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song & dance
Rakhi Sawant rules on the Proteas turf. No, she is not here for her swayamvar, but her Krazzy 4 song Dekhta hai tu kya is quite the go-to track for the DJ at the Wanderers stadium. Even Himesh Reshammiya is getting plenty of airtime with Walequm assalam (Aap Kaa Surroor) and Hari om hari om (Karzzzz), much to the horror of some Bollywood buffs here.
The sound is as different from last year’s IPL as it can be. We aren’t sure if Red Chillies had anything to do with it but Shah Rukh Khan songs are seldom heard during breaks and at fall-of-wickets. Yes, occasionally there may be a Bole chudiyan (K3G) or a Chale jaise hawayein sanan sanan (Main Hoon Naa), but no real thumping SRK tracks like Main hoon don or Chak de India.
The most popular song this IPL season? The Pussycat Dolls version of A.R. Rahman’s Jai ho. It’s the clear winner with the crowds — from Cape Town to Centurion — taking over the chorus.
colour correct
Flags can say as much about allegiances as about knowledge of geography. Yes, some flags flying in the stadiums here sure are of the teams playing — the red-and-silver of King’s XI Punjab or the silver-and-blue of Deccan Chargers. And we understand why the Indian flags are flying high… it’s the Indian Premier League after all. But what are all the Pakistani flags doing here? Why are they being waved in the wind? Who might they be supporting?
Could it be in favour of John Buchanan, who on Saturday night admitted how KKR was missing Umar Gul this season? “Not so much Shoaib Akhtar who played just one match for us last year but Umar Gul would have been useful. But then again, we had to look at the balance of the side even if the Pakistanis were allowed to play.”
But the best flag this side of the Indian Ocean? That prize would have to go to the Bangladeshi flag. It has been in hiding right through the tournament, but it went wild on Saturday night at the Wanderers, when the $600,000-Knight Mashrafe Mortaza finally took the field. They were waved when he came into bowl, went still when he was tonked for back-to-back sixes in his first over and were unfurled again when he bowled a beautiful 18th over. After the last over, those green-and-red flags were never seen again.
easy meat
It’s not without reason that the grass embankments are the most popular seats in the South African stadiums. They are not only easy on the pocket, you can do a whole lot of things besides watch cricket. And it can get pretty hot and sticky!
But before your dirty minds go into overdrive, get a taste of South Africa’s favourite pastime — braai! In Afrikaans, ‘braai’ means ‘roasted meat’. When used as a verb, it refers to the process of grilling meat and veggies, whipped up on a makeshift barbecue out in the sun, and then knocked back with a whole lot of beer. It’s especially popular in the smaller stadiums here, like the one in Centurion, SuperSport Park. Even though there are barbecue food stands in and around the stadium, the grass embankments are punctuated with braaiers and the smell of grilled meat fills the air.
Who said cricket was easy meat?
manager missed
Guess who is keeping an eye on the Kolkata Knight Riders? Yudhajit Dutta! Who he, you ask? Well, he’s the same guy who was part of the KKR camp last year, then pledged allegiance to Dhoni and floated his own company Mindscape Maestros. He then delivered a surprise hit with the Kolkata Fashion Week and is now here in South Africa as one of the managers of Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings.
“Kolkata Knight Riders is a very good team with a lot of potential but the management has been terrible,” Yudhajit mumbled, while coming out of the Durban airport on Tuesday, a Geoffrey Boycott hat placed lazily atop the luggage trolley.
Then, of course, Chennai achieved the remarkable feat of actually losing to Kolkata. Howzzat? “We could have won that one… My heart was thumping till the last ball,” Yudhajit smiled.
