The ‘Fantasy Cricket Stock Exchange (FCSE)‘, in place since the MPL 2013  season, has served a two pronged role – primarily a fantasy cricket platform, and secondarily towards calculating how much each team is charged for the players it retains.

The formula for re-evaluating the (player) stock prices has evolved over the years, and will continue to do so as we look ahead to the 2016 season. As always, any updates to the formula to recalculate stock prices, is applied to the next full MPL season – the formula doesn’t change mid-way, during the MPL season.

Volatility in the stock market is a concept everyone is familiar with, and the FCSE is par for the course with stock prices here also equally volatile at times.

With that in mind, let’s review the performances of everyone, from MPL 2015, from a stock price perspective. Listed below is the legend for reading the table that follows.

• ‘Offer Price‘: Price paid for a  player’s service at the MPL 2015 “Player’s Auction”
• ‘Closing‘: Stock price for the given player after his last match in MPL 2015
• ‘Low‘: Lowest price point for this stock during the MPL 2015 season
• ‘Peak‘: Highest price point for this stock during the MPL 2015 season
• ‘Average‘: Average price point for this stock across the MPL 2015 season
• ‘*’: Indicates a player who was part of “Three Musketeers” of the respective teams in MPL 2015. The ‘Three Musketeers’ were the three members retained by each team for the MPL 2015 season, from among their MPL 2014 squads. The ‘Offer Price’ for members of the ‘Three Musketeers’ for each team for the MPL 2015 season, was the average stock price for the respective player from the MPL 2014 season.

Continue reading MPL 2015 Player Review from a Stock Perspective →

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MPL 2015 Eliminator – Incredibles @ X-Men, August 12 2015:

• Scorecard
• Points & Stocks

Match Summary:

X-Men won the toss and chose to bat. Five wickets in the first six overs put X-Men on the back-foot and they never recovered enough. Rahul, playing his last MPL match, bowled his quota of three overs up-front, and got key wickets of Sandeep (bowled), Yashwanth (caught-behind), and Milind (caught at gully) – openers and one-down. He also get Anoop run-out shortly after.

Rohith and Venkat also fell soon after. Koundinya attempted to resurrect a sinking ship, but was out for 10(17). X-Men were 32/8 in 9.1 overs and in all sorts of trouble. Suresh and Krishna, along with some help from extras, stitched together the largest partnership of the inning – 21 runs – before they both fell in the last over of the inning. X-Men posted 53/10 in 13.4 overs, leaving two deliveries on the table.

Incredibles lost Adai in the second over of their chase, but got some momentum through Anuj – he got the only hit for a six in the match. Anuj fell with the score at 21/2 in 4 overs. Nachiket and Sriram kept the scoreboard ticking with singles.

Nachiket and Rahul were dismissed with the score at 37/4 in 6.5 overs.  Rahul having had a great outing with the ball, would not have one with the bat – run out by Koundinya for 1(4). Sriram along with Koushik kept things simple, and took care of business, with plenty of extras, as they got Incredibles to 48/5 in 10 overs, before Koushik fell. Priyank and Sriram took care of the final rites, as Incredibles got their target of 54 with five wickets and 3.1 overs to spare.

Incredibles had lost to X-Men in both their round-robin meetings, before defeating them today in the MPL 2015 eliminator. Incredibles, having lost their first four matches in MPL 2015, have made it to the MPL 2015 final on the back of five straight wins – cornered tigers anyone?

They’ll take on the Transformers in the MPL 2015 final – Incredibles are the only team to beat the Transformers, who’d won seven straight at the time.

Player Spotlight:

Koundinya and Suresh lead the batting for X-Men, but clearly lacked support – 7(13) and 13(17) respectively. Yashwanth and Krishna were the only other batsmen to face more than 10 deliveries  – 7(13) and 4(13) respectively. Yashwanth and Suresh struck a boundary each.

Rahul and Chaitanya lead the bowling for Incredibles in style – 3-0-11-3, and 3-1-11-2 respectively. They were ably supported by Priyank and Abhijit – 3-0-9-0 and 3-0-10-1 respectively.

Nachiket, Anuj, and Sriram took care of the tricky chase for Incredibles – 10 (20), 9(8) and 10(19) respectively. Anuj got the only six in the match; there were no four’s in the Incredibles batting.

Yashwanth and Krishna looked to keep the pressure on with the ball, but a target of 54 was never sufficient to test the Incredibles batting, especially in light of the extras the bowling unit leaked – 3-0-11-2 and 2.5-0-11-0 respectively.

