Everytime I talk about the success of the Rajasthan Royals, people ask me : “Who owns them?” This post is for the most subdued owner in the Indian Premier League.

Emerging Media is the owner of the Rajasthan Royals. Apart from owning the IPL Team, these guys are mainly into media-property development business with a focus on developing programs for the Indian sub-continent.

In India, they are more known (if at all) for their reality cricket show : Cricket Star, whose runner up Dinesh Salunkhe plays for the team.

Some Stats:

Age : N.A.
Team : Rajasthan Royals
Bought Team for : $67 million
Alternate Occupation : Media House
Co-Owners : None

(All figures are in USD)

As you can clearly see, the post is also subdued. The team is doing wonders though!

Other Owners : Shah Rukh Khan

Next Team : Kings XI Punjab (owned by Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia)

Photo : Emerging Media

Post from: EveryJoe

Owners of IPL – Emerging Media

• In came Shoaib and Virendra Sehwag was out first ball he faced. Caught by the Keeper.
• Then it was the turn of Gautam Gambhir as he fiddled with a wide one, just to be caught up at slip
• In came ABcDe Villiers who though that Mr Steyn is the fastest of them all. Akhtar proved him wrong
• Manoj Tiwary hadn’t faced anything faster than Dinda. He was caught plumb in front, one of those rarities when you don’t even have to appeal for a LBW

Shoaib’s Figures: 3-0-11-4

Another bloke, LR Shukla, took 3 in his first over (Delhi’s 18th) to end it for the Daredevils

IPL Roundup:

Laxman out of IPL
The Injury has made him be ruled out of the IPL. If I was a true Deccan fan, I would be Happy.

Ashwell Prince goes back to South Africa
His wife has had a baby and he would be back in a week. We wish him luck. BTW he plays for the Mumbai Indians. Still to make his IPL Debut.

Laters.

Photo: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Shoaib, Shukla help Kolkata Knightriders Romp Delhi Daredevils

All you needed to know

Video : Youtube

Post from: EveryJoe

The IPL – All you needed to know

During the game, there was a moment when Saurav Ganguly (48* then) lofted a ball straight to Greame Smith at deep mid wicket who took a lowly catch. As the Royals celebrated, Ganguly stood his ground and asked, I repeat asked the umpire to refer in upstairs. And ‘upstairs’ said : Not Out. Poetic justice was delivered when he got out three runs later. Huh!

Finally, congratulations to Warnie and the Royals for their fourth successive win. Faith be wit Ganguly and the Night Riders. Or was that Knight. Who Cares? You do? I don’t.

Laters

Photo Credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

SRK Gifts, Rajasthan Wins, Ganguly Cheats!

We start with Mr. Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders. Apart from owning the IPL Team, SRK is arguably the biggest star of the Indian Film Industry.

In India, he is referred to as King Khan, and for reasons which are not fallacious at all. This guy has got this charisma, this ‘People’ thing. He knows how to catch the pulse of the audience. Be it coming to the Knight Rider matches and hugging each player to dancing and jumping in joy when they do well. Compare that to the other owners of the IPL teams, and they are closer to stationary blots. With his team doing reasonably well in the inaugural IPL, he has reasons to cheer. He once said that he has spent a lot of his money for this venture, and is at a point of no return. Though not the richest of all IPL owners, he is undoubtedly the most popular and stylish.

Some Stats:

Age : 44
Team : Kolkata Knight Riders
Net Worth : $1.2 Million (approximate) (pays a lot of taxes, though!)
Bought Team for : $950,000
Alternate Occupation : Actor (Superstar)
Co-Owners : Juhi Chawla, Jay Mehta

(All figures are in USD)

Next Team : Kings XI Punjab (owned by Preity Zinta)

Laters

Photo Credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Owners of IPL : Shah Rukh Khan

There are a lot of incidents in life which one feels should not have happened. Being slapped by a senior in your cricket team is one of the worst. Having played (and still playing) some sort of cricket myself, I can at least try to understand the agony that Shantakumaran Sreesanth must have felt when he was slapped by Harbhajan Singh. According to most sources, after the match (which the Kings finally won), Sree (Kings) went over to Harbhajan (Indians) and said, and I quote: “Hard Luck, mate.” The next moment, Sreesanth was in tears. LITERALLY, and that too in front of a few billion international viewers. He looked totally inconsolable.

