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Being a die hard cricket fan and also having started my blog on the 2nd of june no prizes for guessing what my 1st topic would be.Yes, the IPL!!It seemed to be a highly successful adventure when i look back after its first edition got over today morning.A thrilling finale which could have been hardly scripted better.Usually it has been the thrilling semi finals and a one sided final.Obviously i am a happy man with the team from my adopted home being crowned the deserving CHAMPIONS.

The much hyped tournament started off with a lop sided opener where the Bangalore side was thrashed fair and square by McCullum ,the glorious uncertainties of this game was on display during the course of the tournament.Calculations turned out to be mis calculations & hopes were converted to despair.The concept of city based loyalty has started bearing fruits and bollywood kept its date with cricket.The most consistent team won the trophy & the present toast of the nation led his team to an unusual runner up position(MSD often turns everything into gold).So its imperative that most people will summarize it as a perfect tournament the cricketing god's have moved a notch higher.

Really,is it the case??Then why should i refer this extravaganza to a MIRROR ???As my blogger friends would know if u have read my first post,i am quite good at finding some faults and as i admit ,completely from my point of view.I guess a summary of all the teams and its heroes/villains should do the job.

BANG LORE:I wouldn't give them the royal challengers tag not only because they hardly were one,but also because of the cheap tactics of "Dr" Vijay Mallya to promote his brand of liquor.Not only did he name his team,he also named the stands in the Chinnaswami stadium with various brands of his.One needn't think twice about what his ultimate motive was-to sell his liquor in the name of cricket.God willing that team is never going to move up the ladder in the subsequent editions as well.I feel sorry for Rahul Dravid and Charu Sharma for they had to work under a boss who never knew what he was doing(let alone others).Ironically Dravid turned out to be the best player in the side and always let his bat do the talking.If the bangalore team ever had a villain it's their owner & if there is one chink in their Armour its the so called "Dr" again.If there has to be one player who in my books can walk out with his head held high along with Warne it has to be Dravid.It's a shame that Dravid has to fight at the twilight of his career even after all his records speaks volumes for his greatness.But afterall hasn't he been a fighter all through.Hat's off!
HYDERABAD:The lesser said the better,is it???No!!They scripted a lesson to be learnt.It's not all about superstars mate,and of course it's not a one man show.Its a team game and the team comes first.How well they have accepted it remains to be seen.Come 2009 and they will let us know.But one has to appreciate the way VVS adapted to this format and the brilliance of Rohit Sharma.Villains ??? May be the owners for their over confidence.
KOLKOTTA:Once upon a time there was a small time actor,who according to himself was a brilliant all round student ,studied well & was the captain of the college hockey team.With God's grace he made it big in bollywood.He was such a big star that even his mediocre films(which includes 90% of his films) kept the cash registers tickling.The promos and aggressive marketing paid rich dividends.The brilliant brain of his(remember he was a brilliant student) realized the potential of cricket in India and he decieded to date her.He would come to cricket grounds in the pretext of a fan & market his films.Then he decided to own a cricket team.He expected the Indian jantha to dance to his tunes & they did(even the Pakistani jantha).The most popular team in the IPL was his.Even the ever so hostile mumbai crowd rooted for his team.He believed that's the recipe for success.But his brilliant brain failed to differentiate between "reel" & "real" life.The hypocrite in SRK was brought to the fore.He swallowed words which he had vomitted,- his prioritiy was money and not cricket.His star status is not going to win a cricket match & SRK would do well to take a cue from preity zinta whose not so brilliant brain gave better dividends on the cricket field.Ganguly tried hard,but didn't always succeed.Most importantly John Buccanan's mask was removed.Yeah Warne said it earlier,Australia would succeed without John and yours truly believe,even Mandira Bedi could have coached the Aussies to success.
MUMBAI:Had a pretty good team and they fought hard.In the end they were tagged the chokers.But i have got a pretty interesting villain and hero.Hero ,to me was Bhajji because once he left they looked invincible.The guy who was celebrated all along this country of 'muni's' & 'rishis' for calling his opponent "maa ki" and not monkey has always been a hero, hasn't he?For me he is a bigger hero since he played a major part in the resurrection of Sreesanth.That slap ,to me is a turning point in the career of the talented Sree, & if Sree doesn't look upto Bhajji as his father figure he deserves one more slap.Ohh then who is the villain???SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR!!!!y???He finds turning up in Indian colors in Bangladesh for a one day series a disgrace.Had mumbai been in the finals it would have been interesting to see what sachin would have done(the team was picked before that).Had it been a test series would he have sacrificed his chance to add a couple of centuries to his kitty and stay safely ahead of Ponting??Did the Ambani's bank balance attract him more??Tendulkar off the field has been an enigma to me.Sometimes the way he carried himself during the IPL has raised questions??The man suddenly started questioning umpires.But i thank him for all the wonderful moments he provided & for giving us reasons to smile.
`More on the top 4 in the next post....