The IPL in its second edition shall kickoff in less than a week in South Africa. Eight teams shall traverse the length and breadth of this vibrant nation to do battle with bat and ball. With the experience of the last season in India counting for nothing and the absence of home ground advantage in this edition, it will clearly be a case of which team adapts quickly to the different conditions on offer at each venue in South Africa. This makes previewing the fortunes of each team even more interesting, something akin to taking a shot in the dark. In this post, I hope to shed some light on the three teams from the north which include the defending champions.

The Kings XI Punjab, were one of the firebrand franchisees from the last edition with a strong batting lineup that boasted of names like Shaun Marsh, Yuvraj Singh, Kumara Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Had they played to their potential in last year's semi final they should have beaten the Chennai Super Kings, but their batting let them down on that day. Even so they finished the 2008 edition as the team with the second most wins in the league stage (10 wins) of the competition, just next to the Rajathan Royals (11 wins).

This year however, the odds seem stacked against the Kings XI. For starters they have only one player of South African nationality (the relatively lesser known Yusuf Abdulla), which only means that they will play this edition as rank outsiders. Their chances are further reduced by the fact that of the six Australians on their squad viz. Shaun Marsh, Brett Lee, James Hopes, Simon Katich, Luke Pomersbach and Burt Cockley – the former three will be away on international duty for the one day series against Pakistan. And in the absence of Brett Lee, the questionable fitness and form of Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan respectively, do not give one too much confidence about the bowling resources of the side. In light of this, a semi final berth for the side would indeed be a miracle.

The Delhi Daredevils are the next team on the radar. 2008 was a spirited showing with a semi final loss against the eventual winners of the tournament. This year though could be different in the sense that the Daredevils could actually go all the way. In the absence of Mohammed Asif, the decision to trade Shikhar Dhawan to the Mumbai Indians for Ashish Nehra seems to be one based on common sense. Also riding on the red hot form of Sehwag and Gambhir at the top of the order, the Daredevils will look to decimate bowling attacks from around the league.

Glenn Mc Grath will again be the spearhead of the attack and it will be interesting to see if a long break from competitive cricket has made him rusty in any way. Nevertheless his experience should rub off on the younger wards. The presence of the vastly improved A B De Villiers, the explosive David Warner and the all round ability of Andrew Mc Donald or Farveez Maharoof should make the Daredevils one of the strongest sides in the tournament.

The defending champions, the Rajasthan Royals surely upset all odds last year. On the face of it, they looked like a side that everyone was supposed to walk over, but with the inspirational leadership of Shane Warne they were indeed the best thing to have happened in the inaugural edition of the tournament.

Other than Warne's captaincy, the Royals last year were helped by impressive performances from their Indian players viz. Swapnil Asnodkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Kaif, Siddharth Trivedi, Munaf Patel and Yusuf Pathan. Therefore it is imperative that these players deliver along similar lines in foreign conditions. Also with the hugely impressive all round ability of Shane Watson out of reckoning this year (he is in the squad for the series against Pakistan) and the absence of Sohail Tanvir from the side, there is a big question mark on the Royals making it through to the semi finals this time round. Tyron Henderson though could be the surprise acquisition of the side whose outstanding performances in this format fetched Middlesex the 2008 Tewnty20 cup.

As far is my money is concerned, from this group I would only have my money on the Delhi Daredevils making it through to the semi finals, though I'd be happy to see Shane Warne prove me wrong.