Manappuram - What Results Reveal and the New Strategies Ahead

Surviving the headwinds facing the NBFC sector, and in line with the official guidance, Manappuram Group’s flagship and listed arm, Manappuram Finance (BSE: 531213, NSE: MANAPPURAM) has recorded an impressive performance in the fourth quarter, that successfully ends a remarkable year for the company. It was a year in which it stormed past the Rs. 1000 crore revenue mark, and got elevated as an A-Group scrip in BSE. Leveraging their expertise in lowering operational costs, Manappuram Finance has escaped unhurt from the impact of recent regulatory changes affecting gold loans. Going forward, the company is opening up several supplementary revenue streams in a unique fashion, without an all-out diversification from gold loans. The Group’s new ventures, the healthcare wing MAcare, and its jewellery retailing wing are taking larger-than-life steps during the coming quarters. Before taking the metro markets head-on, Manappuram is setting up Kerala’s largest and most advanced diagnostic centre at Kochi, and the state’s largest jewellery showroom in Thrissur. Breaking free from conventional business houses in these sectors, Manappuram is soon tying up with international PE funds, for the national foray. Seasonal Magazine spends a day with Chairman VP Nandakumar to find out what makes Manappuram Finance survive the headwinds, and how the group plans to leverage these strategies in their new ventures. On to the interview with Nandakumar:

The results are just in. Are you satisfied with the performance?
 

Yes, we could keep our guidance, despite some headwinds that started affecting the sector during this quarter. Whichever way you analyze the results, it speaks of outstanding growth. Both quarterly revenue and profits are growing on a sequential as well as year-on-year basis. Annually, while income has gone up by 147%, net profit has gone up by 136%. The Board has recommended for both bonus and dividend.

After this impressive quarterly and annual performance, focus is likely to be back on the impact of the missing priority sector status. What would be the impact and how is Manappuram tackling the issue, going forward? 

There is no doubt that the non-availability of priority sector loans will have an impact on all organized gold loan companies. But if you look at our just announced results, you can see that we have successfully contained the impact. Our primary tool has been aggressive cost-cutting, and even before this regulation came, we were quite good at systematically reducing our non-interest operating expenses, quarter-to-quarter. That culture will continue, but going forward, we will also focus on opening supplementary revenue streams to comfortably offset the impact.

What about the impact from the higher provisioning requirement?
 

That too has a direct impact, and if it were not there, we could have put up an even more impressive performance on the net profit front. Here also, cost-cutting is our primary tool to contain the impact, but here the advantage is that the impact has a diminishing nature, and you won’t feel the impact beyond a couple more quarters.

You recently had a postal ballot for the members that gave out the impression that Manappuram Finance is diversifying into many new fields. What is the actual picture? 

No, Manappuram Finance won’t diversify and will remain an exclusive gold loan company. This is a great line of business for all stakeholders including our customers, investors, and employees, and even more importantly, gold loans has been our core competence for more than half a century now. But as I told you earlier, we were exploring different supplementary streams of revenue to more than offset the impact of missing priority-sector loans, higher provisioning etc. That requires not an all-out diversification, but careful and considered utilization of several of our resources that weren’t tapped until now. However, when we went for the postal ballot seeking amendments to the relevant articles and clauses, we thought that for Board’s operational convenience, we wouldn’t limit ourselves and sought full approval for diversification into various fields like securities, travel services etc.

We are not sure that we understood you properly. Can you provide some examples of these unutilized resources? 

Well, there are many. To give you quick examples, consider our vast point of presence, across India. We have 2520 branches now, across 21 states. Or consider our vast customer database.

And how are you going to leverage these resources to generate supplementary revenue streams?
 

We won’t be doing it directly, but tying up with other financial service providers who can deliver their services using our resources. To illustrate this model, one of the first tie-ups we have finalized for the securities business, is with ICICI Securities. They have this huge core competence in the brokerage business, and they can leverage our branches and our database, for mutual benefit.

Agreed, but won’t such models be limited to one-off or small revenue models only?
 

Not at all. In fact, all such arrangements would have upfront fees as well as fees on an ongoing or transaction basis. Maybe this isn’t going to be huge like gold loans, but we have realistically chalked out substantial revenues from these new businesses. We are also finalising another big deal with a travel major to offer full travel-related services using our branches. This will also tap synergies possible with our existing foreign exchange and money transfer businesses. And the beauty is that, even with these diversifications, we are not losing our focus or sacrificing our core competence in gold loans, as other service providers will be doing these businesses using our resources.

Coming to Manappuram Group’s diversifications - outside of your listed company, Manappuram Finance - where do things stand now? 

As you might be aware, Manappuram Group has already diversified into jewellery retail and healthcare. In jewellery, we started off with our first brand, Manappuram Jewellery, which now has around a dozen shops in Kerala and Bangalore. These shops follow a small or medium format in gold retailing. Now, we are all set to launch our second retail jewellery brand, which will follow the large or mega format. In fact, our first showroom under this new brand will be the largest jewellery showroom in Kerala, at 20,000 sq ft. This is planned for Thrissur, and we have already tied up a prominent space in the city for it. Two more large format showrooms will follow in quick succession, one in Bangalore and the other in Chennai. A new distinct brand identity is being finalized for these showrooms, and it will reflect the aspirations of the upmarket jewellery buyers.

But one thing that strikes an observer is that gold retailing is not your core competence. In one way it can even be argued that you are following what more experienced players in this sector are doing like Joyalukkas, Josco, or Malabar Gold. If we are missing something here, can you mention what it is, your USP in this line? 

We may be new to retailing, but gold is definitely our core competence. There are very few business houses in India, who understands this precious metal’s dynamics as much as us. And believe me, a lot of gold retailing has most to do with gold’s dynamics, and not designs or other retail-specific aspects. That is why we are boldly opening the largest gold showroom in Kerala. But at the same time, we aren’t taking any chances and have entrusted the best designers who can produce unique jewellery worth design-patents. But our USPs in this line are going to be something else altogether. It is about unchallenged purity standards and the decision to sell only BIS Hallmarked Gold. And it is about how we intend to grow this business exponentially. Manappuram is all set to be the first jewellery group in the country to have attracted overseas PE funds.

That is quite surprising. In one way, we can say that you are using your core competence in raising international private equity… 

Absolutely. But it is not about competence in raising money, but competence in creating a fully transparent business with high return on equity. Big fund houses trust us absolutely on that front. They have experienced the kind of returns we have provided in the past, with total transparency.

But apart from your immense fund requirement, are you inducting them as strategic investors?
 

Not really, as they are pure PE funds. But apart from the fund requirement, there is another reason that we chose to go with such high-profile PE funds. With such players onboard, we and our entire team would be inspired to meet showroom targets, revenue milestones, and ultimately the IPO milestone, all in time. It would be good for us, it would be good for all the stakeholders.  

What about your healthcare foray? Where does it stand now?
 

The healthcare division has already been branded as MACare, and our flagship diagnostic centre is coming up at Kaloor, Kochi. Following our larger-than-life philosophy in all ventures, this 20,000 sq ft facility will be Kerala’s largest and most modern diagnostic facility with 164-slice CT, 3-Tesla MRI, and digital X-rays. This single centre is being set up on an investment of Rs. 40 crore. Our second facility is coming up at Vyttila, Kochi, and soon to follow is our dental clinics.

But do you think Kochi justifies such a large-investment project in diagnostics?
 

