Non-stop action with plenty of bling- IPL 4 rules the roost

This year's IPL started with a bang and continues to enchant fans with the many fireworks that this sought after league has to offer. The inauguration for this year's IPL was held in Chennai amidst great pomp and attraction, with the King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan, himself, grooving to some local Tamil songs. As the entertainment continued to roll adding great cheer and vibrancy during the inauguration ceremony, the crowds were treated to a glimpse of all the captains of the 10 teams as they came forward to sign on the glass boards. The moment was electric and the memories unforgettable.

The initial response to the 4th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was lukewarm owing to the ICC cricket world cup that had ended just a week ahead of the start of the IPL season. However, Indians proved once again that their hunger for cricket was insatiable. As the matches wore on, the crowds started flooding the stadiums supporting their favourite teams

The Indian premier league has set fire to the Indian cricket fans' hunger with a format that sets one's pulse racing throughout. Nail biting finishes and razor edge matches are witnessed every time with no dull moments. The twenty 20 is truly an acknowledgement of the fast paced life evidenced in the current generation, where time is limited but the entertainment factor is maintained high.

The twenty 20 format as such has been receiving good reviews from various quarters. The limited overs ensure that the game does not drag on for long and the results are out within a matter of 3 hours. With the bowling overs being limited to twenty, there is an increase in the pressure on the players to perform exceedingly well every ball, unlike in the 50 over match or in the tests where the batsmen usually wait for a bad ball to punish the bowler. This has resulted in the batsmen attempting to hit almost every ball over the fence. The number of sixes and fours has catapulted tremendously, keeping the eager cricket fan glued to the match and waiting for ever more.

Initial apprehensions regarding the future of the IPL after the exit of its former chairman Lalit Modi were soon quelled as the games began. The current chairman Chirayu Amin has steered this vessel successfully and continued the legacy of the Indian Premier League, pushing its boundaries and improving its impact factor with the huge audience that this league enjoys.

IPL 4 has added two new teams which would take the current list of teams to 10. The 2 new teams include Pune warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The list of teams and their captains include

S.No	Team	Captain
1	Chennai Super Kings	M.S.Dhoni
2	Deccan Chargers	Kumar Sangakkara
3	Delhi Daredevils	Virendra Sehwag
4	Kings XI Punjab	AC Gilchrist
5	Kochi Tuskers Kerala	Mahela Jayawardena
6	Kolkata Knight Riders	Gautam Gambhir
7	Mumbai Indians	Sachin Tendulkar
8	Pune Warriors India	Yuvraj Singh
9	Rajasthan Royals	Shane Warne
10	Royal Challengers Bangalore	Daniel Vettori

The IPL 4 was also witness to a fresh selection of teams as each player is contractually signed for a period of three years. The previous edition of IPL saw the last of the existing teams, opening doors for the various team managements to select a fresh lot of players for their team. There was intense bidding for many of the players and most teams spent huge amounts of money to get the players that they wanted on their side. Some of the expensive bidding was for players like Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan and Rohit Sharma who raised 2.1million USD each, Gautam Gambhir raised 2.4 million USD and so on.

There have been a few changes introduced into the selection of teams which will play the finals and that include the playoffs. In this format a qualifier match will be played between the first 2 teams in the points table, this match is called the qualifier as the losing team will still have a chance to reach the final. An elimination match will be played by the teams that finish 3rd and 4th in the points table; this match is called the elimination match as the team that loses this match forfeits chances to go to the final. The team that wins the elimination match will have to play another match with the team that loses in the first qualifier match. The team that wins this second qualifier match will have to play with the team that won the first qualifier resulting in the most awaited final. This change in the strategy of play has been designed to support teams that have been playing consistently throughout the tournament and are, therefore, among the top 2 in the points table. A lot of team captains have supported this change, encouraging the move.

IPL 4 has delivered more than the previous sessions, with interesting inclusions like the play offs and the use of traditional state dances by certain teams instead of the usual cheerleaders. Such novel changes have promoted the sport further and provided complete and total entertainment for the crowd.