He may wear the yellow colours of CSK but the true-blue Calcuttan that Yudi is, he still nurses a soft corner for KKR. And his confidence borders on the cocky. “Had I been the manager, all these issues of captaincy and racism and everything would never have come up and they could have played good cricket!”
funky monkey
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The electronic scoreboard at SuperSport Park in Centurion pops out something special every time a ball goes past the boundary. For a six, it only splashes “HUGE!” or “WOW!”, but for every four it comes up with innovative accolades. There are, of course, the old ones, like “What a shot!” or “Amazing!” But have you ever seen a boundary being cheered as “Funky monkey”? During Brendon McCullum’s knock on Monday evening, Centurion saw plenty of that! It could not be confirmed whether it had been inspired by the Symonds-Bhajji monkeying around. Some other new ones include “Don’t move man!”, “That’s quality!”, “Yeah baby!” and ‘Now that’s something special”.
summer fling
They wear different colours and play for different teams but they are still a part of the same Team India, right?
Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma were on opposite sides of the draw last Sunday at Johannesburg. Yuvraj was captaining King’s XI Punjab and standing at long off, Rohit was the man out in the middle for Deccan Chargers, trying to win them another match in the last over (after his heroics against KKR).
Yet it wasn’t meant to be, and Rohit got bowled by an Irfan Pathan yorker. Later during the prize distribution ceremony, Yuvraj and Rohit came face to face again; Yuvraj as the winning captain and man of the match and Rohit as the six-hitter.
Yuvi stepped forward to console the distraught Rohit. He first hugged him and then kept patting his head. We couldn’t hear the words exchanged but the camaraderie spoke loud and clear.
After all, in a few weeks, they will be fighting it out for the T20 World Cup in England.
It’s Team India that they are married to; IPL is just a summer — or winter — fling.
WASIM AKRAM has a problem with the ipl: “It’s too long. Bachche baDe ho gaye, par yeh toh khatam Hi nahiN ho raha!” waz wants a trimmer ipl 2010, but before that he picks a few of his favourites from the ongoing tournament just for t2...
BEST BOWLERS
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| Lasith Malinga and R.P. Singh. “R.P. Singh has made a real comeback.” | |
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BEST TEAM
Delhi Daredevils. “Sehwag and Gambhir are the best opening pair in the world. If there is a team I’d like to be in, it is Delhi Daredevils.”
BEST FINAL
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| Royal Challengers Bangalore versus Delhi Daredevils. “Royal Challengers have been peaking.” | |
TOP DRAWS ON GOOGLE
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Most-searched cricketers
(from just before IPL 2009 started)
1. Fake IPL Player
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. M.S. Dhoni
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. Sourav Ganguly
Verdict: No surprise this, what with the fake IPL blogger becoming the talking point of the tournament in the first half, when the cricket was still not too hot. Among real players, the Little Master tops the list followed by the other Indian heroes. With their power-packed performances, Brett Lee and Shane Warne are the only non-Indian players in the top 10.
Most-searched IPL teams
(from just before IPL 2009 started)
1. Mumbai Indians
2. Kolkata Knight Riders
3. Deccan Chargers
4. Rajasthan Royals
5. Chennai Super Kings
With the cricket carnival hurtling to a close, team t2 lists a few of its favourites
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Coming in as defending champions, Rajasthan Royals will want to forget this second edition in a hurry. But coach and captain Shane Warne still remains our favourite cricketer to watch on a T20 field. Such is his star power that he can even compete with his gorgeous malkin for ‘the most charismatic contest’. And chances are that Miss Long Leg(s) Shetty will end up a distant second. His other Australian teammates — Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist — may be going boom boom but when it comes to star power, it is Warney who takes the bakery. And then there is his skill with the leather, that has gathered more diamond than rust at age 39. His duels with Sachin Tendulkar still make for cricket classics. And he can still come up with a T20 spell that reads 4-18-2!
Warne brings a unique mix of head and heart, skill and scheming to the leadership table. No textbooks, laptops or multiple captaincy theories for our man. And finally, with Horny Warney, fine leg will always mean more than just a fielding position. His South African safari conquest this time? Shamita Shetty says our source at silly point. Shine on, Shane Warne.
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Fave owner: Preity Zinta
All is not well between her and Ness Wadia — long-time boyfriend now allegedly just another co-owner of the Kings XI Punjab — but that hasn’t cast a shadow over Preity’s enthusiasm. Cheerleader-in-chief Preity has been seen throughout the tournament, spirited as ever, backing her boys like no other owner, through good times (when she comes armed with the deepest dimples in the world and lots of prasad) and bad (when she sits in the dugout on the verge of tears after Yuvi has failed with the bat yet again). Last heard, the United Nations is wanting to adopt Preity’s jadoo ki jhappi as its mascot — so what if the longest and the hardest is reserved for Brett Lee.
