Gayle left out of squad to face India

	Chris Gayle was the Player of the Tournament in the IPL, but is not being considered for the West Indies side

Chris Gayle remains out of favour with the West Indies Cricket board (WICB) after his controversial radio interview last month and has not been included in the squad for the Twenty20 game and the first two ODIs against India. Despite Gayle finishing as the leading run-getter in the IPL, the board has said it will not consider him for selection until it meets with him.

Allrounder Kieron Pollard is back in the side for the first two ODIs, while the fast bowler Kemar Roach has been rested for the Trinidad leg of the series due to his heavy workload.

The uncapped left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, of Jamaica, has been picked in the Twenty20 squad, which otherwise has no changes from the XI that beat Pakistan in St Lucia in April. Pollard and Dwayne Bravo could not be included in the Twenty20 outfit having not played in the most recent Caribbean Twenty20 tournament, which is part of the WICB selection criteria.

The selectors were also unwilling to choose Gayle, who slammed the West Indies board on radio after he was not picked in the squad to take on Pakistan last month. In a statement naming the squad to face India, the WICB explained the omission of Gayle, who was named as the Player of the Tournament in the IPL.

"Chris Gayle will not be considered for selection to the West Indies team before an intended meeting with himself, the selection committee, the WICB management and the West Indies team management," the statement said. "The selection committee views this meeting as necessary as a result of Gayle's comments in a widely publicised radio interview in Jamaica."

There was also no room for Jerome Taylor, who like Gayle claimed the WICB failed to contact him about how he was recovering from an injury until after he had departed for the IPL. The selection committee said in the statement that Taylor must play a full season of regional cricket to prove his fitness for international level.

The opening batsman Adrian Barath has returned to low-intensity cricket in Trinidad but is still undergoing rehabilitation after suffering a serious hamstring injury before the World Cup, and it is expected he will be fit for the Tests against India. Following Saturday's Twenty20 in Trinidad, West Indies and India play two ODIs there, before heading to Antigua to continue the series.

Twenty20 squad: Lendl Simmons, Andre Fletcher (wk), Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Danza Hyatt, Darren Sammy (capt), Christopher Barnwell, Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul, Krishmar Santokie.

Squad for first two ODIs: Lendl Simmons, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy (capt), Carlton Baugh (wk), Andre Russell, Anthony Martin, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul.

Finn favourite to replace Anderson

	James Anderson was impressive in the first Test before being injured

England will name their replacement for James Anderson at 9am on Tuesday morning, after it was confirmed that the fast bowler will miss Friday's Lord's Test against Sri Lanka after sustaining a grade one side strain during the second day's play of the series opener in Cardiff.

Aside from a brief appearance as nightwatchman, Anderson did not feature in the latter stages of the match. However, his absence was not felt by his team-mates as they surged to an incredible innings-and-14-run victory after bowling Sri Lanka out for 82 in just 24.4 overs on the final afternoon of the match.

Nevertheless, England will miss his new-ball abilities at Lord's, a venue where he has claimed 36 wickets in nine appearances, including two of his ten five-wicket hauls. "It's a very slight side strain, but you have to take these things on a case-by-case basis," said England's captain, Andrew Strauss. "Hopefully he'll be around for the third Test, but we can't guarantee it."

In Anderson's absence, the likeliest replacement isSteven Finn, who was named in their 12-man squad for Cardiff but was omitted on the morning of the match. As a Middlesex man, he is familiar with the Lord's wicket, and should he be chosen alongside Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett, England's three-man pace attack would rank among the tallest of all time.

However, Strauss indicated that, for variety's sake, the Lord's squad would include the option of a shorter pace man - probably Ajmal Shahzad, although the fit-again Graham Onions is also a candidate for selection at a venue where he claimed four wickets in seven balls on debut against West Indies in 2009. "We certainly want the option of a skiddier bowler, but whether he makes the final XI is another matter," said Strauss.

Anderson was the pick of England's pace attack on the second day of the match and produced a superb spell of swing bowling during the morning session to remove Mahela Jayawardene, but spent time off the field during the afternoon and was only able to bowl one over after tea before heading back to the dressing room.

"It's a huge concern for us," said his new-ball partner Stuart Broad, who was himself ruled out of the latter stages of the Ashes after sustaining a side injury during the Adelaide Test in December. "He felt a bit of tightness in the back and side, and I know what side injuries are all about after this winter. If you do get a little bit of pain it's not great, so we're being pretty cautious."

SL ministry to investigate Tharanga's failed doping test

	The banned substance, prednisolone, is a drug for asthma, a condition from which Upul Tharanga is said to suffer

The Sri Lankan sports minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, has named a three-member panel to look into Upul Tharanga's failed doping test.

"The minister appointed the ministry secretary Udaya Seneviratne, Dr. Geethanjana Mendis and Dr. Maiya Gunasekera to investigate," Harsha Abeykoon, the sports ministry media spokesman, said. "They will be recording a statement from Tharanga," .

Tharanga is also set to face an ICC inquiry, aftertesting positive during the 2011 World Cup for the banned substance prednisolone - a drug for asthma, a condition from which he is said to suffer.

According to the ICC's anti-doping code, "It is each player's personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substance enters his/her body. A player is responsible for any prohibited substance found to be present in his or her sample. Accordingly, it is not necessary that intent, fault, negligence or knowing use on the player's part be demonstrated in order to establish an anti-doping violation under Article 2.1; nor is the player's lack of intent, fault, negligence or knowledge a defence to a charge that an anti-doping rule violation has been committed under Article 2.1."

