The IPL predictions

Cricinfo recently carried the preview of IPL teams. So, now i have a fair idea of who are the players to watch out for in this edition. They pick Superkings, Indians, daredevils and royals for the top 4. However, any prediction at this moment is fraught with dangers. At least history suggests so. If someone had told you that Kings XI will make it to semi-final without Yuvraj performing well you would have not paid heed but that is what happened. We were all surprised by the performances of Shaun Marsh, Sreeshanth, VRV and Piyush Chawla. I think i will make prediction only after each team plays at least 3-4 matches. Any prediction should take into account that this edition is on South African pitches and the best way to do that is to watch the initial matches.

However, I hope no one gets injured this time in the IPL to miss national duty like it happened last year to Haydos, Sreeshanth, Tendulkar and others.

Joy for Afghanistan in cricket

The Afghans have done it. They have beaten favorites Ireland in World Cup Qualifiers after barely managing to get into Super-8. This victory just goes on to show how good this team is. Ireland did well in last World Cup beating Pakistan and Bangladesh who are test playing nations. The Afghans are new entrants to cricket. Most of the players started playing in refugee camps in Pakistan and it seems they have picked some mental strength from Pakistanis.
It still remains very difficult for Afghans to qualify for the world cup considering that their victories in qualifying phase were against Bermuda and Denmark who are already out of tournament so Afghans do not carry any points from previous stage. But at least they have given themselves a chance. Don't forget Aussies won in 1999 without carrying any points from previous round in super six.