The big fat IPL format has made the dull months of April and May boom time in Calcutta. With the shortest form of cricket gaining in popularity, cash tills are ringing all over — hotels, malls, restaurants and retail stores.

“Traditionally, April-May are lean months for the hospitality industry. Last year, there was 85 per cent room occupancy around this time, but this year we are full up,” said a spokesperson for ITC Sonar Calcutta.

With the teams and celebrity guests pushing up the occupancy rates, the average room rate has gone up at the Bypass hotel, the spokesperson added.

The Park, hosting the commentators, has also witnessed a 15 to 20 per cent rise in occupancy in the past month and is expecting to improve on the performance once the Mohali team checks in later this month.

The benefits of excitement around T20 matches have trickled down below the star hotels.

If Sanjeev Bhargava of Trade Links is busy meeting the demand for luxury cars — he has supplied Shah Rukh Khan’s Mercedes — the New Market hawker selling Kolkata Knight Riders T-shirts is finding it difficult to meet the demand. “The T-shirts are selling like hot cakes… People are buying them before going to Eden Gardens,” said the middle-aged man selling the black-and-gold T-shirts at anything between Rs 75 and Rs 150.

The expensive variants — Reebok’s KKR jerseys at Rs 1,699 — are also flying off the shelves. “Our biggest challenge now is to meet the demand. We are taking bookings in advance. Shah Rukh’s No. 12 jersey is the biggest sell-out,” says Reebok India managing director Subhinder Singh Prem.

With the home team bouncing back with two consecutive wins, the next leg of the IPL promises to be more exciting. To cash in on the craze, malls have put up giant screens and restaurants are coming up with attractive offers.

“At the lounge, we definitely see an upsurge the days the Calcutta team is playing. It is like a festival and the footfall increases by 35 per cent,” said Ashim Mewar, the restaurant director of Red Kitchen and Lounge.
Source: telegraphindia.com

MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League organisers have shifted the June 1 final from the originally scheduled Wankhede Stadium in South Mumbai to the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai for a variety of reasons, Cricket Board sources said today.

“The final has been shifted and will now be held at D Y Patil Stadium. One of the main reasons is that the TV production crew is not happy with the makeshift arrangements at the Wankhede Stadium which has already been taken up for renovation and there is space constraint for keeping their equipment,” the sources said.

The arrangements for the TV production crew includes temporary location of their vast paraphernalia adjacent to the makeshift restaurant located just behind the Garware Stadium stands, the sources added.

Another reason is that the D Y Patil Stadium can hold 55,000 spectators as compared to 40,000 by Wankhede, which increases the revenue of the home team owners – Reliance Industries.

But the decision has not yet been communicated to the franchise owners of Mumbai Indians, the home team, by the IPL authorities who make the final call though the team owners have a say on the matter, said a spokesperson of the franchisee.

“There have been talks about one of the semifinals or the final being shifted to D Y Patil, but we have not heard anything officially on the matter,” he said.

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Call the IPL by any other name but Indian Premier League. How about ‘Invisible Premier League’? The Twenty20 tourney is high on the ‘invisible’ quotient what with small ad agencies and designers, caterers, security companies, ticketing and other logistics firms being the most visible faces on the field, without a mention off it. Instead, big-ticket brands like DLF, Pepsi, Vodafone, Hero Honda have ensured the halo of visibility by pumping in millions of dollars. It’s time for a paean to the unsung heroes of IPL.

Meet the Delhi-based Brilliant Entertainment, which is handling the entertainment and celebrity acts of Deccan Chargers, or Team Hyderabad. Or, for that matter, the Hyderabad-based Rachnoutsav Events Private Limited, which designs and distributes tickets for the Deccan Chargers. The Rs 8-crore firm also manages the in-stadium swelling crowds, besides providing VIP cover.

“It is challenging and interesting to work for an event that organised seven cricket matches in less than 40 days. It was also challenging to manage around 40,000 people in the stadium. This has added to our portfolio for the future,” points out Sanjay Kankaria, manager special events at Rachnoutsav.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Hyderabad: Deccan Chargers have finally given up hope of qualifying for the semi-finals and will now try and salvage some points in the remaining matches to end up a bit higher in the points table.

“We are pretty much out of the semi-finals and we’re at a stage where we can’t change anything.

“We will try and salvage something out of this tournament,” Gilchrist said after their loss to Kolkata Knight Riders.

The stand-in captain, however, was all praise for Yalaka Venugopal Rao.

“There have been some positives. The way Venugopal batted was brilliant,” Gilchrist said.

He felt they gave away too many runs in the closing stages of the Knight Riders’ innings and that made the difference.

“We gave away 100 runs in the last six overs. But I am not singling out any individual. We have to take collective responsibility for the defeat,” he said.

He felt the team was “doing only 75 per cent of the basics right,” and that has contributed to the defeat.

“We have to sit down and analyse the drawbacks and move forward.

“We have gelled well as a team but it’s unfortunate that only one player has been able to click every time.

“We will address this issue and change things around. It’s all about learning, and tough situations are best for learning,” he said.
Source:telegraphindia.com

Mumbai, May 11 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar, who is yet to play his first ball in the Indian Premier League, could feature in the crucial next tie against Chennai, Mumbai Indians coach Lalchand Rajput said today.
“Sachin has been batting for the last two days during practice and we are hoping that he will be playing the next match,” Rajput said.

A groin injury has kept Tendulkar out of the IPL so far but the batsman has been practising with the team during the last two practice sessions.

Rajput said the presence of Tendulkar in the team would lift the morale of the side ahead of crucial game.

“It has been good for morale to be winning before he (Tendulkar) was in the team and him coming back will further boost our players and put pressure on the other teams,” Rajput said.

Tendulkar, if fit ahead of the match on May 14 is also likely to take over as captain, with South African Shaun Pollock stepping aside.

“Pollock’s contribution to the team has been immense but when Sachin comes everyone will revolve around him,” Rajput said.

Tendulkar is likely to open the innings with Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya.

Mumbai have won three matches out of seven so far and are placed in the bottom half of the team standings with seven games to go.
Source:ptinews.com