KingsXI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders almost made a match out of a virtually lost cause in their encounter with Kings XI Punjab, but finally losing it by 9 runs.
The Punjab team batting first scored a modest 178-6 in 20 overs. The youngie Shuan Marsh was the top-scorer with 40 runs of 32 balls. Kumara Sangakkara 28 of 21 and Irfan Pathan 24 of 26 also contributed to scorecard.
But a late last over flood of runs by Piyush Chawla 21* of 7 balls from speedster Ishant Sharma took the Mohali team to a respectable 178 runs.
Umar Gul had the best figures of 2/27 in 4 overs.
Chasing the target Kolkata team lost early wickets. Punjab fast bowlers Sreesanth 4 overs, 2/25, Irfan Pathan 4 overs, 2/18 and V.R.V. Singh 4 overs, 1/31 kept the Kolkata top order on a tight leash. While the Kolkata side kept losing wickets, their scoring never picked up.
It was then David Hussey 71 of 46 and Prasanta Saha 59 of 32 who tried to steady the kolkatan inning. Their sixth wicket partnership saw them scoring 100 runs from just 52 balls.
The late gusty play by David Hussey and ample support from P. Saha did revived the hopes of winning for the Knights but it ended in the penultimate over when Hussey holed up one to James Hopes from Gagandeep Singh. The kolkata innings thus ended at 169-6 in 20 overs.
While this is the fourth successive win for the Mohali side, the Kolkata side recorded their fourth straight loss.
Irfan Pathan was declared Man Of the Match for his heroic bowling and the vital contribution with the bat.

Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers

Royal Challengers pacer Praveen Kumar took three wickets to help his team pull off a narrow three-run win against Deccan Chargers in a nail-biting match.
Put in to bat, none of the Royal Challengers' batsmen could touch the half-century mark and opener Wasim Jaffer top-scored with a 37 ball 44. Virat Kohli 38 and Rahul Dravid 26 provided valuable contributions to the side when other batsmen were out cheaply. The Challengers just reached a total of 156-8 in 20 overs.
RP Singh was the pick of the bowlers returning figures of 3/41.
Chasing a modest total the Deccan opener Adam Gilchrist was out for 10. Gibbs also got out soon scoring just 5. Laxman 52 of 44 balls and Rohit Sharma 57 of 32 balls put on 96 runs for the third wicket to provide a ray of hope when Deccan Chargers.
Shahid Afridi, who came in after the departure of Sharma, did not last long and was out for 1.
When the Hyderabad team needed 20 runs for victory in the last over, Sanjay Bangar 17* hit Anil Kumble for two successive sixes raising the team's hopes but could not clinch the match for his team, which ended up with 153 for six in the 20 overs.
Praveen returned figures of 3/23 in 4 overs taking wickets of Gibbs, Laxman, Afridi.
Praveen Kumar was the Man Of the Match.

Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai SuperKings

Skipper Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir put on a century partnership for the first wicket to power Delhi Daredevils to a commanding eight-wicket win against hitherto unbeaten Chennai Super Kings.
Chennai Super Kings, who won the toss and decided to bat first,put up 169-6 in 20 overs.
The Super Kings were off to a rather unconvincing start against McGrath and Asif. Young Vidyut 54 uf 37 batted quite competently and in the company of Dhoni 32 of 27 and steadied the Super Kings innings. Morkel took his chances and scored a quick 28 of 16 balls. The team Chennai surely the presence of its two Superkings Hayden and Hussey.
From the Delhi side McGrath bowled well giving up 21 in 4 overs and picking the vital wicket of Vidyut.
The Daredevils knocked off the runs in 19 overs after Sehwag 71 of 41 and Gautam Gambhir 50 of 37 provided them a solid start with a 115-run stand off just 68 balls.
None of the Chennai bowler stood tall infront the deadly duo.
AB de Villiers 26* and Shikhar Dhawan 19* safely guided the Daredevils past the winning post.

Skipper Virender Sehwag was the Man Of the Match.

KingsXI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers

Shaun Marsh sizzled on his Indian Premier League debut and blasted an unbeaten 85 off 62 balls as Kings XI Punjab thumped Deccan Chargers by seven wickets with seven balls to spare to coast to their third win of the tournament.
The Deccan batsmen couldn't stand up to the expectation just scoring 164-8 in 20 overs.
VVS Laxman provided a good start scoring 48 of 34 balls. Rohit Sharma stood tall amid ruins and hammered an unbeaten 42 ball 76*. Rohit continued playing his shots but wickets kept tumbling at the other end.
Kings XI leggie Piyush Chawla once again impressed with a three-wicket haul, conceding 28 runs in his four overs. Irfan Pathan picked up 2/30 in 4 overs.
The Punjabis began their chase on a positive note with Marsh imposing himself on the Deccan bowlers. He scored 85* of 62 balls at a brisk rate just what was the demand of the situation.
Mahela Jayawardene scored 45* of 23 balls sailing the team to victory.
Shaun Marsh was the Man Of the Match.

Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Skipper Sourav Ganguly's fighting half century went in vain as Kolkata Knight Riders succumbed to their third consecutive loss, going down by 45 runs to Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League tie at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
The Royals were dealt an early blow when Graeme Smith 2 departed in the second over of the innings -- bowled by Ishant Sharma. But Swapnil Asnodkar 60 of 34 balls and Yousuf Pathan 55 of 33 balls slammed blazing fifties to guide Rajasthan Royals to 196 for seven. Later Ravinder Jadeja scored a quick 33 of just 19 balls.
Umar Gul picked up 3/31 in 4 overs.
Chasing 197 for victory, the Knight Riders were bundled out for 151 in 19.1 overs. The Knight Riders had poor running between the wickets to blame for their fall as three of their batsmen were run out in the match, which marked their third successive loss.
Skipper Ganguly scored 51 of 39 balls and David Hussey 42 of 30 balls. The other batsmen couln't do much.
For the Jaipur team, the trio of Shane Watson 2/22, Sohail Tanvir 2/30 and Siddharth Trivedi 2/31 never allowed the Kolkatans to settle down.
Swapnil Asnodkar was the Man Of The Match.

Delhi Daredevils vs Bangalore Royal Challengers

Riding on a brilliant half-century from Gautam Gambhir and a match-winning spell by Glenn McGrath , the Delhi Daredevils defeated bottom-placed Bangalore Royal Challengers by 10 runs in an Indian Premier League match at Delhi.
Gambhir and Sehwag gave a fiery start to the Delhi team by playing the biggies. Sehwag was out midway on 24 Gambhir continued his power hitting and scored 86 of 54 balls.
Shikhar Dhawan with his well-struck 50 from 33 deliveries gave him support as the Delhi team steered to 191-5 in 20 overs.
Chasing a target of 192, the Challengers could only make 181 for five wickets from 20 overs.
The Challengers failed to get a good partnership going. Jacques Kallis was the top scorer with 54 while skipper Rahul Dravid made 38 and Mark Boucher contributed 31.
For the Daredevils, Glenn McGrath 4/29 was the top performer with the ball getting all the top-order batsmen out.
Glenn McGrath was the Player Of the Match.

Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Mumbai Indians left behind on-field disappointments and off-field controversies to pull off their maiden win with an emphatic seven-wicket decimation of Kolkata Knight Riders in this Indian Premier League tie.
Knight Riders batting first were restricted to a modest 137 for 8. Mumbai Indians veterans Sanath Jayasuriya 3/14 of 4 overs and Shaun Pollock 2/27 of 4 overs stole the limelight, wrecking the top and middle order of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
It was due to vital contributions of LR Shukla 40* of 22 and Debabrata Das 29 of 20 that the Knishts could reach to this minor total.
The Mumbai Indians overcame early jolts to coast to a comprehensive victory with eight balls to spare to bag their first two points after losing four matches at a stretch.
Dwayne Bravo 64* 53 of balls and Robin Uthappa 37 * of 37 balls took the game away from the Knight Riders with a 113-run unfinished fourth-wicket stand as the Mumbai Indians reached 138 for 3 in 18.4 overs.
With their captain Sachin Tendulkar still out of action owing to a groin injury, and stand-in skipper Harbhajan Singh banned from the IPL, the Mumbai side played their hearts out to dazzle the 80,000-strong crowd at the Eden with an all-round show.
Sanath Jayasuriya was declared Man Of the Match for his magical bowling spell.

Chennai SuperKings vs Bangalore Royal Challengers

The Chennai Super Kings did it for consecutive four times by beating the Bangalore Royal Challengers, who suffered a dramatic batting collapse to go down by 13 runs in a pulsating Indian Premier League match.

The Chennai openers could'nt give a sound start with Patel out for 21 and Hayden for13. But then Dhoni and Michael Hussey ensured that Chennai Super Kings converted a shaky start into an imposing total. Dhoni top-scored 65 of 30 balls and Hussey scored 47 of 37 balls. Theeir total was 178-5 in 20 overs.
Zaheer Khan did well picking up 3/38 in 4 overs.
Chasing 179 for victory, Royal Challengers lost their first wicket early but Wasim Jaffer 50 and Ross Taylor 53 laid a good foundation with some clean hitting.
Medium pacer Palani Amarnath 2/38 brought Super Kings back into the game removing the duo.
Then the Super Kings bowlers tightened the noose around the Challengers and the Bangalore middle-order fell like a pack of cards. M Gony was the pick from the bowlers 3/34 in 4 overs.
The skipper Dhoni did a great job rotating his bowlers cleverly to script their fourth win in a row.
MS Dhoni was the Player Of the Match.

Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians

Adam Gilchrist smashed the fastest century in a Twenty20 game in just 42 balls as Deccan Chargers routed the Mumbai Indians by 10 wickets.
The Mumbai openers and middle-order collapsed quickly without contributing much. It was then th all-rounders like Shaun Pollock 31, Abhishek Nayar 34 and Dwayne Bravo who pushed the scores for mumbai. But just scoring 154-7 in the 20 overs.
Deccan bowlers speacialy RP Singh 2/15 and Shahid Afridi 2/32 had the Mumbaikars to their knees.
Set a target of 155 to win by the Mumbai Indians, the crowd were treated to a scintillating display of power hitting by Gilchrist, with Deccan Chargers reaching their target in just 12 overs. Gilchrist was unbeaten on 109 in just 47 balls with nine boundaries and 10 sixes, while V V S Laxman was unbeaten on 36 off 29 balls.
This was the first win for the Chargers in the IPL while Mumbai Indians are still waiting to open up their winning account.
Man Of the Match was Adam Gilchrist.

Harbhajan - Sreesanth slap row

The Indian Premier League faced its first on-field controversy with allegations that Harbhajan Singh hit Sreesanth, his India team-mate and IPL rival, after the match between the Kings XI Punjab and the Mumbai Indians in Mohali.
Sreesanth, who took two wickets for Punjab, was spotted in tears after the match - which his side won.
Sources said that after the match a smiling Sreesanth walked up to Harbhajan - the captain of the losing Mumbai Indians - and said "Hard luck". "That was when Harbhajan lost his cool and hit Sreesanth under the eye."
The BCCI now has Harbhajan Singh banned for the remainder of the current IPL season. The ban is for 11 matches, extendable to 13 if Mumbai progress to the semi-final and final. He would be fined all of his match fees from the tournament.
The ban on Harbhajan comes as a jolt for Mumbai, who are still struggling to make it big in the tournament.
This row has incited many officials as well as cricketers who had their own opinion regarding the incident.
What i feel is that it was cruel on part of Harbhajan Singh to do such a grave mistake. He is a senior member of the Indian Cricket Team and must behave like one.
The IPL has taken the right step by banning him.

KingsXI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils

Australian left-hander Simon Katich scored a confident 75 to steer KingsXI Punjab to an easy four-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils.
After crushing Rajasthan Royals in Delhi and Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad, Daredevils tasted their first defeat in the tournament. The Delhi batsman fell on toes to the Punjab bowlers.
They scored a modest 158-8 in 20 overs. The youngie Manoj Tiwary batted well from the Delhi's side scoring 39 of 34 balls. He was accompanied by Dinesh Karthik 24.
VRV Singh had excellent figures of 3/29. Irfan Pathan also bowled well 2/26.
Chasing a modest target of 159, Katich did not lose nerves despite losing his opening partner Karan Goel (1) and Kumar Sangakkara (4) and made the run chase look easy.
The skipper Yuvraj Singh played a solid 40-run knock and hit the winning runs in the last over.
Mohammed Asif bagged two wickets while Glenn McGrath, Yo Mahesh and Shoaib Malik took a wicket each for Daredevils.
Simon Katich was declared Man Of the Match.

Rajasthan Royals vs Bangalore Royal Challengers

The Royals earned their 3rd consecutive win by beating the Challengers by 7 wickets.
Australian allrounder Shane Watson put the Royals in the right track by restricting Bangalore to a modest 135 for eight by claiming two quick wickets and hitting a fluent unbeaten 61 to take Rajasthan Royals to an easy seven-wicket win with 2.5 overs to spare.
The Bangalore side batting first scored a low 135-8 in 20 overs. Ross Taylor, the young NewZealander top-scored for the Challengers. He made a quick 44 of 20 balls. Praveen Kumar also contributed scoring a vital 34 of 20 balls.
Watson recorded the best figures from bowling side giving 20 of 4 overs and picking up 2 wickets. Munaf Patel also took 2/20 in 3 overs.
Chasing a modest 136 to win, Royals made a negative start losing Mahesh Rawat in the first over and then lost big hitter Yusuf Pathan (21) early with Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Kahan striking in tandem. But then Watson added a commanding 104 for the third wicket with South African skipper Graeme Smith 49 and sailed his team to a comfortable win.
None other than Shane Watson was the Man Of the Match.