However, if a player needs to take a drug that is on the World Anti-Doping Authority's (WADA's) banned list in order to treat an illness, he is required to apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). The Therapeutic Use Exemption Committee (TUEC) evaluates all applications for TUEs received by ICC.

Under the dope-testing process, if a player's A sample is found to contain a banned substance, he will have the option of asking for his B sample to be tested as well. If his B sample is also found to be positive, then the player could face a provisional suspension until the ICC carries out its inquiry; if the B sample is negative, the investigation is discontinued. It is uncertain how far into the process the ICC is with regard to the Sri Lanka cricketer.

Pakistan edge past fighting Ireland

Pakistan 242 for 5 (Younis 64, Akmal 60) beat Ireland 238 for 8 (Stirling 109, Ajmal 4-35) by five wickets

	Paul Stirling's ton came off 94 balls

A brilliant, belligerent century by Paul Stirling wasn't enough to take Ireland to victory over Pakistan in the second ODI. A solid innings of 64 by Younis Khan ensured the visitors were not embarrassed and took the two match RSA Series in Belfast 2-0.

Stirling played an innings that alternated between control and raw aggression as he racked up his third ODI century, his first against a Full Member. It helped set Pakistan a target of 239, which they achieved with eight balls to spare, but not before their most experienced batsmen rescued them from a tricky situation as Ireland's celebrated fielders tightened the screws.

Stirling's innings showed great maturity for a man who has his critics in Irish cricket. He has too often been a player who raced to thrilling thirties and forites, but rarely went on. His previous highest score against a Full Member was just 52.

But an Irish record one-day score of 177 against Canada in September showed what could be achieved and he round off the recent World Cup with a blistering ton against Netherlands. That innings was the third-fastest century in the competition's history, behind only Kevin O'Brien and Matthew Hayden.

He thrashed three sixes and seven fours in his innings of 109, which backboned Ireland's total of 238 for eight.

On the pitch used for Saturday's rain affected game - and after a day of warm sun in between - William Porterfield opted to take first use.

Ireland persevered with their decision to promote Ed Joyce to open, although the Sussex batsman was rarely fluent as Junaid Khan and Umar Gul made use of the overcast conditions.

Stirling, meanwhile, played in his usual manner and was 38 when Ireland passed fifty. Misbah turned to the spin of Saeed Ajmal and Mohammed Hafeez to slow things down, and was immediately rewarded with the wicket of Joyce. Ajmal extracted some extra bounce and Joyce edged to Mohammed Salman with the total on 65.

Porterfield joined Stirling and was at the other end as he reached his fifty off 43 balls. The pair hoisted the hundred in the 22nd over when Stirling hoicked the ball over wide mid-on for six.

Pakistan preferred Hammad Azam to Tanvir Ahmed and the Rawalpindi bowler's gentle medium proved useful in the conditions. But it was Mohammed Hafeez who dismissed Porterfield, bowled for 15.

Stirling was watchful to the spinners and the rate slowed as Ajmal extracted turn on his way to 4 for 35. Stirling raced into the nineties with a sumptuous cover drive but took six more overs to reach 100, which he did with a straight drive past the bowler Azam. He passed the century mark in 94 balls.

Rain - which threatened several times - eventually forced the players off for 15 minutes, but no overs were lost.

Alex Cusack played a typical innings as second foil to a more aggressive batsman, and took the total to 174 before he fell charging Ajmal. He fell in the second over of the Powerplay, which Ireland struggled to exploit.

Stirling was dropped by Junaid who made an awful hash of a gentle hook to fine leg off Saeed. But Junaid made amends next ball when he bowled Stirling for 109. Gary Wilson came out to cheers in his 100th appearance for Ireland, but although he hit the last two balls of the Powerplay for four, the five-over period yielded a miserable 23 for 2.

Wilson hit a breezy 33 off 25 balls, but Ireland's total was probably 30-40 short of expectations as Pakistan prevented them accelerating at the death.

Mohammed Hafeez fell in the second over as he mistimed a drive off Trent Johnston, but ODI debutant Azhar Ali and Taufeeq Umar steadied the ship in the face of accurate bowling from Boyd Rankin. The big Warwickshire man extracted bounce and pace in his nine overs, claiming Azhar to a sharp slip catch.

At 80 for 3 Pakistan needed steady hands and were able to turn to Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. The pair have played 300 ODIs between them - more than the whole Irish team - and were able to dictate the pace from there.

The partnership consolidated, scoring one boundary and 30 runs off the first ten overs, but as the clouds loomed they put in a mini-charge to ensure they went ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis calculation.

With the score on 148 John Mooney induced the thinnest of nicks off Misbah, who seemed reluctant to depart, but his wicket gave Ireland renewed hope. The feisty Umar Akmal came in and took the game by the scruff though, smashing three sixes in an innings of 60 off 48 balls.

All the while Younis Khan was accumulating while Ireland fought for every run. Porterfield at cover saved a dozen runs as Stirling, Joyce and Mooney ensured the ring was hard to pierce.

Having hit just two boundaries getting to 48, Younis dragged the ball into the crowd at midwicket to complete his fifty. He perished chipping to Kevin O'Brien off Cusack trying to hit the winning runs.