What you told is correct, Kochi is not really up to the mark as a market for such a big centre, and we have planned all our similar centres at the country’s metro cities. But one advantage with Kochi and Kerala is that, none of the super-speciality hospitals here have comparable equipment. So patients will come to us, as the accuracy, speed, and convenience offered by our diagnostic equipments will be far superior. For example, the time spent by a patient in our 3-Tesla MRI will be much shorter, alleviating the discomfort associated with such procedures.

In gold retailing you pointed out the USP of PE funds. Here, in MAcare, what would be the USP, may be attracting equipment manufacturers as equity participants? 

No, we are aware of that model, but we won’t resort to it as we want better deals from the equipment manufacturers like GE, Siemens, Philips, or Wipro, as we have many centres. Also, we don’t have any problem in attracting PE funds for this project also, and discussions with funds are now at an advanced stage.

What would be the time-frame you are looking at for taking these new businesses public?
 

We are planning for their IPOs by 2014 or nearer. As they are professionally and transparently managed from day one, we don’t expect any hitches to that.

Coming back to the listed Manappuram Finance, do you have plans to pursue a banking license in the near future? 

Not really, even though we may be eligible for it. The main reason is that, at Manappuram Finance, we don’t believe in losing focus on our core competence of gold loans. But having said that, I think that the new regulatory framework being planned by RBI, especially by the Usha Thorat Committee, is that the bigger NBFCs should be under a narrower, tighter framework. At our present size we don’t qualify for such stricter regulation, but eventually if things come to that stage for us, we will take a fresh call on the license. In the present circumstances, we believe that a few larger sized NBFCs may be walking into a tighter regime.

What would be Manappuram Finance’s profit guidance for FY’12? What would be the kind of branch expansion during the year? 

We are working on doubling our bottomline to around Rs. 600 crore, from this year’s Rs. 285 crore. We will go slower than last year on branches, with an estimated 500 new branches in FY’12, as we have more room for significantly more utilization at many of our existing 2250 branches.

How do you see the business environment for NBFCs and the economy in general?
 

Liquidity has certainly improved, and we could recently raise substantial debt at attractive rates. I think that after new governments arrive in various states, and the scam-related noises subside, Indian economy is in for a high growth curve, despite the inflation that may remain high.

To what do you attribute Manappuram Finance’s success till now? And how will the new businesses benefit from these success secrets? 

Our buzzwords are transparency, equitable growth, and cost-cutting. Everything is accounted for, every kind of tax is paid, and there are no under-the-table dealings with any stakeholders, be it big investors, employees, or associates. Secondly, Manappuram is all about equitable growth. We want all our stakeholders to benefit equally. The just announced 1:1 bonus recommendation is our third 1:1 bonus within the last five years. We have paid reasonable dividends to our investors for the past six years. Our employees enjoy one of the best salary structures among all NBFCs, as well as additional benefits like ESOPs. And above all, our entire 13,000 strong team strives day in and day out to deliver the best deal to our customers - be it our decision to stay open on all Sundays, or our highest loan-to-value, or our decision to stay competitive by cutting costs and opening up new revenue streams, instead of passing on all cost-rises to customers.

Can the Chargers Recharge Themselves?

By Carl Jaison

Tonight, two of  the World’s cricketing stalwarts, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara, take on each other as their teams gear up for a revival of fortunes after a sloppy showing in their just-previous matches. Both former Sri Lankan captains are looking for a victory before they leave for the England tour and both realize the importance of keeping the winning momentum going within the team.

As far as now, Kochi has stunned heavyweights like the Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, leading the pundits to tag them as giant-killers. Kochi was on a juggernaut after a hat-trick of wins but a pathetic performance against the Rajasthan Royals saw them surrendering the match meekly without much of resistance or resilience. The injury to New Zealand star batsman, Brendan McCullum, who is also Kochi’s best batsman in the IPL so far, might have dented their chances against the Royals but Kochi need to play as a team to come up with satisfying victories. The lone dependence on McCullum may hit back at them after their batsmen’s poor showing against Shane Warne’s men in blue.

Like every other match, Kochi will be hoping that the awesome pair of McCullum-Jayawardena gives them a blistering start once again in those first 6 shot-making overs. The form of Brad Hodge concerns the team and we might as well see Michael Klinger taking his place in the line-up for the inconsistent Hodge. Ravindra Jadeja has been a revelation for the Tuskers as he has come up with match-saving performances whenever the situation demanded. However the rest of the batsmen, Parthiv Patel, Kedhar Jadhav and Raiphi Vincent Gomez are yet to prove their utility for the team.

Though Parthiv has a few quick-fire 30’s under his belt, the wicket-keeping batsman from Gujarat hasn’t seen his team through till the victory lap. Jadhav has played just a couple of games but chances are limited for the young man and it’s high time he proves his credentials. Raiphy doesn’t have performances he can boast of but his all-round ability may favour his chances of making the cut into the final XI.

After initial hiccups, the Tuskers bowling seems to be getting back into the rhythm and groove, but Muralitharan’s bag of tricks is slowly loosing it’s sheen as the 800 test-wicket taker has only a few wickets in the games he has bowled. Even local lads are playing his deliveries with ease and confidence but the proven veteran might have a few more tricks up his sleeve before he can hang his boots. RP Singh and Vinay Kumar are improving match by match and they will try to be more consistent in their approach.

Nothing has been going right for the Chargers so far and they look a demoralized lot. Even the cleverness and flair of their skipper Kumar Sangakkara hasn’t impacted the team’s performance. There is no batsman from their side who features in the top run-getters list and the bowlers too haven’t spun the team to credible wins. Deccan Chargers is sorely missing the hard-hitting batsman, Kevin Pietersen, who is currently nursing an injury and isn’t available for further participation in the IPL.

However on the positive side, Chargers have found unlikely heroes in Sunny Sohal, Bharat Chipli and Harmeet Singh who have created reasons for joy in the Chargers’ camp after their match winning showings in this year’s IPL. Local lads have proved their mettle but the big foreign names have been flop shows till date. Sangakkara, JP Duminy and Daniel Christian have only come up with mediocre performances which aren’t enough for the team’s winning cause.

The Chargers are languishing at the bottom of the table and a win for them will boost their semi-final hopes while a loss will practically close down their IPL dreams. Their bowling attack looks far more potent and deadly with the new-ball pair of Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma, well supported by Christian’s hit-the-deck bowling. Spin options in Ojha and Amit Mishra augurs well for them but their plight is similar to that of Murali’s.

It is a battle between Kochi’s batting and the Deccan Chargers bowling. Victory for either one of them means moving into the top half of the points table and regaining momentum as the tournament is nearing a tight finish for the last 4 spot. After all, T20 is all about momentum.

Muthoot IPO - Drops Pre-Placement & Retail Discount, Rejigs Valuations

Muthoot Finance Ltd has filed the Red Herring Prospectus, and the IPO has also been scheduled, opening on 18th April 2011 and closing on 21st.

As Seasonal Magazine had predicted in an earlier article, the IPO size and valuations have been re-worked downwards. From the widely-reported plan to raise between Rs. 1200 to Rs. 1400 crore, the IPO size now stands revised at Rs. 901 crore.

The reduction has been effected through lower valuations as the stake-sale size remains unaltered at 5.15 crore shares. The price band for the issue is between Rs. 160 to Rs. 175. At the upper edge of the price band, Muthoot IPO is valued at a P/E of 23 times and a P/BV of 9 times, based on annual results for March 2010 as published in their DRHP.

