The fireworks at the end of the match at Newlands were real awesome to watch and the Chargers’ cheergirls were hot as usual. But it was Gilchrist’s fireworks that were the real scorchers and it was Rohit Sharma’s splendid knock that was scorching hot, so much so that the Royal Challengers and KP were smoked out of the contest in just the first 20 overs. What a start it was with 20-20 seemingly back to its blitzkrieging self as the runs flowed and the ball disappeared all around the park thanks to the start that good old Gili had in store for everyone. The Chargers captain sizzled with a 45-ball 71 to set the tone and young Sharma then proved why he is the heir apparent of VVS in the Indian middle order with a stroke-filled 52.

Once again the Bangalore bowling attack was ripped to shreds on a track that was flat and on a day where clouds kept away from paying a visit to the Newlands. The explosive lineup of the Chargers were on full steam with Styris, Gibbs and others playing decent support. The score of 184 looked a daunting task and with the Bangalore top order folding up and walking back a bit too early even a mini-blinder from in form Dravid was no where sufficient to get close to the required target.

With Edwards striking first ball to dismiss Ryder for a golden duck, RP making the ball talk and Ojha sending a KP who danced down the track on the walk back to pavilion, the boys in red never had any momentum about their innings. Sure, Virat Kohli (50) sparkled and Dravid (48) briefly raised hopes of an unlikely miracle, but it was all too much for a unit that looks more and more disjointed. Just like we said earlier in the day, the Chargers were simply a class above the opposition… In fact, several notches above!

It is the battle of the South with the Deccan Chargers taking on the Bangalore Royal Challengers in their second encounter of IPL Season 2 and while the performance of the two teams will be keenly witnessed, the twin factors of rain and pitch seem toe be the taking points of this T20 fest so far. It will be interesting to see how the Newlands track will play out, but expect the team that wins the toss almost certainly to bat first. Chasing under lights right now seems to be a bit of a bogey in South Africa that most sides wish to steer clear of.

With Bangalore dishing out and the taking a drubbing in its two games, at this point it seems pretty hard to understand how good this team really is. Their last performance against Chennai was a lot like the ‘Test team stuck playing IPL’ situation we saw in the inaugural tournament and if your two main batting stars in a 20-20 contest are Kallis and Dravid, you are sure neck deep in trouble. At this point Bangalore look like stuck in the first gear. The Chargers on the other hand looked electrifying against a mediocre Kolkata and with their rejuvenated approach and Gibbs in scorching hot form; they will be hard to beat.

Unless this is another real sticky wicket like the one Bangalore trounced Rajasthan on and until the Chargers play some poor shots, it is hard to see at this point how any other prospect except a Deccan triumph. Watch out once again for RP Singh who seems to become RP Swing every time he lands in South Africa!

Prediction: Chargers should outclass Challengers here.

At this point it seems frustratingly ironic that the major reason why South Africa was picked over England for its ‘sunnier’ weather and yet we have been forced to see more highlights packages waiting for skies to clear and covers to come off rather than LIVE action. Not just for television viewers who were hotly anticipating another mini tussle between the titans, but also the patient Kingsmead crowd that left home disappointed. Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals captains never even came out for the toss as they left to their hotel rooms each picking up a single point.

Neither of the teams will be too happy though with the charged up Indians wanting to double their tally while the Royals wanted to show that their last defeat was just a freak. At this point we would like to really know who was actually advising Lalit Modi on the weather in late April in South Africa. While organizers are saying these are ‘freak showers’, the freakishness seems to becoming an all too common addition to the tournament at this point. It takes 5 overs a side to squeeze in a 20-20 contest and at this point we are even unable to squeeze in that!!

Brendon McCullum’s boys did a fine job of initially restricting the King XI Punjab for a par total of 158 and then Chris Gayle brought out his big golf swing to put matters to rest at Kingsmead. With both the teams not having a winning start this crucial encounter was not just a battle on the field but a Bollywood face-off in the stands as both Shah Rukh Khan and Priety Zinta cheered their boys to the hilt. But at the end of the day it was King Khan who went home smiling as a rain curtailed match saw the blitz of Gayle end at 79/1 after 9.2 overs with the West Indian captain unbeaten on 44 off just 26 balls.

