Mr Mallya and Rahul Dravid of Banglore Royal Challengers have serious work to do if they are to be taken seriously next year in the Indian Premier League . Goswami scored 52 off 42 and Misbha 47 off 25 and finished at 154 for 7 . For Shewag's Delhi Dare Devils , this was easy with in-form Gambhir scoring 39 off 31 thus becoming the first IPL player with 500 runs , closely follwed by Shewag who hit 47 off 19  to reach 158 for 5 beating the Banglore Royals .

Banglore Royal Challengers are more or less out of running now and Delhi Dare Devils have to win all of thier remaining games to get to the semi-finals .

Apparently the ICC security guys stopped Shah Rukh Khan , the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders , from entering the Kolkata dug-out as he was not carrying the right authorisation . It is good to know that fame and money will not break ALL barriers and even for them , laws have to be obeyed . Good on you ICC . On Kolkata Knight Riders , it is rumored that they offered US$1million to NewZealand Cricket Board to free B MacCullum from his duties at the test in the UK so that he can come and boost the chances of the Knight Riders to reach at least the semi-finals - but before NewZealand could reply , it is rumored that B MacCullum has got injured while playing in the UK . Bad Luck Kolkata . 

At Eden Gardens weather caused havok and several people got injured . Kolkata Knight Riders lost to Chennai Challengers on D/L method by 5 runs . When the rain /wind started causing havok , Chennai were on 50 for loss of no wicket in reply to Kolkata Knight Riders 149 for 5 with S Butt the  highest scorer with 75 off 54 . I think Chennai would have easily managed the small total that Kolkata had registered , even without the weather interfearing  .

Mumbai Indians are on a roll beating Deccan Chargers . Mumbai Indians were on 178 for 7 and Deccan Chargers managed 153 for 7 with V Rao on 57 off 38 .

Sharne Warne has managed to guide  Rajasthan Royals into the semi-finals of the Indian Premier League by winning the 39th match and giving Banglore Royal Challengers another beating . Rajasthan Royals had Grahem Smith at 75 off 49 and Asnodkar at 50 0ff 44  ( Anil Kumble getting his first wicket in the league by getting Asnodkar ) finishing at 197 for 1 . Captain Rahul Dravid showed that he has come out of his test cricket mode ( a little too late ) by blasting 75 off 36 with six sixes ; but no one from the rest of his team could stay with him and they ended with another defeat at 132 for 9 . This team has a lot of backroom work to do , but it is good to see Rahul Dravid playing so well again and proving the pundits wrong . Until next year then . 

the 40th match of the Indian Premier League at Kotla in Delhi was delayed by rain and the match was to be for 11 overs . Gambhir ( 40 off 28 ) and Shewag ( 51 off 26 with 5 sixes - now the one with the highest number of sixes so far )  went full throttle for Delhi Dare Devils finishing at 118 for 4 . They had Punjab Kings XI in a fix and would have won the match but Shewag decided to take a chance with the ball and gave away  22 runs off his over and the last six by Jayawardene ( 36 off 17 ) tipped the scale towards Kings XI and they won by 6 runs under the D/L method .

Indian Premier League's 38th match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians produced the lowest total of the league tournatment . Ganguly's 15 and despite having the Rawalpindi express in action , Mumbai Indians reduced Kolkata to 67 for 10 . In reply Mumbai Indians scored 68 in just 6 overs with Jayasurya scoring 48 off 17 ; Mumbai Indians registering their fifth staraight win  ( although Sachin Tendulkar was bowled out for a duck by Akhter )

Most of the icon players have not performed so far : and here's the problem for the franchise holders - they can't get rid of any one of them for three years . So even if Dravid and party do not perform , they will be earning huge salaries for the next three years - FAIR?   you tell me or ask the owners !