However, as per November 30th 2010 results, which Muthoot has published now in their RHP, the P/BV comes to around 5 times. Comparable peers who does gold loans like Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services trades at a P/BV of around 4.75, while Shriram City Union Finance is available at a P/BV of around 3 times. A better comparison to Muthoot - due to dedicated gold loan business - is Manappuram Finance, which trades at 2.80 times as per their December 31st 2010 NAV.

On a trailing 8-month basis for the period ended November 30th, Muthoot Finance IPO is at a P/E of 18.82 times. For the trailing 9-month period ended December 31st, Manappuram now trades at a P/E of 26.19 times. M&M Financial Services now trades at 18.42 times, while Shriram City Union is available at a P/E of 13.86 times, but both on a trailing twelve months (TTM) basis.

For the past three fiscals, Muthoot Finance had negative net cash flows. Though this is quite unhealthy, the company explains in its RHP that it is primarily on account of borrowing under financing activities for the purpose of lending under operating activities.      

Muthoot Finance has dropped its plans for a pre-IPO placement, which would have amounted to around 27% of the IPO size, though mutually exclusive. Muthoot Finance has also dropped its plans to offer a 10% discount to retail investors.

However, the concerns regarding a sizeable annual royalty payments to promoters, and anti-dilution guarantees provided to four institutional investors - Baring, Matrix, Wellcome, & Kotak - remain. Queries sent by Seasonal Magazine to Muthoot Finance seeking clarifications on these issues remained unanswered at the time of publication.

The book running lead managers to the IPO are Kotak & ICICI Securities, together with HDFC Bank.

In an advertisement dated 14th April 2011, Muthoot Finance has made fresh disclosures as addendum cum corrigendum that was not mentioned in the RHP filed on April 7th. It mainly describes several civil, criminal, consumer, and tax cases by and against Muthoot Vehicle & Asset Finance Ltd, which is a group concern.

Also Read: Muthoot Finance IPO - Invest or Wait?

Tusker Jayawardena vs. Warrior Yuvi

By Carl Jaison

What do you get when two newborn babies, struggle for space in a cradle, and cries for all the attention they want? A perplexed mother? To say the least, mother IPL will witness two of her ‘navi’ siblings fight it out for her attention in a match that will decide which of the teams will capture the hearts of ardent cricket fans across the IPL fraternity. Sahara Pune Warriors (SPW) in their first match had pulverized a hapless Punjabi outfit and made mincemeat out of them. Of course, SPW were slated to overpower a dull-looking Kings XI Punjab, while Kochi Tuskers had a difficult outing against a full-fledged RCB team.

SPW might have beaten the team from the north but their real campaign kick-starts when they go out head-on-head against the team from the south, the Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK). Pune heads into the match as sure-shots but they will be wary of a team that made batting look simple against an excellent bowling attack. Basically, SPW has a young team captained by a freak who has turned into a man-of-senses, the indomitable Yuvraj Singh. Outclassing victories reveal a team’s hunger for success but in this match SPW will have to sweat it out to finish with 2 points.

They have a terrific opening pair in Graeme Smith, who was nevertheless dismissed without scoring in the last game, and Jesse Ryder who showed his bill’s worth by smashing the Punjab bowlers all round the park. The temperamental Ryder’s skill with the ball will prompt Yuvraj to utilize this rising star of New Zealand cricket. They have a seasoned campaigner in Robin Uthappa who can strike deadly blows when the situation demands, and his glove-work has improved immensely, which means Pune need not search for a specialized wicket-keeper.

Man-of-the-Tournament in the World Cup, Yuvraj Singh will hope to continue his rich form with the blade, and the dynamic prince of Indian cricket, surprisingly, did not roll his arms over  the other night. Mithun Manhas is a mainstay in the Delhi Ranji team and his expertise will do a world of good for a team that has hard-hitting but risky players and with Manhas’s ability to play the long handle, Pune can put up a fighting total on board.

Alfonso Thomas, a county cricketer from the English scenery, battled like a true warrior with his accurate and menacing bowling getting rid of the dangerous Adam Gilchrist. Wagh, the local talent who plays for Vidharba in domestic competitive cricket, was the pick of the bowlers with his raw left-arm fast deliveries. Murali Kartik wasn’t in the thick of the action but the former KKR bowler will lead the spin department. Their batting will be a tough nut to crack as all have proved their worthiness in this format.

But opportunity comes only once in a life-time. If KTK had heard Eminem’s record-breaking album song “lose yourself”, they wouldn’t have squandered a potential win after they got off to a blazing start with the bat.

Kochi will want to win back the support of their fans after sources revealed that the team has no problems playing in an empty stadium, causing furore among fans. Nobody expected their batsmen to put up a fabulous show and once again Brendan McCullum will be the key man for the Tuskers. His clean power-hitting made RCB attack look helpless and along with VVS Laxman, Kochi will hope for a flying start from the pair.

Jayawardena is a great leader and a classy cricketer. His deft touches and silky flicks are a treat to watch. Brad Hodge has also proved to be a brilliant cricketer in this form of cricket after smashing 20-odd runs in quick time. Capped to that he is a fabulous fielder. Parthiv Patel and Ravindra Jadeja can strike late blows to propel the scoring rate. However, whether Kerala Ranji Captain, Raiphy Vincent Gomez, will be selected remains to be seen. Kochi’s bowling attack will have to be more specific and they should bowl according to a plan, so that we have the chance to witness a cracker of a match. 

Can Chelsea Divide United?

By Pete Jason

The stage is set for the most mouth-watering showdown ever in English football, Manchester United vs. Chelsea. It is a do or die match for Chelsea as they trail 1-0 from their Champions League first-leg quarter-final. When the Blues travel to old Trafford to lock horns with the Red Devils they will not relish the statistic that only two sides have ever recovered from a first leg home loss to progress to the later stages in the history of UEFA Champions League.

The new boy Fernando Torres will be keen to open his account for the Blues. The former Liverpool striker has never found the back of the net while wearing a Chelsea uniform and has many a time surrendered in the hands of Manchester United captain, Nemanja Vidic. The arrival of Torres has in fact disrupted Chelsea’s famed striking sequence of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka. The 50 million star striker has not been in top touch in the current season but he will be keen to shut the door on his critics. And there is no better time and stage to do so than in this Champions League quarter-final showdown against United at Old Trafford.

On the other hand, Manchester United sitting firm in the peak of Barclays Premier League with 7 points clear of 2nd ranked Arsenal has been in excellent form this season. Both, Dimitar Berbatov and counter part Wayne Rooney has been scoring goals at every possible opportunity. Also, the new recruit Javier Hernandez or ‘Chicharito’ (little pea) has played beyond expectations. The presence of these key Manchester United players in the field is bound to strike fear in the heart of the Chelsea defence.

The only weak link that can be spotted in the Manchester United line-up is their veteran goalkeeper, Van der sar who was seen to be creaky in the previous match. The John Terry vs. Wayne Rooney battle will definitely be the most anticipated battle between these players. With both players blessed with such great pace, we could well witness a stalemate in this particular battle.

Now, Chelsea will be thinking – what could we possibly do to create terror at Trafford? How can we divide United? Well, if Chelsea wants to make it through to the semis they really have to shunt out golden boy, Torres, and bring out the cut-throat attacking duo of Drogba and Anelka.

They have a mighty - maybe an impossible task - in front of them that is, defeating Manchester United at home, but Chelsea can spring back an unpredictable attack on United. Sir Alex Ferguson must be aware of this fact as he sends his team to achieve glory.