The initial attack of the Punjab dudes looked potent and decisive with Irfan Pathan getting a promotion to number 3 and opening his shoulders up for a quick fire 32in just 17 balls. But it was the prince of Kolkata who stuck back with twin blows in a single over to dismiss both Irfan and Ravi Bopara and bring cheer to an off-late sulking Bengal. With Yuvraj’s brilliance curtailed to a flash and the others failing to step on the gas, what looked at one point to be a total heading for the 180-mark fell 20-odd runs short.

That still looked like a very competent total before Chris Gayle decided to make a mockery out of the short boundaries and Punjab’s weak bowling attack as he dished out some brutal strokes. You would normally say that he sent the fielders on leather hunt, but this was more a sky-watching camp with the ball sailing way back into the stands. Before the rain gods stepped in to stop the massacre, the match seemed to be done and trashed thanks to the Caribbean captain. Kolkata just sprung back to life!

Lalit Modi and BCCI are already minting big bucks with the IPL and it seems that the change of host nation seems to have just got them a bit more worrying about losing the stake in all those rolls of green. That is exactly why the headless thinkers on top of the tournament’s decision making team decided to put in a seven and a half minute break after every 10 overs in each innings.

The latest effort though seems to have already received plenty of slack and with a lot more to follow, maybe the stubborn heads on the top will soon be forced to scrap out the useless ‘Strategic Time-outs’. With players like Tendulkar and Harbhajan already stating that the breaks are doing more harm than good to teams by breaking up the rhythm of the players, it seems that all those ad-revenues are finally cutting deep into quality of cricket.

While bowling teams that are getting mauled seem to be all too happy with such a break, it seems that the seven and a half minutes is all too long if it really is just to make strategic plans! For this version the time-out is probably here to stay, but hopefully IPL 3 back in India will see the break melt away in hot summer sub-continent heat.

The player of the match after the first two contests on day one of the IPL second edition that made a hasty exit from the sub-continent to the rainbow nation seems to be a pretty good indicator of what we can expect from the rest of the tournament. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid stole the show on the first day with Warne, Kumble, Hayden, Vettori and Murali then following with five star performances. Quality cricket will matter in this version of the IPL; unlike the mindless slogging of the last edition. The ball will take in this edition and at the end of the day true quality will shine through; unless the sun decides to suddenly come out and shine!

The cheerleaders are back and this time there is no moral policing to keep them under drapes- quite literally. That seems to bring about a refreshing change and one less headache for both the organizers and the ever-dancing cheerleaders. The spectators seem to enjoy themselves and Twenty20 is back at its unabated best. At the moment the Chargers’ cheerleaders are leading the race on off-field attractions (read as distractions), with the Bangalore gals hot on their skirts!

There is surely a lot more to cricket nowadays than just the batting and the bowling!

Old rivalry will be revived and the two greatest exponents of their respective crafts will once again tee-off as hopefully the clocks will be turned 13 years back to the first time Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne came face to face. One of the beauties of the commercial bandwagon that has been the IPL is the fact that it is giving us moments on and off the field that we only dreamed off. At Kingsmead, it will treat us to a contest between the game’s finest batsman and its greatest leg spinner. The Rajasthan Royals will try to open their account and recapture lost glory as they take on buoyant Mumbai Indians.

After not having the services of their captain for first half the series in the inaugural edition, Mumbai are on a high with an in-form Sachin, lethal Jayasuriya and explosive Nayar. The bowling looks a lot better than it appeared on paper with Bravo making the ball talk, Zaheer looking in top form and Harbhajan continuing from where he left off in the last T20 World Cup in South Africa.

The Royals have had a mauling in their first game with a defeat handed over to them by a Bangalore side that looks more fitting for test matches. The batting looked very weak with the swinging ball making the Asnodkars and Yosuf Pathans appear very ordinary compared to their heroics in the first edition back home. The iconic battle though will be the tussle between Warne’s flight, drift and turn against Tendulkar’s broad MRF… If Sachin can manage to stay there when Shane comes to bowl!

Prediction: Mumbai Indians should come out trumps in here.