Positive effects of IPL

Why IPL is such a mega hit event - for all of us?

DLF IPL Logo

Indian Premier league (IPL), the glamorous baby of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has now entered in its 5th year. For any newly organised event this is sufficient period to make a mark - and so did  IPL, in style. At the beginning of first season in 2008, nobody knew what shape IPL will take. The only know thing was that it may have inspired from English Premier League - ace football league - as far as concept of format was concerned and it was to be played in India - where Cricket is religion.

While taking its shape, IPL has already impacted Cricket, Business and Entertainment. The effects of IPL, there are several - positive and negative. Let's talk the positive effects of IPL.

1. Cricketing Effects

• Youngsters get experience, money:

In country like India, sports is not generally something parents ask their children to persue. Because, if you reach to the top, only then, you get money, fame and can secure your life. Else you are just another unknown face. And you cannot earn a safe bread butter, because you are not a Doctor or an Engineer! But IPL has provided chance for all those 'middle level Cricketers' from India and abroad, who were unknown faces but IPL provided them stage to put their performance and get instant recognition, money and fame. Ravindra Jadeja, prime example from India or Shaun Marsh from Australia.

Talking about experience, how amazing and invaluable would it be for these upcoming young Cricketers to share dressing rooms with the legends of Cricket! What a learning it would be to bat under guidance of Sachin Tendulkar or being trained leg spin by Share Warne. Generally, the international players do not play domestic Cricket. So, these players never have chance to have interaction with the greats of game. But with IPL, it is a 2 month long journey that these youngsters can travel with the big daddys of Cricket. Indeed, the most positive effect IPL.

• International icons playing alongside:

Now how did it feel when Sachin Tendulkar came along with Sanath Jayasurya for opening the innings for Mumbai Indians in first IPL edition? May be the most explosive opening pair one can imagine. What a different site it is when Dale Steyn clean bowled Jack Kallis - his national teammate - and celebrated it wildly. This is another biggest effect of IPL. The iconic players rub shoulders together, forgetting their country monetarily, and bring out the best for their clubs. This is not just interesting to watch but also great professional lesson to everyone of us as to how to value team more than an individual.

IPL also gives rare chance for the ageing and fading icons to play Cricket. This not only extends their innings in Cricket but also gives chance to their fans to see them play again. It is always better to see players like Sourav Ganguly, Adam Gilchrist in Cricketing jersey rather than 3 piece suit, isn't it?

IPL 2012 Theme

IPL Matches Highlights

The Must Watch Video Highlights of IPL 2012 (Updated after every Must Watch Action on Field)

Hey, did you see Chris Gayle's 5 sixers? Did you see Ajinkya Rahane's 6 fours in an over? Checked yesterday's match highlights? Watched that extraordinary catch in today's match, buddy? Are you able to watch IPL matches - Live? If your answer to all above questions is a big NO... amm... or let's say, a big YES, even then, watching IPL matches' highlights is a very exciting stuff! 

But where do you get the videos that YOU want to watch? Well, who wants to visit a site having 2000+, and counting, IPL 2012 highlights videos, not sorted accordingly our liking, find out which video to watch and then start buffering... time consuming, isn't it? Hmm... not anymore! Bringing specially for YOU, the selective videos which are the must watch! A brilliant catch or a brilliant over bowled, or a superb nail-biting finish or a batting power packed performance happened in IPL till now, you will get all over here.

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• Best Player Bowling: IPL 2012 - MI vs DC - Dale Steyn, Match 40

Watch this for the best spell in this IPL. Steyn - the master of swing, pace, accuracy!