Chennai SuperKings vs Kolkata Knight Riders

The Superkings thrashed the riders with a 9-wicket win over them.
The Riders, having won both their previous two games, began promisingly with opener Brendon McCullum blazing away, but a twin strike by Oram broke the back of the Kolkata innings that never really recovered from these setbacks. Later in the innings Laxmi Ratan Shukla 42 batted carefully to strengthen the total. The Riders could only score 147/9 of 20 overs.
Jacob Oram picked up 3 for 32 runs in 4 overs. Amarnath too had a good figure of 2/29.
In reply the Super Kings batted sensibly taking no risks whatsoever and romped home with ease.
Matthew Hayden put on 66 for the first wicketwith Parthiv Patel 21, the highest opening stand in the tournament so far. Hayden scored 70* of 49 balls. Then it was the skipper's turn to finish the game in style. Dhoni scored 43* of 27 balls. The skipper kept his cool making right decisions at right time leading his team to their 3rd consecutive win in the league.
Jacob Oram was the Man Of the Match.

KingsXI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians

KingsXI Punjab registered an easy 66-run win over the Mumbai Indians at Mohali PCA stadium.
The Punjab team came to bat first and scored a fair total 0f 182-10. Kumara Sangakkara the lone man standing for the home side scored a brilliant 94 of 56 balls. He hit 13 fours and 1 six in inning.
The other contributors to the total were Karan Goel and Yuvraj Singh. Harbhajan Singh had the best bowling figures giving 32 of 4 overs and picking up 3 wickets.
In return the Mumbai team could only score 116-9 in 20 overs.
Brett Lee provided an energetic start to the second innings. He caught Jayasuriya of his own ball and run out Roonchi in his 2nd over.
D.Bravo 23 was the highest scorer from the Mumbai side.
Piyush Chawla did his spinning tricks and picked up 2 for 16 in 4 overs.
As the match ended Harbhajan the Mumbai skipper slaped S.Sreesanth out of anger and Sreesanth was seen in tears.
Kumara Sangakkara was the Man Of the Match.

Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers

Andrew Symonds's fastest hundred went in vain as Rajasthan Royals notched up a thrilling three-wicket win over Deccan Chargers.
The chargers batting first scored a massive 214-5. Andrew Symonds played a devastating innings of 117* of just 57 balls. Rohit Sharma scored a convincing 36.
Chasing 215 to win, Royals overhauled the target with a ball to spare, with Warne coming up with a 22-run cameo off just nine balls. Yosuf Pathan and Greame Smith shared a crucial 98-run partnership for the second wicket. Yosuf scored the fastest fifty of this IPL season. Yosuf made 61 of 28 balls and Smith scored 71 of 45 balls.
Required run-rate soared after the departure of Pathan, but Kaif 34 of 16 hit three sixes in 15th over bowled by Symonds to keep the target within their reach.
Requiring 17 runs off the final over, Warne wielded willow to great effects as he twice hit Symonds over the ropes to seal a nail-biting win. Shahid Afridi picked up 3 wickets for 28 runs.
Yosuf Pathan was declared Man Of the Match.

Chennai SuperKings vs Mumbai Indians

In a repeat show of the Twenty20 World Cup final, Joginder Sharma lived up to captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's expectation and sent down a crucial final over as Chennai Super Kings pipped Mumbai Indians by six runs in a thrilling Indian Premier League tie.Matthew Hayden blasted 81 and featured in a century stand with Suresh Raina (53) as Chennai Super Kings amassed 208 for five.
Chasing 209, Mumbai openers got out early. They surely missed the presence of Sachin.But later in the innings the Abhishek and Harbhajan ligthened a ray of hope for Mumbai.
Harbhajan Singh (28) and Abhishek Nayar's (45 not out) spectacular rearguard action had the Mumbai side needing 19 off the last over. But Joginder's clever bowling had the match for Chennai. Robin Utthappa too batted well scoring scoring 43.
The Man Of the Match was Matthew Hayden.

Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers

Virender Sehwag decimated the Deccan Chargers with a violent unbeaten 94 as Delhi Daredevils registered an easy nine-wicket win in the Indian Premier League.
The Hyderabad team batting first scored a modest 142 for 8. Rohit Sharma played a significant knock of 66 of just 36 balls.
The first innings also witnessed some great bowling spells by Glenn McGrath and Md.Asif.
But with skipper Sehwag on fire, Delhi Daredevils overwhelmed the target in 13 overs losing just one wicket for their second victory in a row.
Shikar Dhawan accompanying the skipper contributed 25*.
Virender Sehwag was the Man Of the Match.