However, Manchester United player, Rio Ferdinand insists the chance of becoming a Manchester United treble hero is not a motivation ahead of the Champions League showdown with Chelsea. Absolutely. This has turned out be the only even fixture in the QFs. The other matches have been too one sided. Arguably among best teams in the football world, Manchester United vs. Chelsea match is promised to showcase top-class football.

Mighty Mumbai Indians Clash with Rampant RCB

By Carl Jaison

Mumbai and Bangalore have long been major epitomes in India and they have produced the brightest and smartest of cricketing minds for the nation. On one side is a man who is “The One” that the whole nation banks their hopes and dreams on. When Sachin Tendulkar takes guard at the Chinnaswamy Stadium tonight, Bangaloreans will wish Tendulkar finds another day for exhibiting his invaluable talent and master-stroke and that he is kept in a nut-shell when the RCB take on the MI.

Clash of the heavyweights is what people term this high-wattage match-up with both teams having phenomenal players who have made a name on the big stage. These two outfits have much in common on certain aspects. Both has had a successful and gala auctioning period with the purchase of high-quality game-changers which makes both these teams the most feared in the tourney. RCB and MI are on the backdrop of convincing victories in their respective opening games and both are firm favorites to lift IPL glory.

If there is one team that has been the South Africa of the IPL, its definitely the Mumbai  Indians. Just like the rainbow nation, they are solid to begin with but vaporize when the situation boils up. For example, they put up fantastic performance in the league stages last year, but on the knock-outs, Mumbai Indians went helter-skelter. They practically lost out every close-game and even “The One” couldn’t carry out his rescue acts to bail them out of trouble. That seems to be their only minus point as their team boasts of the finest talent and in-form international names of the likes of Lasith Malinga, Keiron Pollard, Andrew Symonds and James Franklin.

Their demolition of Delhi Daredevils marks a team that thrives on team-work as well as individual brilliance. Malinga came up with a fiver while Tendulkar stroked a master-class 46. Both these “Indians” were the chief architects in the crushing victory over Sehwag’s troops. However, face-off with the RCB is a different story altogether. Mumbai must contain the explosive batting unit of the RCB and they have the bowling firepower to ensure a clinical sweep over the batting prowess of Tilekartane Dilshan, AB De Villiers, Virat Kohli etc.

Ebullient Davy Jacobs missed out with the bat but he has all the class in the  world to put up a better show. Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma are pivotal to Mumbai’s fortunes and the awesome-twosome will hope to slam the doors of national team selectors. Pollard and Franklin, two genuine all-rounders, had a silent outing in the previous match but against the RCB they might as well have to prove their worth.

Indian World Cup hero, Munaf Patel is a changed bowler who can now pick wickets at the demand of his captain and bowls a nagging line and length. Toe-crusher and Bat-breaker are jargons associated with Malinga and MI will be hoping their prized buy break a few Bangalrean toes and bats! Spin-twins, Harbhajan Singh and Ali Mutraza were excellent against Delhi and their partnership can spell doom for any team. Rajagopal Satish with his breathtaking fielding abilities lends balance to the side.

Vettori kept his word and did spoil Kochi’s début party. RCB looked a formidable batting unit but their bowling came a cropper against a destructive Tusker batting. De Villiers will once again be the key man and the batting will revolve around him. Dilshan looked itchy and shaky prior to this game but with the form he’s in , its hard to keep him out of the game. Indian youngsters Mayank Agarwal and Kohli played a crucial role in the teams successful run-chase and they will have to be extra vigilant against a fire-spitting MI bowling attack.

Saurabh Tiwary, and Chetaswar Pujara can strike hefty blows towards the end and ensure RCB post a formidable total. However their bowling proved mincemeat to the Kochi Tuskers barring Vettori, who was economical and picked the crucial wicket of Jayawardena. Abhimanyu Mithun will feel the heat after the beating he received from the blade of Laxman and Co. Zaheer Khan is an asset for any team and he showed that with his unbelievable yorkers at the death. Dirk Nannes was taken to the cleaners in his very first over but came back strongly, picking local lad, Vincent Gomez for a nought.

One can’t cite a clear winner for this encounter as both teams has somewhat the same depth and combination. As always, the presence of  Tendulkar gives MI a definite edge over the team from Bangalore but one can’t write off a team that has top-class players in their ranks too. If it’s batting that MI will feel stronger in, then RCB puts forward a more varied bowling attack but the other way too both teams can give the other a run for their money. No favorites, no predictions, and the match is wide open and the team that emerges victors can convey a strong message to every team.

State Bank of India - Short Term & Long Term Prospects

With a recent leadership change in its CMD's post, but with no change in its controversial teaser loan product in home financing, and a renewed interest in growings its retail business, here is a look at SBI's (BSE: 500112, NSE: SBIN) short term and long term prospects for investors:

Recent Strategic Initiatives:

SBI recently concluded a successful bond issue that takes care of the fund requirements. The bank remains bullish on teaser loans in home financing, and seems to have the tacit approval of Finance Ministry, even against the wishes of banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Teaser home loans are expected to be a future money-spinner for SBI, if it doesn’t regress to a sub-prime like scenario. Due to its unique positioning as the bank ‘closest’ to Government of India, SBI has unique access to some incredibly large fund decisions like the recent Employees' Provident Fund Organization's (EPFO) decision to park Rs. 3.5 lakh crore solely with SBI, even if it is for three months.

Strengths:

SBI is 330% larger than Punjab National Bank (BSE: 532461, NSE: PNB), the nearest public sector competitor by income; and 275% larger than nearest private sector peer, ICICI Bank (BSE: 532174, NSE: ICICIBANK). Not only can’t both of them play catch-up in the coming few years, but size-wise things are getting better for SBI due to the upcoming mergers with SBI Group banks like State Bank of Mysore (BSE: 532200, NSE: MYSOREBANK), State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (BSE: 501061, NSE: SBBJ), & State Bank of Travancore (BSE: 532191, NSE: SBT). The dominance in income is also on a comparable asset base. SBI has shown the capability for leading other PSBs in innovative products, and lately even a brand of defiance to regulators when it comes to pushing things their way. State Bank Group has access to some of the lowest cost Current Account / Savings Account (CASA) funds in the country that protects margins. Reputation wise and trust wise, SBI is quite popular among customers.

Weaknesses:

Despite leadership in income and CASA, SBI lags in profitability compared with a few other PSBs, and many private sector banks. This might hint at systemic inefficiencies. SBI's recent rows with RBI regarding teaser loans and provisioning can invite unnecessary wrath and regulation. SBI has been very sluggish compared with private sector peers like ICICI Bank when it comes to offering a bouquet of services. State Bank of India had witnessed a significant negative cash flow last year. SBI's Return on Equity (RoE) is below 14, unlike many outperforming peers in both public and private sector. Free reserves per share is not impressive at less than 40% of the book value.

Outlook:

The recent correction has shaved off almost Rs. 800 from SBI's share price and made the scrip safer than before. But it is not the safest bet among PSBs, as SBI still trades at a significant premium to its peers with a P/E of over 17 and P/BV of 2.70 times. For a while, that is during the last Bank Nifty rally, it seemed as though SBI would be re-rated to reach private sector valuations. But this was not to be, and the scrip took its investors through a painful correction, which seems to have not found its bottom still. But if Bank Nifty improves in the coming months, expect SBI to join in, but not outperform. Even taking out its 52-Week High of 3515 again seems to be a task for SBI.

