Who will win the IPL?

The IPL is getting towards the business end now, but who’s going to win it? Cast your vote below.

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England ease to a … win

Well, that was easier than expected. England enjoyed a comfortable 10-wicket win over the Windies, mainly thanks to a combination of some fine bowling by the hosts and some awful fielding by the tourists. No doubt this will encourage some people to start dreaming of Ashes success, but that may prove to be a little [...]

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Why are this year’s IPL totals lower?

This season’s IPL has been different from the inaugural edition in a number of ways – it’s in South Africa instead of India, the pool of players available for selection has increased, and the initial surge of runs seems to have calmed down. Of course, there are a wide range of theories to explain the [...]

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England’s IPL ‘stars’

There was much excitment in some quarters when it was announced that English players would be available for the second season of the IPL, and Chennai and Bangalore alone spent $3m between them on Flintoff and Pietersen respectively, but how have England’s IPL stars got on so far? Andrew Flintoff showed his quality against Bangalore, [...]

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Flintoff vs Pietersen

Much of the talk (in England at least) ahead of Bangalore Royal Challengers against Chennai Super Kings was of Pietersen vs Flintoff, but it was Muralitharan and Hayden who made the biggest contributions as Chennai rolled over Pietersen’s side, claiming victory by 92 runs. To be fair to Flintoff, he did hit 22 from 13 [...]

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England’s delaying tactics

England have delayed naming their Test squad for the series against the West Indies, because the selectors “need more time to assess players who are returning after injury”. This gives the likes of Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan an extra nine days to impress, an effect which may not be entirely coincidental. The poor showing [...]

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IPL 2009 Preview: Part 2

Kings XI Punjab Punjab have been relatively quiet in the transfer market, having added only Jerome Taylor, Ravi Bopara, and the previously obscure Burt Cockley. Sarwan has departed – having apparently only been on a one-year contract – and a number of key players will only play part of the season (Shaun Marsh, Brett Lee [...]

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IPL 2009 Preview: Part 1

The second season of the IPL (or the first season of the SAPL, if you prefer) gets underway this weekend, so here’s the lowdown on the teams taking part: Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore’s main pre-season activity was the purchase of Kevin Pietersen and KP will join a host of his fellow countrymen in Kallis, Steyn [...]

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It never rains in South Africa

Cricket’s authorities continue to be perplexed by the weather, with South Africa the main beneficiary. After Sri Lankan cricket authorities lost out on the chance to host the Champions’ Trophy after unacceptably failing to guarantee no rain for a fortnight, allowing the (presumably weather-controlling) South Africans to step in, a similar situation has arisen with [...]

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IPL to be held outside India

The second season of the IPL will not be played in India. England and South Africa have emerged as the most likely to step in as temporary hosts. With less than 20 days until the competition is set to start (and with Lalit Modi insisting the schedule will be kept), there’s not much time to [...]

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IPL to be rescheduled

Less than a month before its scheduled start, the second season of the Indian Premier League is still in danger of postponement. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has told the BCCI that it “may not be feasible to play matches as per the [re-]submitted schedule” owing to fears that sufficient security may not be [...]

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IPL Fixtures Announced

The IPL has announced the fixtures for its second season (or at least “the tentative Match Schedule”), with the main headline-grabber being the Chennai Super Kings vs Bangalore Royal Challengers match in Chennai, which may see the newest two marquee players, England lynchpins Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen making their IPL debuts on opposite sides, [...]

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