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IPL | Two sides of the coin

It’s not just about the money or an opportunity to make it to the national side. The IPL allows young players to learn from major international stars

UNMUKT CHAND remembers his debut in cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL) quite well. The young Delhi Daredevils player first turned out against Mumbai Indians at home in April 2011. His stay at the wicket lasted two balls, his middle stump uprooted by a stinging in-swinger from Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga.

Two days later, he faced Australian Shane Warne against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur. Going for an early cut on a sharp leg-spinner, he edged the 10th delivery he faced, held superbly by one of the best slip catchers of all time, Rahul Dravid.

Unmukt Chand

“It was a nervous moment for me,” says Chand, recalling his first spell under the IPL spotlight. “Especially on my debut for the Daredevils, it did strike me that all TV cameras were pointed at me and all the people in the stadium were watching me. My family and friends were watching, it was quite some pressure. I was a little more relaxed in the second match.” Chand has scores of 0, 23, 0 in the three matches he has played so far this season.

At the time of speaking, after his first full domestic season with Delhi in January, nearly two years on, and with a lot more cricket under his belt, he still seemed to be in awe of the Australian legend and the Sri Lankan “toe-crusher”. That is true of every young cricketer plying his trade in the IPL today. Never mind the money, they will tell you, it is the opportunity to play with the greats of the game; that experience is priceless.

Perhaps this is the greatest positive effect of this Twenty20 extravaganza that explodes in stadiums across the country and pours out from television screens into our living rooms for six weeks as soon as summer beckons.

Take the case of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Hanuma Vihari. He was part of Chand’s Under-19 World Cup-winning team last year. Despite a good run-in to that tournament, he scored only 71 runs in six matches, getting lost subsequently in the clamour around his other teammates. Away from the limelight, he had a decent Ranji 2012-13 season for Hyderabad, scoring 511 runs in eight matches at an average of 39.30.

Yet the “big moment of his fledgling career” so far has been the dismissal of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Chris Gayle, off the first ball Vihari bowled in his IPL career on 7 April. He went on to score crucial runs in that match in Hyderabad (decided by Super Over—if the scores are tied after 20 overs, each team is given one over, and whoever scores more, wins). Now reporters seek him out, as was evident during net practice at Feroz Shah Kotla recently.

D.D beat kkr by 7 wkts

Easy win for delhi

Congratulation'z Delhi ;)

Todays Match (1 May,2013)

43rd IPL - Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians 
Rajiv Gandhi Int. Stadium, Hyderabad 
Series : IPL 2013
Match Will Be Start At 4 p.m As Per The IST

Todays 2nd Match (1 May,2013)
44th IPL - Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders 
International Cricket Stadium, Raipur 
Series : IPL 2013
Timing : 8p.m IST

News Of The Day

IPL 6: Dhawan, Ishant star as Hyderabad thrash Mumbai

Mumbai Indians 129-4 in 20 overs (Smith 38, Rayadu 34. Ishant 2/15): The steady start afforded to Mumbai by Sachin Tendulkar and Dwayne Smith didn’t last long. After showing glimpses of his undoubted class with two flicked fours, Sachin was bowled for the third time in this IPL – completely missing Ishant’s delivery to see his leg-stump fly back. Ishant sent back Dinesh Karthik for a duck in the same over and ended with impressive figures of 2/15.

Sachin was bowled by Ishant early in the MI innings. BCCI

From then onwards, SRH completely clamped down the Mumbai batsmen, and even the in-form Rohit Sharma couldn’t last too long, scoring 22 (22b, 2×4) before being caught by Ishant at long-off. It was redemption for the lanky bowler, who had just dropped a sitter from Smith in the same position minutes ago. SRH did give away 16 runs in the last over, but when Pollard scores just 14 in 19 balls, it’s a sign of how good Sunrisers were with the ball and in the field.

Sunrisers Hyderabad 130-3 in 18 overs (Dhawan 73*, Vihari 25): Akshath Reddy’s early dismissal left many thinking whether this was going to be another one of those nervy low-scoring run chases. But Shikhar Dhawan’s 73* (55b, 9×4, 1×6) ensured there were no such scares for SRH, who made it four out of four in Hyderabad. Kumar Sangakkara (21) and Hanuma Vihari (25) ably supported Dhawan — who scored his second fifty in three matches. And it wasn’t raw hitting from India’s latest batting star. He played some quality cut-shots and found the gaps with perfection — not taking any risks on a difficult pitch.

The other notable incident was Kieron Pollard going for a diving catch to dismiss Vihari, dropping it and injuring a finger in what could be a big blow to Mumbai’s hopes in the tournament.

Turning point: Has to be the 5th over of Mumbai’s innings – where Ishant dismissed Sachin and Karthik in the space of three deliveries.

Man of the match: It’s easy to give it to Shikhar Dhawan, but we’ll be bold and give it to Ishant Sharma. One maiden, two wickets and just 15 runs given away in four overs is what set the tone for his team’s victory.

Sachin Tendulkar to bat on at 40

Sachin Tendulkar, afforded almost religious status in India, burst onto the world cricket scene as a 16-year-old in 1989 and has played a record 198 Tests and 463 one-dayers, scoring an unprecedented 100 international hundreds.