Investment Grade:

If both Foreign Institutional Investments (FII) inflow and credit growth outperforms, SBI can perform as good as a bank fixed deposit, that is deliver an annual return of around 10%. Has the potential to double in the long run - 3 to 5 years or more - if and only if the mergers with all the three group banks occur. Chances are more for this to get delayed, and SBI delivering only an FD type return in good markets, and correcting significantly in adverse markets and slow credit growth conditions.

It is KKR Batting vs DC Bowling

Carl Jaison

KKR seems to have earned themselves the undistinguished tag of the ‘Chokers’ rather early in this IPL with their dismal and irresponsible downfall in the hands of the mighty CSK outfit. Now what KKR has put to offer is their inability to start on a promising note which can be easily exploited by the other teams. But, the reality that the match ended on a close call would make them believe that they can still cause upsets with the tournament in its initial stages.

Gambhir needs to sort out their problems in the batting order that stood as the prime reason why KKR finished sore losers on the opening day. Gambhir coming in at an unlikely position in the order, nevertheless disappointed, scoring just a couple of runs. It is very evident from the fact that KKR impatiently awaits the coming of  their main performers in Brett Lee and Brad Haddin, who are on national commitments. In the previous game, they did  well to restrict CSK but their famed batting array put up a choking performance and unsurprisingly, lost the game by just 2 runs.

The bowlers, who didn’t look threatening, turned out to be saviours for KKR with disciplined deliveries. Balaji, after initial hiccups, came back strongly to hinder the flow of runs. Iqbal Abdulla looked impressive by picking up the dangerous Murali Vijay in his very first over and Kallis bounced out CSK skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni to ensure CSK do not capitalize on their rollicking start. Defeating CSK would have done them a world of good but they made people realize that it isn’t Mumbai Indians who played exceptionally well, but they themselves who played in a lacklustre fashion.

If Kolkata plans to field the same team then surely Gautam Gambhir must promote himself up to No.3 or it is even better if he opens the innings. The form of Yusuf Pathan will be a cause of anguish as the big-hitting batsman seems to have lost his ball smacking, thwacking and blasting abilities. Shoddy fielding and drop catches will have to be rectified in today’s game as they don’t want to end on a losing note so early in the tourney. Kallis was noticeably in silky touch, playing off the front as well as the back-foot but he couldn’t steer his team to the finishing line.

A more sensible batting is expected from the domestic stalwarts like Manoj Tiwary, Rajat Bhatia, Manvinder Bisla, and Laxmi Ratan Shukla who, literally, threw away their wickets and made life easy for Chennai. The Kolkata fans will be praying for their team’s win as they have struggled to come into terms with the IPL atmosphere, not to forget that they have fielded a match-winning team on every occasion they have played. But with Gambhir and Kallis leading the way, KKR may end up winning the battle.

An even gloomy performance was showcased by IPL 2009 Champions, Deccan Chargers, whose excitement and over-confidence took the better of them. Captained by a genius in Kumara Sangakkara , the team will have to pull up their socks if they want to secure a place in the next stage as only consistency has been evading them in their quest for IPL dominance.

Their first game of IPL 2011 saw a lugubrious and hopeless execution of plans by opening with Pragyan Ojha, who went for eleven an over. Amit Mishra, though economical, finished wicket-less. Of the bowlers only the South African spearhead, Dale Steyn looked intimidating picking up 2 wickets and didn’t leak runs either. Daniel Christian needs to prove his high billing as he went for 25 runs in just the 3 overs he bowled . It was felt as if Ishant Sharma wasn’t even playing as the lanky bowler failed to make a mark with the ball.

The batting faltered when it mattered the most with Sangakkara falling cheaply without troubling the scorers. A steady start was provided by Shikhar Dhawan and Jaggi, but soon after their dismissals, Deccan stuttered badly loosing the wickets of Sangakkara, Chipli, and Duminy in quick succession. Christian and Ravi Teja staged a remarkable recovery but it wasn’t enough as Rajasthan Royals were well served by their local star, Sidarth Trivedi who ended up picking crucial wickets.

The middle order needs stabilization and with the coming of Cameron White, DC will sport a more balanced unit. So, which of the two has a better chance of over-powering the other?? In an ardent fan’s view, Chargers look a more potentially strong team but the individual brilliance of players like Gauti, Kallis and Eoin Morgan can swing the match in KKR’s favor. The contest that should be watched out for will be KKR’s batting versus Chargers bowling.

What Anna Hazare and Warren Buffett Taught India Recently

When Jantar Mantar turned into a carnival site, most market participants would have wished it weren’t a Saturday. The anti-corruption win by Anna Hazare would have been enough to rally the Sensex by 500 points - if the markets were open - that is used to rally even when Dhoni and team manages a win.

But on 11th April 2011, nothing of that sort happened. By noon itself, Sensex was trading a good 150 points down. The market which had jumped 1000 points when Dr. Manmohan Singh came to power without the help of Prakash Karat, decided to ignore the Hazare win against the Government. But it might rally if and when Dr. Singh steps down and another pro-development Government, most probably led by BJP-NDA, assumes power.

But whether markets rally or not, what Anna Hazare proved was beyond dispute. It was the power of reputation, the power of uncluttered thinking. When a blemish-less past joins hands with an enviable track-record in social achievements, that is personal reputation. But more impressive was the uncluttered thinking - that corruption is the worst menace facing the country, and not Pakistan or China, and that the time to act is now. The loud and clear message was that dilly-dallying any further on the issue of Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill) won’t be permitted. India wouldn’t have agreed more.

What Anna Hazare taught was the power of a single man, and an old man at that. The lesson is simple - if you are fighting for a just and noble cause, and if your reputation is intact, the power of masses is behind you.

Now after the momentous impact of the RTI Act, the Jan Lokpal Bill is sure to make life harder for the corrupt in politics, bureaucracy, and judiciary, if not eliminate corruption once and for all.  

The financial markets too need a similar clean-up. Pressure is already mounting on authorities to extend the RTI Act to listed companies.

But here also, what a mighty Government and the combined might of all FIIs and DIIs couldn’t do, a person achieved during the past fortnight.

Everything about India and its markets were negative. Scams, inflation, rising interest rate, rising crude, and even anticipated things like a poor Q4. FIIs who started dumping since November, accelerated their pace one month back, and this time, DIIs were in no mood to catch the falling knifes.

Brokerages one after the other came out with drastic reports. You know the types - ‘If Nifty breaks 5200, it will touch 4800’ or ‘Nifty will touch 5000 before 6000’. Even big overseas names like Credit Suisse, or respected Indian names like Motilal Oswal had joined suit. The brokerages even invented a term for this - ‘the bear market inside a bull market’.

Then this man came along. An old man at that. He didn’t invest a paisa during his visit. But he said a simple thing, almost casually - Indian markets look good. And that it will look good for a long long time.

Then all the hell broke loose. Starting on 22nd March, and extending to 9 straight days, FIIs were net buyers daily, in amounts zooming quickly from Rs. 300 crore to Rs. 4000 crore. On April 4th, foreign institutional investors were net buyers for Rs. 4087 crore. And that too in a week notorious for redemption pressure from MFs.

In less than 10 days, India had attracted nearly Rs. 10,000 crore in FII money. So, what should this be called? The bull market inside a bear market inside a bull market?

Call it the Buffett effect if you like. But how did his simple words change these FIIs and brokerages like chameleons? Nothing had changed on the ground. In fact, it has turned worse. Inflation has again resumed its upward journey, crude is finding new peaks, newspapers and channels are more into the nitty-gritty of scams than ever, RBI might take interest rates even higher, and Q4 results are nearer. Still, the Buffett effect was overpowering.