Key Stats:

Legend:

Dot Ball Count (DBC): Dot balls faced by all batsmen in the given team for this match. Includes any deliveries not faced on account of being all-out prior to the 14 allotted overs.

Extra Deliveries (ED):The total number of wides and no-ball bowled by the opposition, during this team's batting.

Effective Dot Ball Count (EDBC): Subtracting the sum of wides and no-balls bowled by the opposition, from the DBC.

Runs in Boundaries (RiB): The total runs scored in boundary hits.

Incredibles conceded eight wides and three no-balls, along with two byes – 13 extras, including 11 extra deliveries.  X-Men in turn conceded six wides, eight no-balls, and three byes – 17 extras, including 14 extra deliveries.

30 runs in extras conceded by the two teams, as compared to 77 runs scored off the bats, in 24.3 overs. Have to wonder how a tighter bowling  performance by X-Men would have impacted the match.

Chaitanya has 14 wickets in MPL 2015, and the purple cap for Incredibles is secure in his hands – or, on his head. He needs three more wickets to tie Mayank, and four to become the highest wicket taker in MPL 2015.

Rahul finished with 34 runs at a SR of 51 for 69 batting points; 8 wickets at ER of 4, for 103 bowling points; and 4 catches/run-outs for 20 points.

 

Plays of the day:

1. Yashwanth was off to a tentative start while batting, and had three difficult chances go-down. He got a boundary hit over Anuj at deep square-leg, who was standing a few yards in from the boundary line. Anuj back-pedaled but couldn’t take the catch. Anuj walked in from behind the boundary line for each delivery there onward, for the rest of the match.
2. Sandeep looked comfortable while facing Rahul in the opening over. Rahul bowled a lose ball – a high full-toss – which turned out to be the best bowl of the over, for it clipped the off-stump, and knocked a bail over for the first of his three wickets.
3. Rahul was bowling well, and bowled his three over quota up-front – three of the first five overs of the match. Yashwanth knicked the first ball of the fifth over through to Adai (wicket-keeper). Incredibles went up in appeal as one, and while the umpire took his time, Yashwanth had already walked off!
4. The X-Men were in trouble at 23/5, but with Koundinya and Rohith in the middle, they were very much in the contest. They got to 27/5 after 6 overs. Run-rate seemed fine – it was the wickets lost that concerned them. However, a tight over from Abhijit where only one run came, was followed by a beautiful display in classical off-spin bowling by Chaitanya. He worked Rohith over, before breaking through his defenses to have him bowled. Flight, loop, spin, bounce, and all that jazz.
5. With Rahul playing his last MPL match, everyone at the ground – players and spectators – gave Rahul a ‘Guard of Honor‘. An emotional moment was followed by a bear hug from Mayank – friends since their childhood. Rahul was also presented with a collage that carried photos across his six seasons with the club.

Player Rankings:

Yashwanth (482 points) and Koundinya (450 points) end their MPL 2015 campaign in the second and third spots respectively, in the Player Rankings.

Priyank and Chaitanya, along with Yeshwanth have 412 points each – in a three way tie for the eighth spot.

Rahul signed off of MPL, with 193 points this season, in the 22nd spot overall.

Stock Review:

Rahul’s was the only stock to post a significant gain – up $5.02. Anuj’s stock also rose up by $1.37.

Yashwanth, Priyank, Chaitanya, Dhruv, Koundinya, Rahul and Sriram’s stocks are now valued at $20.48, $17.98, $15.98, $14.77, $14.48, $13.18 and $12.91 respectively.

* Scorecard, and 'Points & Stock Price Reevaluation' links are now available off the Schedule page

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Avengers @ Transformers, August 3 2015:

• Scorecard
• Points & Stocks

Match Summary:

Avengers won the toss and chose to bat. A wicket in the second over apart, the Transformers’ bowlers were made to sweat. Mohit and Surya forged a strong second wicket partnership, as the batsmen complimented each other well – Mohit rotated the strike, while Surya took the attack to the bowlers.

39/2 after 7.4 overs was a strong launching pad and the middle order capitalized. The Transformers bowlers applied the brakes to an extent, as Avengers got to 62/4 in 13 overs. Ganesh I provided the momentum at the death – consecutive sixes over square-leg and long-on boundaries to start the last over – as Avengers posted 77/6 in their allotted 14 overs.