Stirling was named as Man of the Match, but it was Pakistan's day.

Lillee's keeper, and losing from 500

	Warren Bardsley waited nearly 14 years between Test centuries

Is it true that only one wicketkeeper other than Rodney Marsh assisted Dennis Lillee in a Test dismissal? asked Bob Langford from Australia
The answer is yes - the only other wicketkeeper to take a catch off Lillee in a Test was Tasmania'sRoger Woolley, in a match against Sri Lanka in Kandy in April 1983. He caught Sidath Wettimuny in the first innings and the other opener, Susil Fernando, in the second. Marsh took 95 catches off Lillee - still the record for a fielder-bowler combination in Tests - but he was unavailable for that short tour, although he hadn't quite retired.

Woolley, a fine keeper who was unfortunate that his career coincided with Marsh's, won one further Test cap, in the West Indies early in 1984. He was the first Tasmania player to represent Australia in a Test since Laurie Nash in 1931-32.

Which team was once 353 for 1 at the end of the opening day of a first-class match, yet lost by an innings? asked Michael Jones via Facebook
I was intrigued by this question, and had just found the answer when it was posted by another avid Facebook user, Pete Church from Australia. The game in question was an English County Championship match in Northampton in 1995, when Nottinghamshire were riding high at 353 for 1 at the end of the first day. Tim Robinson (who went on to make 209) and Graeme Archer (158) had put on nearly 300. Nottinghamshire reached 527 next day - but Northamptonshire replied with 781 for 7, including four individual centuries, before declaring. Probably rather surprised to find themselves 254 behind, Notts were bowled out on the fourth and final day for 157 (Anil Kumble had the fine figures of 39.1-21-43-5) and lost by an innings and 97. Nottinghamshire's 527 remains the highest total in first-class history by a team who ended up losing by an innings. Wisden reported that "Northamptonshire's victory, achieved with 17 balls to spare, went beyond the merely extraordinary into the realms of the apparently impossible."

I assume that Murali has the most wickets in England-Sri Lanka Tests. But who's next? asked Jonathan Dwyer from Surrey
Muttiah Muralitharan does indeed lead the way in England-Sri Lanka Tests, with 112 wickets in only 16 matches at the splendid average of 20.06. That included four ten-wicket hauls, foremost among them his 16 for 220 at The Oval in 1998. Murali actually has more than twice as many wickets as anyone else: next comes his long-time confederate Chaminda Vaas, who took 49 wickets against England at 31.36 apiece. In third place is the leading Englishman, Matthew Hoggard, with 37 at 29.86.

Taufeeq Umar scored a Test century against West Indies almost eight years after his last one. Is this a record gap? asked Mahela Silva from Sri Lanka
Taufeeq Umar, whose previous Test century to last week's 135 against West Indies in St Kitts was 111 against South Africa in Lahore in October 2003, is quite high on this particular list - but not quite at the top. The longest gap between Test centuries is just short of 14 years, by the Australian Warren Bardsley: after his 164 against South Africa at Lord's in July 1912, his next Test century did not come until June 1926, when he carried his bat for 193 against England, again at Lord's. That gap included the First World War, and the longest between Test centuries when no war was involved is almost 10 years, by another Australian, Bob Simpson. He made 109 against India in Melbourne on New Year's Day, 1968, shortly before his original retirement from Test cricket. But he made a surprise return 10 seasons later to lead an Australian side ravaged by defections to World Series Cricket, and - playing India again - made 176 in his second Test back, in Perth in December 1977.

Has anyone ever finished on the winning side in 100 Test matches? And who's the record-holder for ODIs? asked Keith Clarke from London
No one has won 100 Test matches… yet. Top of the list is Ricky Ponting, who has so far finished on the winning side on 99 occasions. Next come Shane Warne (92), Steve Waugh (86), Glenn McGrath (84), Adam Gilchrist (73), Mark Waugh (72), Matthew Hayden (71), Justin Langer (70) and - the first non-Australian - Mark Boucher (70). Ponting also leads the way in one-day internationals, having finished on the winning side on 254 occasions so far. Next come Sanath Jayasuriya (233), Sachin Tendulkar (230), Inzamam-ul-Haq (215), Adam Gilchrist and Muttiah Muralitharan (202) and Jacques Kallis (201). The current leader in Twenty20 internationals is Shahid Afridi, with 26, one ahead of his team-mate Kamran Akmal.

Who is the oldest player to score his first Test century? asked James Tiver via Facebook
The oldest man to complete his maiden Test century was the South African Dave Nourse - appropriately, perhaps, he was often known as "Old Dave" - who was a couple of months short of his 43rd birthday when he made 111 against Australia at the Old Wanderers ground in Johannesburg in November 1921. Five other batsmen scored their first Test century after their 39th birthday (but before passing 40), including Peter Kirsten, who made 104 for South Africa against England at Headingley in 1994. 

A tale of three legspinners

	Amit Mishra has a classic legspinner's action but he loses out on bounce by bending his front leg at the point of delivery

We may have well seen the last of Shane Warne in a competitive game, but we haven't seen the last of his art yet. He may no longer roll his arm and spin magic, but he continues to make a strong case for his clan. Warne's legacy will be an effective blueprint for generations of aspiring spinners, who will now have a look at videos of him to pick up a lesson or two. Legspin is one of the toughest crafts to perfect, but once you've mastered it, like Warne clearly had, you can aim to win matches in all formats.

