Big Bash League 2014-15

The KFC T20 Big Bash League is the Australian domestic Twenty20 cricket tournament, which was established in 2011. The Big Bash League replaced the previous competition, the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, and featured city based franchises instead of state teams, which had participated previously. The top two teams in the tournament qualify for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

The 2014-15 Big Bash League season was the fourth season of the BBL. The tournament started on 18 December 2014 and final was played on 28 January 2015. The Perth Scorchers won back-to-back titles by defeating Sydney Sixers by 4 wickets on the last ball of the match. The final was also the final match of Brett Lee’s career. Jacque Kallis of the Sydney Thunder was named ‘Player of the tournament for his 235 runs and 6 wickets in the tournament. Jason Behrendroff of the Scorchers was named ‘Young Gun of the Tournament’ for his 15 wickets in the season.

Sydney Sixers batted first and scored 147 in 20 overs and their captain Henriques made 77 runs with Strike rate of 135.08. In response, Perth Scorchers made 148 runs in 20 overs. Shaun Marsh made the maximum runs in second innings. He scored 73 runs with strike rate of 123.72. Perth Scorchers needed 8 in the last over and two back-to-back wickets from Brett Lee kept the match in excited mode. On the last ball, Yasir Arafat took a risky single when Henriques was not able to hit the stumps for run-out, which made Scorchers second time winner of the tournament.

Klinger from Scorchers scored the most runs in the tournament and the only one to hit a century. Kevin Peterson followed him from Melbourne Stars and was second highest run scorer. Hastings from Melbourne Stars took the maximum wickets and Behrendroff from Scorchers was second highest wicket taker. A total 789 four were smashed in the tournament. Count tally of Sixes was 312. Perth Scorchers is the most successful team in the Big Bash League in all seasons. In four seasons, this was their fourth Final. This year again they will compete in the Champions League, which is played between Top Domestic teams from New Zealand, India, South Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and other Test playing nations.

Hockey India League 2015

The first sport tournament of India has started. Hockey League India is a professional league for field hockey competition in India. It is organized by Hockey India. The tournament is contested between six franchises consisting players from India and around the world. The first season of Hockey India League was kicked off in 2013 with five franchises, which was won by Ranchi Rhinos. In 2014, Kalinga Lancers was sixth franchise. Delhi Waveriders won 2014 season.

The third season of HIL (Hockey India League) will run from 22 January 2015 with the final on 22 February 2015 among six teams. The plan is to have 8 teams by 2016 and 10 teams by 2018, with a possibility of having a team from south India. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has sanctioned the event and also provides a 30-day window at the beginning of a year so that all top players can participate. Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp currently sponsors it.

This season will see the debut of two new franchises. Ranchi Rays will replace Ranchi Rhinos and Dabang Mumbai will replace Mumbai Magicians. The idea behind the tournament was to promote Hockey in India and generate more players for the National Team. Players get an opportunity to play with other countries players and get a good exposure of teaming up with them. This helps them in building their skills. Each HIL Franchise has 24 players, which include 10 foreign players and 14 Indian players. The players are always acquired in an Auction.

Indian Mid-fielder Sardar Singh and Australian Jamie Dwyer were named as brand ambassadors of the Hockey India League. Three-time FIH world player of the Year Teun de Nooijer was signed as HIL third brand ambassador. The tournament is broadcasted worldwide and Hero is the ambassador since 2013. By HIL, Hockey is again tightening its grip in India. This not only will improve Indian hockey team players skills but will also encourage more players to inclined towards Hockey.  

Australian Open 2015

2015 Tennis season has started with Australian Open. It is played on outdoor hard courts at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Australia. It will be played from 19 January to 1 February and will feature men and women events in Singles, as well as mixed doubles. The tournament will also feature senior, junior, and wheelchair events. Stan Wawrinka is the defending men’s champion from Switzerland and Li Na is defending women’s champion from China. Li Na will not defend her title as she retired from tennis on 19 September 2014.

As a sports crazy fan, I prefer watching almost all sports and follow their updates. Like every year, this year is going to be very interesting in tennis. I have compiled a list of players to watch out for in Men and Women tournament. Beginning with the Men tournament, first is Stanislas Wawrinka. He is the currently the world no. 4 tennis player and the defending champion of Australian Open. In finals, he defeated Rafael Nadal and won the first grand slam title for him. This year, he will have to fight to defend his title. Roger Federer is currently world no. 2 and one of the best tennis players in the world of all time. He recently won his 1000 match this month. He won Australian Open four times and last time in 2010. However, the World No. 2 had not won any grand slam title since last two years. This year he will have to fight hard and increase his slam tally.

Novak Djokovic is World No. 1 tennis player from Serbia. He won Australian Open in 2013 and won one grand slam titles in 2014. He can change the course of game anytime into his favor. He is one of the strongest players this year too. Rafael Nadal is World No. 3 tennis player in the world from Spain. Famous as “The King of Clay,” Nadal is winner of Australian open once. He won one title in 2014 and geared up for this season too. Andy Murray is World No. 6 tennis player from Britain. He is the finalist of Australian Open 2013 and had never won the Australian Title. He can be the one to change his tally figures this year. He won two grand slam titles until now. Marin Cilic is World No. 9 Tennis player from Croatia. He is the new star in Tennis, who won US Open 2014 title. He was also quarterfinalist in Wimbledon 2014. He is also under watch in Australian Open. Kei Nishikori is World No. 5 Tennis player from Japan. He is youngest player contender for title this year. He was the finalist of US Open in 2014 and fourth round in Wimbledon 2014. These are few men singles players who seems to be fight against each other to win title.

Now, in the Women tournament first is Serena Williams. Currently ranked World No. 1 from US, Serena won Australian Open five times. She is the winner of US Open 2014 and is in good touch to win Australian Open again. Maria Sharapova is World No. 2 women tennis player. She is the winner of Australian Open once in 2008. She had won grand slam title in 2014. Simona Halep is World No. 3 tennis player from Romania. She had a wonderful year last year but was not able to win any title. She is young and enthusiastic to open his slam tally. She made into finals of French Open 2014 and semifinals of Wimbledon. She is the one to watch in tournament. Petra Kvitova is World No. 4 tennis player. She is the winner of Wimbledon 2014. In year 2012, she made into semi finals of three slam tournaments but could not make any further. She is another strong contender in the queue.

Agnieszka Radwanska is World No. 5 tennis player from Poland. She is the semi finalist of Australian Open 2014 and made into finals of Wimbledon 2012. She will try hard to win her first grand slam title. Eugenie Bouchard is the World No. 7 tennis player from Canada. She is just 20 year old and is the youngest and strongest tennis player of coming time. She had wonderful last year and made into semi finals of Australian Open 2014 and French Open 2014. She was the finalist in Wimbledon 2014 and fourth round in US Open 2014. She is the one to watch this year. Victoria Azarenka is the World No. 42 tennis player. She is into list because she won Australian Open in 2013. Last year was not good for her but in 2013 she was up to his best. She can also change game. Last but not the least is Venus Williams. She had won Wimbledon and US Open many times but had never won French Open and Australian Open. She may want to open his tally for these grand slam titles.

This is the list of players to watch out in Australian Open 2015, who will produce a good beginning sports season. Let us stay tuned for the results and watch some tight matches between the champions.