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India's Yuvraj Singh quickly adapted to South African conditions on his last visit in 2007, but his IPL compatriots may find it tougher this time. (GETTY IMAGES)
The eight franchises will find the trends and statistics collected from last year will be of no avail when the 2009 Indian Premier League (IPL) begins a week today in the all new setting of South Africa.
In India, the stadiums were full for all 59 games. In South Africa, while the opening two days at Newlands in Cape Town were sold out within hours, mid-week matches around the country are unlikely to be full houses.
The playing conditions are also a far cry from what we saw last year. The pitches are a lot more bouncy than the Subcontinent and favour fast bowling, and Indian players travelling to the country for the first time will be in for a bit of a shock.
Although it will certainly benefit the development of their game for the future, the string of match-winning performances from relatively unknown players that characterised last year's competition may be few and far between.
Australian Shaun Marsh topped the batting table scoring 616 runs followed by India's Gautam Gambhir (534) and Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (514) in 2008. All three are openers, but don't expect the same trend this time around.
Opening batsmen tend to struggle against the seaming new ball in South Africa and the highest scorers this year will most likely be middle-order players.
Think Yuvraj Singh and Misbah-ul-Haq – two players who starred in leading India and Pakistan respectively to the final of the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007.
Jayasuriya, who hit 31 sixes in the IPL last year, had a stint with Durban-based Dolphins in a domestic competition in South Africa during December and January and failed dismally, which highlights the point.
The swinging ball can be devastating to batting line-ups, particularly on wickets such as Centurion and Durban. However, once players acclimatise to the bounce then runs should start to flow freely. Outfields in South Africa tend to be well kept and lightning quick with even the slightest of touches into a gap rocketing to the fence.
Not that anyone in the IPL will be looking to play the ball on the ground. In Twenty20 cricket the aerial route is favoured and there will be plenty of small grounds such as Buffalo Park in East London and the OUTsurance Oval in Bloemfontein for big scores to be made.
The Wanderers in Johannesburg, the venue of the final on May 24, is also the same stadium where Australia and South Africa scored an astonishing 872 runs in a One Day International in 2006. That followed the 400 runs the two teams scored in a Twenty20 game a week earlier.
While spin-bowlers certainly get limited aid in ODIs and Tests on South African pitches, they have had some success there in the Twenty20 game. Slow-bowlers Robin Peterson, Roelof van der Merwe and Johan Botha have done well in local domestic cricket.
In the Twenty20 World Cup it was Pakistan's snappy leg-spinner Shahid Afridi who earned the Man of the Tournament award. None of the troubled Asian country's players will feature in the IPL this year, though, due to tensions with India. This includes Rajasthan Royals' fast-bowler Sohail Tanvir. The 2008 IPL champions' player was the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 22 scalps against his name. His tricky wrong-footed deliveries would likely have given batsmen severe problems on pitches more suited to pace.
Just how much fast bowlers favour the bouncy wickets can be ascertained by looking at new Kings X1 Punjab's signing Yusuf Abdulla. The leading left-arm seamer has played 26 Twenty20 matches in South Africa and his economy rate is a stunning 5.83 – ranking him sixth in the world.
The reason the tournament is being held in South Africa and not England is because there is a less chance of matches being rained out, but while the weather at this time of the year is still sunny, it is slipping towards the chilly side as winter approaches. That heightens the chances of wet conditions for the tournament.
Indian premier league fixtures
Date Match Venue (UAE time)
Apr18 Chennai v Mumbai Cape Town (2.30pm)
Apr 18 Bangalore v Rajasthan Cape Town (6.30pm)
Apr 19 Delhi v Punjab Cape Town (2.30pm)
Apr 19 Deccan v Kolkata Cape Town (6.30pm)
Apr 20 Bangalore v Chennai Port Elizabeth (6.30pm)
Apr 21 Punjab v Kolkata Durban (2.30pm)
Apr 21 Rajasthan v Mumbai Durban (6.30pm)
Apr 22 Bangalore v Deccan Cape Town (6.30pm)
Apr 23 Chennai v Delhi Durban (2.30pm)
Apr 23 Kolkata v Rajasthan Cape Town (6.30pm)
Apr 24 Bangalore v Punjab Durban (6.30pm)
Apr 25 Deccan v Mumbai Durban (2.30pm)
Apr 25 Chennai v Kolkata Cape Town (6.30pm)
Apr 26 Bangalore v Delhi Port Elizabeth (2.30pm)
Apr 26 Punjab v Rajasthan Cape Town (6.30pm)
Apr 27 Deccan v Chennai Durban (2.30pm)
Apr 27 Kolkata v Mumbai Port Elizabeth (6.30pm)
Apr 28 Delhi v Rajasthan Centurion (6.30pm)
Apr 29 Bangalore v Kolkata Durban (2.30pm)
Apr 29 Punjab v Mumbai Durban (6.30pm)
Apr 30 Delhi v Deccan Centurion (2.30pm)
Apr 30 Chennai v Rajasthan Centurion (6.30pm)
May 1 Kolkata v Mumbai East London (2.30pm)
May 1 Bangalore v Punjab Durban (6.30pm)
May 2 Deccan v Rajasthan Port Elizabeth (2.30pm)
May 2 Chennai v Delhi Johannesburg (6.30pm)
May 3 Punjab v Kolkata Port Elizabeth (2.30pm)
May 3 Bangalore v Mumbai Johannesburg (6.30pm)
May 4 Chennai v Deccan East London (2.30pm)
Fixtures continued
Date Match Venue (UAE time)
May 5 Punjab v Rajasthan Durban (2.30pm)
May 5 Delhi v Kolkata Durban (6.30pm)
May 6 Deccan v Mumbai Centurion (6.30pm)
May 7 Bangalore v Rajasthan Centurion (2.30pm)
May 7 Chennai v Punjab Centurion (6.30pm)
May 8 Delhi v Mumbai East London (6.30pm)
May 9 Deccan v Punjab Kimberley (2.30pm)
May 9 Chennai v Rajasthan Kimberley (6.30pm)
May 10 Bangalore v Mumbai Port Elizabeth (2.30pm)
May 10 Delhi v Kolkata Johannesburg (6.30pm)
May 11 Deccan v Rajasthan Kimberley (6.30pm)
May 12 Punjab v Mumbai Centurion (6.30pm)
May 13 Deccan v Delhi Durban (6.30pm)
May 14 Bangalore v Chennai Durban (2.30pm)
May 14 Mumbai v Rajasthan Durban (6.30pm)
May 15 Delhi v Punjab Bloemfontein (6.30pm)
May 16 Chennai v Mumbai Port Elizabeth (2.30pm)
May 16 Deccan v Kolkata Johannesburg (6.30pm)
May 17 Deccan v Punjab Johannesburg (2.30pm)
May 18 Delhi v Rajasthan Bloemfontein (6.30pm)
May 18 Chennai v Kolkata Centurion (6.30pm)
May 19 Delhi v Bangalore Johannesburg (6.30pm)
May 20 Kolkata v Rajasthan Durban (2.30pm)
May 20 Chennai v Punjab Durban (6.30pm)
May 21 Delhi v Mumbai Centurion (2.30pm)
May 21 Bangalore v Deccan Centurion (6.30pm)
May 22 First semi-final Centurion (6.30pm)
May 23 Second semi-final Johannesburg (6.30pm)
May 24 Final Johannesburg (6.30pm)
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