That is the power of reputation, and, of course, uncluttered thinking for which the third richest man in this globe is famous for. Buffett’s logic was simple enough.

India is not just about 8% growth. It is about the second-most populous nation and the second-largest consumer market growing at 8%. It is about that nation being a full democracy, unlike China. It is about that nation having at least a hundred big companies adhering to the world’s best corporate governance standards, even if you forget the wider market of 3000 odd big and small companies.

It doesn’t really take a Buffett to see the opportunity. But the sad point is that it still takes a Buffett.

Is it that the FIIs and brokerages don’t have a clue regarding how to do their own business? Yes, it is partly true. Their capabilities are complex, but their thinking is cluttered. Watching the drama closely over the fortnight, it was clear that only one overseas brokerage could get the bull call accurately.

But more than that the problem lies with the eagerness to make quick and massive money, wherever the market goes, and whatever happens to their clients including retail investors.

Almost all the smart money players including institutional investors, brokerages with proprietary trading, and even HNIs have mastered the art of making money both ways. When the market goes up they make money on spot and when the market goes down they short the futures and make even more money.

That is where investors like Buffet stands a class apart. His Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) takes so much pain in choosing stocks, that any American investor can blindly follow his buys if they are listed, or even more easily buy Berkshire stock. It might not do an Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the short-term, but it will outdo Apple in the long-term.

It was interesting to note how the FIIs and DIIs were confused to act on the Buffett signal. The smartest ones started refraining from net selling first. Then they went in for net buys in a small way. All the time watching which way the market would ultimately swing. Then the momentum gathered pace, with the less smart FIIs also joining in, taking daily net buys to 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, and up to 4000 crores!

The message is clear and loud - the smart money players wanted to make money at every twist and turn, every day if possible. But it is up to our authorities whether India should allow this senselessness. Allowing the strategy of short selling - selling something before buying - is not that a great strategy for either the country or its retail investors. Of course, market participants would pooh-pooh this idea, citing short selling as a price discovery tool and all. But all that is plain rubbish invented by brokerages for brokerages.

In fact, many European markets like Germany have emerged stronger from crises by banning naked short selling, even if for short durations. Plain commonsense shows that truer price discovery is possible when sellers are selling only what they have bought first.

Buffett went back almost empty handed. Though he did have truckloads of money with him, and anticipated a few Indian business houses to call him to invest, nothing of that sort happened. It shows that what Buffett told is so right. The big and best business houses of India realize that they are indeed sitting on huge potential, even if that means Buffett doesn’t get a pie from them.

On the meeting with Dr. Singh, Buffett was as clear as he was about the market. The Prime Minister is “wise and kind”, were the exact words. But India has started wishing that the words were “smart and aggressive”, words he would easily use to describe his Indian born deputy Ajit Jain, who is seen by many Berkshire watchers as Buffett’s successor.

Buffet has gone. Markets will fall again. Then it will rise again. But apart from being shocked each time the trend bends against one’s wishes, there is much to learn from this simple old man.

Buffett is no saint. He had given a chance to Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) against the wishes of American public. He has hedged his positions using derivatives. Now, he is under heat due to the insider-trading allegations against his former top lieutenant, David Sokol.

But despite being one of the largest investors in this globe, even the smallest of retail investors can learn much from this pragmatic man. Even his best known quotes are still relevant.

For example his advice to new recruits at Berkshire: “Rule No. 1 - Never Lose Money. Rule No. 2 - Never Forget Rule No. 1.” Beyond the joke what does it mean? It means that the first thing to know about capital markets is that there is no capital protection, and that to insure against capital loss, you have to invest in the strongest frontline stocks. In the current scenario, it means selecting those stocks that have corrected the least post-November, in each sector. But the average investor thinks it is a foolish strategy. He looks for the most corrected stocks, and ends up losing capital at the next downturn. Rules 1 & 2 also mean that you should always place your stop-losses.

The third rule is also quite relevant today - buy a stock believing that you are spending forever one out of 20 stock-buying chances in a lifetime. In other words, be quite choosy with your money earmarked for equities. If you consider capital protection with growth prospects too, this rule also rings true in today’s market. There are not a lot more than twenty stocks worth your money at the current prices.

Newborn Tuskers Take on Daddy Challengers

By Carl Jaison

A grand inception to a multi-billion dollar event! CSK brushes past KKR by an astonishing 2 runs to open their account on a bright note and set alight the cricketing extravaganza. Now the action moves to Kochi, which will host it’s first floodlit encounter between it’s namesake team and the Bangalore Boys. Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK) is the new kid on the block and will be raring to give a go on the more fancied and attractive Bangalore outfit, which will be led by the nerdish student yet charming personality in Daniel Vettori. The cricket fever has gripped the city three-fold with the fans rooting for their very own enterprise.

A tumultuous day awaits the Kochi Police Force with duties round-the-clock on a day where the city will transform into a buzzing hive as dignitaries, processions hit the streets marking a historical day here. Young leader-in-the-making Rahul Gandhi is proposed to make a visit to the city due to election commitments and this will be the first real test for the men-in-control. Thank goodness he’s opted out of the idea of watching IPL here, otherwise the police would have sported a mourning look. A cavalcade honouring demised apostolic philanthropist, Mar Varkey Vithayayhtil, will pass along prime centres of Kochi and here too the police will be kept busy.  A procession involving Mata Amritanandamayi will also keep the police on their toes and not to forget their final agenda on the list, the Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium, Kaloor.

The match-tickets, however, has not had smooth sales with the public expressing cold response to the decision of local bodies to set up ticket-distribution offices only at select places. And my word! The rates are not feasible for the common man and a possibility of a full-capacity stadium is a big question mark. The government has done nothing by waiving 18% of entertainment tax with the ticket-rates still at a high cost.

And the weather-forecast too sounds unfavourable with chances of light showers looming large. Such has been the story of Kochi for the past few days but the cynosure of all attention will be on the 22-yard strip which will be the center of activity. KTK with an experienced line-up will surely pose a gigantic threat to RCB, while the former won’t find it easy also. The very presence of Mahela Jayawardena, the KTK captain, will charge the team to put up a fighting display. Batting prowess in Brendan McCullum, Brad Hodge and Parthiv Patel will cut out the tasks of the RCB bowlers. However the inclusion of Indian ODI reject, VVS Laxman still waits to be seen. Domestic talents in Kedhar Jadhav, Yashpal Singh, Raiphy Vincent Gomez will fight for the remaining spots.

The bowling looks exceptional in old warhorse Muttiah Muralitharan, RP Singh, Ramesh Powar and local boy, Sreesanth. The form of Sreesanth may lead the team management to think about a potential replacement for the speedster. With class players in Michael Klinger , Owais Shah and Jayawardena , KTK will look to stamp their authority and make sure the team puts up a splendid performance.

RCB, clearly, is the stronger team on paper with players of different quality and dimensions. Led by a skipper who isn’t new to the scene, Daniel Vettori believes his team will go all out to spoil Kochi’s party. Dilshan , AB De Villiers and young superstar Virat Kohli make up the crux of the batting. Another rising star, Saurabh Tiwary is sure to book his place in the team after his fabulous showing in the previous IPL for Mumbai Indians. They have a situation-palyer in Chetashwera Pujara and explosive material in Australian, Luke Pomersbach.