Rajasthan Royals vs KingsXI Punjab

The under-rated Royals team proved their worth by securing a stunning win over the KingsXI Punjab team.

The two Shanes shone quite brilliantly to steer the Rajasthan team to victory.

KingsXI team batting first scored a satisfactory total of 166. Yuvraj Singh was the highest scorer from their side scoring 57 of just 34 balls. Piyush Chawla too played acrucial knock of 24* of just 11 deliveries. Shane Warne bowled a splendid spell of 3/19 of 4 overs.

Froms the Royals team Shane Watson played an attacking innings of 76* of 49 balls to guide his team to a easy win. Watson was accompanied by Ravinder Jadeja who scored 36* of 25 balls.

Lee and his companions couldn't do much to curb the Royal batsmen.

Shane Watson was the Man Of The Match.

Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Mumbai Indians

South Africa's Mark Boucher hammered an unbeaten 39 to ensure that Bangalore Royal Challengers defeated Mumbai Indians by five wickets with two balls to spare for their first win in the Indian Premier League onSunday night.

Mumbai clearly missed the experience of Tendulkar, who skipped the game due to a groin injury. His absence meant that Harbhajan, who had little experience of leading, captained the side.

Robin Uthappa was the top scorer for Mumbai with an innovative 48 (38 balls, 5x4s, 1x6). He played some unconventional shots. Opener Sanath Jayasuriya scored 29 off 16 balls (5x4s, 1x6) while Shaun Pollock made 28 not out (11 balls, 3x4s, 2x6s).

Pacers Zaheer Khan and Balachandra Akhil bagged two wickets apiece.

All the top order Bangalore batsmen provided with useful contributions. Dravid scored 37, Kallis 25 and Kohli chipped in with a 14-ball 23 (3x4s, 1x6) before Boucher in the company of B. Akhil sealed the win.

Harbhajan took two for 36.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers.

What a competion! A true rivalry of bat and ball.
David Hussey played a crucial unbeaten knock of 38 to help Kolkata Knight Riders secure a five-wicket win over Deccan Chargers in a close Indian Premier League tie, on Sunday.
Having bowled out the Chargers for a paltry 110 on a poor pitch, the hosts were tottering 21 for three at one stage before Hussey changed the script with an innings, which was a good mix of caution and flamboyance.
From the Chargers Andrew Symonds played a crucial knock of 32.
The Chargers provided a stiff competion but all went in a vain.
In the 16th over the lights went off and the play was stopped for a while.
Murli Kartik bowled a vital spell of 3/17.
David Hussey was declared Man Of The Match.

My own experience of the KingsXI and Chennai Superkings match

Wow! What a match. This was the first cricket match I saw live in the stadium.

The match had it all great batting performances, good bowling spells and some dazzling field work.

I was really impressed by Brett Lee as when he came towards us,folded his hands and greeted us NAMASTEY. But the show stealer was ofcourse Mike Hussey 116* of just 54 balls.

There were some other great performances by Kumara Sangakkara, James Hopes, Suresh Raina, Muttiah Murlitharan.

I even got a glimpse of the beautiful Priety Zinta who was continously cheering for her team.

One of the best things for me is to see how well these players get along when playing together. It lets us see the more human side of the players and how they really enjoy playing the game of cricket, no matter whether they are playing for the country or an IPL team. I suppose it's a lesson for all of us, that cricket is just a game and you should enjoy it.

Even though our home team lost it but we all were delighted by the great cricketing experience.

Delhi Dare devils vs Rajasthan Royals

The Rajasthan Royals won the toss and decided to bat first. The Delhi bowlers put up a disciplined show to restrict them to 129 and then their batsmen chased down the target in just 15.1 overs.

Farveez Maharoof bowled a splendid spell of 2/11 in 4 overs. The newcommer Rajat Bhatia bowled well by just giving 17 runs and picking up 2 wickets.

From the Royals side Ravinder Jadeja 29 and Dinesh Salunkhe were the only run-getters.

In return Shane Warne's team couldn't do much and lost it by 9-wickets.

Gautam Gambhir 58 and Shikhar Dhawan 52 easily steered the Delhi team to victory.

Farveez Maharoof was declared Man Of the Match.

Chennai Super Kings vs KingsXI Punjab

Chennai Super Kings had their Western Australia specialist Michael Hussey to thank for a massive total 240-5. His scintillating unbeaten 116*,a superb exhibition left Punjab a mountain to climb and in return the Punjab innings ended at 204-7.