Sreesanth Inconsolable

Let’s tone down the melodrama and focus a bit on the psychology here. Dinnie, I know it’s your territory but I can’t help but dwell on it now. Harbhajan has always had his run-ins with the law. Right from his dislike for the National Cricket Academy food in his teens, to his possession of stinking shoes in New Zealand, to his ‘polite’ altercations with Hayden and Symonds, he has always been the talking point when it comes to the rule stretchers of Indian Cricket. What I feel about human psychology is that it follows the cause-effect principle. Everything has a reason. Digging into Harbhajan, you would find that he alone supports nine people in his family. His dad passed away when his place in the Indian Team was not even certain. He has been through a lot, and a bit of impatience usually comes with it.

Coming back to Sreesanth, he too has been the eye-candy for match referees throughout his young career. His actions mostly smell of aggression, stinking on the side of immaturity most of the times. The romantics in India certainly appreciate that, but then, what is immature is IMMATURE. When a known aggressor is the captain of a team which has just lost the third match in a row, only an immature personality can go up to him and say things Sree said. Harbhajan retort was acceptable, maybe not the manner in which he dished it out. A smart word should have sufficed. Sometimes it feels that we as cricket observers should try to find out who was right and who was wrong in every on and off field incident. We do this, knowing pretty well than nothing is RIGHT or WRONG, it just happens. You can analyze it as much as you may; the truth is that there is no truth. Everything is just an interpretation. Best of Luck, Harbhajan and HARD LUCK, Sreesanth

Video Credit : Youtube

Post from: EveryJoe

Harbhajan Slaps Sreesanth

Runs : 94
Balls : 41
Fours : 10
Sixes : 6

Poor old Andrew Symonds went for 30 in an over. This was certainly SOME innings. I beg your pardon if I am not articulate enough. Its just that….well….I am excited. The IPL has just begun.

Laters

Post from: EveryJoe

Viru You Little Beauty!

Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super Kings at Mohali – Apr 19, 2008
Chennai Super Kings won by 33 runs
Chennai Super Kings 240/5 (20/20 ov); Kings XI Punjab 207/4 (20/20 ov)
Michael ‘Mr Cricket’ Hussey showing he ain’t that far behind.
Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals at Delhi – Apr 19, 2008
Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets (with 29 balls remaining)
Rajasthan Royals 129/8 (20/20 ov); Delhi Daredevils 132/1 (15.1/20 ov)
Depleted RRs, Non Turning Warnie, what less could you ask?

Kolkata Knight Riders v Deccan Chargers at Kolkata – Apr 20, 2008
Kolkata Knight Riders won by 5 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)
Deccan Chargers 110 (18.4/20 ov); Kolkata Knight Riders 112/5 (19/20 ov)
The pitch was BAD, really BAD. The better team won. Dave Hussey was the star

Mumbai Indians v Bangalore Royal Challengers at Mumbai – Apr 20, 2008
Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 5 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)
Mumbai Indians 165/6 (20/20 ov); Bangalore Royal Challengers 166/5 (19.4/20 ov)
You don’t let Boucher and Kallis be in the same team. Else they will win it!

Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab at Jaipur – Apr 21, 2008
Rajasthan Royals won by 6 wickets (with 11 balls remaining)
Kings XI Punjab 166/8 (20/20 ov); Rajasthan Royals 168/4 (18.1/20 ov)
Some players returned, some awaited. Shane Watson still has it in him. Yuvraj CAN bat. Duh!

Hey guys,

More of IPL coming up. And also the review of the Pro20 Cup in South Africa

Laters

Post from: EveryJoe

IPL Recap: 18th to 21st April, 2008

Having guest blogged here before, the look and the feel of this blog was not new to me. It always inspired me. It was popular! I used to say to myself: “See, This is where you have to end up. Something similar at least!.” Now that I am here, its time to redefine the goals. By the way, the heading for this post is not about me. Its about the Indian Premier League (IPL).

I always wanted to start with something I feel very strongly about. Being an Indian, knowing a bit about Premier level cricket and loving the concept of a new League, it wasn’t too tough to get involved. The concept of Inter-City Cricket which has basic minimum level of rivalry or intensity could only be dreamt about here till recently. No one gave a fig to any sort of cricket unless it was International.

Suddenly, a cricket board realised that it was getting richer. That it could still get richer. Hence, they came up with the IPL idea. Have billionaires buy teams for millions and then let them run it. And still get a cut of the revenues. Nice idea indeed. The Inaugural IPL begins from the 18th of April. That’s about 2 days from now. I can feel the hype surrounding it. Hope the matches don’t let me down. Sometimes I feel me in b5 and IPL in Cricket are similar. Firm Beginnings, High Hopes. Laters.

Photo Courtesy: iplinfo

Post from: EveryJoe

Firm Beginnings, High Hopes