Akhtar == Speed

It was a great contest between KKR and DD in eden gardens yesterday. Akhtar proved that even though the game is loaded in favor of the batsmen, its possible that bowlers can win games.

Akhtar looked like a lion out of the cage after months of starvation, the lighting pace he bowled through out the three overs he bowled was just too good for the DD batsmen. Akhtar was averaging 148 kmph which under the heat and noise is just too good. If McGrath was full of disciplined bowling, Akhtar was sheer pace and both the great fast bowlers just proved to the fellow bowlers that skillful bowling can trouble batsmen even in T20 cricket.

IMHO Akhtar should not have been allowed to play in the IPL, how can a player be banned for five years and suspend the ban to make sure he takes part in the IPL??. I just feel characters like Gail,Ambrose,Flintoff,Warne,Botham,Ponting are important to keep the game interesting but getting into controversies time and again in the game like Akhtar should not be taken lightly. After all this IPL was meant to give good exposure to the young Indian cricketers. Akhtar can be a great inspiration for young fast bowlers but should not try to emulate the unwarented on and off field behavior.