IPL set for grand finale

So 56 games after this ‘hurricane’ through the game began one of 4 teams stands on the edge of becoming the inaugural winners of the Indian Premier League, if they can get to Sunday and win in the final.

So who’s there? Making an absolute mockery of the notion that you get what you pay for, or perhaps proving that having money doesn’t necessarily mean you know what to do with it, the 3 highest spending clubs did not make it to the semi-finals!

• Mumbai Indians – Squad Cost: $111.90million;
• Bangalore Royal Challengers – Squad Cost: $111.60million;
• Deccan Chargers – Squad Cost: $107.01million.

Well done to those franchises who obviously got dazzled by star players instead of those who could do a job for them!

True congratulations should go to Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals, who finished top of the table with the lowest squad cost in the tournament ($67million). Is Warne the finest captain Australia never had? On this evidence yes. He has shown that no matter how much money you squirt around, it is no substitute for the nous that he has. If he were a footballer he would be a top level manager. What little he did spend on foreign imports they played a key part for him. Graeme Smith and Shane Watson, Sohil Tanvir and Watson again with the ball can all hold their heads high. He also brought through young local players such as Asnodkar and Trivedi, showing much promise with bat and ball respectively.

In second, Kings XI Punjab powered by the awesome batting performances of the imported Aussie Shaun Marsh, who tops the runscoring table with 593 runs from 10 innings at an average of just under 75. Just to underline his performances, he is 70 runs ahead of his nearest rival who took an extra 3 innings to get into that 2nd place. It wasn’t all his work mind with international class acts like Sangakkara, Jayawardene and the captain Yuvraj all weighing in with runs. Their bowling line-up is at least as good as their batters with Sreesanth, Chawla and Ifran Patan all currently in the top 10 wicket takers list of the tournament. A solid all-round team.

Chennai Super Kings snared third spot with the captain Dhoni being one of the few high cost players to be near worth his asking price. He has inspired his team into the semi-finals and he should get kudos for this. Matty Hayden got them off to a flyer before he left for the Caribbean, as I predicted he would, but in terms of batting their’s has been a team effort rather than outstanding individuals. Similarly with the bowlers, though I’m sure Murali will be disappointed to only have 8 wickets from his 13 games. Their best player has arguably been the South African Morkel whose hard hitting has got him 225 runs at a strike rate of 150 and 13 wickets.

The last team in the semi-finals are the Delhi Daredevils by a single point from the 5th placed team, the Mumbai Indians. Getting them off to blazing starts in the tournament are the opening pair that took India to the first ever international Twenty20 trophy last year in South Africa. Gambhir and Sehwag have pedigree and the fact they have batted together at international level is obvious, Gambhir playing the ‘anchor role’ (strike rate: 144) to Sehwag’s more swashbuckling stance (strike rate: 187). No team is just made of batsmen however, as I’m sure the Master of Miserly, Glenn McGrath, influencing the attack might have something to do with why they’ve got to the semi-finals.

Looking over all the teams, I feel Kings XI Punjab team have got the best balance and come into the finals off the back of a big win against the Royals, who did admittedly rest players knowing they were already in the finals. Chennai and Delhi have teams that are batsman led with few match winning bowlers. It is because they have effective bowlers as well as batsmen that I back Kings XI Punjab to win on Sunday.

3 value for money IPL players

One result of the Indian Premier League’s unashamedly capitalist stance on world cricket is the opportunity to trade players in an auction much like you can buy second-hand goods. Predictably, Indian national team players went for a premium in the auctions on 20th February and 11th March. On that subject, is there a young, pinch hitting, all-rounder in India also known as Anil Kumble? To my mind, the Indian captain is not worth $500,000 to any team in any 20 over cricket tournament, however, overrated players are for another day.

Below are my underrated 3, keeping with players seen previously at international level as I have yet to see any domestic Indian cricket, though I am looking forward to seeing Napoleon Einstein, just to see the name on a shirt. Hopefully than they can do that better than the West Indies did for Jerome Taylor.

Misbah-ul-Haq $125,000: So how to fill Inzamam’s sizeable boots? When stuffing the toes with paper didn’t really work, Pakistan drafted in Misbah after 3 years out to pasture and he really repaid the faith. In the world Twenty20 Championship in South Africa last year, he almost single-handedly got Pakistan to the final. A cool head under pressure and being able to play unorthodox shots (flick over the shoulder anyone?) should make him a shoe-in for any IPL team. That’s qualitative, so how about the numbers? An average of 50 at a strike rate of 130 in 20 over competitions is top notch, so why’s he only worth $125,000?

Dimitri Mascarenhas $100,000: The only England player in the IPL this season is worth a punt, you only have to ask Yuvraj Singh about his batting credentials, having spanked him for 5 maximums in a single over. It is only recently that he has really inflated the batting dimension to his all-round game, of medium pace bowling and smart fielding. Shane Warne, who he played with at Hampshire and who bought Mascarenhas for his Rajasthan Royals team, is a fan and knows he’s picked up a great bargain. Good all round players will be worth their weight in gold in the IPL so, a batting average of 24 at a rate of 125, tied to a bowling strike rate of 19 makes Macarenhas one of those.

Matthew Hayden $375,000: Compared to the other players I’ve looked at here Matty Hayden is expensive, but he is undoubtedly worth every cent and more. Have they not shown Australia games in India over the past decade? This guy is one of the hardest hitters, nay sloggers in world cricket and has the stats to prove it. In the shortest form of the game, an average of 51 gained at a rate of 144 is phenomenal. Although his stats prove his worth I’ve never liked to watch him as a player with his brutal style being less than pretty on the eye, but even I would have realised that results will be everything in IPL and would have expected a fight to get him. $375,000? He’s worth at least double that and his team Chennai Super Kings must be pinching themselves to have got him at a knock down price.