels big hitting has made him a fan favourite in India, and he ended the series as the biggest six hitter, with a distance of 124m.

The inagrual IPL series has been a success and there is no doubt that the future looks bright for this format. Next season the South Africans will hope to make more of an impact all round, but for Smith, Morkel, Ntini, Pollock and Boucher, this was a job will done

The 1st edition of the Indian Premier League is over and talk of the 2nd tournament is already doing the rounds.

There will be a number of changes that will be discussed during the next 10 months leading to the next edition of the IPL.

More international players will be drafted in, players, English players will come in or atleast Pieterson definitely would, there maybe 5 foreigners in the playing XI, some captains may change, and a number of players will be traded.

Exciting stuff that but has anyone thought about the leading global brands that may want to be a part of the PL bandwagon?

DLF and Citibank were prominent in their advertising during the 1st edition.

New and innovative ways were found for advertising as well with every six being termed as a “DLF maximum 6″ by the commentators, while every good piece of fielding or a wicket or a catch was coined as a “citi moment of success”.

What if brand leaders such as Nokia, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and others want to be a part of the IPL.