• 2nd Inning Highlights: IPL 2012 - DD vs RR, Match 39

Watch this for
(a) Ajinkya Rahane's performance (b) How one good over can change result of match- 19th over

• 1st Inning Highlights: IPL 2012 - KKR vs RCB, Match 38:

Watch this for Gambhi's fireworks:

2012 IPL Season 5 Schedule, Teams, Tickets

IPL Trophy

Do you remember the days of ‘circus’ in your town? It had that huge tent built on a big ground near to the town. The preparations for that tent and sets would start a couple of weeks prior to the first mega show of circus. Then the local newspapers, radio, cable channels would have advertisement citing the specialty, uniqueness of the circus - African elephants, Bengali tigers, cyclist monkeys, speaking parrots, Russian athletes and comic jokers!  All that was so much exciting. The thing why I remembered all those memories is the ads currently aired on TV for 2012 IPL season 5. They have chosen very unique Circus theme this time. Yes, the great IPL circus is here, all over again! More glamorous, more star studded, more exciting and of course more rich!

IPL Season 5 that is IPL 2012 will be played between 4^th April 2012 and 27^th May 2012. Following is the schedule of entire IPL Season 5, followed by teams, tickets. Cheer up your favorite team!

Powerplay Rule in Cricket

Nowadays, when you check the scoreline for an ODI match, shown mostly at the bottom of TV screen, you see characters such as 'P1', 'P2' or 'P3'. Or when we listen to the commentators, we hear phrases such as 'mandatory Powerplay', 'batting/ bowling Powerplay'. Now all these rules come under the category of 'the field restrictions'. ODI innings is divided into parts where there are certain rules, restrictions for the field placement such as number of fielders on a particular side, distance of fielders from batsman in certain overs etc. This field restriction rules are a little complex to understand. But when to get the idea, it becomes easier to understand the strategy of captains as to why they place certain fielders at certain place only. Or why Powerplay are taken instantly or delayed. Let's looks at what rules say:

• In any Powerplay/ non Powerplay over, there cannot be more than 5 fieldsmen on the leg side.
• In non Powerplay overs, there cannot be more than 5 fielders outside the field restriction area.
• Once a side nominates a Powerplay, the decision cannot be reversed.

The 30 Yard Circle

How is the field restriction area is marked? Two semi-circles, with 30 yard radius, are drawn on the field of play with center of the middle stump at either end of the pitch as their center. And they are connected by two parallel lines. (Many a times you must have heard ‘the 30 yard circle’- this is the area commentators refer to!) This - the field restriction area - is shown in blue color in adjacent picture.

During the first block of Powerplay Overs, only two fieldsmen are permitted outside this fielding restriction area. Two fieldsmen should be within the 15 yard from the batsman on strike (15 yard aread marked by the dotted circles, mostly seen as white discs on ground). However, this 15 yard restriction is not observed if fielders are standing in slip, leg slip or gully position. This is the ‘mandatory Powerplay’, as in, no team has any choice about its selection, always taken between over  number 1 to 10 i.e., at  commencement of an innings , marked as ‘P1’.

Tendulkar's List of 100 Centuries

Sachin Tendulkar in Traditional 'Pheta'

Sachin Tendulkar! Well, the name speaks for the man himself. As described one of Sachin's online profiles, he is "Perhaps the most complete batsman and the most worshiped cricketer in the world, Tendulkar holds just about every batting record worth owning in the game, including those for most runs and hundreds in Tests and ODIs, and most international runs." Arguably, he is the best batsman, the world has ever seen! Non- arguably he is the highest test run scorer (15470), the highest ODI run getter (18260) AND, most centuries in both the formats (51 Test + 48 ODIs = 99 International Centuries).

As I write this, there is a huge talk in media about this year in which Sachin Tendulkar is unable to score a century. And rightly so, it's been more than a year that Sachin has failed to cross 100 figure mark in an international innings. After Dravid, few people, including legendary Kapil Dev, are asking Sachin to retire. But in all the commotion, what matters is how Sachin feels about himself. And if he thinks, he is fit enough - mentally and physically, to play, then he should, rather he must. It's privilege to watch Sachin Tendulkar bat.

Now, coming to the topic, Tendulkar's  List of Centuries! Today morning, when I woke up, I suddenly felt that today is the day when Sachin will reach the 100th Ton milestone. Let's see if my hunch turns out to be correct or not. But in the meantime, let's all cherish the other 99 internaltional hundreds Sachin Tendulkar has scored so far. There is another myth which I would like to rubbish- but that is at after this list.