His desire to contribute to his team’s success has rarely been stronger. The team itself is threatening to turn the Gangnam Style dance into a story of Caribbean resurgence

David Hopps in Colombo05-Oct-2012″If you can knock Chris Gayle over early…” mused Australia’s captain, George Bailey, ahead of their World Twenty20 semi-final against West Indies. And if you can’t, George? If you can’t, the night will end in the way you must have secretly feared it might, with the entire West Indies team, Gayle at the centre, with grin as broad as his broadest of bats, dancing to “Gangnam Style”.”Gangnam Style”, by the South Korean rapper PSY, is a satire of life south of the river in Seoul, where cool and style are held to predominate. But now there is a PS to PSY and it has been provided by the West Indies cricket team who are threatening to turn the dance into a story of Caribbean resurgence.”It just happened,” Gayle said. “It wasn’t really planned. That’s me. Depending on what type of mood I’m in, I do something crazy. It’s a good dance.”Twenty20 might be hard to predict, but somehow, out of it all, we have got a fitting final: Sri Lanka, increasingly powerful as the tournament progressed, symbolising the growing confidence of a nation freed from terrorist war, against a West Indies side which was strongly fancied before the tournament began and which put its inconsistencies behind it to produce an emphatic performance when it mattered.Australia did not get Gayle out, but they did manage to limit him to 41 balls, little more than 30% of the strike, which on many nights would count as a job well done. For large clumps of the innings, he stood at the non-striker’s end, under-utilised, overlooked. But those 41 balls were enough for him to make 75 not out. He does not need long to make an impact.Gayle’s career has been that of a rebel – “Me talk with my mouth and me talk with my bat,” he once observed in an unfavourable critique of West Indies cricket – but in this tournament his desire to contribute to his team’s success has rarely been stronger. He met Mitchell Starc, Australia’s dangerman, with respect; he was as selective in his strokeplay as he surely ever has been in T20; he even looked, goddammit, as if he was intent from the outset to try to bat through the innings.If he bestrode the scene, this was far from a solo performance. As he stood at the non-striker’s end, a hulk of a man with chain lolling idly over his maroon shirt, he must have liked what he saw. Marlon Samuels was a polished understudy (the Yohan Blake to Gayle’s Usain Bolt), Dwayne Bravo produced his most vigorous innings of the tournament, and the final partnership between Gayle and Kieron Pollard was a rumbustious affair, 65 from 25 balls, between two outrageously powerful men who did not much fancy running and did not need to.He was caught once, off Xavier Doherty, but the catch was held by a policeman 20 yards beyond the boundary boards, lurking behind the sponsor’s motorbike. That is a pretty nifty fielding position for Gayle when he is in full flow. Australia’s only hope was that under Sri Lankan law, a clean catch would allow the policeman to commandeer the bike and ride onto the square to arrest Gayle for a public order offence.

Australia’s only hope was that under Sri Lankan law, a clean catch would allow the policeman to commandeer the bike and ride onto the square to arrest Gayle for a public order offence

He has one chief hitting arc, in the general area of long-on, but Australia’s bowlers, like many before them, could not prevent him from insouciantly depositing the ball in that direction. His most imperious blow came against the offspin of David Hussey, who had been called up for his first game of the tournament, and whose reward was to disappear into the second tier of the stand. The blow was measured at 104 metres, the joint-longest six of the tournament.By then, Gayle had received treatment after being winded. He was feeling short of breath, his heart pumping, enough to slightly disturb him, which brought him down to Pollard’s speed between the wickets. They lumbered a two through mid-on with the reluctance of a couple of old stagers in a club match, but how they hit. Pollard’s assault on Doherty in the last over was brutal. The more jauntily Doherty tried to run up, the more his face clenched in concentration, the more his left-arm spin pitched, for him, in the most inconvenient places.It was Pollard, not Gayle, who played the most outrageous shot of the night, a 93mph yorker from Pat Cummins which Pollard dug free with such strength that the ball scooted around the ground and split midwicket and long-on. Just getting a ball like that off the square is an achievement.There is something about Australia’s attack which delights West Indies. It is the sort of fixture where sixes rain down and they need to buy in extra fireworks for behind the scoreboard. They have taken Australia for two of the three highest scores in the tournament, also making 191 for 8 against them in the qualifying stage, only to lose on Duckworth-Lewis.Gayle took some time checking things out. It is rare that he bats with such a strong sense of care and concentration. He begins every innings by crouching on his haunches, not as much an exercise routine as a feline stretch, an attempt to settle his mind, get into the zone. For nearly five overs, the Australian attack was cased and the tension in the crowd was palpable when he finally awoke to crash Shane Watson for six over extra cover.In one shot, the mood of the game changed. Gayle was on the move, the x-man was about to happen. Fourteen times, the West Indies cleared the ropes, fireworks studded the night sky and the West Indies batting was liberated.They have one more challenge, but Sri Lanka, wonderfully marshalled, brimming with confidence and originality, and yearning for their first victory in a major tournament since 1996, will be the biggest challenge of all.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the CLT20 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Titans at Newlands