The bowling has the likes of Indian spearhead, Zaheer Khan, who had a remarkable WC and Dirk Nannes who is fast and nippy and can provide early inroads into KTK’s batting. Abhimanyu Mithun seems an obvious choice for third seamer but his Ranji team partner, S Aravind too is knocking on the door loud and hard. With Vettori’s crafty spin, RCB is strong favourites to emerge victors today but with the problems KTK has gone through all this while, the Almighty might have a soft-corner towards them. But, the cricket being Twenty20, one can’t predict anything, even the best of cricketing minds.

IPL - What are the Chances for Each Team?

By Carl Jaison

Can we take a breather? The just concluded ICC Cricket World Cup has certainly lived up to it’s name as a  high-voltage and heart-pumping tourney and the entire cricket congress is still to awaken from it’s euphoria. Now with the commencement of the Great Indian Premier League, not many will regain their senses in time, as the cricketing spectacle kicks off  within a few days time. The extravaganza has assured those lazy bones, curled around on their sofas, of non-stop cricketing masti. If the world cup is the role model in the cricketing stage, then the IPL is the mischievous model. IPL is more than just cricket which makes it closely followed by different masses with rapt attention. The new edition involves two more teams making it, surely, a more keenly contested affair. It’s all about power-hitting, close-shaves and cheer girls, thereby creating an atmosphere of tension and glamour and also a peppery one at that. Here is a look-out on the teams that would be fighting to achieve 20-20 triumph with minimal effort and maximum sixers.

Chennai Super Kings:

They are undoubtedly the best performing team so far in the three editions. Captained by a World-Cup winning skipper in Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the team by now has achieved two major titles, including the Champions League winners and not to forget their IPL-3 victors tag. During the auction, the franchisee made sure that they went with the same combination as in the previous editions by claiming successful bids, except losing out a key player in Muralitharan. They are the only team to feature in two IPL finals and there’s nothing to be surprised if they go on to book another final berth. Players to watch out for are MS Dhoni and Michael Hussey.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

A disastrous campaign in IPL-1 shocked many as they were tipped as favourites to grab hold of the trophy, but made a rousing fight-back in the next edtion, unfortunately losing out to Deccan Chargers in the final. RCB is a team that showed a  gradual and consistent change over the years. Their buys have been spot-on and indicates their quest for a trophy-winning team, something that has hampered their chances before. With Kumble opting out of this year’s IPL, the captaincy role may be taken up by former DD player, Daniel Vettori. On paper, they look a fabulous team but one will have to wait and watch whether they are able to utilize their resources into gains. Players to watch out for include Virat Kohli and Dirk Nannes.

Mumbai Indians:

The team has befittingly retained four of it’s superstars for this year’s IPL. Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga and  Kieron Pollard were instrumental in Mumbai Indians’ successful IPL campaign over the past years. Tipped as the heavyweights, the only blot on this team is their inability to live up to the expectations, and is easily bogged down by nerve-wrecking matches. They were finalists in the previous editon and can be slated as the South Africa of IPL - they choke to death rather meekly. But, the sheer presence of Tendullkar gives them an upper hand over the other outfits. Players to watch out for are Sachin Tendulkar and Lasith Malinga.

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Of the 8 teams that participated over the three IPL editions, KKR is the only team that is yet to enter the semi-final stages. Easily the strongest team, KKR will want to get past that dubious record and establish their supremacy. Inconsistency has had the better of them time and again but the team sports a new look with the purchase of Indian batting star, Gautam Gambhir, and numerous other big names. They came agonizingly close to qualify last year but lady luck didn’t shower her blessings upon them. KKR have in their ranks the very best players and the fans would be hoping that their team makes the cut when this year’s IPL commences. Players to watch out for include Eoin Morgan and Ryan ten Doeschate.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala:

This new born baby has seen it all. From the time the team took shape, they have gone through difficult periods, faced severe allegations and possibilities of  axing loomed large. But, the prayers and support of their fans helped the team to regain foundation and confidence and the team will want to give back something to cheer for their well-wishers. Many pundits feel that KTK is the most balanced team having a blend of both senior pros and fresh legs. The team’s base is at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where they are slated to face-off with the Royal Challengers of Bangalore on the 9th of April. Mahela Jayawardena is unquestionably KTK’s man of the moment after his breath-taking batting in the final of the World Cup and justifiably the skipper of the Kochi outfit. They would want to pose a serious threat on all title-contenders and the intensity they have shown during their practice sessions clearly indicates their hunger for success. Players to watch out for are Muttiah Muralitharan and Brendan McCullum.

Deccan Chargers:

Come April 8th and the Deccan Chargers will be all charged up. Their debut season not withstanding, the Chargers since then have proved a point that they are no pushovers. Finishing in the last position a year and going on to win the following years title just stands to show their fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude. The team will sorely miss the expertise of  seasoned campaigner, Adam Gilchrist, who single-handedly took them to the top. However, the team can brag about having a solid, thinking and classy captain in Kumara Sangakkara, who led his national team to the World Cup final. Fitness of Kevin Pietersen is a worry but they have the players to cover up such risks. Players to watch out for include are Dale Steyn and JP Duminy.

Rajasthan Royals:

If the RCB has improved steadily over the years, the performance of RR has decelerated to an extent where even the great Shane Warne is unable to save the blushes. They are well remembered for lifting the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League but since then they haven’t played to their full potential . They  have roped in a few names but it remains to be seen whether they can achieve the impossible. Players to watch out for are Shane Watson and Ross Taylor.

Sahara Pune Warriors:

One of the two new entrants into the IPL sphere, SPW have in their midst a team that can go all the way. Captained by an in-form and boisterous Yuvraj Singh, who won the Player of the Tournament in the just-concluded WC, the team will seek to start off on a positive note and sent shivers down the spines of  their competitors. Owned by the Sahara Group of Companies, SPW will play their home matches at the DY Patil Stadium ground located at Navi Mumbai as the MCA Stadium is still under Construction. The Warriors play their first match in the IPL (2011) against the Kings XI Punjab at Navi Mumbai on the 10th of April 2011. Players to watch out for include Yuvraj Singh and Callum Ferguson.

Kings X1 Punjab:

They can be clubbed along with the RR as the Punjabi boys too have found the going tough. In the first Edition, they did well under the leadership of Yuvraj Singh, reaching the semi-final and a rollicking group stage performance. Sangakkara took over the reigns the following year after Yuvraj was stripped off captaincy. But Sanga couldn’t lead the team to further triumph and Punjab finished rock bottom in the league standings last year winning just a couple of matches. Addition of Gilchrist has boosted their chances with the Australian having previously led the Deccan Chargers to IPL victory. Players to watch out for are David Hussey and Ryan Harris.

Delhi Daredevils:

Unmistakably, Delhi has the least fancied players in the squad. Previously they had the likes of Villiers, Dilshan etc but the auction meant they would lose out on many of their stars. Their best buy seems to be Wayne Parnell but that too isn’t something to boast about for a team that had the likes of McGrath, Dirk Nannes etc. Possibly, DD may find the going tough this year as many felt that they were the worst prepared for the auctions. Loosing a player of the caliber of Gambhir may hurt them but the management has made a sensible choice by retaining explosive Indian opener, Virender Sehwag. They made it to the semis on two occasions but their lacklustre performance in the big games dashed their hopes  of making into the final. Players to watch out for include Colin Ingram and Virender Sehwag.

