Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab are all locked at 14 points each. The winner of the RCB-DC match on Thursday will go to 16 points and the loser will remain on 14 with Punjab. But in all likeliness, Punjab will lose out on the semifinal berth owing to their poor net run rate. Currently Deccan has the best run rate at +0.265, while RCB are at -0.253 and Punjab at -0.483.
So if there is any chance of Punjab making it to the semis it will have to be a thrashing for Bangalore at the hands of Chargers. But chances are very remote and let us see why. To qualify, Bangalore need to have a net run rate higher than -0.483 after tomorrow’s match. So, let us check some possibilities.
The calculations done here are rough and may not be accurate to decimals.
Case Scenario 1 – Chargers bat first
Chargers’ Score
For Punjab to qualify, Bangalore must score less than
100
32
120
52
140
72
160
92
180
112
Case Scenario 2 – Bangalore bat first
Bangalore’s Score
For Punjab to qualify, Chargers need to win in
100
11.0 overs or less
120
11.1 overs or less
140
11.2 overs or less
160
10.0 overs or less
180
10.1 overs or less
What do you think are Punjab’s chances of qualifying?
This may only be their second win in this year’s IPL, and may have come too late to help them qualify in the semis, but the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) win against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) sure must have been a great morale booster for them!
The match started with the CSK batting first. Mathew Hayden was missing from action, and in his place, George Bailey – who was playing his first match of this season of the IPL – and Parthiv Patel opened batting, while Ashok Dinda bowled the first over for the KKR. Five runs were made in the first over. The CSK seemed in great form, and by the seventh over, had already made 59 runs, when Patel was run out by Laxmi Shukla after he had made 25 runs off 19 balls. Suresh Raina came in at one down.
The second wicket fell relatively soon, when, in the ninth over, Bailey was run out by Brad Hodge after making 30 runs off 26 balls. Skipper M. S. Dhoni came in next, and, at the end of 10 overs, the CSK were already past 80 runs. Raina completed his fifth IPL 50 in only 36 deliveries by hitting a six, but the very next ball saw him lose his wicket to Dinda (catch Shukla) in the 17th over. Albie Morkel came in after Raina’s dismissal, and played a fantastic innings. The last over proved extremely expensive, as two sixes and one four were hit in it. At the end of 20 overs, the CSK were at 188-3, with Dhoni and Morkel at 40 and 21 not out, respectively.
Now, it was time for the KKR to bat. As usual, skipper Brendon McCullum and Saurav Ganguly opened batting, while Morkel started with the bowling. In the very first over, Ganguly was in danger of getting out as he dropped his bat while taking a run. The fielder threw the ball at the stumps, and had it been a direct hit, Ganguly would’ve been out, for his bat had fallen just in front of the line! Similarly, in the fourth over, once again, Ganguly could’ve been run out, but was saved.
In spite of all his close shaves, Ganguly ultimately did return to the pavilion after making only four runs off 14 balls; he was bowled out by Muttiah Muralidaran. Brad Hodge came in next. McCullum, who had been playing the most fantastic innings so far, finally fell prey to Shadab Jakati’s superb bowling, and was bowled out after making an amazing score of 81 runs off just 48 balls! David Hussey came in at two down, but was run out by Dhoni after he made only two runs.
Wriddhiman Saha came in after Hussey’s dismissal, but after sometime, got injured. Thus, a runner (Hussey) was called on to the field. Between Hodge and Saha, and thanks to McCullum before them, the KKR continued to hit huge fours and sixes, as a result of which, the difference between the number of balls and the runs required reduced drastically. In the end, the KKR needed one run to win off one ball, and every person – CSK and KKR fans alike – was on the edge of his or her seat. Saha was on strike, and he hit very well, as a result of which the ball went far in the field, and they managed to take one run. The KKR thus won the match by seven wickets!
It is amazing, how a team which had won only one match in this season so far, managed to chase – and meet – a total of 188 runs. But meet it they did, and with style! Even though this match will not get them anywhere on the ranks table, the good that it did the team can not be understated!
