Wonders with BOUNDLESS TIME!!!!!!!!!!

As the IPL gains momentum, there is only one thing that can be said without malice: Twenty20, as was feared, is not going to be swept away by the stormy young petrel of the game. In the inaugural year, there was reason for alarm though: the so-called veterans seemed completely out of place and visibly struggled with the hustle and bustle of the nano version of cricket. Royal Challengers were the perfect example as their ragtag army of Test players bitterly finished seventh.

In the second year, however, there were signs of a turnaround: led by the irrepressible Anil Kumble, midway through the tournament, the Challengers clawed their way back all the way to Number Two. In Threeller, they are clearly the team to beat, along with Mumbai Indians.

Interestingly, the man leading the charge this time is Jaques Kallis: the burly all-rounder, despite all the right skills, is made in the orthodox mould; he prefers to play the waiting game. So far, however, he has only been attacking with the candor of a fresher.

The young bullies, of course, thrive on confidence, bordering on recklessness; the seasoned pros, on the other hand, survive on the principle of reinvention. You don’t have to look beyond Sachin Tendulkar to understand this transformation.

The ageless warrior has been in imperial form for close to eight months now; in the IPL though, he has been, both, a shrewd general and a valiant soldier. He yields the stage to the Tares, Tiwaris and Dhawans when the going is good; at the right moment, though, he is ready to play the big gun.

After this duo, however, the batting leaderboard is a mixture of young, not-so-young and the old. Fascinatingly, the bowling list is also topped by a wily old hand, and a spinner at that: Muthiah Muralitharan; chasing him is his mate Chaminda Vaas, who is desperately trying to get back into the Sri Lankan scheme of things.

Beyond the charge of the old brigade, though, the script looks fairly familiar: the Knight Riders, after an initial bluster, are on familiar territory. They lost their next three games.

The Royals, on the other hand, have retrieved their winning ways and Shane Warne his magic touch: three straight wins confirm that he can never be counted out. They have risen to Number Three already, and as long as Yusuf Pathan breathes and heaves, dangerous shall remain their second name.

At the moment, Preity Zinta’s dimples look sharper than her Kings; her team has plummeted to the bottom, failing to strike the right balance and groping with the bat as well as ball. Hopefully, she will have something to smile about with the return of Brett Lee.

The Chargers, Daredevils and Super Kings are experiencing the same old rigmarole though: a smile followed by a groan followed by a smile followed by a groan. This is probably the best time to make the move as the players are likely to lower their guard just a little bit; a week later, as the race turns into a scramble, it will be that much tougher to stay cool and play at your best. That is when experience will become crucial, when the veterans will have to summon all their wisdom to tide over the war-like situation in the middle.