Avengers bowled and fielded well, to reduce Transformers to 25/4 after 6.1 overs, including two run-outs. However a key partnership between Madhu and Chirag – with Madhu playing the role of aggressor – got the Transformers to 49/4 in 9.1 overs, and their chase back on track

However, the Avengers struck back, as Rushil lead the way with two wickets and a run-out, leaving the Transformers at 58/8 in 11.3 overs. Transformers, playing only 10 men, required their last wicket pair to get 20 runs off 15 balls.

Aggressive running, a moment of confusion and chaos, and a lucky bounce got Transformers a famous win off the last ball of the inning – a boundary hit by Dipesh with four runs required off the last ball.

Transformers with their seventh win in a row have secured the top spot in MPL 2015 – Team Standings with a match to go. Avengers are fifth with two points, with a match remaining against the X-Men.

Player Spotlight:

Mohit, Surya, and Ganesh I lead the way with the bat for Avengers, with each of them scoring 11(27), 29(27) and 15(8) respectively. Surya had two four’s while Ganesh I had two sixes. Ankit and Pritish chipped in with useful cameos – 6(15) and 7(5) respectively.

Dipesh, Chirag, and Anil bowled well for Transformers – 3-0-10-2, 3-0-13-1, and 2-0-7-0 respectively. Madhu getting his first bowl of the season, had 1-0-4-1 to show for his effort.

Hari K, Madhu, Chirag and Dipesh lead the way with the bat for Transformers – 10(15), 18(12), 9(12), and 17(13) respectively. Neel’s contribution of 5(7) with Dipesh, in a 20 run winning stand was vital, as was his running between the wickets. Anil, opening the batting on this occasion, gave his team a quick start – 6(9).

Kunal and Rushil lead the bowling attack for Avengers – 3-0-13-0 and 3-0-14-3 respectively. Rushil also got a key run-out, while Pritish contributed to two run-outs himself. Swarooph chipped in with a wicket too – 2-0-12-1.

Key Stats:

Legend:

Dot Ball Count (DBC): Dot balls faced by all batsmen in the given team for this match. Includes any deliveries not faced on account of being all-out prior to the 14 allotted overs.

Extra Deliveries (ED):The total number of wides and no-ball bowled by the opposition, during this team's batting.

Effective Dot Ball Count (EDBC): Subtracting the sum of wides and no-balls bowled by the opposition, from the DBC.

Runs in Boundaries (RiB): The total runs scored in boundary hits.

Surya joined the ‘batsmen with 50 plus runs in MPL 2015’ club. He now has 63 runs and is fifth in the most-runs table.

Ankit S, with 10 wickets, joined  the ‘bowlers with 10 plus wickets in MPL 2015’ club.

An off-day for Yeshwanth saw him get a combined negative 35.55 points, and thus break his tie for the top-spot in Player Rankings with Yashwanth. It didn’t matter, as Dipesh took over pole position from both.

Plays of the day:

1. Avengers got to 62/4 in 13 overs. Ganesh I was on strike as Yeshwanth came on to bowl the last over. Ganesh I launched consecutive sixes – a powerful flick over square leg and a straight hit over long-on. He was out going for another off the fourth ball of the over, but the damage had already been done.
2. Transformers needed some momentum as the asking rate got to seven an over with seven overs to go. Madhu took the attack to the Avengers, as he hit one toward the deep mid-wicket boundary. Prabhakar back pedaled and took a difficult catch. However, as he was about to celebrate, he realized that his motion had taken him over the boundary line; giving Transformers six vital runs. Madhu capitalized on the lifeline to get another boundary.
3. Rushil was bowling well and had dismissed Raghuvir and Madhu. Yeshwanth had joined Chirag and was at the non-striker’s end. Rushil stopped an attempted straight drive by Chirag, as he fell to the ground and to his right. In a quick swooping action he picked up the ball and threw down the stumps at the non-strikers end. Yeshwanth didn’t have time to get his bat back in the crease, and was run-out through a brilliant piece of fielding.
4. Dipesh pulled-up tender during the first runs he ran for. Chirag and Ankit D had a quick discussion, and Ankit D allowed Yeshwanth as the runner for Dipesh. Master stroke number one by Ankit D.
5. Confusion and chaos reigned in the penultimate over of the Transformers’ chase, as the required rate was between seven and eight runs an over. Neel played a straight drive, and the batsmen ran for two runs.

   However, the umpires indicated that the ball had struck leg first, which seemed to be the consensus among all, prior to hitting Neel’s bat during the stroke. Per NECA rules, once the ball hits leg, the ball is ruled dead – the batsman can only be out bowled if the ball rolls on to the stump, or stumped provided the keeper collects the ball behind the stumps. However, per international cricket, bat-pad and pad-bat are treated the same.

