Category Archives: ipl

IPL Chart Ordering

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Karthikeya criticizes the in-progress IPL Points Chart:

If it is the purpose of a chart to tell us how the teams are doing at any given point in a league, then how can a team with 10 points in 7 games be doing worse than a team with 10 points in 8 games as the IPL’s current charts show?

As some people in the comments have pointed out, this convention is used in many leagues across the world. But that is not necessarily a good justification. If the system is bad, then it should be changed. However, I do think that the way this method is superior to the alternative method of ranking the teams by points and then by reverse order of games played. Let me illustrate with an example. Take 2 teams, Chennai and Punjab

Chennai: 8 matches played, 8 points, NRR 1.232
Punjab: 7 matches played, 8 points, NRR 0.500

This is the order that Karthikeya has problems with. He wants Punjab to be ranked above Chennai because Punjab cannot “be doing worse” than a team that has the same number of points, but played more games. Punjab has a game in hand and they should be rewarded for scoring more points per game played.

The fallacy here is that Punjab has, in fact, not done better than Chennai. It has won exactly the same number of matches as Chennai and those matches have not been won with as much ease as Chennai. Punjab has a game in hand, but it has not earned those points yet and could very well lose the next game. We should not be rewarding Punjab for something it has not yet done.

Here is what we happens in each method based on the next game that Punjab plays:

Result NRR Method Games Left Method
Punjab Wins Punjab Goes Ahead No Change
Punjab Ties Punjab Goes Ahead No Change
Punjab Loses No Change Punjab Falls Behind*

I put a * for the last item because if Chennai was at 8 points from 9 matches, then there would not be any change. Even though that is not the example.

In any case, the concept with the NRR Method is that you get punished for actual poor performance in the games you played and rewarded for improving upon them. In the Games Left Method, you get rewarded for possible better performance in the future and punished for not meeting the expectations. So ultimately, it depends on your philosophy of looking at things.

Deccan and Delhi Almost Out

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I ran the projections calculator for the remaining 25 matches (with win and loss results only and using current RR for breaking a tie). Results below (columns representing probability of ending up at that position in the Points Table and the last column for qualifying for the knockout):

Mumbai     67.0%  18.3%   8.7%   3.5%   1.8%   0.7%   0.1%   0.0%   0.0%   0.0%  97.5%
Chennai    12.8%  29.1%  22.2%  16.5%  10.7%   5.9%   2.2%   0.6%   0.0%   0.0%  80.6%
Kolkota     8.6%  23.0%  24.4%  18.8%  14.8%   7.0%   2.8%   0.6%   0.0%   0.0%  74.8%
Bangalore   6.4%  14.1%  15.6%  16.1%  14.1%  11.8%  10.8%   7.2%   3.5%   0.4%  52.2%
Rajasthan   4.3%   9.9%  14.3%  16.9%  20.1%  15.2%  12.2%   5.8%   1.4%   0.0%  45.3%
Kochi       0.4%   3.1%   8.3%  15.0%  16.0%  19.1%  16.2%  13.6%   6.9%   1.3%  26.9%
Punjab      0.7%   2.4%   5.0%   8.8%   9.9%  13.7%  13.6%  16.4%  17.9%  11.7%  17.0%
Delhi       0.0%   0.1%   1.3%   4.1%   9.5%  17.1%  21.2%  22.0%  19.3%   5.5%   5.5%
Deccan      0.0%   0.0%   0.0%   0.2%   2.2%   6.9%  14.6%  23.2%  30.1%  22.8%   0.2%
Pune        0.0%   0.0%   0.0%   0.1%   1.1%   2.7%   6.3%  10.6%  20.9%  58.4%   0.1%

No surprises. Looks like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkota are almost in. While Bangalore, Rajasthan and Kochi fight for the remaining spot. Deccan and Pune are almost finished, while Delhi is just surviving. Punjab may have better prospects than what is suggested by the calculations, because they have more matches in hand.

Some of the projections may seem counter-intuitive. The reason for this is that the teams are not playing exactly 2 matches against every other team. They should be playing 18 matches each, but instead only playing 14. So some teams get to play each other only once. So one team may get to play Pune twice to gain some easy points, while another team may have to play Mumbai twice, probably losing both. Also matches between the top teams or between the bottom teams changes things. For example: Pune and Deccan will play against each other, eliminating one of them.

No Trends in IPL 2011

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After almost 30 matches in this year’s IPL edition, fans of most teams will be (or should be) puzzled. Except for Mumbai, none of the teams have been able to establish a consistent record of either winning or losing. At this moment, we have 3 points separating the bottom 9 teams and if you take out the extra match by No. 2 and No. 3, the difference shrinks to 2 points, which is a win or a loss.

