Sports Betting Articles
Who Will Win The Indian Premier League?
By Philip Oliver
The Indian Premier League begins today with a match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Bangalore Royal Challengers. This tournament represents a new dawn for cricket, as the eight franchises have been assembled at great cost, drawing players from both India and abroad.
The organizers used the English Premier League as a blueprint for their project, and they have certainly achieved their aim of attracting the best players in the world. Only England's best cricketers are absent, as the tournament clashes with the domestic county cricket competition.
High crowds and interest are expected for the matches, which will be played in a Twenty 20 format, producing four semi finalists from a round robin league. The teams with big hitting batsmen who can score quickly are therefore expected to do well.
With the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi and Andrew Symonds in their squad, the Deccan Chargers have the players capable of hitting plenty of boundaries. They are amongst the early favourites and will indeed take some beating if their big-hitters find form.
Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians will be a popular choice in India, as the domestic hero leads a team laden with homegrown talent. However, they might be too short on quality bowling to make a serious title bid.
The Rajasthan Royals, led by legend Shane Warne spent the least in the player auctions, although they have plenty of experience in Warne and fellow Aussies Justin Langer and Darren Lehmann.
It is worth remembering that only four non-Indian players can feature in any team.
This did not stop the franchises recruiting the overseas stars, although the Chennai Super Kings spent a large proportion of their budget on Indian star Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His team look too reliant on his runs and the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan.
Rahul Dravid's Bangalore outfit have a strong all-round squad, as do the Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders, led repspectively by in-form men Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly.
The Kings XI Punjab captain, Yuvraj Singh could be the star of the tournament and his team should make the last four at least.
|