   A discussion ensued among the captains and the umpires – Rohith and Sriram. Ganesh I and Raghuvir were also consulted. MPL was started with NECA rules, but over the years many of the NECA specific rules were stripped off from MPL. No one was sure what rule applied here-in. Raghuvir and Ganesh were of the opinion that NECA rule applied in this case, but Chirag was firm that international rules applied.

   After a few minutes of discussion, Ankit D relented to Chirag, to allow the ball to be score as two runs. Master stroke number two by Ankit D. The discussion though would continue in the Facebook group.

6. Good bowling in the last over by Surya, left the Transformers requiring four to win, and three to tie off the last ball, with Dipesh on strike. A full-ball was swung to the deep mid-wicket boundary, where Kunal was placed. Unsure about the equation (he’d reveal later that he thought that Transformers required two to tie), Kunal charged at the ball.However, a fortunate bounce for Transformers, an unfortunate one for Avengers, resulted in the ball bouncing over Kunal, and reaching the boundary. A famous win for Transformers, a crushing loss for the Avengers – a win for the sport of cricket.

* Scorecard, and 'Points & Stock Price Reevaluation' links are now available off the Schedule page

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Avengers @ X-Men, July 30 2015:

• Scorecard
• Points & Stocks

Match Summary:

Avengers won the toss and chose to bat. A good start by the top-order, provided a platform for a big score – Avengers got to 42/3 in 7.4 overs, and were eyeing a score in excess of 75.

The bowlers from X-Men struggled with their line and length, and subsequently leaked extras. X-Men kept changing the bowlers, and  tightened things up in the next few overs, as the Avengers’ batting folded for 61 in 13.3 overs, leaving three deliveries on the table.

Chasing 62 for a win in their allotted 14 overs, the openers for X-Men provided the ideal start – 29 in 6.1 overs – before the first wicket fell. They lost a few more wickets along the way, but wrapped up the chase in 12.4 overs, winning by 6 wickets.

X-Men with eight points via four wins, moved closer to locking up the second spot in the MPL 2015 – Team Standings. Avengers while fifth in the standings, are only two points (one win) out of the the third and fourth spot teams – Justice League and Incredibles. Their NRR however (-1.499) may leave them with too much to make up with only two matches pending.

Player Spotlight:

Rohith lead the way for the X-Men as he secured a career best 5/5 in his three overs – 3-0-5-5. His strikes derailed the Avengers batting, and ensured his team didn’t have much to chase.

This is also the best bowling figure for any bowler in MPL – pushing Mayank’s 7/5 and Sreeram’s 8/5 down a spot.

 

Koundinya played his part with the ball well, but didn’t get any wickets as a reward – 2-0-4-0. Aditya earned two wickets, but they proved expensive – 1.3-0-13-2.

Ankit D, Pritish and Surya – 12(18), 9(18), 11(22) respectively – played good knocks for the Avengers, but neither could convert a strong start into a tall score.

Dhruv was the key in providing the X-Men batting a rollicking start, as he made 25(30), including two boundary hits, before stepping aside – retired hurt, with the team score on 47/2 in 10 overs – to provide other batsmen a chance to get a few runs.

Krishna and Anoop made they opportunities with the bat count fo 8(18) and 9(11) respectively.

Rushil was the only Avengers bowler to make an impression – 3-0-10-2.

 

Key Stats:

Legend:

Dot Ball Count (DBC): Dot balls faced by all batsmen in the given team for this match. Includes any deliveries not faced on account of being all-out prior to the 14 allotted overs.

Extra Deliveries (ED):The total number of wides and no-ball bowled by the opposition, during this team's batting.

Effective Dot Ball Count (EDBC): Subtracting the sum of wides and no-balls bowled by the opposition, from the DBC.

Runs in Boundaries (RiB): The total runs scored in boundary hits.

The Avengers’ batting consisted of five ducks.

The X-Men bowling unit conceded 19 extras – 13 wides and six no-balls.

There were no additions to the ‘batsman with 50 plus runs in MPL 2015’ and ‘bowlers with 10 plus wickets in MPL 2015’ clubs.

Plays of the day:

1. Scattered thunderstorms was the projected forecast for the match. The rains arrived during the second half of the Avengers’ batting, and proceeded to get heavier. A discussion ensued about either waiting for the rains to pass, or to call of the match completely – any match called off would be replayed from scratch. Rohith, captain of X-Men, had taken three wickets by this time and mentioned that if he is able to get a five wicket haul, the match should continue. The rest, as they say, is history.