Every team except Mumbai and Punjab have lost at least 3 matches. Every team has won at least two and most have won at least three. Except for Mumbai, no one has been able to break away from the pack in either direction. Even the miserable Daredevils and Chargers have managed to win twice and stay afloat.

This is a terrible advertisement for the IPL. Having so many teams clustered together devalues the importance of the matches. Since every team plays 14 matches, a team could lose many matches in a row before it is in serious danger of losing out on the knockout round. Or maybe that is the point. People want to see a match where there are no big stakes. Just watch some big hitting. But somehow I don’t think that is true.

I think it would have been much better if you just had all the teams play against each other once. That would be 9 matches for each team – a total of 45. If that is too few matches, maybe the top 5 play in another round-robin (10 matches – flipping the home/away which was done in the first round) and then the final. Total 56. Which is close to the original 60 in the first IPL. This also provides an incentive for teams to get 4-5 additional matches each if revenue sharing is done. Alternatively, they could have 4 matches every day and 18 per team and progress much faster.

More IPL Coverage

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Dipz Cricket World:

Bangalore will have the feeling that they handed victory to Deccan Chargers, it was a match that they if they added an extra 20% in all areas they would have won which would have a fairytale story.

A Cricketing View:

The whole spectacle was a fraud. It was as though one was being asked to cheer for superstars simply because they are superstars. The players are bigger than the game in the IPL. It was never supposed to be like that.

When Bangalore lost all their batsmen, and the only “specialist” left standing to shepherd the tail was Robin Uthappa, I got a strange feeling that maybe the league’s Least Valuable Player (or Most Useless Player) had one last hurrah left; [...] “Ootapatta”, as he was once memorably called by Ian Chappell, did not disappoint however. He stuck to his guns and earned full marks for consistency. He remains, hands down, the most useless player in the entire IPL.
And for once, Jumbo looked more a dude than a geek. On the ball, button, but how long can you carry a team on your shoulders, even on those broad shoulders.

IPL Conclusion in the Blogosphere

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jrod at CWB:

The whole tournament is sort of like watching 300, it is so staged, such a camp comedy, amazingly over the top, and so mind-dullingly entertaining that it doesn’t matter if you forget most of what you have seen.

Achettup at Short of a Length:

And so there we have it, the 2009 IPL concludes in South Africa after entertaining us for the better part of a month and a half. We saw Strategic Breaks that were unpopular with everyone but the people who make money off them. We saw Lalit Modi blog and brag and do a terrible job of both (lets not forget the “bowl out” chants) and we saw the Fake IPL Player bitch and yap and do a brilliant job of both. [...] And somewhere in between all that they were some brilliant bits of cricket.

Q at Well Pitched:

They [Deccan Chargers] have just completed what probably was one of the best turnaround stories, if not the best, in cricket history. [...] Yes I know you have heard it everywhere, but I want to say it again – from the bottom of the table, to the top of the pile!

The Old Batsman:

In twenty years, everyone will play like Manish Pandey. We were there when Dravid and Tendulkar and Warne and Gilchrist and Kumble played too, and you know what, it was really something.

Amy S:

The Deccan Chargers have won. You’re now free to sleep as long as you like. I hope you understand how big a blessing this is.

Isn’t it fun to watch top international players in what is essentially an Indian domestic tournament? Also, hard to feel any other way when you saw Gilly and the Deccan Chargers celebrating after they won the match, and the (hideous) trophy. It meant a lot to the players one could tell. Is it the same as playing for your own country? Well I certainly hope not…

Deccan Chargers Take Honors in Lacklustre Final

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So the IPL ends in an anti-climax. Unlike last year’s IPL final, there were no heroics this time. The bowlers called the shots this time, first when Deccan’s powerful batting lineup failed to post a decent score and then when Bangalore made a mess of their chase. Kumble’s strong 4-wicket effort went unrewarded as Bangalore’s five-win streak ended as they fell 7 runs short.

deccan-bangalore

It is hard to feel very enthusiastic about Deccan’s win not only because of the way they won the final, but also because their performance in the league was nothing much to write about. After a surprising run of four victories at the beginning of the IPL, they managed only three from the next 10 matches, one of them via the miserable Mashrafe Mortaza over.

Bangalore had a much better narrative as their IPL was the opposite of Deccan’s. From the verge of elimination, they beat some of the strongest teams in the league. The appointment of Kumble as captain clearly marked a change in their fortunes and they boasted some great individual performances by Ross Taylor, and Manish Pandey. But it was clearly not their day today.

Final verdict: The final three matches (semis and finals) failed to live up to the hype. The few matches at the end of the group stages were much better.

