Interesting IPL Betting Profile: Deccan Chargers

Gilchrist takes over as captain of the most disappointing team in last year's competition, can he turn it around?

Performance Last Year

After some high profile signings, the Chargers proved to be the biggest disappointment of IPL 2008. They had a brief resurgence mid-tournament, but lost their first three and their last five, finishing bottom of the heap. The big name signings mostly flopped, particularly Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi. Andrew Symonds did his bit, but was only available for a short time. Compounding their problems was the lacklustre captaincy of VVS Laxman, who proved even less able than Dravid in leading a team in the Twenty20 format and the worst bowling attack in the IPL.

Captain

Adam Gilchrist

Three Key Players

Fidel Edwards is a good signing, his tireless and hostile bowling proved too much for England to handle recently and he should improve the Chargers considerably in this department. A resurgent Gibbs would be a huge boost to Deccan at the top of the order. And his opening partner Gilchrist is the most important player of all. Not perhaps a natural captain, he is at least a calming, competent influence and his batting remains as destructive as ever.
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Interesting IPL Betting Profile: The top five batsmen

IPL 2008 produced a whopping 1702 fours and 622 sixes in just 59 games and we can expect the same again this time. Let's face it; spectators, TV executives and franchise owners feel they haven't got their money's worth if the white ball is not regularly disappearing into the night sky, writes Andrew Hughes.

The IPL debut of Kevin Pietersen in particular will be must-watch television and the likes of Tendulkar, Hayden and Sehwag are sure to draw big crowds. But who else should we look out for amongst the galaxy of batting talent converging on South Africa this month?

To enhance your IPL viewing pleasure, here's the Betfair guide to some of the batsmen most likely to bring the fun over the next six weeks.

Brendon McCullum

His blazing 150 in the opening game of IPL 2008 was the perfect start; a display of batting fireworks to complement the carnival atmosphere of the opening ceremony. And the good news for the Kolkata Knight Riders is that this time he is available for the whole tournament.

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Interesting IPL Betting: The top five bowlers

IPL 2009 is going to be all about the batsmen, right? Wrong. Whilst the tournament will certainly showcase some stunning strokeplay, there will be plenty of opportunities for bowlers to grab the glory, writes Andrew Hughes.

Last year Sohail Tanvir wreaked havoc by making regular early breakthroughs for Rajasthan, demonstrating that there is no better way to stem the flow of runs than taking wickets. And with boundaries expected every other ball, it is a lot easier to put pressure on batsmen in Twenty20 than in the longer versions of the game. Providing you've got the necessary control and guile, it is possible to thrive in the apparently unforgiving environment of Twenty20. So here's the Betfair guide to the bowlers likely to do well in IPL 2009.

Murali Karthik

One of the most underrated bowlers in world cricket, he is something of a rarity in the Twenty20 format. He bowls orthodox left-arm spin, with a classically high action, gets plenty of revolutions on the ball and gives it a fair amount of air. Conventional wisdom says he should be just the sort of bowler to struggle at this version of the game.
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Top players to miss IPL II in South Africa

The second edition of the Indian Premier League, which is being played in South Africa, will not see many of crickets top stars in action.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting and middle order batsman Michael Hussey have opted out to rest their tired limbs after a backbreaking schedule.

Having played non-stop cricket since September, both players have preferred to take a breather before a tour of England which features the World Twenty20 championships in June followed by the Ashes.

Ponting was sold for 400 000 dollars to the Kolkata Knight Riders at last year’s auction. Hussey, a prolific left-hander, was also picked up cheap by the Chennai Super Kings at 350 000 dollars.

Two other Australians, Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson, did not even put themselves up for auction, saying they wanted to concentrate on their international careers.

Expensive players are not guaranteed their entire riches as the England duo of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff have found out. Both went for record sums of 1.55 million dollars each at this year’s auction, but England’s home series against the West Indies in May has shortened their IPL participation to the first two weeks.
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Bollywood meets Cape Town in IPL parade

Bollywood glitz and cricket razzmatazz combined in a colourful, star-studded parade through Cape Town on Thursday as the 2009 Indian Premier League made its high-profile brash entrance.

Nine floats, one for each of the eight teams plus one for the IPL, made their way along one of the main streets, accompanied by energetic Indian dancers and brass bands drawn from the local community.

More than 150 cricketers were in attendance, as were Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty, part-owners of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals respectively.

Hundreds of people lined the streets to watch the parade, which launched festivities that will run until the grand final in Johannesburg on May 24.

One of the tournament's initiatives aimed at maintaining the buoyant atmosphere is the introduction of a Miss Bollywood South Africa competition with contestants drawn from fans attending matches.

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IPL Parade Picture Gallery

Interesting : IPL Betting Profile: Kings XI Punjab

The batting is scary but the bowling is laughable - Punjab are an unbalanced team and should not carry your money, says Andrew Hughes.

Performance Last Year

One of the better sides in the tournament last year, they lost their first two games but were pretty much unbeatable after that, until coming unstuck against Chennai in the semi-final, when they were bowled out for 112. Like the Super Kings, their strength was in their batting with no less than ten players averaging over 20. But ultimately it was their bowling that let them down, with Sreesanth underperforming and Brett Lee only available for four games.

Captain

Yuvraj Singh

Three Key Players

The captain had an ordinary IPL 2008, by his high standards.
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KKR Captain Sourav Ganguly Dethroned

Watson, Symonds, Lee all Aussies missing from IPL

By DENNIS PASSA

With last year's player of the tournament absent due to national commitments, and two others who're among the highest-paid stars also missing, Australia's contingent at the start of the second IPL season will be more notable for who's not playing than those who make the trip to South Africa
There'll still be retired spin bowling great Shane Warne leading the way as captain and coach of the defending champion Rajasthan Royals, but Warne will be missing a key ingredient from last year, player of the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 season Shane Watson.

The 26-year-old Watson, who scored 472 runs at an average of 42 in the IPL last year, has returned from injury and was named in the Australian limited-overs squad for a series against Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi beginning next Wednesday _ four days after the IPL starts.

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Absence of Pak players to hit IPL: Rameez

Absence of Pak players to hit IPL: Rameez, Waqar


Karachi: Waqar Younis and Rameez Raja believe that the high-profile Indian Premier League has lost some of its charm this season due to the absence of Pakistani cricketers from its second edition and the event's relocation to South Africa.


The former Pakistan skippers were of the view that the cash-rich Twenty20 event will suffer due to its relocation out of India this year as cricket fans back home identified themselves with their respective city teams.


"I have no doubt that the IPL still remains a top event but because it is being held in South Africa it will take some time before the tournament gains momentum this time," Rameez said.

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Ishant denies batting for Buchanan

SRK slams Gavaskar for criticising Buchanan