Even though the weather may not have been the best, the opening weekend of the 2009 Indian Premier League in Cape Town provided some red-hot action. The Mumbai Indians, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers recorded wins in the opening weekend.Out of the four winners, the Daredevils have been tipped as early favourites for this year's title even though their depth in batting hasn't been tested yet. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir showed why they're regarded as the most explosive opening pairing in the tournament, blasting 58 runs within the f! irst four overs of their rain-interrupted match against the Kings Eleven Punjab. That turned out to be enough for the Daredevils to record a 10-wicket win on the Duckworth/Lewis method.
The Deccan Chargers last night showed quite literally that they're a completely different side to the one who ended stone-last in the inaugural IPL last year. They've swapped their beige strip for a deep blue uniform and the restructure in the management team also seems to have helped. The Chargers gave absolutely nothing away in their match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, eventually restricting Sha Rukh Khan's team to 101 all out. Herschelle Gibbs was at his brilliant best, scoring a majestic 43 not out to guide the Chargers to an eight-wicket victory.
The Bangalore Royal Challengers also look a different side under Kevin Pietersen's leadership. The early log leaders reduced the Rajasthan Royals to 58 all out in their match, the lowest total ever in the IPL's short ! history.
Sachin Tendulkar showed why he's regarded ! by many as the world's leading batsman. He handled the tough weather conditions like the pro that he is and helped the Mumbai Indians to 165 for 7, scoring 59 of those runs. In reply, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Flintoff gave the Chennai Super Kings a chance but in the end they fell 19 runs short.
All in all, a start to the tournament that has exceeded many expectations and it can only get better from here.