Warne had an almost perfect legspinner's action: side-on, bowled with a slightly round arm but with the wrist cocked. He drifted the ball in the air and got spin off the surface - usually only enough to get the edge. He also varied the pace and trajectory with consummate ease. But above all he was shrewd enough to decipher the batsman, formulate the right plan and execute it with precision.

It might be interesting to take a look at three young Indian practitioners of the same art: Piyush Chawla, part of India's World Cup-winning campaign, Amit Mishra, who replaced Chawla in the team for the West Indies, and Rahul Sharma, arguably the most impressive bowler in this IPL.

Unlike Warne, Piyush Chawla has an open bowling action. With such an action, you see the batsman from inside the non-bowling arm, while with a side-on action, you see the batsman from over or through the leading arm. Most legspinners prefer a side-on action because it not only allows them to bowl with a slightly rounder arm, which is essential to impart side spin, but also allows them to rotate the hip by pivoting on the front toe, and thus putting the weight of the body behind the ball. When you look from inside the non-bowling arm, you bowl with a high-arm action and have an insignificant pivot. It's much like with fast bowlers, where outswing bowlers prefer the closed action and inswing bowlers an open action.

Since spinning the ball across the right-hand batsman isn't his forte, Chawla bowls from the corner of the crease to make his wrong 'un more effective. His open action allows him to bowl a googly a lot more efficiently than most legspinners. A traditional spinner will have to make significant change in his action (from round-arm to high-arm) and go to the corner of the crease, so the trajectory starts from outside off stump. These changes are often a giveaway but not with Chawla. However, his high-arm action and delivery from the corner of the crease impair his ability to bowl a more orthodox legspinner's line, i.e. on middle and leg stump. Unless he gets some serious drift in the air, he has to really push the ball towards leg to change the line. And that's when he ends up slipping it down the leg side - the lack of spin doesn't allow the ball to spin back towards the off stump.

Playing Chawla As a batsman you must keep a close eye on his googly. Since it turns a lot more and is a lot quicker in the air and off the surface - a rarity - don't go back or play a horizontal shot. Even though he isn't a big turner of the ball, his point of delivery dictates that his line is mostly outside off, so you must go close to the ball while stepping out, else you run the risk of not getting close enough. Since he bowls fairly quick, you can also use that pace to pinch singles.

	Sharma is the tallest of the three, and so he gets the most bounce. His high-arm open action ensures he makes the most of his height, but it also means he compromises on spin off the surface

Amit Mishra has an ideal legspinner's action, being fairly side-on, and he also bowls with a slightly round arm. He tries to get close to the stumps and imparts a lot of side spin on the ball. But he has a long bowling stride, with the front leg bent at the point of delivery, which effectively reduces his height during delivery, and hence the bounce he could potentially extract. Mishra started out as a big turner of the ball, which worked fine at the domestic level, but after a year or so of international cricket, he realised he had to stop turning it too much, lest he miss the edge. He was bowling the right lines, turning the ball, but wickets eluded him. So he learnt to cock his wrist, not only to control the spin but to get a bit more bounce. While he's fairly accurate with his line and length and banks on beating the batsman in the air, the lack of pace off the surface works against him: even when the batsman makes an error he can often adjust because of the lack of pace.

Playing Mishra You should always be wary of his spin and completely sure before going down the track; if you stay slightly away from the ball, it might mean you miss it entirely. Also it's necessary to play in the second line and cover the spin. Play with the spin and not against it, otherwise there's a good chance of edging the ball. For instance, unless you get to the pitch of the ball, don't hit straight; instead, target the gap over extra cover. Since his deliveries don't hurry on to you, it's best to stay on the back foot.

Rahul Sharma is the tallest of the three and so he gets the most bounce. He is possibly the most accurate legspinner on the Indian circuit, and his height has something to do with it. The taller the bowler, the better his chances of hitting the same spot more often and with accuracy. Sharma's high-arm open action ensures he makes the most of his height, but it also means he compromises on spin off the surface. He does not get too close to the stumps, nor does he go to the corner of the crease; he mostly stays in the middle of the box. He tries to bowl as straight as possible, with the length slightly on the shorter side to make the most of the steep bounce he generates. But while the bounce works in his favour, the lack of side spin works against him. He does impart a lot of overspin on the ball, which complements the bounce, but the position of his feet and the direction his toes are pointing in at the crease don't allow him to get much spin. His leading toes point towards third man instead of fine leg, which means he doesn't pivot a lot while delivering the ball. He must develop a googly to go with his topspinners or he runs the risk of becoming a one-trick pony.

Playing Sharma Back yourself to play him through the line and on the up, but keep your hands slightly higher up the handle than with other spinners. If you don't take the bounce into account while putting bat to ball, you'll find the ball eluding the sweet spot and hitting higher on the bat. Since he bowls quicker and flatter, avoid going down the track, for you won't have enough time for a successful advance. But that also means you can use the bounce to get under the ball while staying inside the crease.

Too drained to care

	Rain on our parade: the IPL intruded on fans' memories of the World Cup win

Having retained the IPL in front of a sea of yellow on Saturday, MS Dhoni was asked the customary question about how the crowds had been this season. "Every Indian on earth wanted us to win the World Cup," Dhoni said. "After the World Cup, they were a bit relaxed emotionally."

The World Cup? Does that ring a bell? It wasn't long ago that India went delirious after Dhoni lifted that particular trophy, on the night of April 2. Long-awaited revelry broke out in Mumbai. In Ahmedabad. In Siliguri. I remember arriving home at half-past-three the morning after the final to find my room-mate still crying as he watched the winning moments over and over on his laptop. Why?

To a generation that had grown up thinking Sachin Tendulkar was the best thing to have ever happened to cricket, 1983 was known only as a relic to be revered. Secretly they hoped there would come a day when Tendulkar would be carried on the shoulders of his team-mates; and that that day would not have to be his last on the field for India.

World titles arouse extreme passions. Stinging self-examinations greet the dethroning of monarchs. Ask Australia. Nations that have never tasted success spend years agonising, and when the moment finally comes, there is no holding back the emotions. Ask Greece. Those that have had one glimpse of glory in the past work themselves into a frenzy of expectation on each successive occasion, only to be left wondering if that next title will ever come. Ask England.

India had been in England's boat for 28 years. When Kapil Dev's side won, it had been a huge surprise; the nation wasn't used to expecting anything in those times. Liberalisation gave rise to a much more demanding generation. A semi-final finish in 1996, worthy of celebration during another era, brought reprisals. Then came the class of 2003, which blew away almost all opposition before losing the final. They earned respect, but clearly, being second-best was not what fast-changing India wanted.

Now arrived the generation that, having grown up in the consumerist era, craved instant gratification and instant achievement; wanted an opportunity to bask in what was believed - with some justification too - to be the long-overdue cricketing arrival of the world's second-fastest growing economy.

That moment came on April 2, but ironically, it wasn't going to be savoured. There wouldn't even be a victory parade, like the one that had brought Mumbai's traffic to a standstill after the 2007 World Twenty20 triumph. There was more cricket to be played, of the IPL kind. Within six days. There was going to be no happy hangover.

Barely had the fan taken off on the wings of Dhoni's liberating six when he was brought crashing down by the sight of his captain, decked in canary yellow, at a pre-IPL press conference. The bat-twirling conqueror of April 2 already seemed distant. It was time for the fan to mutate into a consumer of club cricket.

Just how do you deal in five days with something that has happened after 28 years? The cycle that had begun with a grinning Kapil on the Lord's balcony had just been completed by the sight of Tendulkar being carried around the Wankhede Stadium by Harbhajan Singh and Virat Kohli. Now Kohli would take the field against Tendulkar in the IPL, the first week of which would seem "confusing" to him.

When the IPL schedule was announced, the talking point was the short interval between the World Cup final and the start of the league. There were concerns expressed about how taxing such a quick turnaround would be for the players, after a physically and emotionally draining World Cup. Scarcely anyone thought about the fans. Of course, there were a few who fretted over them: the IPL franchises and the broadcaster, concerned whether a 51-day event would be too much even for the tireless Indian cricket fan, given that he would have under a week to recover from a 43-day tournament. But when buzzwords like "cricketainment" dominate the landscape, others like "savour" and "reflect" are jettisoned.

The fan himself has had a considerable role to play in the near-demise of those words. Apart from at a few traditional centres, he has stopped going to grounds for Test matches. ODIs are still better off in terms of stadium attendance, but television ratings are no longer what they used to be.

	I remember arriving home at half-past-three in the morning after the World Cup final to find my room-mate still crying as he watched the winning moments over and over on his laptop. Why?

India's World Twenty20 win gave rise to the IPL, which drew capacity crowds as the public lapped up the mix of showbiz and sport. The IPL grew; the highest franchise bid in 2011 was three times that in 2008. India's appetite for the shortest format was seemingly insatiable.

A one-dayer demanded too much of a generation used to communicating in shorthand through Twitter and Facebook. The IPL suited it just fine. Catching the 8pm IPL match with colleagues got added to the to-do list. Two friends and I took turns to go to the Cricket Club of India on a single expensive ticket during an IPL game in 2010 to experience 25,000 Indians shouting "Malinga, Malinga". An hour for each person.

The CCI and the Wankhede used to be empty arenas apart from when they were allotted the odd Test or one-dayer. There were less than 50 takers for Garware Pavilion tickets that cost Rs 50 each for the Ranji Trophy game between Mumbai and Karnataka in November 2007. Those who had turned up were Rahul Dravid supporters, upset after he had been "rested" for the final ODI against Australia.

Months later, during the inaugural IPL, tickets for the same Garware Pavilion cost tens of times more than what they had for the Ranji match. Sold out. Seven times during the IPL season, a galaxy of international stars put up three-hour displays of "cricketainment". To watch Tendulkar captain Malinga cost a bomb, but who cared? What could be better than leaving your office in Nariman Point at seven in the evening, catching a three-hour game at the CCI and tweeting about it on the way home?

A World Cup win, it turned out. The smartphone-wielding professional, who was expected to gorge on fast-food cricket, found that he wanted to stop and savour the World title, still simmering fresh in his memory. To his dismay, he found that luxury had been snatched from him. Suddenly, a league that was supposedly tailor-made for him seemed flat and colourless in comparison to the "real thing".

As a friend said, "It was so unfair. You felt cheated, in a manner. You found yourself craving for some more time, maybe a week more, when, in fact, that time should have been your right." This friend, who had travelled to Bangalore, Nagpur and Mohali to follow the Indian team during the World Cup, didn't go to a single Mumbai Indians game this season. He works a kilometre away from the Wankhede.

A World Cup takes a lot out of fans. Passionately supporting a team requires considerable time and patience. The return on emotion invested is usually so fluctuating that when a fan encounters a bull phase in the form of a cathartic victory, he wants to cash in and take some time off. Getting bombarded with a 74-game event within a week, the first match of which involves his World Cup-winning captain leading a Sri Lankan and a South African, can wait.

Dhoni knew it all along. "They [fans] thought, 'We [will] pick up the IPL a bit later'," he said. "They were emotionally drained along with the players."

A cut above the rest

	Chennai were outright ruthless in the play-offs, trumping their closest rivals twice, with the assurance of a side that is used to winning

Chennai Super Kings

It is fair to say Chennai won the IPL with their auction strategy. They retained MS Dhoni, Albie Morkel, Suresh Raina and M Vijay ahead of the bidding, and then repurchased R Ashwin, Doug Bollinger, S Badrinath, Michael Hussey and Shadab Jakati. While the other teams spent time feeling their way into the season, familiarity in the ranks allowed Chennai to hit the ground running. The core was intact, and the new additions - Tim Southee, Dwayne Bravo, Suraj Randiv and Wriddhiman Saha - played their parts whenever called upon.

They were unbeaten, and looked unbeatable at Chepauk, but that was only one aspect of Chennai's home advantage. No other franchise could command the depth of home-grown talent that Badrinath, Ashwin and Vijay provided Chennai with. Unsurprisingly, the franchise's identity continues to revolve around the strong local flavour, while other franchises are yet to nail this particular aspect of their brand-building.

Dhoni remained influential as captain, and devastating with bat, hitting more sixes in the tournament than anyone who wasn't Chris Gayle. Once the play-offs began, Chennai were outright ruthless, trumping their closest rivals twice, with the assurance of a side that is used to winning. Consistency is a tough act to perfect in the unpredictable climes of Twenty20, but Chennai will begin their defence of the Champions League in September as favourites once again. And when IPL 2012 rolls around, don't bet against them, not least because the final will once again be played at their fortress.

Best moment: Ashwin's classic dismissal of Gayle in the final, setting him up with two offbreaks, before nailing him with a slider.

Worst moment: The hammering at Paul Valthaty's hands, which coincided with Chennai's only shoddy fielding performance of the season.

Key player: Badrinath provided the crucial conduit between Chennai's play-makers in the top order and their game-breakers in the middle. He produced five sublime half-centuries, excelling in both crisis and fill-your-boots situations, and scored at a strike-rate of 126.51 without playing a single unattractive shot.

Flop: None

Must-do for 2012: Chennai have perfected their methods over two seasons, and should be in good stead as long as they can repeat them next year.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Terming Bangalore a one-man army would be a disservice to their well-rounded bowling attack, and to Virat Kohli's tremendous impact at No. 3. A year from now, though, most will remember IPL 2011 as Chris Gayle's tournament. Bangalore will be working overtime to find a loophole that allows them to retain him in their fold; if they don't someone else will snap him up at the first available opportunity.

In many ways, this was a breakthrough season for Bangalore, having let their biggest names go in spite of strong performances in the last two editions. Their faith in youth wasn't misplaced, though a couple of their big-ticket buys did disappoint. S Aravind and Syed Mohammad showed that Twenty20 excellence can come from unexpected quarters, but Saurabh Tiwary was a pale shadow of his swaggering 2010 version. AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan struggled to match the lofty standards they set during the World Cup, but as long as Gayle was on song nothing seemed to matter. Bangalore had no trouble replacing Dilshan at the top once he left for England, but the rustiness in their lower middle-order probably caught up with them in the final. That, and the remorseless scheduling that left them having to play their last three games in four days, in two cities.

Best moment: The moment Chris Gayle signed on the dotted line.

Worst moment: The poor start to the final, when a needless overthrow allowed Chennai to shift gears and chug away to a quick start.

Key player: Bangalore lost only four of the 12 games Gayle played in. He did well in all the games they won, and was Man of the Match in six. He slammed more runs than anyone else in the tournament, and hit more than twice the number of sixes anyone else did, despite missing the first four matches.

Flop: Saurabh Tiwary was a big letdown, considering Bangalore paid USD 1.6 million for his services. He looked out of place at No. 6, and out of depth when he had to get going quickly in the end overs. A classic case of second-season blues.

Must-do for 2012: Bangalore will want to reassess their batting line-up which looked top-heavy right through the season. Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Kaif aren't ideal options for the end overs, and they might consider pushing Kohli or de Villiers to No. 5.

	Mumbai found some late inspiration to go past Kolkata, but succumbed to some poor decisions in the final play-off against Bangalore

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai had the best bowling attack in the tournament, and yet spluttered to a disappointing third-place finish. Inevitably, the batting was the problem, and Mumbai somehow never came close to addressing the issue. Sachin Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu began the season well, but in the latter stages, struggled to score their runs fast enough. Tendulkar opened the batting with a different partner almost every game, and once Davy Jacobs was injured, the opening combination became a lottery of sorts.

Kieron Pollard was a huge disappointment with bat and ball, though he produced more than his share of wow moments on the field. Rohit Sharma's IPL avatar once again confused and confounded fans who are used to seeing him fritter away opportunities at the highest level. James Franklin produced two inspired performances to haul Mumbai past a nervous Kolkata, but that late resurgence ended too soon.

Lasith Malinga had a splendid season, while Munaf Patel's unflappability earned him a rich haul. Harbhajan Singh too excelled, relying on flight and out-thinking batsmen, notably with the new ball. Yet, Mumbai chose to ignore those options, and entrusted the unheralded Abu Nechim with the opening over in the final play-off. Against Gayle. In a knock-out situation. It typified the sort of muddled thinking that held Mumbai back this year. The over went for 27, Mumbai sleep-walked through the remaining 39, and that was the end of that.

Best moment: Rayudu slamming L Balaji's last ball into the stands in their last league game. It was the culmination of a chase that showed just how well Mumbai could bat, but unfortunately for them, it did not happen often enough.

Worst moment: The moment when Tendulkar handed Nechim the ball for the opening over of the final play-off. Things rapidly went downhill from there.

Key player: It is unlikely that any single bowler will ever have the sort of Twenty20 impact that Malinga made on IPL 2011. He was fast, he was ferocious, he delivered yorkers and bouncers with equal felicity and fooled several batsmen with his changes of pace. He finished with 28 wickets for the season, comfortably ahead of the rest of the pack, despite losing a bit of steam towards the end.

Flop: Kieron Pollard scored too few runs, and conceded them with far too much ease when he had the ball. His performances did not justify Mumbai's decision to retain him, despite the fact that he was arguably the best fielder in the tournament.

Must-do for 2012: The top order has to bat with more freedom. Tendulkar holds the key at the top, while Rayudu and Rohit may have to shore up the middle order. Mumbai may also consider giving Andrew Symonds a bigger role with the ball.

Kolkata Knight Riders

For a side that had never finished better than sixth before this season, Kolkata would be pleased and relieved to have finally broken into the top half of the table. In reality, they deserved to finish higher, if not go all the way, and they will forever be rankled by L Balaji's nightmarish 20th over in their final league game.

Still, there were plenty of positives for Kolkata to take from IPL 2011, and they were largely founded upon their decision to cast aside emotion in favour of pragmatism. For too long the Kolkata franchise had been associated too closely with Sourav Ganguly, rising with his smiles and floundering when he frowned. Their biggest accomplishment was the manner in which they introduced their initially diffident supporters (Eden Gardens was close to half empty for Kolkata's first home game) to the post-Ganguly era. They picked wisely at the auction, if somewhat lavishly, and in Gautam Gambhir, they found a worthy successor to Ganguly - demonstrative on the field, and graceful through the off-side. Yusuf Pathan and Jacques Kallis pulled their weight as well, but the real successes were Iqbal Abdulla and Manoj Tiwary.

In hindsight, Kolkata might regret the decision to push their batting arsenal lower down the order, but this is not the time to point fingers. For the first time in their IPL history, Kolkata have a team that looks good enough to go all the way, and that in itself is reason to celebrate, given all that had gone before.

Best moment: Balaji's stunning legcutter that befuddled Shane Watson early in the tournament. It was a ball that announced the new-look Kolkata and gave them the confidence to surge through the league phase

Worst moment: Ironically, Balaji's horror 20th over against Mumbai. He had 21 runs to defend, but served up four hittable full-tosses all of which went to the boundary. Kolkata never woke up from that nightmare, and subsided meekly in the play-offs.

Key player: Yusuf Pathan did not have the kind of batting impact he has had in prior IPL seasons, but that was down to Kolkata's decision to use him very low down. Still, Yusuf made 283 runs at a brisk pace, but he played a far more pivotal role with the ball. His flat offbreaks with the new ball earned him 13 wickets at a miserly 6.10.

Flop: There were no real failures, but Eoin Morgan was probably Kolkata's biggest disappointment. Kolkata were unsure of how best to use him, and perhaps erred in asking him to open. He scored 137 runs at 15.22, and his inability to get going at the top often put pressure on Gambhir and Yusuf.

Must-do for 2012: Gambhir was almost reluctant to open the innings through the season, since Kolkata did not want him and Kallis batting together. Given the depth in their line-up, with players like Ryan ten Doeschate and Shakib-Al-Hasan often wasted in the middle-order, Gambhir should consider opening with Kallis.

Moving season for the IPL

	The IPL hasn't quite connected in its fourth season

Since its inception, the IPL has never been sold or bought in half-measures. Its approach has always been full-throttle, top-volume. Appropriately, then, an assessment of season four must avoid waffling around the half-empty or half-full. Is 2011 to be remembered for the fireworks on the final night at the Yellow Sea of Chepauk? Or the acreage of empty stands at the Wankhede three nights in a row, representative of the general spectator turnout of six weeks? The dazzle of Chris Gayle? Or the Shane Warne-Sanjay Dixit skirmish? Or even more, the dramatic drop in TV ratings from last season? Or should it be the clues sent out to the world by the BCCI and Indian players over next month's tour of the West Indies?

Regardless of what its own "stakeholders" choose as the flavour of their season - sagacity or smugness - 2011 will be regarded as the IPL's "Moving Season". If "moving day" in cricket and golf are about momentum swings and the emergence of contenders, IPL's Moving Season will dictate the future course of the event.

