It will be the Rajasthan Royals taking on the Delhi DareDevils and Kings XI Punjab against the Chennai SuperKings in the Indian Premier League 2008 Semi-Finals.
Two classic clashes which hold promise for enough drama, action and fireworks plus exciting cricket to entertain the millions of 20Twenty Cricket lovers worldwide.
All the four Semi-finals spots have now been decided with Deccan once again losing a game in front of their home crowd to Chennai Super Kings and their home jinx continued to haunt them this evening too. They didn’t put enough runs on the board and it was always going to be tough for their under par bowling department to pull off something special. Chennai didn’t get off to the best of starts but Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni stayed there for quite sometime and steered their side to a rather comfortable victory.
The slim chance which Mumbai Indians had disappeared today with Chennai’s win. Basically Mumbai colud not hold on to their nerves in the last three matches - otherwise there was enough promise for them to reach the semi finals. And also Virender Sehwag will definitely sleep well tonight after a week of wait and watch other teams slog it out to decide their fate in the semis.
It’s the last league game for both these teams. Hyderabad are languishing at the bottom of the table and this is their last chance to win a game at home. For Chennai, this is an extremely important game. A victory here and they will progress to the next round. Though Chennai start as favourites, they haven’t been in the best of form of late: A shock defeat at the hands of Bangalore, when they failed to chase a meagre 127 was followed by a 10-run defeat against Rajasthan.
What if Chennai lose today? If Chennai lose today and Mumbai win tomorrow, Mumbai will advance on account of better net run rate. (Chennai’s current NRR is -0.241 while Mumbai’s is +0.531). Should Mumbai lose tomorrow, Chennai will go through to the semis(Chennai are on 14 points, Mumbai are on 12)
Shaun Marsh continued his batting blitzkrieg with his forth Man of the Match - award in the Indian Premier League, hitting 60 in the Kings XI Punjab’s win over Deccan Chargers.
Marsh scored his fifth half-century in a totoal of eight games with three fours and three sixes before getting caught with a half-hearted hit off Herschelle Gibbs at long-on.
Kings XI Punjab made 4-178 with three balls to spare chasing Deccan’s impressive total of 4-175 at the Punjab’s Mohali ground.
Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals at Chennai
Chennai lost to Bangalore and made things difficult for themselves. But rain gods came to their rescue by washing out Delhi’s last match. Now they need to win atleast one of their two tough matches against Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers or hope that Mumbai beat Delhi. Rajasthan on the other hand are looking to give few of their stars some rest because if they reach the final to be played on 1st of June, they will be playing five matches within nine days.
Men at the Helm
Tired of listening and saying again and again but both of these, Warny and MSD have been the best captains in this league. Warne didn’t have the star power in the team and Dhoni’s team started as a weak bowling side and after the departure of Hayden and Hussey, batting has become very lean and still both these leaders have blossomed.
We have the bat
Rajasthan have looked a very strong batting side but they will miss Smith and Watson who are likely to be rested. Still, Pathan, Younis Khan, Kaif and Asnoskar will be holding fort. Chennai dearly need their batsmen to fire. They depend heavily on Dhoni and Morkel to score fast. If both of them fail, it would be pretty difficult to score big for Chennai.
We have the ball
Rajasthan have been the best team bowling wise in the league. The bowlers have followed Warne’s instructions and bowled some immaculate line and length. For Chennai Gony has been very good, Murali has been consistently econo0mical but needs to get amongst wickets and Ntini seems to be coming into rhythm but there is always soem chance that he will go for big runs.
Patrolling Party
Both the teams have been fielding pretty well throughout the league. They haven’t been out of the world but have shown consistency and commitment levels have been pretty high.
High on betting meter
Rajasthan are slightly higher on the betting meter with gains around 90 percent while Chennai give around 110 percent.
Who gets the tick?
Rajasthan start as strong favorites and a win for them would keep the league round alive and interesting till the last day.
Punjab have sealed a place in the semis with rain washing out the match between Delhi and Kolkata. They will like to keep the winning form going running in to the knock out stages. The pre tournament favorites Deccan are out of contention but will like to prove a point and finish on a high note to give their fans something to look out for in the next season.
Men at the Helm
Yuvi and Gilly both have led their sides very well but the difference has been that while Yuvi’s boys have been excellent, Gilly’s men have simply been dismal.
We have the bat
Punjab batters are in superb form. The only concern for Punjab is the relative lack of form for Yuvraj Singh. Deccan meanwhile have been improving. The big stars didn’t fire in the last few matches but others took the centre. Actually its been the bowlers who have let them down in the last few matches.
We have the ball
In the bowling department Punjab look one up with Pathan being consistent through out the league and Sreesanth running into some serious form. Charger RP Singh might be amongst the leading wicket takers but his tally is very misleading because he has given too many runs for those wickets and very few of them are top order batsmen.
Patrolling Party
Punjab dropped a few catches in their last match against Mumbai but effected some pretty good run outs. They have had some off days but have generally fielded well. Deccan on the other hand have at the most been patchy. They need to field well today to pep up their bowlers.
High on betting meter
Punjab are sitting high on most betting meters with offerings of 4 on 7 while Deccan give 11 on 8.
Who gets the tick?
Punjab start as favorites for this match but one can never count out a team like Deccan. They have players who can make a day their own.