Liam Brickhill at Newlands21-Oct-2012The go-slow
Kolkata might have scored many more than their eventual 188 were it not for an inexplicable loss of momentum in the middle of their innings. Brendon McCullum and Gautam Gambhir combined to add 63 for the second wicket in just five and a half overs before McCullum fell to CJ de Villiers and Jacques Kallis entered. It’s churlish to criticise a batsman with 12,641 Test runs to his name over his strike-rate in a dead rubber Twenty20 match, and ultimately it mattered not a jot to the final result, but Kallis’ subsequent 20-ball 18 came completely against the run of play. He and Gambhir put together 34 runs at just 5.66 to the over, and it was left to the likes of Manoj Tiwary and Debabrata Das to boost Kolkata’s score.The second chance
Roelof van der Merwe’s left-arm spin played a major role in the drop in run-rate, but he went from hero to villain when Kallis attempted to break the shackles with a lofted stroke off David Wiese which should have been caught at long-on. Van der Merwe misjudged the attempt terribly, running in too far as the ball drifted over his head and bounced inside the boundary ropes for four. In uncharacteristically cavalier fashion, Kallis tried to repeat the shot to the very next ball but this time van der Merwe stood his ground at long-on, barely moving as the ball came straight to him.The cameo
Kallis’ dismissal sparked a fightback by the Titans, as Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan fell in the space of one over to van der Merwe – Pathan picking out long-off first ball. Kolkata were 133 for 5 when they fell, with just over four overs to play. After a brief rebuilding effort that took up all of one over, Das took the game away from Titans with a brutal display of power hitting. Alfonso Thomas bore the brunt of his assault, with 19 runs coming off his third over, and Kolkata cruised to the highest total of the tournament so far. Das finished with a career-best 43 not out from 19 balls and the Man of the Match award for his efforts.The collapse
Whatever chance the Titans batsmen had of pulling off a huge chase quickly evaporated when they lost Heino Kuhn and the experienced pair of Martin van Jaarsveld and Jacques Rudolph in the space of four deliveries on the cusp on the eighth and ninth overs. Lakshmipathy Balaji did for Kuhn and van Jaarsveld, both of whom played inside the line of deliveries angled in from wide of the crease, to find himself on a hat-trick, while Rudolph holed out to Iqbal Abdullah. Farhaan Behardien survived Balaji’s hat-trick ball, but fell soon after to the same bowler as Titans were well and truly scuppered.The six
It’s something of an understatement to suggest that it’s not often a No. 11 batsman finishes a match with a strike-rate of 600. Yet Titans’ Ethy Mbalathi managed just that. Displaying a graceful lofted off drive that belied the batting ineptitude implied by a Twenty20 average of 6.33 and career strike-rate of 65.51, Mbalathi hit the only ball he faced – from Manoj Tiwary – into the stands beyond long-off. It was the very first time he’d cleared the ropes in this format. Given the manner of the capitulation of his side’s ‘proper’ batsmen, they might well consider shunting him up the order in their match against Delhi Daredevils at Centurion on Tuesday.

Plays of the Day from the final day of the Adelaide Test

Firdose Moonda at Adelaide Oval26-Nov-2012The good review
Faf du Plessis looked a goner when he was on 33 and did not offer a shot to Michael Clarke. Billy Bowden gave him lbw. He reviewed immediately and replays showed that most of the ball had pitched outside leg. The ball had turned and probably would have hit off stump but that did not matter.The better review
Two overs later, Clarke thought he had du Plessis lbw again, on 37, and so did Billy Bowden. But again, DRS was called on. The ball had pitched in line but it had not made any contact with du Plessis’ pad or boot. Even without Hotspot, it was clear that he had hit the ball. The white mark was eventually visible and du Plessis survived again.The bad review
After giving du Plessis out twice incorrectly, Bowden was not going to take another chance. When Nathan Lyon appealed for lbw, Bowden was unmoved and this time Clarke turned to technology. The ball turned a significant amount and the tracker showed the bounce would have carried it over the stumps. On 48, Du Plessis was given another life and he made it count.The drop
It was a tough chance, but if Australia needed to win the Test they had to take it. Matthew Wade was standing up to Ben Hilfenhaus and had very little time to react to du Plessis’ thin edge. In the last over before tea and du Plessis was on 94.The celebration
After all of that, du Plessis saw off ten overs and one ball after tea before he was finally able to raise his bat. An understated drive through cover and two jogged runs made him the fourth batsman to score a hundred on debut for South Africa, and the first to have a half-century and century to his name. Du Plessis raised the bat demurely, acknowledged the dressing room and gave Jacques Kallis a bear hug. There was no leaping or shouting, just quiet recognition. Much was left to do.The exhausted cricketer
Du Plessis had batted a day and more but it was Peter Siddle who was more spent. After bowling 63.5 overs in the match, he had every right to be. With four minutes to go, Siddle was handed the ball to have one last burst. He looked to the sky, he looked to the ground, he had a few sips of his drink, Ben Hilfenhaus walked him to his mark and then he said something to himself. At the non-striker’s end was du Plessis. He barely moved as he watched Morne Morkel take guard and then turned to look at Siddle. Two tired men, one winner.

New Zealand have shown resilience in bouncing back from their defeat in Galle and are within striking distance of a memorable, series-levelling victory

Andrew Fernando at P Sara Oval28-Nov-2012″Reflection” has been the buzzword around the New Zealand camp since their loss in Galle. That is a strange concept in sport, because reflecting is something more often done after success. Rarely is the acceptance of a World Cup, a Grand Slam, a Major or Test Mace complete until some mention of allowing the moment to “sink in” has been made. Failure, meanwhile, elicits the desire to “move on”. There may be some lip service to the idea of learning from mistakes, but the emphasis is on the future, on “coming back stronger next time.”New Zealand have instead dwelt on their distress. They’ve taken it all in – their lowest total of the year; their worst losing streak in 67 years; their second three-day loss in nine months. Somewhere amid the smouldering remains of their fifth straight defeat, they found the will to succeed. Through reflection, they have seemingly achieved rebirth, and two such disparate performances can rarely have been seen together in the history of their cricket.New Zealand’s new backbone has been evident since the moment Ross Taylor chose to bat, and has been present throughout the Test. From the afternoon of day one New Zealand have been ahead in the match, and although Sri Lanka fought back in patches, no one who has seen the first four days of play will say they deserve to win this over their visitors.At 14 for 2 on the first morning, New Zealand looked set for a now perfunctory rolling collapse, but instead their captain rallied his young accomplice and the pair amassed their side’s biggest meaningful stand in years. Whatever may be true about Taylor’s leadership – and the din for his replacement has been growing louder for some time now – he has barely made a wrong move in this match.In his batting, he has been cautious yet purposeful. Take his 74 today, which was struck at a swift 78 per 100 balls, but featured only two boundaries. Mahela Jayawardene may have been protecting the ropes throughout almost Taylor’s entire innings, but it is not like New Zealand’s captain to show restraint, even on along the ground. This is not a Taylor that has been often seen before. Even his field placements – the retention of the slip cordon and the choking of singles – have veered towards impeccable so far. He has trusted each of his bowlers, and though Doug Bracewell had been wicketless in the series until its final innings, Taylor tossed him the ball at first change, and he removed Sri Lanka’s two best batsmen before stumps.Tim Southee and Trent Boult have been peerless in this series as well, and they have been the prime architects of New Zealand’s dominance in this Test, eclipsing the impact of even Taylor’s 216 runs. In Galle, they found hooping movement in the air, and though they have swung the ball impressively in Colombo as well, discipline has been the supplement to their success when movement has eluded them. Even if Sri Lanka grit their way to an unlikely draw tomorrow, New Zealand have an unequivocal victory with which to leave Sri Lanka: a new ball pair who complement each other absolutely and are as promising as any young quicks anywhere in the world.Beyond the major performances, New Zealand have also struck upon the unifying mood that once fuelled their success. In the first innings, numbers 8, 9 and 10 made 64 all counted, keeping Sri Lanka in the field for 116 deliveries between them. In the field in the first innings, Martin Guptill leapt low to his right at second slip, snatching a stunner to dismiss Angelo Mathews, who looked set for a lengthy defiance. The following morning, Kane Williamson took as fine a gully catch as any fielder will ever take, to ensure the contributions of Sri Lanka’s tail did not match the heft of their own.In the second innings, New Zealand lost three wickets in four deliveries, and where a week ago a triple strike would have heralded the end, Todd Astle drew from New Zealand’s new swell of confidence and helped correct his team’s course. The timing of the declaration was another sign of the distance New Zealand have travelled in the past week. Three hundred and sixty three is not a friendly target, but given Sri Lanka achieved 11 less than that on the same ground six years ago, it is not an impossible one either.”Following the Test in Galle there was a lot of hurt,” New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said. “We had performed pretty well in Bangalore and gave ourselves a chance, but results don’t lie. Five in a row is hard to take. We all reflected on our performance and we did a lot of hard work and individuals took responsibility as well. A few guys went away and worked out their method with the bat.”Hesson’s words echo those of each of his charges over the past few days. Before the Test, Southee said he and his team-mates had “trained the house down,” and spoke of the desperation in the side to begin winning again. Crucially, that desperation has been tempered with the composure and patience that define good Test sides.New Zealand felt they had turned a corner with their victory in Hobart last year, but there conditions had contrived to bring the two teams together and their win was proved an anomaly. There are no such powers at play at the P Sara. If they can complete another series comeback in Colombo on day five, perhaps the qualities that will have engineered their victory will lead to a more sustained revival.

Plays of the Day from the second day of the Newlands Test between South Africa and Pakistan

Firdose Moonda at Newlands15-Feb-2013Catch of the day
Pakistan’s batsmen were struggling against the new ball and probably didn’t want too much else to think about but that was not all they had to contend with. Alviro Petersen added to their woes at the start of the day with a piece of superb fielding that will go down as one of the moments of the series. Sarfraz Ahmed was the last recognised batsman but even he was uncertain against Vernon Philander, pushing at one and getting an outside edge. Petersen moved to his right, stuck a hand out and caught the ball inches off the ground to leave Sarfraz in disbelief that he had been dismissed.Novelty sighting of the day
South Africans have been waiting for a few weeks to see Mohammed Irfan in action, out of curiosity at what someone taller than Morne Morkel would look like. He did not play in the Wanderers Test and when Graeme Smith chose to field first, it meant at least another day of waiting. Irfan finally had his moment, with bat in hand, seven minutes before the scheduled lunch and delivered on all the novelty value he promised. He looked almost twice as tall as Saeed Ajmal and AB de Villiers and stood head, shoulders and waist above the rest. His first shot was as aggressive as expected as he looked to swipe over mid-on but missed completely.Team-mates tussle of the day
With a second collapse against the new ball in full swing, it was understandable that Pakistan’s batsmen were getting tetchy. Tanvir Ahmed appeared the most irritable. When Umar Gul was given out lbw against Philander, he wanted to consult with Tanvir but the No. 8 wanted no part in it. He turned his back on Gul and walked away from the non-striker’s end. He only turned to address to his colleague once Gul had asked for the referral. Tanvir did not seem happy with that at all and the two held a heated discussion in the middle while the third umpire reviewed the decision and upheld the on-field call.Body blow of the day
Saeed Ajmal was brought on in the 12th over of the South Africa innings but the damage was not immediately sustained by the batsman. Alviro Petersen swept his third delivery straight on to short leg Azhar Ali’s knee and the fielder went down as concerned team-mates converged. Petersen joined the group to check on Azhar but Graeme Smith was not overly concerned. Azhar was treated on-field and a drinks break was taken but he has back under the helmet immediately aftewards.Catch of the day II
If there was any pain lingering in Azhar’s knee to hamper his movement, he didn’t show it and gave Petersen some of his own treatment. When Petersen played Ajmal on to his pad, in an attempt to glance the ball down to fine leg, Azhar responded as quickly as Petersen had earlier. He moved forward quickly to pouch the ball one-handed in front of him and Petersen did not hesitate a moment in walking off.

From Pushkar Gupte, India

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013
Does it matter whether Sachin Tendulkar gets another hundred?•AFPThat elusive ton. Does it even matter if or when he gets it? The “If” is hypothetical, for get it he will. Maybe not at Wankhede, maybe not even at Melbourne. Get it he will – in due course of time.But for a moment – let’s indulge our pessimism and consider the thought that he does not in fact get there and remains stranded at 99 tons. Given the form he is in, given how sweetly he has been timing the ball, given the beauty with which he has been playing his drives – there seems no doubt that he will keep scoring runs. And like at the Kotla – his runs will contribute to wins. He might get run down by the pressure of expecting the 100th, might get out in the 90s or even before as he starts chasing a landmark that weighs on his mind.But if in this melee – he fails to convert his form into a ton – will it really matter? 33K international runs. 200 international wickets. 22 years of batting at the top of the pile. One world cup. An ODI double ton. When time passes by and we remember – will we even remember if he got his 100th?We will remember the moments. The sandstorm, the thwack over third man off Shoaib, the hook off Glenn McGrath in Nairobi, a pristine balanced cover drive, being lifted on their shoulders by his young team-mates, the wincing in pain but cruelly falling short 136, the pummelling of Olonga, the disintegration of Warne.His greatness – in numbers or more importantly in our minds – will not be enhanced by yet another ton. It won’t diminish if he does not get there. Let’s just let him be. The 100th will happen – hopefully a 300 will materialise along the way – but the last thing we need to do is pile on the pressure for a landmark that will be good to have but mean nothing.In the meantime, while he takes his own sweet time in getting there – let’s just enjoy the fact that we have a freak opener who can churn out runs in the blink of an eye, a No. 3 who – if it were not for the chronological fact of existing in the same era as our current No. 4 – would have been celebrated even more, a No. 5 whose batting is so elegant that it’s a dream to watch. The milestones will come during the journey, let’s lay off the pressure to make the milestones the journey.

The general approach against left-arm spin in Bangladesh is to play safe. Against Rangana Herath, they neither took the safety-first approach nor were successful in hitting him out of the attack

Mohammad Isam in Colombo19-Mar-2013Bangladesh probably had three of their coolest heads to deal with a difficult fourth day on a wicket that was deteriorating and against an attack that knew exactly how to use it. But none of Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain and captain Mushfiqur Rahim stayed in the middle long enough, and it was the ninth time out of ten that Bangladesh failed to take a Test to the fifth day in Sri Lanka. The defeat in Colombo will not take the sheen out of the Galle draw, but it opened old wounds and reminded how hard it is to develop a new habit, and get rid of an old one.There were reasons to rely on this trio. Playing just his third innings in Test cricket, Mominul had displayed promise by hitting half-centuries in his first two outings. His calm demeanor has been a welcome addition to a line-up that is dominated by trigger-happy batsmen. Nasir has been in form this season, having just scored his maiden hundred. He has been reliable at No. 7, taking on the difficulties of batting so low down the order, and has mostly given the team runs from a position or situation from which Bangladesh haven’t had too many in the past.Mushfiqur didn’t make much in the first innings after hitting the country’s first Test double century in Galle, but he hasn’t done badly for too many innings in a row. So a lot was expected of him as well. He and Mominul survived long enough on the third evening to give an inkling of a scrap on the fourth day.What happened was far from a scrap. Rangana Herath claimed the wickets of the three batsmen, starting with Mominul. The left-hander was caught at short leg and though Mushfiqur contested the decision later in the press conference, the choice of shot should have been called into question too. Throughout the Test, Mominul had seen enough reason not to play Herath off the back foot. Mushfiqur (in the first innings) and Mohammad Ashraful (in the second innings) were bowled as they were rooted to the crease.One would straightaway call Nasir’s attempt to biff Herath over mid-on or midwicket a very poor shot, but given the propensity for these strokes among Bangladeshi batsmen, young and experienced, he could earn a pardon in the dressing room. But the timing of his dismissal riled his captain, because Bangladesh had to encounter the second new ball soon after. As someone who has regularly taken on the new ball quite well, Mushfiqur needed Nasir after the 80th over.Mushfiqur batted out another hour after Nasir had been dismissed, but his resistance or attempt at aggression at that stage was never going to be enough. The dismissal was poor once again, the batsman coming forward and ball hitting both bat and pad.Bangladesh gave Herath seven wickets in the innings and 14 overall in the Test series. From Ashraful’s lack of footwork to the wicket of Mushfiqur, the batsmen didn’t know whether to go back or prod forward, whether it was wise to charge, whether to attempt to flick Herath or smash him. It prompted the obvious question: why don’t Bangladesh, the country with so many left-arm spinners, play left-arm spin properly?It is Herath’s quality, repertoire and control that makes him better than most of the left-arm spinners that the Bangladeshi batsmen play at home. As Mushfiqur said at the end of the game, he lands it on spot regularly and the variation isn’t of the fancy kind. He uses the crease very well, and knows exactly how much to flight the ball.Because Bangladeshi batsmen struggle against left-arm spin, first-class teams, clubs and every other league side rely on two or three left-arm spinners in every game. Whenever a “lefty” (a popular term in Bangladesh for left-arm orthodox spinners) comes on, the batsmen stiffen up.The general approach against left-arm spin in Bangladesh is to play safe. Against Herath, they neither took the safety-first approach nor were they successful in hitting him out of the attack. It could have been a different day had they offered a more assured foot forward.

Plays of the Day from the match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders in Jaipur

George Binoy08-Apr-2013The bat
Shane Watson, playing his first match of the season, was unhappy with his bat and changed it after missing a pull against Brett Lee in the first over. After mis-timing and missing a few more balls, Watson hit his first boundary with his new blade, launching Lee over extra cover with a powerful drive. He tried to repeat the shot next ball but made contact with the bottom of his bat and spooned a catch to short cover. He won’t be using that bat again, for it had cracked on impact during the dismissal.The delay
They were everywhere at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Bugs. The problem was so severe the organisers had to fumigate the area with repellant, and some of those fumes made their way on to the ground, creating an unpleasant smelling mist-like effect. The umpires decided to stop play for a while in the 13th over, until the haze cleared.The most expensive over
Sunil Narine had taken two wickets in his third over to pull Royals back. In his fourth, however, Narine went for 18 runs, the most he’s ever conceded in an over in the IPL, and the second most he’s ever gone for in his T20 career. Dishant Yagnik put the finishing touches on it, slog-sweeping a flat six before reverse-sweeping past short third man.The speed
Shaun Tait, aka the wild thing, warmed up with a wide down leg side and then another outside off. But after he found his radar, he began to hurry batsmen with his speed. The last delivery of Tait’s second over was the quickest of this IPL: it was measured at 150.1 kph. The ball pitched short of a length and angled across Gambhir, who wafted at it off the back foot and was beaten by sheer pace.The catch
There have been some stupendous catches in this IPL season – Pollard against Super Kings, Rahane against Daredevils and Gurkeerat against Warriors. Dishant Yagnik’s effort behind the stumps today, while not as visually spectacular, was exceptional for the technique he exhibited. Gautam Gambhir had charged down the pitch and slashed hard at a length delivery, the top edge sending the ball flat and fast towards Yagnik’s left*. He moved nimbly, and then leapt full stretch to take the catch with both hands above his head. He stayed balanced as he landed and tumbled, ensuring the ball stayed caught.*05.00GMT, April 9: The article had previously said the ball went to Dishant Yagnik’s right

Brand experts believe the fixing scandal has affected the value of the league and how advertisers will view it, but that it hasn’t threatened its viewership

Amol Karhadkar11-Jun-2013The recent spate of bad news related to the IPL has raised questions about its viability and credibility, perhaps even putting into doubt its immediate future. The IPL’s penchant for controversy was long seen as a plus – on the grounds that any publicity was good publicity – and even its strength. But the gravity of the current situation – allegations that some players and team owners have indulged in corrupt practices – is unlike anything the league has had to tackle so far.”The brand has definitely been damaged,” says Samir Phadnis, director and chief operating officer of Next Level Media Communication, a PR firm that operates in sport. Phadnis says he “won’t be surprised – and I am sure most of the fans too won’t be – if one of the major sponsors pulls out” as a fallout of the controversy.Santosh Desai, the chief executive officer of Future Brands, a brand management firm, stresses on the fact that this time the allegations have been made against not just players but also an umpire and team owners, and says the corruption scandal gets “into the heart of IPL”. “So potentially it can upset the viewer or a sponsor so much that he can lose his confidence in the product. One party being set aside doesn’t affect the overall brand much, but if many stakeholders are offended, the credibility of the brand is bound to suffer in the long run.”While most experts are convinced that the brand of the IPL will take a severe hit, not many feel it will affect the viewership. “Even in the middle of all the arrests and accusations, the IPL 6 final was sold out and the ratings were almost as much as the previous seasons,” says Indranil Das Blah, chief operating officer of CAA Kwan, a talent management agency.While last year’s final had a rating of 8.92, this year’s had 6.9, though part of the drop is attributed to the digitisation of the cable-TV business in Indian cities, a work in progress that left many viewers without access to subscription channels. Reports in Hindustan Times state that the revenues for the official broadcaster, MSM, rose nearly 50% this year to Rs 900 crore (approx US$154 million), a change from 2012 when revenues were calculated at Rs 650 crore (approx $111 million). The newspaper reported the change was driven by the broadcaster lowering ad rates by 20%.The contrast between the IPL’s image taking a knock while ratings and ad revenues stayed high is guided by factors like ad spots being paid for in advance and news of the spot-fixing scandal breaking only ten days before the scheduled close of the league. The IPL has been able

The Plays of the day from the match between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Delhi

Abhishek Purohit22-May-2013The catch
This was a game-changer and an unbelievable take on top of that. Shane Watson had started powering them into the boundary when he decided to go over it. After hitting the legspinner Karan Sharma for a pull to the deep midwicket rope, Watson pulled harder and in the air this time. It would have cleared Darren Sammy by several feet but the fielder jumped high as if on a spring and took it over his head.The shot-I
This was a pitch on which almost all batsmen struggled to time it, but Biplab Samantray just killed this one in the 19th over of Sunrisers’ innings. Kevon Cooper bowled it slow as well, but Samantray stepped forward and went through with a checked lofted drive. It landed a couple of inches inside the long-off boundary.The shot(s)-II
Three overs of legspin from Amit Mishra had gone for eight. Royals were five down. Another legspinner Karan Sharma was on. Brad Hodge swung the third ball from outside off over long-on. The fifth was angled in; he swung it over deep square leg. Game-changer again.The kiss
During his opening over, James Faulkner had a go at that moustache twirler Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan’s response was to walk down the pitch and smilingly blow a kiss towards the fast bowler. The two kept on with the chatter, and Shane Watson had to intervene at one stage. He had a long talk with Dhawan, to no avail. Rahul Dravid had to step in to calm matters in the end.The start
Vikramjeet Malik moves it around all day in the Ranji Trophy for Himachal Pradesh in Nadaun and Dharamsala but he’d played just one game this IPL season before being drafted in for a knockout match. To open the bowling. And what a start it was for Malik. There was no swing, but he was wise enough to provide neither pace nor width. A wicket with the last ball of his first over, and another with the third ball of his second. Job done.The celebration
Sammy had made the baby-rocking celebration, dummy in mouth, famous this season, following the birth of his daughter. Brad Hodge had no dummy at hand, but after carting Sammy over long-on for the match-winning six, he took off his helmet, put his bat down, got down on his knees and rocked his arms. “I have got children too,” he dead-panned at the presentation.