CSK vs KKR - Mighty Captain vs Mighty Team

Carl Jaison

Lights, Camera, … IPL! The first scene, first shot of this blockbuster movie is scheduled to go on roll today 8.00 p.m. All roads, on Friday, will lead to the Chepauk Stadium, which hosts the opening take and the cast is all ready to go by the script, which promises to be a cliff-hanger and a smashing match-up. You can be sure that once that IPL blare is let out, everything is destined to be a sort of rush-hour situation, where your hearts will yearn to stop thudding, but sadly, this part of the  world is all about fast and furious cricket. 

Fittingly, the 4th sequel of  the IPL guarantees to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller with the rapidly growing relationship between cricket and tinsel town. And that very fact makes IPL more than just cricket. It’s like a cricket carnival where everybody is in a festive and joyous mood and even the smallest of incidences has the biggest of impacts. In split-seconds the script can be altered even if any one of the cast hopes to add a little more tinge to his act. And with the cheerleaders donning mere bits and pieces of attire, all-in-all, a cracker of a contest is expected to transpire.

Two men who together weaved a batting alliance and fetched India a trophy that has eluded them for 28 years will involve in a tussle which not many die-hard Indian fans will want to witness. MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings [CSK]) and Gautam Gambhir (Kolkata Knight Riders[ KKR]) are undeniably the two superstars that will lead their respective teams onto the battlefield of Chepauk with cries for war filling the air. CSK have managed to retain and re-buy most of its former players and that makes them a force to reckon with. The momentum is in their favor along with their past taste of success.

But what team will CSK field today? Going by their exposure and performances in the IPL, the Indian trio of Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Subramaniam Badrinath is sure to be in the roster. With Dhoni behind the stumps, the team will closely take a call on the four foreign players who they would play. Chances are that Scott Styris, Mike Hussey, Albie Morkel and Tim Southee look strong contenders to find a place in the XI. Ravichandran Ashwin will once again share the new ball with either Southee or Morkel and his experience of playing with CSK will come in good stead.

The opening partners slot will be a toss-up between Anirudh Srikanth and Badrinath as Murali Vijay seems to have cemented his berth. CSK will pin their onus on their stupendous batting line-up to ensure them victory as the bowling may come a cropper. They will miss the services of Muralitharan and Balaji but the in-form Southee can do the job, if asked to. If Chennai can pile up a huge total, batting first, KKR will automatically be on the backfoot. But, with the kind of batting they possess, it would be best if CSK chase a scoreboard total.

As far as it goes for KKR, all eyes would be on Gambhir to put up a stellar show. KKR is a revamped and rejuvenated side after their disastrous showings in the three previous IPLs. The owners have been spot-on in buying players of the calibre of Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan , Ryan ten Doeschate etc.

Manoj Tiwary has become a household name in Kolkata and the young lad is expected to open the batting with his skipper. Kallis fits perfectly in the one-down position and the No.4 spot will either find Morgan or ten Doeschate with the former being in top notch form. Ryan is more of an asset to them with his ability to strike the ball long and  can roll his arms over. Brad Haddin might be the glove man and he too is in rich form. Yusuf Pathan’s fireworks down the order will help KKR post a decent total and if chasing, the man can do it all by himself, also adding to his off-break bowling  Laxmi Ratan Shukla at No.7 lends stability to the side which has been looking for such a combination for a long time.

The bowling department will be headed by Brett Lee, who has had a great World Cup alongwith Chennai recruit, Laxmipathy Balaji, Jaydev Unadkat and either Pradeep Sangwan or left-arm tweaker, Iqbal Abdulla. Compared with Chennai’s bowling, KKR has in it’s bowling more variety and skill. Kolkata would love to put up a massive total, batting first, as they have the bowlers that can choke CSK later on.

The face-off between India’s cricketing superstars, Mahi and Gauti, is sure to bring in the crowds for a match which is to be contested between the two top teams and a victory for either of the teams means the winner can start off well in the 41-day tournament. The match has all the qualities to be a pulsating and high-wattage opener and it waits to be seen whether Dhoni or Gambhir will have the last laugh.

The Toss that Caused Chaos

By Carl Jaison

Every World Cup Final has had its share of history but this one takes the cake. The toss debacle featuring Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara and his doppelganger MSD will go down in history as a sporting absurdity and has evoked extensive appraisal on the former, being tagged as a skulduggery.  And that it’s an incident in a world cup final makes it an even more sought-after episode for a bunch of  no-loss, no-gain speculators .

If this one involved confusion, then the 2007 WC Final succumbed to sorrowful memories with a blackout at the stadium where the final had been taking place. The only connecting-link between both these finals was the involvement of the match referee, Jeff Crowe. His folly has been played down by India which is basking in glory, but if  Lankans were to go home content, then Crowe would have  ended up in an Indian potpourri.

Crowe’s blind eye leads him to call for a re-toss after reports that he failed to hear Sanga’s tossing decision.  The coin came down with heads facing up and Sangakkara claimed to have called heads but his Indian counterpart MS Dhoni seemed to believe that he had not. With Crowe uncertain, he decided to toss again and Sangakkara correctly called heads and elected to bat first.  It seems Crowe didn’t comprehend the Lankan skipper’s call because of the crowd-noise and suggests that he wasn’t audible enough. The sheer element of a world cup finale played down between two hugely-favoured, powerful outfits may have got the better of  Jeff Crowe.

However, Sanga will be pin-pointed only because of his audacious but shameful act that meant Lanka won the toss and possibly the match. In spite of his  blankness about the incident, Sangakkara looked a tensed and strangulated figure amongst the 22 players. Glimpses of Harbhajan taunting Sanga meant that the Indian team wasn’t too jubilant about the debacle and Sanga was mentally targeted. He had that conscience of guilt printed on his face and that apparently cost the Lankans the match. He resembled a Judas Iscariot for his palpable act of  treachery to the game of cricket. On Saturday, Sanga pictured himself more like a goose that was to be butchered than a skipper of the Lankan Lions.

The witty, confident Sangakkara we know of was portrayed as  a piece of shattered glass that couldn’t be assembled and helplessness was written all over his face once he realized the match was slowly slipping out of hands. More so a captain, Sanga largely depicted a wicket-keeper doing his job behind the sticks rather than marshalling his force at each interval. Certainly, the toss had taken a toll on him and India capitalized on this and from then on Sri Lanka had no hopes of a comeback.

But what the heck was Dhoni doing? Smiling gleefully as if he had won the world cup, little knowing that he has just been outwitted. If Dhoni wanted to win the toss badly, he should have raised an issue when referee calls for a redo. Ravi Shastri was rehearsing on the verses he would be saying once the toss is made. But, he too must have opened his ears to what was taking place on-field. Perhaps the only one who can escape blame would be Stumpy, the elephant mascot for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, who couldn’t even eavesdrop on the happenings. It was like a slapstick comedy, only that the whole scene was a serious one.

If it had been Ponting in Dhoni’s place, the match-referree would have taken a beating. And if it had been Ganguly , the match might would have been called off.  His dumb luck going into tosses prompted experts to say Dhoni has missed a trick by agreeing to a second spin of the coin. But, one won’t question him now as he has provided a fitting reply by ensuring the toss had little impact on his team’s performance.

Host broadcasters EPSN-Star insisted afterwards that Sangakkara had audibly called heads the first time, but Sky and BBC begged to differ. Michael Vaughan, covering the match for Test Match Special, tweeted: “Sangakarra has stuffed Dhoni. He shouted Tail in the 1st toss and lost it. You can hear it in on air.” It's possible that only Sangakkara will ever know for sure, but the scale of the controversy has died down with India scripting a historic win. Now, we understand how winning the toss can backfire on a team and India profited from this transgression of cricketing stupidity.