IPL guide

Mumbai:Want to follow the fourth edition of Indian Premier League which kicks off tomorrow? This is just for you...

Live on TV
Matches will be telecast at 4 pm and 8 pm on Set Max

New teams
Two news franchises, Sahara Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers will join the existing eight teams in the fourth edition of the IPL.

Venues
Matches will be played across 12 venues: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai; Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad; Nehru Stadium, Kochi; Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi; Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai; Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai; Eden Gardens, Kolkata; Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur; M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore; Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh; Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore; Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala.

Lesser matches
Compared to 94 matches played in the last three editions, this time there will be only 74 games over 51 days.

Past winners
Chennai Super Kings (2010 champions), Deccan Chargers (2009 champions) and Rajasthan Royals (2008 champions).

Format
There will be two groups of five teams each and they will play 70 league matches plus four play-off games. Each team will now play seven matches at home and seven away.

Most expensive player
Gautam Gambhir was purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders at the player auction for a whopping Rs 11.4 crore.

Captains
Royal Challengers (Daniel Vettori)
Kolkata Knight Riders (Gautam Gambhir)
Delhi Daredevils (Virender Sehwag)
Mumbai Indians (Sachin Tendulkar)
Deccan Chargers (Kumar Sangakkara)
Kings XI Punjab ( Adam Gilchrist)
Rajasthan Royals (Shane Warne)
Chennai Super Kings (M S Dhoni)
Kochi Tuskers (Mahela Jayawardene)
Pune Warriors (Yuvraj Singh)

No Ganguly
One of India's greatest captains, Sourav Ganguly, who captained KKR in three editions, will not be a part of the IPL IV after he went unsold in the auction. There was a glimmer of hope when Kochi Tuskers showed interest in signing up Ganguly at his base price of $400,000, but other franchises objected to Kochi's
belated move.

No Lalit Modi
He was the face of the tournament. His revolutionary decisions changed the way cricket was viewed. However, allegations of corruption and financial irregularities resulted in Modi's removal as IPL commissioner's post. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Chirayu Amin as the new IPL boss.

Players retained
Only 12 players were retained by the five franchises for the fourth edition of the IPL. Champions Chennai Super Kings retained World Cup winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, local boy Murali Vijay and South African all-rounder Albie Morkel. Mumbai Indians, who finished runners-up, retained batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, feisty off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard and Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga. Rajasthan Royals stuck to Shane Warne and Shane Watson while Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli were retained by Delhi Daredevils and RCB respectively.

Missing stars
Paul Collingwood, who was signed up by Rajasthan Royals, has been ruled out due to a knee injury. Australian seamer Ben Hilfenhaus, who was slated to play for Chennai, is also ruled out with injury. NZ's Tim Southee will take his spot in the side. Sri Lanka's Angela Matthews will miss out on playing for Sahara Pune Warriors due to a pulled muscle. Aussie stars Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson have pulled out despite the riches on offer. Pakistani cricketers were again ignored.

TOP PERFORMERS - BATTING - INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)

Highest individual scores

Brendon McCullum 158* Royal Challengers Bangalore
Murali Vijay 127 Rajasthan Royals
Andrew Symonds 117* Rajasthan Royals
Michael Hussey 116* Kings XI Punjab
Shaun Marsh 115 Rajasthan Royals

Leading run-scorers

Suresh Raina 46 1375
Adam Gilchrist 46 1220
Rohit Sharma 45 1170
Sachin Tendulkar 35 1170
Jacques Kallis 42 1133

Best batting averages

Shane Watson 21 657 43.8
Sachin Tendulkar 35 1170 39
MS Dhoni 43 1033 38.25
Suresh Raina 46 1375 38.19
Matthew Hayden 32 1107 36.9

Most fifties

Jacques Kallis 42 10
Suresh Raina 46 9
Sachin Tendulkar 35 8
Rohit Sharma 45 8
Matthew Hayden 32 8

Most centuries

Adam Gilchrist 46 1
Yusuf Pathan 43 1
Andrew Symonds 28 1
Mahela Jayawardena 36 1
Sanath Jayasuriya 30 1