The Punjab team having a strong bowlins line-up with Brett Lee, S.Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan could not do much to restrict the superkings.Suresh Raina 32 and S.Badrinath 31* also made a vital contribution to the massive total. Irfan had the best figures 2-47.

Mohali team did fightback with great knocks from James Hopes 71 and Kumara Sangakkara 54.

Wicket kept falling at regular intervals and Chennai team won it by 33 runs.

Michael Hussey was declared Player of the match for his brilliant knock of 116* of just 54 balls.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Bangalore Royal Challengers

The first match of IPL2008 and what a start. Brendon McCullum made 158* the highest total ever in the T-20s and led Kolkata Knight Riders to victory. The Knights won by 140 runs.

The knights batting first made 222-3 in 20 overs.

Again a brilliant effort from the Kolkatans as they restricted the challengers for just 82.

Brendon McCullum was decided Man Of the Match for his devastating knock.

Kolkatan bowlers speacialy Ishant Sharma 1/7 and Ajit Agarkar 3/25 bowled really well.

From bangalore's side the highest scorer was Praveen Kumar18* and Zaheer Khan was their best bowler 1/34.

IPl Schedule

IPL Game Schedule
April 19 : Delhi v Jaipur at Delhi
April 20: Mumbai v Bangalore at Mumbai; Kolkata v Hyderabad at Kolkata
April 21: Jaipur v Mohali at Jaipur
April 22: Hyderabad v Delhi at Hyderabad
April 23: Chennai v Mumbai at Chennai
April 24: Hyderabad v Jaipur at Hyderabad
April 25: Mohali v Mumbai at Mohali
April 26: Bangalore v Jaipur at Bangalore; Chennai v Kolkata at Chennai
April 27: Mumbai v Hyderabad at Mumbai; Mohali v Delhi at Mohali
April28: Bangalore v Chennai at Bangalore
April 29: Kolkata v Mumbai at Kolkata
April 30: Delhi v Bangalore at Delhi.
May 1: Hyderabad v Mohali at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Kolkata at Jaipur
May 2: Chennai v Delhi at Chennai.
May 3: Hyderabad at Bangalore at Hyderabad; Mohali v Kolkata at Mohali
May 4: Mumbai v Delhi at Mumbai; Jaipur v Chennai at Jaipur
May 5: Bangalore v Mohali at Bangalore
May 6: Chennai v Hyderabad at Chennai
May 7: Mumbai v Jaipur at Mumbai
May 8: Delhi v Chennai at Delhi; Kolkata v Bangalore at Kolkata
May 9: Jaipur v Hyderabad at Jaipur
May 10: Bangalore v Mumbai at Bangalore; Chennai v Mohali at Chennai
May 11: Hyderabad v Kolkata at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Delhi at Jaipur
May 12: Mohali v Bangalore at Mohali
May13:Kolkata v Delhi at Kolkata
May 14: Mumbai v Chennai at Mumbai;Mohali v Jaipur at Mohali
May 15: Delhi v Hyderabad at Delhi
May 16: Mumbai v Kolkata at Mumbai
May 17: Delhi v Mohali at Delhi; Jaipur v Bangalore at Jaipur
May 18: Hyderabad v Mumbai at Hyderabad; Kolkata v Chenna at Kolkata
May 19: Bangalore v Delhi at Bangalore
May 20: Kolkata v Jaipur at Kolkata
May 21: Mumbai v Mohali at Mumbai; Chennai v Bangalore at Chennai
May 22: Delhi v Kolkata at Delhi
May 23: Mohali v Hyderabad at Mohali.
May 24: Delhi v Mumbai at Delhi; Chennai v Jaipur at Chennai
May 25: Bangalore v Hyderabad at Bangalore; Kolkata v Mohali at Kolkata
May 26: Jaipur v Mumbai at Jaipur
May 27: Hyderabad v Chennai at Hyderabad
May 28 and 29: Rest days
May 30: First semi-final at Mumbai
May 31: Second semi-final at Mumbai
June 1: Final at Mumbai

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders is the franchise representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. The team is led by Sourav Ganguly and coached by John Buchanan. The official theme of the team is Korbo, Lorbo, Jitbo Re (We will do it, Fight for it, Win it). It is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with Juhi Chawla and her husband, Jai Mehta.

