Hope football can be as popular!

Football may be huge globally but in India, it is still an emerging sport. Indian football thrives on club championships and unlike cricket, it seldom gets the exposure it deserves. However when football stars from top clubs like Mohan Bagan and East Bengal go to watch a cricket match in full support of their teams, even wearing cricket jerseys, it just reflects the unity of the Indian sporting community.
At the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, our on-field reporter spotted and caught up with East Bengal striker Alvito D'cunha who had come to watch the Bangalore-Kolkata tie of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) along with his teammates and opponents alike.
The East Bengal striker said that this was his first trip to the Eden Gardens to watch a cricket match and added that he enjoyed the atmosphere in the stadium. Being interviewed in the middle of the match, he said that the match was very exciting and he hoped for a good result.
West Bengal is known for its cricketing personalities, especially former India captain Sourav Ganguly who enjoys mass adoration from his home fans.
Apart from that, Bengal is also known to have a huge football following with top clubs like Mohan Bagan and East Bengal hailing from there. Alvito praised Bengal's rich history of sport and said that football and cricket rule the roost among the most popular sports in India's eastern state.
The ace forward was then asked whether he wishes football could get the attention it deserves in an otherwise cricket-crazy nation.
"So far, it's nothing of that sort but I hope very soon football also gets very popular and hope we can also do something like cricket," he said wistfully.
Asked about the IPL teams he and his friends from East Bengal and Mohan Bagan were supporting, Alvito concluded, "Right now, we are just wearing the Bangalore Royal Challengers jerseys and have come here to support them. But most of the players are from Kolkata and it doesn't matter which team wins as long as the best team wins."
In that game, Kolkata Knight Riders ended up beating Bangalore Royal Challengers by 5 runs.

IPL - Investors Picked Lottery or Loss ?

Some love it and some dislike it too. But there is no denying that T20 (Twenty20), a short, colourful and entertaining form of a cricket match, is here to stay. Cashing-in on its enthusiastic & popular mass appeal (and to counter the ICL ?) BCCI rushed to launch its IPL (Indian Premier League) - an ambitious, bold and the most expensive cricket venture ever.

With $2 billion invested in IPL by various corporates, broadcasters, sponsors etc, the game is poised for a substantial shake-up in the future. Whopping $700+ million was paid to buy its eight teams and millions of moolah was 'bid' in the auctioning of top national and international players to take part in the tournament. Around $1 billion has been committed for the tv broadcasting rights over the next 10 years.

As a business, IPL has proved to be Terrific20 for cricket boards, players, stadiums, merchandising vendors and a host of business beneficiaries. But the big Q remains unclear - will it be profitable for the investors who have put staggering amounts in this new and untested cricketing model ? Some feel it makes a sound investment, while others differ and feel the extravagant sums will make it hard for investors to recoup or reap rewards soon.
In anycase, Cricket has come a long way and grown big in India. In all liklihood, India is heading towards becoming the epicentre of T20 version -- and this will be a bonanza for its fans. Isnt it ?

Six weeks that changed cricket

On April 18, as the first IPL game got underway, cricket was reborn. Corporate megabucks, Bollywood spectacle and the frequent sound of willow thumping leather, the new cocktail was revolutionizing the sport in the way it was played, viewed and managed. Here are the tournament's 10 trendsetters:Boys who came from nowhere: From Australian outback's, Punjab small-towns and Bengal backwaters, they suddenly emerged. A clutch of nerveless unknown desi and firang talents took IPL by storm. Who would have thought that among the million dollar big boys, an unauctioned Australian rookie (Shaun Marsh) would outscore everybody else in the league phase? And that a Punjab paceman whose only USP was that his surname, Gony, rhymed with Dhoni, would take more wickets than Shaun Pollock or Zaheer Khan?But for IPL, how many years would it have taken for Shikhar Dhawan, Abhishek Nayar, Amit Mishra, Ashok Dinda, Swapnil Asnodkar and Yo Mahesh to be seen, recognized and admired? His amazing level of consistency meant that Team Mohali got off to a flier more often than not.

Rajasthan Royals are IPL champions

After 44 days of mind-boggling action and a no-holds-barred feud among eight fierce franchisees, Rajasthan Royals pipped Chennai Super Kings by three wickets in the thrilling grand finale to lift the inaugural Indian Premier League on Sunday. Chasing Super Kings' modest total of 163 for five, the Royals rode on a brilliant all-round display by Yusuf Pathan, who took three wickets and top-scored with a 39-ball 56 to overhaul the score off the last ball after needing eight from the last over.Sohail Tanvir (9 not out) hit the winning run, a pull off the expensive L Balaji, in the company of his inspiring captain Shane Warne, who was not out on 9 in a final score of 164 for seven.The winners received the top prize of $1.2 million and a glittering gem-laden trophy while the runners-up won $600,000.

Chennai beat Punjab, enter final

Chennai Super Kings drubbed Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets in a lop-sided contest to storm into Sunday's final against table toppers Rajasthan Royals.After restricting the Punjab side to a meagre 112 for eight, the Chennai side romped home riding on a second wicket stand of 102 runs between opener Parthiv Patel (51 off 48 balls) and Suresh Raina (55 off 34 balls) at the Wankhede Stadium.The best chance for Kings XI, after putting up a pathetic batting display on winning the toss, was to strike a few early blows.They managed to dismiss opener S Vidyut cheaply for six to reduce Chennai to 14 for one, but then the left-handed combination of Patel and the more aggressive Raina took control of the proceedings.They made runs at a comfortable pace and raced past the finish line in 14.5 overs to complete a thumping victory.