Player Rankings:

Rohith (305 points) and Ankit S (294 points) are now in the seventh and eighth spots respectively, in the Player Rankings

Yashwanth, without playing this match, is still tied for the top-spot with Yeshwanth – both on 421 points.

Koundinya (281) and Dhruv (255) are pushing upward – now at the 11th and 13th spots respectively.

Stock Review:

Rohith, Dhruv, Rushil, Surya and Ankit D’s stocks posted significant gains – up by $12.44, $7.15, $3.5, $3.35 and $2.28 respectively.

Rohith, Dhruv,, Koundinya, Ankit S, and Rushil’s stocks are now valued at $24.39, $17.94, $12.17, $10.87, and $10.17 respectively.

* Scorecard, and 'Points & Stock Price Reevaluation' links are now available off the Schedule page

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Justice League @ Incredibles, July 29 2015:

• Scorecard
• Points & Stocks

Match Summary:

Incredibles won the toss and chose to bat. Justice League bowlers kept the Incredibles batting unit in check with a steady stream of wickets – two ducks in the top-order had the Incredibles at 14/3 after 5.2 overs.

Small partnerships, with batsmen playing around Nachiket, took the Incredibles to 54/5 after 12 overs. However, a dramatic collapse of 3 runs for 5 wickets in the space of 9 balls meant the Incredibles folded for 57 in 13.3 overs – leaving 3 balls on the table.

Incredibles got a wicket off the first ball, as they began their defense of 57 on the right note; they got the second wicket in the next over. A run-out followed by a middle-order collapse that included Hari getting out hit-wicket, had the Justice League in trouble at 20/6 after 7 overs.

The lower order attempted to resurrect the inning, and chase down a relatively small target. However, the damage proved too much to recover from, as Justice League folded for 46 runs in 12.4 overs – leaving 8 balls on the table – a 11 run loss.

Justice League and Incredibles have now both played six matches, and have four points each. Justice League stay in the third spot in the MPL 2015 – Team Standings, marginally ahead of Incredibles, on NRR: -0.083 to -0.19.

Player Spotlight:

Sriram played anchor for Incredibles, while Nachiket stood tall and played a captain’s knock. Anuj and Chaitanya played key supporting roles as the Incredibles posted a slightly under-whelming 57. Sriram, Nachiket, Anuj and Chaitanya made 11(21), 22(22), 8(8), and 5(7) respectively.

Anand R, Mayank, Rafeeq and Arun stood tall with the ball for Justice League – 3-0-6-1, 2.3-0-10-2, 3-1-7-1, and 3-0-15-3 respectively.

Hari, Ashish S, Rafeeq and Shalyajit were the only Justice League batsmen to put up a fight, making 7(16), 5(9), 6(16), and 6(8) respectively.

Rahul, Sriram, Sachin, and Chaitanya stood out with the ball for Incredibles – 3-0-11-1, 2.4-0-12-4, 3-0-10-2, and 3-0-7-2 respectively.

Key Stats:

Legend:

Dot Ball Count (DBC): Dot balls faced by all batsmen in the given team for this match. Includes any deliveries not faced on account of being all-out prior to the 14 allotted overs.

Extra Deliveries (ED):The total number of wides and no-ball bowled by the opposition, during this team's batting.

Effective Dot Ball Count (EDBC): Subtracting the sum of wides and no-balls bowled by the opposition, from the DBC.

Runs in Boundaries (RiB): The total runs scored in boundary hits.

The Incredibles’ batting consisted of five ducks.

Sriram, Nachi, and Anuj – now with 59, 59, and 60 runs respectively – join the ‘batsman with 50 plus runs in MPL 2015’ club – Rohith, Anuj, Anil, Yashwanth, and Yeshwanth being the others.

Rafeeq joins Mayank, Dipesh and Chirag, in the ‘bowlers with 10 plus wickets in MPL 2015’ club. Rafeeq has exactly 10 wickets. Mayank’s two wicket haul gets him back to the top of the highest wicket-taker – now with 12 wickets.

Plays of the day:

1. Sreeram was part of the playing XI, but couldn’t make it for the match. Former captain Priyank, soaking in the match as part of the audience, strode out at the fall of the eighth wicket. With his right palm in a cast – he came out to bat with one good hand in Sreeram’s place (and name). A run-out of the first ball he faced didn’t make a difference to the scorecard – Sreeram may not be too happy about the impact of this to his points and stock-price reevaluation.

Player Rankings:

Mayank, Rafeeqm Sriram and Chaitanya moved up in the Player Rankings, now in the fourth, sixth, ninth and tenth spots respectively.