P.S.: Will SRK return to support his team now? Well, let’s wait and watch!
Match number 37 of the IPL was like a repeat of sorts, with the two finalists of last year’s tournament facing each other once again. Yes, the match was between the Rajasthan Royals (RR), and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The RR won the toss and elected to bat first. Their openers were Graeme Smith and Naman Ojha, while the bowling attack was opened by Albie Morkel.
They say a good beginning is half a match won, and this was proved true when, on the very second ball of the innings, Morkel struck gold in his dismissal of Ojha, whom he bowled out. The score now stood at 1-1.
Swapnil Asnodkar came in at one down. He was dismissed by Mutthiah Murlidharan after he made 26 runs off 25 balls. Ravinder Jadeja came in next. The third blow for the RR came when Smith was dismissed after making 30 runs off 33 balls (ball Murlidharan, stumping, Mahendra Singh Dhoni). Yusuf Pathan was the next man in.
Soon, it was Jadeja’s turn to leave the crease as he was dismissed on a superb ball of Balaji’s (catch Suresh Raina). Jadeja had made 27 runs off 19 balls. While Lee Carseldine came ‘in’, Pathan went ‘out’ after having made only seven runs off 11 balls, thus resulting in the biggest blow to the RR (ball Jakati, catch Jacob Oram).
Abhishek Raut came in next. He and Carseldine didn’t last too long on the field either, as first Carseldine, and then Raut were dismissed after having made only nine and seven runs, respectively.
Batting at the crease now were the players with the same name, Shane Warne, the skipper, and Shane Harwood, well, not the skipper. Both the players tried their best, but could not put up too many runs. At the end of 20 overs, the RR scoreboard read 140-7.
Matthew Hayden and Murali Vijay opened the batting for the CSK, but Vijay didn’t last long and got out after a fantastic LBW by Trivedi after making only 10 runs off 12 balls. Suresh Raina came in next, but the player who had wowed the crowds with his amazing bowling abilities in the last match, couldn’t be of much help in this one, and returned to the pavilion (ball Amit Singh, catch Carseldine) after making only 13 runs off 11 balls.
Subramanian Badrinath came in next. He, along with Hayden, played so well, that it looked as if achieving the total of 141 would be a piece of cake. But their hopes were soon dashed as Hayden got out on a ball by fellow countryman Warne, and was stumped by Ojha after he had made 48 runs of 44 balls, just two short of a half century.
Oram came in next. In the 17th over, while the batsmen were running to get runs, Amit Singh, who was bowling, got hit and was injured, but he continued to play. Between Badrinath and Oram, and owing to the extras (10 extras) – as also to the incredible contribution of Hayden – the CSK achieved the target of 141 runs in only 18.2 overs at the loss of only 3 wickets. The DLF Maximum award for hitting the most sixes was shared by nine players, from the winning, as well as the losing side, while the Man of the Match award was given to S. Badrinath, his first of the season.
Thus, it was a face-off between the two finalist teams of last year’s IPL, but the results, this time, were different!
You sure can call it that, considering that the ‘Royals’ were playing against the ‘Super Kings’. Yes, the match we are talking about it is the one between the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Loyalties of the fans were divided, since both teams are hot favourites, and it was a clash between the finalists of IPL – Season 1. The RR won the toss, and elected to field. The bowling attack was opened by D. Mascarenhas, while Mathew Hayden and Parthiv Patel were the openers for the CSK.
An appeal for an out was made in the very first over, but it was not granted. However, the relief of the CSK didn’t last long, as their star batsman, Hayden, got out after getting only one run off two balls, the bowler being Yusuf Pathan.
Suresh Raina came in at one down, and soon, the second wicket, that of Parthiv Patel, fell, (ball Yusuf Pathan, catch Khan, three runs off 11 balls), and thus ended the stint of the opening batsmen. Next man in was Badrinath. After the first two wickets having fallen quickly, Raina and Badrinath played steadily and built a good partnership. At the end of 10 overs, the CSK had made 81 runs and lost two wickets.
