KKR pips CSK in the IPL race......... Bisla Who ?

Can you identify this (now) famous person ?? 

Nothing wrong with this photo – it was a game 10 years ago and do not know  why this man was trying his hand at bowling – yesterday the World came to know more of him – 


...........but before you read anything – what would people do from today……….  Is it not too difficult to be at home, watching nothing, after seeing so much of action.

That man is - Manvinder Sultansingh Bisla, from Haryana and you now know who he is – basking in glory being the Man of the Match in the high profile finals.   History beckoned him even as he got a late-door entry.  Laximipathy Balaji on whom Gambhir depended so much was down with injury,  in his place Bret Lee was brought in; a foreigner had to be dropped – axe fell on Brendon McCullum [it looked a faulty move at that time !] – KKR had to accommodate a wicket keeper, in came Bisla, who has had a good tournament thus far.  Manoj Tiwary came in place of Debabrata Das – 3 changes !!!

It started very much the Chennai way – the feared Brett Lee went for 42 in his 4; Shakib Al Hasan 25/3; Sunil Naraine went for 37 off 4; Kallis 34 in 4;  Bhatia 23 in 3 and Yusuf given the only over against left handers went for 17.  CSK finishing at  190 for 3 and in the very first over Hilfenhaus removed the feared Gautam Gambhir off his last delivery.  So it looked a regular ending and expectations that more people would today talk of match-fixing and Srinivasan having his way, matches ending the way he wants to be !!!!!   Bisla made 89 off 48 and by the time he got out, the match, the match was firmly in the hands of KKR – though fans at Chepauk would still expecting things to turn in their favour.   The experience of Jacques Kallis took them home, though in between Yusuf Pathan launched the ball to the moon, but could not clear mid wicket and perhaps ended his chances of getting into Indian team for T20 WC.  Knight Riders had rode on Gambhir and Sunil Naraine to reach the finals – both failed, yet they won speaks of their balance.

Sunil Naraine was picked as Player of the Season and he spoke of being picked by the WI for playing in England !  - the leading run scorer was Chris Gayle and most wickets was Morne Morkel – his brother Albie Morkel collected the award on his behalf…………….. but the prize of the best catch (Karbon kamal……) went to David Hussey,  Michael Hussey was very much there – he was not called, but an official collected the award on DJ’s behalf !!  -  the little known, Mandeep Singh of Kings XI was the   Rising Star of the tournament.   He thanked Vikram Rathour.  Who ??  - in June 1996 at Edgbaston he made his debut in a Test along with : RC Irani, AD Mullally and MM Patel (England); SB Joshi, PL Mhambrey, BKV Prasad and V Rathour (India).  That was not Munaf Musa Patel, but  Minal Mahesh Patel, a left arm spinner, who played for England in 2 Tests both against  India.

[photos above : source : www.cricinfo.com]

At Chepauk the  celebrations went on and on and there were never ending interviews with Shah Rukh Khan doing whatever he was not allowed to do at Wankhede including few tumbles.    There were so many and Wasim Akram the bowling coach said - "I have won World Cup for Pakistan, but this is very different feeling. I am very happy. Knowing our owner SRK, it is going to be a madhouse."  - no comments required on this.

For a quick recap

In June 2008, in IPL 1 – Rajasthan Royals 164 for 7 (Yusuf 56) beat Chennai Super Kings 163 for 5 (Raina 43, Yusuf 3-22) by three wickets

In May 2009 Deccan Chargers 143 for 6 (Gibbs 53*, Kumble 4-16) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 137 for 9 (Ojha 3-28, Symonds 2-18) by six runs  - that Indian Premier League was in South Africa – at  New Wanderers, Johannesburg

In Apr 2010, in version 3, Chennai Super Kings 168 for 5 (Raina 57*, Dhoni 22, Fernando 2-23) beat Mumbai Indians 146 for 9 (Tendulkar 48, Pollard 27, Jakati 2-27) by 22 runs

In May 2011,   Chennai Super Kings 205 for 5 (Vijay 95, Hussey 63) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 147 for 8 (Ashwin 3-16) by 58 runs

To conclude with an unconnected news,  Nagaland state government has built a new cricket stadium in Dimapur. The Sovima Cricket Stadium, built at a cost of Rs. 10.33 crores, is the second cricket ground in the north-east region of India after Guwahati in Assam.  The stadium, which took eight months to build, will allow young players to train in Nagaland, as opposed to having to travel to Guwahati and other places for matches and coaching camps.  So, get ready to hear a few new names from the North East in the next version of IPL

Before we conclude, yesterday, it was a test of leadership and not necessarily the winning captain won that…  in Gautam Gambhir Vs Mahendra Singh Dhoni – it was a clash of leaders with different personalities.  Even though unusually, Dhoni talked to Hilfenhaus many a times during the last over, he must be appreciated for his unflappable self during ups and downs – he is one person who never throws tantrums, never stares at his fielder when he misfields, never shouts when the bowler strays down the leg – as a leader he inspires and puts a lot of  emphasis on the players going and enjoying the game, and expressing themselves.   Gambhir also led by personal example and style, he did fail in the finals is a different story – he has been intense and combative, stating that you step on the field to win and not to be ncie, could barely control his temper at the press conference, strongly criticising the bumbling middle-order and asking them to take more responsibility in an earlier match when they lost.  There was also a tiff with Mahela Jayawardene over a disputed catch, the sort of incident Dhoni is unlikely to be involved in.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar