David Hussey pulls off one of the best catches on the boundary's edge © Indian Premier League

There’s no denying that IPL 2010 has indeed left a bad taste in one’s mouth. Still, the old school romantic in me prefers to turn its back on the cesspool of ‘alleged’ dirty dealings the tournament has got mixed up with. For me, the game is still intact because it is bigger than any given individual, situation or a particular tournament. And so, at the end of this season, I choose to draw my attention to those bits that spelled cricket all the way. While there were a lot more moments but I'd stick to my top five.

David Hussey’s catch: There were quite a few inimitable catches taken in this tournament, but Hussey’s catch to dismiss Paul Collingwood was my favourite for a couple of reasons. First of all, it was a flat shot that didn’t give him too much time to balance himself or react. Second, at one point of time both his feet were in air while pushing the ball back into the playing field. Since both feet were outside the line, had he touched one foot, it would have been a six.

Robin Uthappa’s switch-hit six: What an absolute visual marvel it was to see to Uthappa hit that six off Ajantha Mendis. It’s one thing hitting a reverse-sweep with power behind the shot, but a switch-hit goes one step ahead. You need to change your guard and grip completely and then play like a southpaw. It needed balance, strength and good connection. And it had all three.

Hayden’s Mongoose: The most awaited innovation in modern cricket. The Mongoose has an extremely short blade and a very long handle. The weight taken from the top is distributed in the remainder of the bat which makes it a lot thicker than the normal bat. The toe is three times thicker too. This design increases the bat speed, gives more control and allows the batsman to hit yorkers and low full-tosses with brute force. Hayden unleashed it against Delhi Daredevils at the Kotla and wrecked havoc. But unfortunately the Mongoose made only special appearances in the tournament. Perhaps the old fashioned bat is a better bet especially when you’re not in form.

Praveen Kumar’s hat-trick: Since the batsmen go after the bowling regardless of what happened on the previous ball, taking a hat-trick is a lot easier in this format as compared to the rest. But still it takes some good bowling to take three in three. Praveen did it beautifully against Rajasthan Royals. The highlight of the hat-trick was the juggling act of Manish Pandey to dismiss Sumit Narwal.

Vintage Sachin: This was not an event or a moment, it was an ongoing experience. Sachin reinforced the importance of technique once again. He showed that you don’t need to slog your way to big runs and that it’s possible to perform consistently in this format too. He seemed to have reached the state of Nirvana where he’s reading the bowlers mind or even better; he’s making them bowl where he wants them to. It took him a couple of years to crack the Twenty20 code but voila! When he did, it was pure class.

	Mumbai Indians warmed up for the IPL well before the tournament began, and their preparedness has taken them to the top of the table © Indian Premier League

There was never a question of ‘would they’ or ‘wouldn’t they’. Mumbai Indians just had to go pass the league stage. Right from the outset, they looked a unit with a mission. Those daunting 20 points on the rank table, tell a story that perhaps unfolded a few months ago. No, I am not hinting at the season’s biggest buy Kieron Pollard. Neither am I talking about the obviously in-form Sachin Tendulkar. I am talking about the inherent smart thinking that has assured them, if nothing bigger, a place in the semi-finals.

Interestingly, the four teams that found themselves languishing at the bottom of the chart were heard saying that they didn’t play good cricket at crucial junctures which cost them a place in the final 4. But the point isn’t just that.

The IPL, in its third season, has managed to see different teams gaining and losing ground every year. So, is it only about those few crucial overs that separate a win from a loss? Well, yes and no. The fact is that most teams did precious little in the last three seasons to strengthen their sides. One might argue that they bought good players in the auctions, and that they even scouted for talent from the domestic circuit. But is that enough? Isn’t that the easiest route to find players?

Well, that is perhaps the point most teams missed and Mumbai picked. While Twenty20 may seem to have inherent randomness, the preparation is rather systematic. Right from organising camps to holding practice matches, this outfit has been at the job right from the word go. And all this well in advance.

It is not smart to shut shop once the IPL gets over. But that is exactly what most franchises have been doing all this while.

Well, even now, nothing would happen till as late as after the Champions league, when the fresh auctions happen. But, I daresay that it’ll be too late by then. For one the first-class season kicks off; all the good players will be busy playing for their respective states. Yes, the scouting can be carried out but there’s very little time left to make the players IPL-ready. A player might be good for his state team in different formats but will he be a good player in the IPL is anybody’s guess.

The biggest problem these IPL teams face is the lack of time. The team gets together only a few days prior to the tournament which is clearly not enough. But unfortunately that is not going to change in the years to come. So, what can be done to minimise that handicap? While International cricketers won’t be available, the local talent definitely is.

The trick is to have a structure in place which is operational throughout the year. The beginning would be to find young players who have the ability to hit the long ball or bowl yorkers and slower ones with perfection. They may not be good first class cricketers but a good Twenty20 cricketer doesn’t need to be one. Twenty20 requires a different skill-set and if you tick a few boxes, the rest can be worked upon. And then that academy should put these kids through a tough regimen of physical fitness and specific skills training to make them IPL ready when it comes. A Wasim Akram would only be effective if he gets both quality and quantity time with the bowlers, for I didn’t see much of a difference in KKR’s bowling this season.

We have seen that lesser known players like T Suman and Kedar Jadhav can make an impact, hence there is no harm in investing in them. In any case, they come a lot cheaper than the rest. It’s imperative that the IPL teams don’t see this as a 45-days tournament but a year-long activity, something that the Mumbai Indians have incorporated well in their plan.

It’s about time that franchisees go beyond the first class and under-19 circuits to recruit players. Yes, those players might need more nurturing but I’m pretty sure that it’ll be worth the effort.