The Knights:

1.Sourav Ganguly(captain): Modern-day cricketing legend. 2.Ricky Ponting: World's most successful captain ever 3.Brendon Mccullum: An incredible keeper and a powerhouse batsman 4.Ishant Sharma: India's fastest bowler ever 5.Chris Gayle: Devil opener and a partnership breaker 6.Ajit Agarkar: Experienced Indian star bowler 7.Murali Kartik: The silent killer 8. Akash Chopra: A classic opener 9.David Hussey: The Bomberman 10.Tatenda Taibu: The youngest captain ever 11.Umar Gul: The devastator 12.Salman Butt: The dependable Paki opener 13.Ranadeb Bose: Best Indian bowler in domestics 14.Ashok Dinda : A local speedster 15.Laxmi Ratan Shukla: The lost hero.

Bangalore Royal Challengers

Royal Challengers Bangalore is the team representing the city of Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. The team is owned by the liquor magnate Vijay Mallya, the chairman of UB Group. Charu Sharma is the CEO of the team.

Coach: Venkatesh Prasad

The Challengers:

1.Rahul Dravid(captain): The Wall

2.Mark Boucher: Finest wicketkeeper

3.Shivnarine Chanderpaul: A prolific stroke maker

4.Wasim Jaffer: Remarkablely talented

5.Misbah-ul-haq: A versatile cricketer

6.Ross Taylor: Upcoming New Zealander

7.Jacques Kallis: Greatest all-rounder ever

8.Virat Kohli: U-19 T-20 winner captain

9.Anil Kumble: Leading Indian wicket-taker

10.Nathan Bracken: The Aussie great

11.Zaheer Khan: Spearhead of Indian bowling attack

12.Dale Steyn: An aggressive out-and-out fast bowler

13.Praveen Kumar: Talented young Indian all-rounder

14.Cameroon White: A powerful all-rounder speacially for T-20s

15.Abdur Razzak: Slowie from Bangladesh

16.Sunil Joshi: Forgotten warrior.

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals is the franchise that will represent the city of Jaipur in the Indian Premier League. The team will be led and coached by Shane Warne.

The Rajasthan Royals franchise is owned by Emerging Media group.

The Royals:

1.Shane Warne: The Chucky Leg Spinner

2.Mohammad Kaif: Defensive middle-order batsman

3.Graeme Smith: The Prince

4.Younis Khan: A skilled batsman

5.Justin Langer: Best test-opner for Aussies

6.Sohail Tanvir: The furious

7.Shane Watson: The New Star From Australia

8.Dimitri Mascarenhas: Only Englishman in this season of IPL

9.Kamran Akmal: Quick-scoring batsman and a wicket-keeper

10.Morne Morkel: A genuine fast bowler

11.Munaf Patel: A struggler

12.Yusuf Pathan: Talented all-rounder, brother of Irfan

13.Taruwar Kohli: U-19 T-20 finals highest scorer.

14.Ravinder Jadeja: The new star in making

15.Pankaj Singh: Fast bowler from UP.

Deccan Chargers

The Deccan Chargers is a franchise that will represent the city of Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. The Deccan Chargers is owned by Deccan Chronicle.

Coach: Robin Singh

The Unstoppables:

1.VVS Laxman(captain): Elegancy redefined

2.Adam Gilchrist: Greatest wicket-keeper batsman

3.Andrew Symonds: A sure match-winner

4.Chaminda Vaas: King of inswingers

5.Scott Styris: Stunning all-rounder

6.Herschelle Gibbs: Tremendous strokeplayer

7.Rohit Sharma: Rising Indian T-20 star

8.RP Singh: Consistent wicket-taker

9.Shahid Afridi: T-20 world cup player of series

10.Chamara Silva: Thinner version of Aravinda de Silva

11.Sanjay Bangar: An enthusiastic all rounder

12.Venugopal Rao: Stylish Andhra batsman

13.Nuwan Zoysa: Agressive left-arm seamer.

14.Arjun Yadav: Strongly built middle-order batsman

15.Pragyan Ojha: Promising left-arm spinner.

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians, a team comprising of talented youngsters headed by Sachin Tendulkar.

The ambassador of the team is Hritik Roshan.
Owners: Mukesh Ambani and Reliance and Reliance Industries Limited.
The coach: Lal Chand Rajput
The Mumbaikars:
1.Sachin Tendulkar (captain): The God of cricket
2.Sanath Jayasuriya: A geniune math-winner
3.Shuan Pollock: The incomparible
4.Harbhajan Singh: The turbanator
5.Robin Uthappa: Attacking baby
6.Yogesh Takawale: Wicket-keeper batsman
7.Lasith Malinga: The stylish pacer
8.Ashwell Prince: The dependable
9.Abhishek Nayyar: Next big thing
10.Ashish Nehra: Delhite wicket-taker
11.Loots Bosman: Hard-hitter
12.Dilhara Fernando: Lankan medium pacer
13.Rajesh Pawar: The mumbai hero.
14.Manish Pandey: Karnatkan spinner
15.Ajinkya Rahane: Young gun

