NEVER SEEN BEFORE

Capt Ganguly vs Capt Dravid
MAYBE the two are best friends again, maybe not. But that’s not what will make this contest so exciting. Over a period of one year, after Dravid took over from Ganguly as India’s captain, a billion cricket experts in the country endlessly compared the leadership styles of the two captains. Ganguly went by instinct. Dravid more or less went by the book. Their reputations as batsmen grew together, but as leaders they remained poles apart. Undoubtedly, when these two captains clash against each other in the Royal Challengers versus Knight Riders game (the tournament’s inaugural match), all eyes will be on who takes home the spoils.

Demystifying Murali
April 19 and May 10. Get a marker and circle these two dates on the IPL calendar. That’s when Chennai Super Kings play Team Mohali. So what? That’s when one can finally get some clues on tackling the world’s most successful bowler Muttiah Muralitharan. As Chennai Super Kings play Mohali, Murali will be bowling to his Sri Lankan team mates Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara. Muralitharan may have bowled to these batsmen on several occasions in the nets but to do it in a match will be different. Recently, Shane Warne said that “in the Twenty20 format, slow bowlers are the most dangerous weapons.” If one goes by Warne’s words, then Murali should be one of the most potent weapons waiting to be unleashed in the IPL. But will he be effective against Sangakkara and Jayawardene? Watch this space.

Venkatesh Prasad vs his Team India wards
IT is widely believed that Team India’s bowling coach Prasad swung it for the pacers during the highly successful series in England and Australia. But now comes the time when he will be plotting against his wards. RP Singh, S Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma will find it tough as they spot Prasad sitting in the rival camp. Chief coach of Bangalore Royal Challengers, Prasad will ensure that his batsmen — Rahul Dravid, Mark Boucher, Misbah-ul Haq and Shivnarine Chanderpaul — get a good idea on how to tackle these bowlers.

Warne & McGrath vs Australia’s best
THE two big reasons for Australia’s domination of world cricket were Warne and McGrath. It isn’t just that they took wickets, but their batsmen also didn’t have to face the most effective bowling partnership in the history of the game. With the IPL, there will be no escape for the Aussie batsmen. The likes of Ponting, Symonds, Hayden, Gilchrist and Hussey will be up against McGrath and Warne. McGrath and Warne might miss their former team mates on the field — Gilchrist behind the stumps, and not to mention the chirpy slip cordon.

Dream openers
Fans with time to kill often indulge in pairing their favourite cricketers cutting across countries. IPL provides the opportunity to see some rare pairings — be it bowling or batting. Mumbai is already fascinated and waiting with bated breath for Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya to walk out together. Similarly, Deccan Chargers will have Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs up front while Graeme Smith and Justin Langer will do duty for the Rajasthan Royals.
The bowling department too has some interesting pairings. Picture this: Zaheer Khan and Dale Steyn for Royal Challengers, Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel for Chennai Super Kings, Shaun Pollock and Lasith Malinga for Mumbai Indians, Shoaib Akhtar and Ishant Sharma for Kolkata Knight Riders, Chaminda Vaas and RP Singh for Deccan Chargers, Morne Morkel and Munaf Patel for Rajasthan Royals and Brett Geeves and Mohd Asif for Delhi Daredevils.

Classics to be remixed
The IPL is expected to witness the classics being remixed. VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid will be under pressure to play a cross batted shot or attempt a reverse sweep. Or can they show the world that their copy book style works in the slam bang version of the game too? Laxman has never played a T20 match and his strike rate in one-dayers is 71. Dravid too has never played a T20 international and neither has Justin Langer. This is the time for technically perfect batsmen to make a point.

OH NO, NOT AGAIN

Harbhajan Singh vs Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds undoubtedly happens to be one of the world’s best all-rounders, but the whopping US$1.3m in the auction didn’t come his way merely because of his cricketing abilities. Like it or not, the Australian’s recent spate of controversies with Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh have been the selling point of clashes between the two countries. In case of the IPL, the same USP will again surface when Mumbai Indians play the Deccan Chargers.

Shane Warne vs John Buchanan
Here’s one clash that has been simmering for years. Shane Warne’s dislike for John Buchanan is common knowledge. Warne had ridiculed the role of a coach in general and Buchanan in specific when there was talk about Australia’s undefeated march. Last heard, Warne was calling Buchanan a “goose” and somebody with “verbal diarrhea.” Things have changed. Warne now is the coach himself (captain-coach of the Rajasthan Royals). Lets see what the Googly Guy has to say now.

Matthew Hayden vs Sreesanth & Robin Utthappa
Matthew Hayden may have famously called Harbhajan Singh an “obnoxious little weed” but the verbal dialogue wouldn’t have gone that far had it not begun with Sreesanth giving the Aussie opener the send-off he did in the Twenty20 match in South Africa. Since then, the two have been at each other. Robin Uthappa too has a history of giving it back to the Aussies. Here’s looking forward to some more sporting banter between Hayden and the hot-blooded young Indians.

Glenn McGrath vs Ramnaresh Sarwan
Years ago during a Test match, McGrath and Sarwan were famously involved in a heated exchange on the field. The ugly incident ended there but left a bruise of sorts in their relationship. A Delhi versus Mohali match will show if they have forgiven and forgotten.

Shoaib Akhtar vs Mohd Asif
Soon after Akhtar and Asif returned to international cricket after their ban, the dressing room witnessed an altercation between the two. Akhtar allegedly hit Asif with the bat. It remains to be seen if Asif can use the bat once Akhtar hurls the ball at him during a Kolkata versus Delhi game.

Gautam Gambhir vs Shahid Afridi
Here’s another Delhi versus Kolkata clash with a past. Pakistan were in India last year and Gambhir was in top form when Afridi tried his hand at some mental disintegration tactics against the opener. Both cricketers are aggressive and that makes this head-to-head contest another eagerly awaited one.