The third wicket fell soon after the Strategic Time Out, and Badrinath was the man to go. He had made 29 runs off 27 balls before he got out on a ball by Warne (stumping Rawat). Jacob Oram came in next, but didn’t stay long, and got out after making two runs off six balls (ball Munaf Patel, catch Mascarenhas).
Next person to come on the field was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the skipper himself. In the 18th over, Dhoni got a Free Hit (because of a No Ball), but he managed to get only two runs off it. Raina’s wicket was dropped in the 19th over. Also, there was a misunderstanding in the scores; the scoreboard showed a 100 runs for Raina, while he had actually made only 98. But before he could complete his ‘actual’ 100, he got out, thus marking the end of a fabulous innings just two short of a century, that too in just 55 balls (ball Munaf, catch Graeme Smith). Albie Morkel came in at five down, and CSK ended at 164 – 5.
The RR had to make 165 runs in 20 overs at 8.25 runs per over. Graeme Smith, called ‘The Rock’ in the team, didn’t prove to be one as he fell victim to Albie Morkel’s delivery (catch Badrinath) after having made only two runs off five balls.
S. Asnodkar came in next and hit the first six of the innings in the fifth over. Immediately on the next ball, he hit another six, and the very ball after the two consecutive sixes proved to be fatal for him, as he got out after making only 10 runs (ball Morkel, catch Sudeep Tyagi).
Next person in was Ravinder Jadeja. Then, Quiney’s (opener) wicket fell and Yusuf Pathan came in. A lot of hopes were pinned on Pathan, but due to pressure, he was unable to deliver, and got out on a ball by L. Balaji, (catch Raina) after making 20 runs off 13 deliveries. The fifth wicket, that of Mascarenhas, fell soon after, as did that of Jadeja after him, who made a decent 37 runs off 33 balls before falling on a ball by Balaji (catch Hayden). Finally, the skipper for the RR, Warne, came in to bat, and got out after making three runs off nine balls, falling, once again, under Balaji’s expert bowling (superb catch by Badrinath).
The eighth and the ninth wickets fell soon after, and at the end of 20 overs, the RR were at 126 – 9, having lost the match by 38 runs. The Man of the Match, as expected, was Suresh Raina, for a brilliant innings of 98 runs off only 55 balls.
Match Preview - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings at St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
The last series between India and England was tipped as a tussle between MSD and KP, the supposedly best captains in world cricket. Kevin Pietersen must surely have felt hard done, with mediocre resources as compared to Dhoni’s armor. This might be his chance to have a say and press his case and also hit the English Cricket Board below the belt.
We have the bat
Royal Challengers look the strongest batting side in the competition, at least on the paper. Jesse Ryder can be devastating on his day, while Ross Taylor would like to make amends for his stupid walk towards the off side in the first match which enabled Dmitri Mascarenhas to dislodge his leg stump.
Chennai have firepower with Hayden, Raina, Dhoni and Morkel but Flintoff has been below par with the bat in last few years. Also, there is a question mark over the abilities of Parthiv, Badrinath and Joginder on these bouncy pitches.
We have the ball
Dale Steyn and Anil Kumble are top notch performers but Praveen Kumar would require help from the pitch and conditions to be as effective as he was in the first match. Akhil and Vinay Kumar weren’t tested in the first match. If the pitch has something in it for the bowlers, Challengers may look to play Kallis in place of Ryder and bring in a batter in place of Akhil.
Chennai’s spin department will be bolstered by the likely inclusion Muttiah Muralitharan in place of Thushara. Albie Morkel in place of Jacob Oram will beef up the batting but bring down pace battery’s reliability.
Patrolling Party
While Chennai were not up to the mark in their first match, Bangalore were just exhilarating on the field and Virat Kohli was sensational. Uthappa surprisingly did a splendid job behind the wickets and looked at ease keeping to Kumble (extremely rare to find such keepers). Chennai will have a superb athlete in the outfield with the inclusion of Albie but over all they will need to tighten up a bit.
High on betting meter
Chennai are high on most betting meters but this result of this match may reverse the odds when these two teams meet the next time.