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils are a part of the eight club Indian Premier League. The team is owned by GMR holdings for next 10 years.
The actor Akshay kumar is the ambassador of the team.
Coach: Greg Shiperd
The Team:
1.Virender Sehwag(captain): Destructor Jaat
2.Gautam Gambhir: Stylish opener
3.Glenn Mcgrath: The legendary pacer
4.AB de Villiers: The high scoring opener
5.Daniel Vettori: Spin-master
6.Shoaib Malik: The paki great
7.Mohammad Asif: The bowl mover
8.Tillakratne Dilshan: The middle-order hitter
9.Shikhar Dhawan: The local star
10.Dinesh Karthik: Classy wicket-keeper batsman
11.Mithun Manhas: The Spinning all rounder
12.Farveez Maharoof: Slow bowl swinger
13.Manoj Tiwary: The splendid batsman
14.Brett Geeves: Aussie pacer

KingsXI - Punjab

Team mohali is part of 8 competing teams promoted by IPL.
Team Promoters and Owners: Priety Zinta, Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman, Karan Paul.
Coach: Tom Moody
Chief Executive Officer: Neil Maxwell
The Team:
1.Yuvraj Singh: Punjabi Powerhouse
2.Kumar Sangakkara: Talented wicket-keeper batsman
3.Brett Lee: The speedster
4.Mahela Jayawardane: The cool guy
5.Ramnaresh Sarwan: The guyana indian
6.James Hopes: The hard-hitting all-rounder
7.Irfan Pathan: Maharaja of reverse-swing
8.Simon Katich: The classy left-hander batsman
9.Kyle Mills: The kiwi right-arm pacer
10.Luke Pomersbach: Australian T-20 specialist
11.S. Sreesanth: Its all about attitude
12.Pankaj Dharmani: The local champ
13.Piyush Chawla: Youngest king of googly
14.Romesh Powar: Wears zany red Powar sunglasses
15.VRV Singh: Chandigarh express.

The Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings are a part of the eight club Indian Premier League. The team is owned by Indian Cements, for the next 10 years.
Former India test player Kris Srikkanth is the brand ambassador for the team, and V.B.Chandrasekhar is the chief selector.
The Kings:
1.MS.Dhoni - Captain of T20 champs
2.Muttiah Muralitharan - The god of spin
3.Matthew Hayden - Magical hitter
4.Jacob Oram - Better than the best
5.Stephen Fleming - Mr.Dependable
6.Makhaya Ntini - Lethal bowler
7.Michael Hussey - Mr.Cricket
8.Albie Morkel - Invincible all rounder
9.Suresh Raina - The finisher
10.Parthiv Patel - Sensational WK
11.Joginder Sharma - Man of golden arm
12. Abhinav Mukund - Talented all-rounder
13.Napoleon Einstein - Promising opener
14.Viraj Kadbe - Aspiring batsmen
15.Lakshmi Balaji - Comeback kid.

The Clubs or Franchises

This season of IPL will witness 8 clubs or franchises. The total base price for auction was US$400 million, the auction fetched US$723.59 million on 24 January 2008.
The official list of franchise owners announced and the winning bids were as follows :

1) Mumbai Indians owned by Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries Limited
was bid for $111.9 million.
2) Bangalore Royal Challengers owned by Dr. Vijay Mallya and UB group
was bid for $111.6 million.
3) Hyderabad Deccan Chargers owned by Deccan Chronicle
was bid for $107 million.
4) Chennai Super Kings owned by India Cements and N Srinivasan
was bid for $91 million.
5) Delhi DareDevils owned by GMR Holdings
was bid for $84 million.
6) Kings XI Punjab owned by Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul (Apeejay Surendera Group) and Mohit Burman (Dabur) was bid for $76 million.
7) Kolkata Knight Riders owned by Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla Mehta and Jai Mehta
was bid for $75.09 million.
8) Rajasthan Royals owned by Emerging Media: (Manoj Badale, Lachlan Murdoch, Suresh Chellaram) was bid for $67 million.

IPL - A revolutionary change to Indian cricket.

The Indian Premier League, is a T-20 cricket competition created by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and sanctioned by the International Cricket Council. The first edition of the Indian Premier League starts on 18 April 2008. The league will consist of 8 teams. Each team will play two matches with every other team, held at home venue and away venue. The league matches will be followed by two semi-finals and a final match.
Its format is based on the English Premier League, in which the players(from all over the world) are contracted by clubs and made to play for them. This will definately do great guns for the players as they get to play with their fellow international players and even get to earn a great sum.