Arun continues to push upward, and is at 12th overall. Nachiketh is at 15th, while Priyank on the back of only his superman like performance in the Incredibles’ season opener, is now at 14th.

Stock Review:

Sriram, Anand, Nachiketh, and Chaitanya’s stocks posted significant gains – up by $6.87, $4.35, $3.48, and $2.57 respectively.

Sriram, Rafeeq, Chaitanya, Nachiket, Arun and Mayank’s stocks are now valued at $23.35, $21.49, $19.93, $19.56, $16.63, and $14.68 respectively.

* Scorecard, and 'Points & Stock Price Reevaluation' links are now available off the Schedule page

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Transformers @ Justice League, July 28 2015:

• Scorecard
• Points & Stocks

Match Summary:

Transformers won the toss and unsurprisingly, chose to bat. Justice League bowlers had Transformers in trouble at 33/5 after 8 overs – Transformers were only 10 players for the match.

However, a 19 run 12th over gave the Transformers’ inning momentum and more, as they accelerated from 47/5 after 11 to 86/7 in their allotted 14 overs.

Justice League got a good platform in their pursuit of 87 runs for the win – they got to 29/1 in 6 overs.  However, scoreboard pressure coupled with good bowling and fielding derailed the chase, as Justice League fell to 52/9, and eventually finished at 65/9, falling short of their target by 22 runs.

Transformers, with an MPL record sixth win in a row, are sitting pretty at the top of the MPL 2015 – Team Standings, while Justice League stay at third (four points), ahead of a key clash against the Incredibles (two points) tomorrow.

Player Spotlight:

Chirag the tailender went AWOL, as Chirag the batsman opened the batting. Chirag and Neel played steady knocks as they setup a platform for the push to a competitive score.

For a second match in a row, a player to the name of Y[a|e]shwanth stole the show.  Yeshwanth made 27(16)* on the back of three fours, and some strong running between the wicket, playing out only two dot balls in the process. Coming in at 33/5 after 8 overs, he finished unbeaten.

Srikanth and Madhu ably supported Yeshwanth, as they played valuable cameos. Chirag, Neel, Srikanth, Yeshwanth, and Madhu made 8(12), 9(18), 12(19), 27(16)* and 6(4) respectively.

Rafeeq was impressive with the ball for Justice League, and found support in Arun – 3-0-14-3, and 3-0-13-1 respectively.

Anandan and Ashish S  got the chase of 87 off on the right note – Justice League were 29/2 after 6.1 when Anandan was out. Ram G got a huge six over the square-leg boundary in the last over of the inning – the only six of the match. Anandan, Ashish S, and Ram G made 13(22), 15(21) and 12(7)* respectively.

Ganesh K, and Dipesh lead the Transformers’ bowling, while Ashish U chipped in with a key over – 3-0-8-1, 3-0-10-3, and 1-0-4-1 respectively. Ganesh K also took two catches and effected a run-out to cap off a memorable day’s work in the field.

Key Stats:

The number of dot balls played out by the Transformers – Dot Ball Count (DBC) – was 39 or 46.43% of balls faced. However, factoring in the 8 wides and 7 no-balls bowled by Justice League, the Effective Dot Balls Count (EDBC) is 24 – 28.57%. Three four’s meant 12 runs came in boundaries.

The DBC for Justice League was 42, or 50% of balls faced. However, factoring in the 3 wides and 2 no-balls bowled by Transformers, the EDBC is 37 – 44.05%. One four and one six  meant 10 runs came in boundaries.

Yeshwanth becomes the fifth member of the ‘batsman with 50 plus runs in MPL 2015’ club – Rohith, Anuj, Anil, and Yashwanth being the other four. With 75 runs to his name, Yeshwanth is second in the runs chart only to Yashwanth, who in turn has 85.

Dipesh and Chirag joined Mayank in the ‘bowlers with 10 plus wickets in MPL 2015’ club. Dipesh, with 11 wickets is now the highest wicket taker this season. Mayank and Chirag are at 10 wickets a piece.

Plays of the day:

1. During the Justice League chase, Ankit D was the umpire and scorer. On noticing the score at 44, Ankit pulled a David Shepard – hop, skip and jump – or so it looked. An inquiry later revealed that he was merely stretching.
2. Mayank and Rafeeq both ended up at the striker’s end, as a run-out was attempted at the non-strikers end. Mayank assumed he was out, and walked off. The fielder having broken the stumps prior to collecting the ball cleanly, then proceeded to pluck out a stump with ball in hand to get the run-out. Rafeeq had stepped out of the crease by now, and was declared run-out, as Mayank was called back.
3. Anil joined the Transformers after finishing a softball game in the adjacent ground. However, on account of joining the match around the half-way point, he didn’t bat or bowl. His throws from the boundary had a little extra zip on them, probably from wanting to get into the thick of action.