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Fave video: Kolkata Knight Riders
Shilpa Shetty may have arrived on the scene with a loud and leggy ‘halla bol’, but that wasn’t enough to beat Shah Rukh and his boys with their “hot” and “cool” moves — off the pitch, that is. The bottom-of-the-table Kolkata Knight Riders came out on top only when it came to pre-IPL action with a hot and happening video, led by one of the country’s hottest stars and a tune by Vishal Dadlani. It shows the Knights battling against the odds, a parched landscape forming the backdrop. As the aag ka gola comes hurtling towards them, it is pummelled away with tremendous power. If only…
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Fave team: Kolkata Knight Riders
Though they had finished sixth last time, we had our hopes pinned on SRK’s Knights bouncing back this time. Despite the action shifting so far away from Eden Gardens, John Buchanan doing the dirty on Dada and SRK playing his own little games, we kept the support going. After all, they promised to be back, completely 'reloaded'. But alas, they let us down so hard it hurts. Even before the tournament was halfway through, KKR was being called Kalighat Knight Riders by some, Kelo Kartik Riders by others. Surely, the KKR fans deserve better. Do something Shah Rukh, before we chuck de your chak de team.
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Fave coach: Stephen Fleming
What happens when the man who was the best captain in the world teams up with the man who is the best captain in the world? They rule. In the dugout, the head coach for the Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings is as cool as a cucumber and as dishy as ever. Stephen Fleming remains unfazed in victories and defeats, much like the man with the Midas touch who leads the team. No wonder he is being hailed as the best behind-
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Fave anchor: Samir Kochhar
Extraaa Innings T20 on Sony Max may be a yawn, but Samir Kochhar is yummy. Sharply turned out as anchor, Kochhar is tall, dark and handsome. Putting his Dangerous days experience to good use (a “sex talk show” where he had Kamal Sidhu as his co-host!), Samir has had women swooning for some time. And now, by being on the cricket ball, he is winning over the men — even commentator Danny Morrison likes him more than the cute Chang of Indian Idol fame.
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Fave looker: Moises Constantino Henriques
The moment Moises Constantino Henriques stepped out of the Kolkata Knight Riders dugout, the girls were watching. Boy, did he make captain and fellow hottie Brendon McCullum look so last season! Cute as a button, the Portugal-born budding Aussie star goes by the nickname of Moey.
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Fave jersey: Kings XI Punjab
Blue is boring. Bright yellow is an eyeful. Manish Malhotra’s black and gold outfit for KKR is a little too flashy for the cricket field. So, our vote for the best looking jersey in the IPL goes to the hatke Kings XI Punjab. A combination of red and silver, it looks cool and scores on the trend--meter, too. Plus, the team logo — a shield in the same colour combo — could be the only one of the eight that looks like it belongs to a sporting team raring to go.
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Fave ground: SuperSport Park, Centurion
Watching a cricket match live at SuperSport Park in Centurion is a must-do for any cricket fan. Around 50km from Johannesburg, a drive to Centurion can take you anything between 30 and 120 minutes. The highway (N1 to be precise) traffic dictates when you will reach Centurion, which lies between Jo’burg and Pretoria. SuperSport Park exemplifies the jugalbandi of cricket and entertainment. There’s live DJ music, there’s live grill, there’s live dance... the stadium stays alive throughout the match hours. Given its limited capacity — just about 20,000 — it’s like one big party of people out to have a good time. They love the fours and sixes and if that is not happening, the crowd stays content with beer and braai meat. And let’s not forget that Centurion’s where Kolkata Knight Riders got their first outright win in IPL 2009 and the barman at the stadium, who was definitely not from Calcutta, served all those in sight a free round of drinks. Cheers, IPL 2009!
What are a few of your favourite IPL 2009 things?
Tell t2@abpmail.com
