IPL-8 kicks off with star-studded Mumbai Indians taking on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders
India ka tyohaar. That's how the Indian Premier League's (IPL) eighth season is being promoted. And rightly so, for the biggest festival of Indian cricket is all set to begin from Wednesday.
It no more matters how the Indian team fared in the Test series against Australia or the tri-series. Their half-hearted performance against Australia in the World Cup semifinal will be forgotten too. The stars have been spared.
The IPL is here.
It is in this very league that players appear more loyal to their club than country. Many West Indian stars won't be seen in action when their team locks horns with England in a two-match Test series, which clashes with the IPL.
The league also clashes with school exams, but kids are more likely to finish all their studying before 8 pm. While housewives no more be hooked to saas-bahu serials, office-goers will leave office early to ensure they don't miss the action.
And the opener promises to be a cracker, with the star-studded Gautam Gambhir's Kolkata Knight Riders -- the defending champions -- take on Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians that has Sachin Tendulkar as icon and Ricky Ponting as coach.
Playing at home, the Knights will have a slight edge over their rivals. They know their conditions inside out, and thrive on that slow, low and turning Eden Gardens wicket.
Other than that, though, both the teams look par as far as talent and team composition is concerned. With mystery spinner Sunil Narine back for KKR after being cleared by the BCCI for his suspect action, all eyes will be on the man from the Carribean to deliver right from the onset. Having not played cricket for a while, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to create the same magic with his new action.
Another interesting aspect of this game would be how Punter, as Ponting is fondly known, goes about his role as a coach after being on the other side of the fence for the past two decades as a player. He showed the hunger and passion for his new role during MI's practice sessions, constantly trying to guide the youngsters. He stressed on starting well, and what plan he gives Rohit & Co. to begin with will give an idea of how the think-tank will work going ahead in the season.
Mumbai are high on star power, with the presence of the likes of the big-hitting Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson, Aaron Finch, Rohit himself and others.
Kolkata, meanwhile, will depend heavily on their captain to the play the anchor tole at the top with the others like Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Ryan Ten Doeschate and Suryakumar Yadav revolving around him.
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