In the Indian Premier League match 37 , Deccan Challengers were beaten by Delhi Dare Devils with Gambhir scoring 79 off 48 and Dawan 68 off 52 - finishing at 194 for 4 and Deccans were reduced to 182 for 9 . When you look at the line up of Deccan Challengers , you have Gilcrest ( probably one of the best Twenty20 player ) Afridi ( Boom Boom Afridi ) H Gibbs and Rohit Sharma . Anyone would be scared of this line up but Afridi and Gibbs have as yet to fire up and when they do , watch out . Shewag for the Delhi Dare Devils failed to score a second time .We are just past the half way in this Indian Premier League and it has proved to be a huge success - the crowds have loved the matches and except for one bad incidence , the tournament has gone very well and managed perfectly . CONGRATULATIONS MR LALIT MODI on a fabulous job and giving the cricketers this fantastic opportunity of earning good money .

Mumbai Indians by default managed to get rid of Harbhajan and have won four games in a row . Remove the negativity and things will go right . Jayasurya opened with captain Tendulkar ( playing his first Indian Premier League match ) .Tendulkar was a mere spectator when Jayasurya opened all throttles and scored 114 off 48 balls not out to take Mumbai Indians to 158 for one  to beat Chennai Challengers who could only manage 156 for 6 with Flemming , Badrinath and Dhoni contributing .

Ganguly's Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Dare Devils . Kolkata scored 133 for six and managed to thrash Delhi who made 110 for 10 . When Shewag does not perform , the rest of the team just collapses.

BCCI have banned Harbhajan for five International ODIs and warned him that any further nonsense from him and he will be banned for life .

In the 34th Indian Premier League match between Punjab Kings XI and Banglore Royal Challengers , Dravid's Banglore tean were thrashed , yet once again . Banglore Royals managed 143 for 8 whilst Preity Zinta's Kings XI scored 144 for 1 .

It is reported that Vijay Malaya has made statements to the effect that it was Charu and Rahul who made the choice of the team and he was not involved in this ( abondaning a sinking ship ? ) - Why were you at the auction ? The team's poor performance in the IPL is probably due to bad selection of team , although i feel that the combination is not so bad . It is just that the players have not been able to get the performance and possibly the right motivation . Rahul Dravid is an excellent cricketer ( world class ) and a superb human being , but he is just not the right motivator . In any case it is not fair for Mr Malaya to step away and put the blame on others . You are the boss and ultimately the buck stops with you .

Rajastahn Royals are very well led by Shane warne and are doing well beating Deccan Challengers and Delhi Dare Devils - confortably .

With Ganguly's 91 , he has brought some pride back to Kolkata Knight Riders ( and some hope to Shah Rukh Khan )

Shane Warne has shown why he is such a respected cricketer . He has led the Rajsthan royals to the top of the table - when in fact most pundits in the initial stages had written them off . Teams led by former India captains are lingering way behind . In Indian Premier League's 30th match , Adam Gilcrest , captaining the Deccan Chargers hit 61 off 49 and one would have thought that they will go on to make a good total but the rest of the players couldn't do much and they ended at 140 for 8 which Rajasthan Royals easily reached in 16 overs . Y Pathan was brillaint with 68 off 37 and G Smith with 40 off 43 .

On Harbhajan , Navjot Singh Sidhu stated that Indian fans have a habbit of taking their heros and making them into zeros - In the case of Harbhajan Singh , it was he  himself who did it . No one else can be blamed for this . Mr Sidhu seems to feel that because Harbhajan has taken 300 international wickets , he should be looked at in a different light  and feels that he has been punished enough . A LIFE BAN IS WHAT IS REQUIRED FOR WHAT HARBHAJAN HAS DONE - MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT THAT , and he has brought this upon himself . IPL have done part of the job , now BCCI needs to complete this and put out a strong statement that THERE IS ZERO TOLERENCE POLICY on physical violence .

Mr Sidhu feels that because Harbhajan has written a letter of apology to BCCI , he should now be let off - let off to create another problem and put to shame his team mates or worst still ,  hit another player ?  Which of his team mates have come out in his support in this case - no one and rightly so .

BAN HARBHAJAN FROM EVER PLAYING CRICKET . Mathew Hayden was absolutely right about this man . He is an embarassment to the world of cricket . Can you imagine the shame of being in the same team on the field as Harbhajan ? Do you want players like Tendulkar , Dravid , Dhoni , Shewag etc to go through that ? And mark my words , if Harbhajan is given another chance , it won't be long before he causes another problem . STOP HIM BEFORE HE DOES MORE DAMAGE .