Player Rankings:

Yeshwanth has tied Yashwanth for the first spot in the Player Rankings – both with 421 points for the season!

Anil, Dipesh, Mayank, Chirag, Ganesh K, and Rafeeq are third, fourth, fifth, seventh, ninth and tenth, respectively. Arun is at twelfth.

Stock Review:

Dipesh, Ganesh K, Yeshwanth, Rafeeq, and Ashish S’ stocks posted significant gains – up by $7.82, $6.66, $4.56, $3.45, and $3.2 respectively.

Yeshwanth, Rafeeq, Dipesh, Arun, Ganesh K and Mayank’s stocks are now valued at $22.66, $21.39, $19.54, $17.90, $17.39, and $15.33 respectively.

* Scorecard, and 'Points & Stock Price Reevaluation' links are now available off the Schedule page

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Transformers @ X-Men, July 27 2015, Ashland Field:

• Scorecard
• Points & Stocks

Match Summary:

Transformers won the toss and chose to bat. Seenu’s much awaited season debut for the Transformers, and against the X-Men at that, was launched right away, as he opened the batting with Anil. Seenu, Prasad, Madhu, and Divakaran chipped in with useful runs for their team – making 9(13), 8(15), 8(13), and 6(5) respectively. Anil and Dipesh played key knocks for the Transformers, making 17(13) including two fours, and 15(9) including one four and one six. The Transformers posted 80 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted 14 overs.

Sandeep and Dhruv – 11(10) and 9(13) respectively – provided a strong start as the X-Men began their chase of 81 on the right note. However, a steady stream of wickets kept the Transformers in the game, and the match in the balance. Rohith – 9(7) – played a cameo, as he gave able support to Yashwanth, who was his majestic self. Transformers missed a few opportunities in the field as the match headed for a tight finish.

X-men required seven runs to win in the final over with Yashwanth on strike. However, Chirag, the Transformers’ captain delivered a great over, conceding only five runs – and the Transfomers pulling off a one run win, in a thriller of a match.

 

Transformer are unbeaten this season, with their fifth win a row, and are table toppers in the MPL 2015 – Team Standings, while X-Men stay at second – tied with Justice League on points, but ahead on Net Run Rate (NRR).

Player Spotlight:

Transformers got a strong all-round performance from Anil – 17(13) and 3-0-13-3.

However, Yashwanth stood the tallest among all – 3-0-17-3 and 38(36) not out. Dhruv chipped in the ball and bat – 3-0-14-1 and 9(13).

 

Key Stats:

Transformers played out 43 dot balls – 51.12%. However, factoring in the 5 wides and 1 no-ball bowled by the X-men, the Effective Dot Balls Count (EDBC) is 37 – 44.05%. Five four’s and one six meant 26 runs came in boundaries.

X-Men played out 35 dot balls – 41.67%. Transfomers conceded, an impressive, 1 wide and 1 no-ball alone – the EDBC for the X-Men is 33 – 39.29%. Three four’s  meant 12 runs came in boundaries.

Anil and Yashwanth are the third and fourth batsman this season, after Rohith and Anuj, to get past the 50 run marker. Yashwanth now tops the run-charts with 85. Anil is second with 64 runs.

Player Rankings:

Yashwanth is the highest ranked player, in the Player rankings. Anil, Yeshwanth, Chirag, Koundinya, and Dipesh are second, third, sixth, seventh,  and eighth respectively.

 

Stock Review:

Yashwanth’s and Anil’s stocks are at their season high of $33.88. and $27.82 respectively – up $14.58 and $7.04.

Dhruv, Amar and Sandeep’s stocks also posted significant gains – up by $3.07, $2.48, and $1.97.

Yeshwanth, Chirag, Koundinya, Rohith, Dipesh, Dhruv, and Ganesh K’s stocks are now valued at $18.1, $13.76, $13.76, $11.95, $11.72, $10.79, $10.73 respectively

* Scorecard, and 'Points & Stock Price Reevaluation' links are now available off the Schedule page

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Incredibles @ Avengers, July 23 2015:

• Scorecard
• Points & Stocks

Match Summary:

Incredibles won the toss and chose to bat, en route to posting 85/5 in their allotted 14 overs; highest score by any team this season. Looks like a change in management – Nachiket taking over the captaincy from Rahul, who had taken it over from an injured Priyank – was just what the doctor prescribed for the Incredibles.

