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.

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