They can, of course, opt for the old "if it ain't broke...", and there's much about the IPL that ain't broke. It still remains cricket's golden goose, with generous salary packets for over 200 overseas and Indian players. The IPL's largest financial deals, starting with franchise ownerships and TV revenues, are tied in for another six years. It features the involvement of some of India's largest corporate houses, men and women with deep pockets and both a love of the limelight and a nose for profit. The IPL can still produce several moments of eye-catching cricket - individual blinders, crafty bowling plans, impossible catches, delicious UltraMotion replays of on-field action.

The IPL also spawned several copycat Twenty20 leagues in Indian state cricket (Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Orissa, to name a few). Its effect is also being felt overseas: Sri Lanka Cricket will launch its own Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) to take place this July-August, controlled entirely by its board. Australia's remodelled Big Bash League will feature an expansion of its field, from six to eight, adding two privately owned teams, one each in Sydney and Melbourne.

Yet 2011 will still be Moving Season because it also put under direct light the IPL's own flaws: that the existence of 10 teams has sucked out the talent pool to a level close to shallow. Even the trimmed number of games - 74, down from a gluttonous dream of 94 - are far too many. It has all led to too few close games, a certain distancing even by India's TV audience from its beloved "cricketainment", and most damningly, empty stands during the playoffs. Even Ravi Shastri found himself all hyped-out when, before the Mumbai-Bangalore qualifier game, he asked one of the captains at the toss, "Your last game was a good, tight one against ... whom did you beat?"

It's not his fault. So much had happened during the 2011 IPL: helicopters landed in Osama Bin Laden's backyard, Indian parliamentarians and corporate honchos went to prison, and most European nations decided it was time their football seasons actually ended.

What happened inside the IPL, though, as Sanjay Manjrekar wrote on Sunday, was the arrival of Indian cricket's saturation point. We now know that, after a season of 11 Tests and 25 ODIs, including a euphoric World Cup, even the Indian cricket fan's seemingly inexhaustible appetite cannot swallow 74 Twenty20 matches. Reducing the number of matches or altering the format will infuriate franchises, who were promised 14 games each every season. To not do so, though, is to risk inviting a tipping point. The IPL's governors may well believe that the World Cup victory is the excuse for the 2011 IPL's flat line, but the businessmen are bound to start getting tetchy anyway. This fourth season of the IPL was to be the year the original eight teams had always believed they would at last begin making profits.

Whatever the post-season numbers indicate for the IPL's investors, the full impact of this season on Indian cricket itself will also begin to reveal itself within a month's time, at the ICC's annual conference in Hong Kong. The BCCI will formally show its hand in the post-IPL era at this meeting, because it is where the next round of the Future Tours Programme (FTP) will be decided.

	Whatever the post-season numbers indicate for the IPL's investors, the full impact of this season on Indian cricket itself will also begin to reveal itself within a month's time, at the ICC's annual conference in Hong Kong

In an ideal world, the BCCI could draw up the IPL calendar according to the Indian team's itinerary. It could formulate a carefully balanced schedule, keeping in mind important international events and physical demands on the players. In the real world, though, already the BCCI has demonstrated that it is the IPL's calendar around which the Indian team will play. So the first tour of the new world champions and the world's No. 1 Test team sees the side go in without the majority of their ODI first XI, most of whom are either injured or fatigued. Not so much by the World Cup but surely by what followed it. The Test team will compete without Sachin Tendulkar.

Moving Season will also mark the direction the rest of world cricket must take with regard to the IPL. Already there is unrest between the West Indian board and its IPL-magnet players, which has enraged the team's fans. Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan have indicated that England's players actually have the power to keep all their options open. If English county circuit was once considered the world's best first-class cricket school, the IPL has now become the game's most lucrative freelance assignment. To players from the smaller cricketing nations, like the West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the IPL has made club v country nothing but a debating society argument. Lasith Malinga has answered many questions. Yet the ten-team 2011 IPL has proved that the tournament needs its overseas players as much as those players believe they need IPL contracts.

The IPL, though, is not all that concerned about that whole "future of cricket" argument. It was built around bling and bottomline. Part of that bling comes from Bollywood stars, the other from its packed stands and manic fans. By season three, escalating ticket sales had turned grounds into heaving party venues, adding to returns off television, the oxygen tent of the event. All that bellowing on TV is actually the medium sending out a message: See! Movie stars! Cricket stars! Thousands! All packed in! Fours! Sixes! Dancing! This is where it's at! Keep watching! It's like being there!

Shah Rukh Khan waving at Eden Gardens' empty stands doesn't send out that message. Nor does a live band or cheerleaders in a studio do that. Doubling the price of tickets, as was done for the better part at the Wankhede Stadium during playoffs, most certainly won't.

Another kind of message was sent to fans at that ground on playoffs nights: that a Rs 4000 ticket in the North Stand comes with a free constant drizzle of mud, dirt and cement pebbles from the tier. One spectator was clunked on the head with large, heavy chunks of cement not once but twice. In the US, he could have sued the stadium, the event, the franchise. In India, he will vote with his feet and not show up again.

The IPL will have to reinvent its vibrancy in season five and start with aiming to fill the stands up again. Franchise loyalty is still in its infancy. Two new teams have just got going, not very successfully. Spectator loyalty is what the fifth season of the IPL will have to generate afresh, with no half-measures. If the Indian spectator finally gets his due through the IPL, then enduring Navjot Sidhu on TV for 51 days would be worth it.