Is it the Indian Premier League or Australian?

There's something about the Australians, and the way they play their cricket.

And when the stakes are high, they take their level a few notches above the usual -- the Indian Premier League being a case in point.

That probably explains why they have been so successful in the tournament.

The IPL was launched with the objective of unearthing Indian talent and giving the exiting ones an opportunity to play with the best of the world.

And before you presume we are being unnecessarily critical, we admit a few Indians did definitely come up the pecking order.

While the likes of Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Venugopal Rao and Shikar Dhawan raised their heads in the inaugural edition, talents like Manish Pandey, Pragyan Ojha and Shadab Jakati came to the fore in the just-concluded edition.

But, then, how many of them (from the first list, inaugural edition) were able to repeat their efforts the second time around?

And, why is it that a team led by an Australian has gone on to become champion in these two years, despite so many Indian captains being in the fray?

Before you cry fowl let's just glance into the titles that matter at the end of the IPL.

While on the one hand we have two Australians -- Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist -- captaining Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers to glory, the coaches of the said teams were also from Down Under.

The player of the tournament in both the editions was an Aussie, and so was the holder of the Orange cap (best batsman).

It is only the Purple cap that eluded the Australians -- Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan) won it in 2008 and R P Singh (Hyderabad) this year.

But, then, it can be argued that Australian bowlers did not bowl as much in the tournament vis-a-vis bowlers from other countries.

While Warne was extremely successful with 33 wickets (19 + 14) spanning two editions, the other bowlers did not play as much.

So, while the likes of Brett Lee had to go on national duty after a good start last season, in the second year the opportunities were lacking.

Glenn McGrath didn't get to play a single match, Nathan Bracken got injured before the tournamet started and some other Aussie bowlers were busy tackling Pakistan.

But, despite that, Dirk Nannes -- notwithstanding the fact that he will represent the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup -- secured 15 wickets for Delhi.

Besides, there have been other significant contributions from the Aussies.

On the one hand we have Andrew Symonds, with 410 (@ 45.55) spanning two editions, contributing immensely to the Hyderabad cause despite limited appearances, on the other we have Brad Hodge, with 365 runs in 12 matches (@ 40.55) fighting a valiant battle for a down-and-out Kolkata outfit.

If the addition of David Hussey bolstered the Kolkata line-up, Punjab played with rekindled spirit once Brett Lee joined their squad.

For the sake of figures alone, let's point out that out of the eight hundreds scored so far in the tournament, four have come from an Aussie blade.

Before you wonder, this piece is not about eulogizing the Australian achievements but stating facts as they are. And we definitely agree there have been a few Aussies who have failed to shine.

However, if one assesses the performances on a country-wise basis, the achievements of the players from Down Under are far more prominent.

Overall, after two editions, the Indian Premier League is more about an Australian triumph than anything else.