Even after almost thirty matches having been played , the Indian Premier League has as yet to produce a centurian from the Indian camp , In fact centuries seem to have dried up after the departure of the players from down under . If i were to guess - it might be Y Patahn , Shewag , Gambhir ( he almost got there ) Asnodkar , Dhoni and so forth . Lets us see who does it first ; if that

INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE match 27 between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians produced the second lowest score of the league matches with Rajasthan Royals being stopped at 103 for 10 in sixteen overs . This was always going to be a difficult score to defend ( the second lowest in the league ) and Mumbai Indians despite their bad form and the absence of Sachin Tendulkar won by seven wickets . Should make owner Mr Ambani a little happier.

The match between Delhi Dare Devils and Chennai challengers was a surprise . Despite a brilliant 80 OFF 49 by Gautam Gambhir and 59 off 46 by S Dhawan , they finished at 187 or 5 which Chennai Challengers were able to reach  - they finished at 188 for 6 and won the match - Dhoni has found the good luck charm .

29th Indian Premier League match between the bottom two teams , KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS and BANGLORE ROYAL CHALLENGERS ( with their new CEO ) was a sixteen over match at Eden Garden . Kolkata Knight Riders avoided the shame of being beaten at home by Banglore - only just . Banglore Royal Challengers were again beaten , this time by 5 runs - boucher scored the highest at 50 off 40 .

The ICC who approved the Indian Premier League seems to be worried now . I understand that a meeting was held to discuss this format and to see if this format would eventually kill test cricket . The Indian Premier League has been a huge success , and with the BCCI lifting the cap on what each team can spend to purchase players next season , the chances are that the players will have the potential to earn huge amounts of money in the Twenty20 format - thus attracting more players . But I donot think test cricket will suffer . Over a period of time there will be differentiation between test players and Twenty20 players . Already we are seeing that good test players ( Dravid , Laxman , Ganguly to name a few ) have not been very successful at Twenty20 format . It is this distinction that will eventually separate the players and will let both formats survive . Test cricket for the cricket and Twenty20 for pure entertainment and money . There are enough spectators for both formats and there is room for both of them

We have seen the first casualty at senior level in the Indian Premier League in the form of Bnaglore Royal Challengers boss Vijay  Malaya sacking CEO Charu Sharma . But was the  CEO's mis- management responsible for the bad performannce by Banglore or was it the selection of the team by Mr Malaya and Rahul Dravid .  Bad performance by the team ? it is said that the new CEO will be Brijesh Patel and it is also rumored that Venkatesh Prasad , the coach is on his way out as well . Banglore Royal Challengers  have  won two games out of seven and at present are at the bottom of the league . Incidentally they are the second most expensive team in the Indian Premier League . Whisky money badly invested ?

Shah Rukh Khan and Mukesh Ambani to act similarly ?

MORE TOP BRASS ON THE WAY OUT ? Remember this Indian Premier League is not cricket any more , this is serious business and big money is involved . You don't deliver , you are out .

From what Lalit Modi has announced , from next season there will be no caps on prices for players - so whoever can deliver will make serious money . So far it looks like the Indian players are out . Not one Indian player has been outstanding . Will we see the end of big names from the Indian cricketing world ?

Dhoni seems to have lost his good luck charm - Chennai Super Kings were thrashed , once again and this time by Deccan Chargers who were captained by Adam Gilchrest . He scored 54 off 36 , Styris 36 off 41 , Afridi 20 off 6 and Rohit Sharma 23 off 17 to take them to 148 for 3 in 18 overs against Chennai's 144 for 7 with Suresh Raina scoring 31 off 21 . This was Indian Premier Leeague's 26th match .

Harbhajan could be in serious problems with the BCCI . The judge who has been appointed to decide on his fate has publicly stated that he was shocked to see the video footage of the incidence . I have always been saying that Harbhajan should get the severest punishment for slapping an opposition player on the field . An example must be set so that in future no player can take such liberties . Harbhajan has been behaving badly for a long time - he needs to be reined in and if this brings an end to his international career , then so be it . This is for the greater good of cricket.