	Blinders such David Hussey's involve several hours of practice © Indian Premier League

IPL 2010 may well be about the Mongoose, the inexplicably mammoth fines for slow over-rates, Yuvraj Singh’s incessant form-woes, Sreesanth’s daft flare-up, and other peripherals that have the tendency to become talking points. Yet, there is something about this particular season that reassures me, there is still much cricket left.

Remember that stupendous catch David Hussey took on the boundary line to dismiss Paul Collingwood? Or the one that Doug Bollinger grasped to get rid of the dangerous Yusuf Pathan? And many more such moments of brilliance that strike when you least expect them to. Yes, I am talking about fielding, the one aspect of the game that has been beyond belief during this IPL.

Both these catches were exceptional, involving presence of mind to keep the ball in play, immense core strength to come back into the field of play after stepping out, and above all a lot of practice. While some may dismiss them as flukes, I choose to give credit to the amount of practice involved. Yes, players do practice taking such catches and several other fielding moves in this day and age. While saving runs and taking catches are important in all formats, it is at times, the deciding factor in Twenty20 where the difference between a win and loss is only a few runs.

It’s not only the youngsters who’re raising the bar, seniors are also contributing equally. Remember those sparkling catches by Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid? Dada’s direct-hit to get rid of the hazardous Gautam Gambhir, a quick runner between the wickets, is certainly etched in our minds.

So what has made this turnaround on the field that has made us sit up take notice? Most teams get together only a few days prior to the tournament. There’s only so much a team can do in such a short time. With regards to batting and bowling, it’s mostly about assigning roles to individuals, for if you try to change the way someone plays, there isn’t enough time to imbibe the changes.

The only practical thing that a team can and must do is spend time on getting the fielding right. Last year, at Kolkata Knight Riders, we had spent countless hours in improving our fielding skills: in getting our throws more accurate and getting our slides perfect and even the bare basics such as calling loudly to avoid misunderstandings in the noisy match-situations. Since diving did not come naturally to a lot of players, the coaches had spread mattresses for us to jump on. We were told that at least two players should converge on every ball and try to help each other. We even practiced relay throws in case the situation demanded it. The idea was to cover all grounds with regards to fielding; indeed, every run saved, is a run scored.

Most teams are doing the same this year and the brilliance on the field is an outcome of the efforts put in the practice sessions.

Coming back to Hussey’s and Bollinger’s catches, teams have included that drill in their fielding sessions where you stand next to the rope and try to save the six or catch it, if possible. I saw Jonty Rhodes showing the fielders from Mumbai Indians how to do it. Similarly, Ponting taught us how to line ourselves up while attempting a direct hit. There’s a specific way of throwing which increases the chances of a hitting the stumps. I daresay, Dada might have picked up the basics from him. David Warner would tell his teammates how to cut the angles on the field to cover more ground and also restrict the batsman from taking that all-important extra run.

The IPL has indeed brought together an array of thinking cricketers and coaches. Their attention to detail is what makes them brilliant in specific deartments and they’re happily sharing it with others.

	Yuvraj Singh skies a catch in an attempt to rediscover form © Indian Premier League

Yuvraj Singh’s form, or the lack of it, has been the talk of the town for since the beginning of IPL 2010. The Twenty20 pros Dilshan and Jayasuriya have also already lost their places in their respective sides. And there are others like Kumar Sangakarra, and AB de Villiers who are getting a lot of flak too.

Ever wondered why more than half a dozen good players are struggling to excel in this format? Well, Twenty20 is a ruthless format. It not only magnifies your weakness but also refuses the time to rectify them. So, if you happen to walk into this format without form and confidence or if you happen to hit a rough patch in the middle of the tournament, you’re most likely doomed.

The golden rule of scoring runs is to spend time in the middle. Ideally instead of looking for runs, one should not be averse to paying a few dot balls in the beginning. Then take a few singles and twos before going for boundary shots. In a fifty-over game, you can always make up for the dot balls later but Twenty20 doesn’t give you that luxury.

The construction of a Twenty20 innings is quite different to how it is done in ODIs. Even in a Twenty20 game, one can afford to start slowly. Yet, starting slowly in Twenty20 does not mean playing dot balls, but aiming to take those vital singles.

A strike-rate of 100 is the bare minimum that a batsman should strive for, that too only for the first 6-7 balls. A boundary must follow soon or else you may be jeopardising your team’s chances of scoring big. The only exception to this rule is if you’re blessed to have a Yusuf Pathan-like- batsman at the other end or your team is chasing an insignificant total. Gautam Gambhir found that ally in Dinesh Karthik against the Royals. Karthik’s heroics allowed Gambhir to bide his time. On the contrary, Ganguly tried something similar against Mumbai Indians but unfortunately Gayle wasn’t batting that fluently either and hence he received a lot of flak for playing slowly.

Bowlers too have to put up with form blues. A bowler low on confidence might just bowl a couple of loose balls in the beginning. In a fifty-over game, he might get away with it because the batsmen are not always on the offensive. But in Twenty20, even good balls disappear for fours and sixes, let alone the bad deliveries. So he better be on the spot from the first ball or perish.

But this format also dictates that you fail more often than you succeed. The averages tell the story. Most batsmen average in the mid-20s and only a few in the 30s. I’m yet to see a batsman averaging in 40s in this format. So how do players get back to scoring after a failure or two? Since biding time is not possible in this format, the only way to come back to form is to be positive and take the initiative. You must get to your opposition before they get to you. Certain players hit their way out of trouble, which is considered almost blasphemous in other formats, but in Twenty20, the ones who do so, make the quickest comebacks.