Avengers put up a fight and a much better show, but yet another top-order collapse (five wickets for 23 runs), resulted in them making only 70/8 – losing by 15 runs in the process.

Incredibles got their first win of the season, and improved to fourth in the team MPL 2015 – Team Standings, while Avengers drop to fifth, tied on points with Incredibles, but behind on Net Run Rate (NRR).

Player Spotlight:

Incredibles got strong performances from Nachiket and Anuj with the bat – 28(32) and 28(17) respectively – and Sachin, Chaitanya, and Sriram with the ball – 3-0-13-3, 3-0-12-2, 3-0-12-1 respectively.

Kunal and Ankit S stood out with the ball for Avengers – 3-0-13-2 and 3-0-10-0, respectively. Ankit D,  Ankit S, Ono, Ganesh I, and Prabakar, played key knocks for the Avengers, but the pressure exerted by the Incredibles’ bowlers proved too much – 9(12), 8(14), 11(16), 9(7), and 11(14) respectively.

Key Stats:

Incredibles played out 39 dot balls – 46.43%. However, factoring in the 7 wides and 4 no-balls bowled by the Avengers, the Effective Dot Balls Count (EDBC) is 28 – 33.33%. Three four’s and two sixes meant 24 runs came in boundaries.

Avengers played out 48 dot balls – 57.14%. However, factoring in the 10 wides and 6 no-balls bowled by the Incredibles, the EDBC is 28 – 38.1%. Three four’s  meant 12 runs came in boundaries.

Anuj is the second batsman this season, after Rohith, to get past the 50 run marker.

Player Rankings:

Ankit S and Chaitanya, on the back of consistent strong showings with the ball, move to second and tenth overall respectively, in the Player rankings.

Priyank is eighth overall on the back of his superman like performance in the Incredibles’ season opener, and still the top-ranked batsman.

Stock Review:

Sachin, Anuj, Nachiket, and Kunal’s stocks posted significant gains – up by $10.69, $7.93, $6.93, and $5.7 respectively.

Ankit S, Chaitanya, Sriram, Nachiket, Anuj, Sachin and Kunal’s stocks are now valued at $17.66, $17.36, $16.48, $16.08, $12.99, $10.87, and $10.87 respectively.

* Scorecard, and 'Points & Stock Price Reevaluation' links are now available off the Schedule page

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Background

The fantasy cricket game ‘Selector‘ launched last year, had a pretty successful reception. It received some critical feedback, along with sparking off a coding competition to solve the same in your own choice of programming language – it is a knapsack problem.

For MPL 2015, some minor enhancements were made – porting to the new website – and a new feature added, the ability to select a ‘Power Player’.

Power Player

There have been improvements made for the MPL 2015 version of Selector.

The biggest is the introduction of ‘Power Player’. After selecting your squad of 14, within your purse of $110, you can select one out of those 14 players as your ‘Power Player’.

The ‘Power Player’ will earn you double points through the tournament.

You can change your ‘Power Player’ (and your squad) as many times as you like. As the first ball of MPL 2015 is bowled, your squad and ‘Power Player’ will be locked for the duration of the MPL..

Please note that it is mandatory to select a ‘Power Player’. You will not be able to save your squad/changes to your squad, if you don’t have a ‘Power Player’.

Planned Enhancements

Other enhancements that will come online shortly are

1. View the team of other Selectors once MPL has started
2. View the points contributed by each player to a given team

Known Bugs/Limitations

The following are limitations/bugs that I am aware of, and working on fixing the same:

1. As you select player’s while initially forming, and later while updating your squad, the players added to the drop-down are not sorted alphabetically.Note: This is only applicable as you select players. When retrieving your saved team, the list of players in the ‘Power Player’ drop-down, as presented in an alphabetical manner. FIXED
2. After selecting and saving the team, when you revisit the page, the previously selected ‘Power Player’ isn’t selected/highlighted.Note: The same is stored in the database, along with your squad of 14. This is only a display related issue.
   Workaround: If you do make any changes to your squad, please re-select your ‘Power Player’ prior to committing the changes via the ‘Update Squad’ button. FIXED
3. After selecting and saving the team, when you revisit the page, and *only* re-select the ‘Power Player’, the ‘Update Squad’ button isn’t enabled. 

   Workaround: You will need to deselect and re-select a player in your squad of 14, along with selecting a ‘Power Player’, to enable the ‘Update Squad’ button.

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