Bangalore Storm into the Finals

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chennai-bangalore-match

An emphatic victory for Bangalore seals the deal with Chennai. Except for a rollicking first wicket partnership of 61 in 42 balls between Hayden and Patel, Chennai were never in the game. After restricting Chennai to 146/5, Bangalore chased the target in a clinical manner losing just four wickets and winning by 7 balls to spare.

Like everyone else who will be talking about the result of this match, let me point out the obvious: The two teams who were placed at the bottom of the Points Table last year will now play each other in the finals. What a turnaround! Bangalore’s performance has been even more miraculous as they were at the verge of elimination before winning the last four league matches in a row. Deccan has been so-so after their initial four-win sprint, but they too deserve appreciation for the way they have reached the finals.

Chennai will be very disappointed with their performance today, particularly the batting that failed to build upon the strong foundation laid by their openers. A score of 146 is way below Chennai’s potential. But they were also let down with some ordinary bowling. Muttiah Muralidharan tried his best, but he gave away a six at a critical juncture. Oram conceded a six off a no-ball in the next over and Bangalore needed no second invitation.

It is ironic how Anil Kumble gets the captaincy by someone’s default even though he has been a great performer for both Bangalore and India. It doesn’t take a genius to notice how Bangalore started winning against the tougher teams after Kumble took over. Today, Kumble stuck to a plan using only his frontline bowlers and not panicking when the going got tough in the first few overs. The calmness of Jumbo!

So tomorrow is the big day. A South Indian affair between the teams from two IT cities. Will Bangalore repeat their victory over Deccan from two days ago? Or will it be revenge? The two captains could not be more different, but both are extremely competitive. Cannot wait.

Things I Missed Blogging in Detail About

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Wisecandyman has a glossary of the nicknames used by the Fake IPL Player. All we need now is a browser extension that will show the real name on hovering over the fake names. Having the text being replaced is not so great because there is something glorious about hearing Sreesanth being referred to as Appam. Too bad FIP turned out to be cowardly/pragmatic.

Fly Slip rightly points out the new peace in Sri Lanka is better than the World Cup win (in 1996). It will be good for cricket too as teams will be less afraid to travel to Colombo and other parts of SL. Of course, the political process better step up to taking advantage of the military success and provide equal opportunity and rehabilitation for the long-suffering Tamilians so that the peace can be permanent.

The Old Batsman wonders if the long stop will return to cricket as batsmen try to take advantage of hitting the ball over and to the side of the wicketkeeper. In a T20 match, where the average margin of victory is so small, conceding a few such boundaries may turn out to be intolerable, so we may see quite a few such unconventional fielding positions.

Ajoy Eric Lal at BCCI (Bored Cricket Crazy Indians) has a must-read story about playing cricket with Shah Rukh Khan at their school in New Delhi. Shah Rukh was the wicketkeeper. It looks like they won a few trophies. And horror! Lalit Modi also studied at the same school. Talk about a small world!

Gilchrist Comes Good for Deccan Chargers

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What is it that makes Adam Gilchrist click in these high-profile matches? We all know his exploits in the three World Cup finals that Australia won. Today, with a stunning display of clean hitting, he lead Deccan Chargers to an emphatic victory over Delhi Daredevils in the first semi-final. In the process, he made the fastest ever IPL fifty. A century was there for the taking, but he fell to an ill-timed slog on the last ball before the “strategy” break.

delhi-deccan-match

Earlier in the day, the Delhi innings started in disaster with both openers back in the dugout for no score and ended in a whimper as Delhi lost wickets and failed to post a challenging score. At 83/2 off 10 overs, they should have reached 180 or even 200, but instead grinded their way to 153/8. Sehwag, Dilshan and de Villiers made good contributions, but they failed to continue the good work. Harris was the standout bowler for Deccan, but the other Deccan bowlers did reasonably well too.

The Deccan scorecard was strange-looking. The first wicket partnership was 22, but Gibbs was out for a duck (the third opener in the game to go that way). Then Gilchrist had a 69-run partnership with Bilakhia where he scored 56. By the time Gilchrist ended his devastation of Delhi, the Chargers needed to score at a rate of 5.20 in the second part of the innings, a stroll in the park that was made even more easy when Symonds took Nannes to the woods for 13 runs in his return over.

So a great tournament for Delhi ends with a disappointing loss. It is too sad, really. Delhi was, by far, the team which had the best success of the tournament. They had a good batting order and a settled bowling attack. And to go out in this fashion to one extraordinary innings is a bit hard to swallow. Like last year, they once again reached the semifinals and failed to progress further.

This sets up a finals clash between two South Indian teams. Unlike today’s mismatch, I hope tomorrow’s encounter between Bangalore Royal Challengers and Chennai Super Kings is a tighter encounter.