Final at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

Six weeks of non stop action, sixes galore, wickets a plenty, some fiery spells of fast bowling, spin magicians wielding their wands, a few breathtaking innings and now we are at the most important day of the season. It is “The” day and the crown is waiting for the champion to appear.

The way the pitch at DY Patil has played in the last couple of matches will be a slight concern for the teams as well the organizers. There is a bit too much in it for the bowlers. It surely isn’t a bat first and score 82 runs pitch as Deccan did yesterday but it isn’t a 170-180 runs surface either. The strip which was used in the first semi final between Mumbai and Bangalore is likely to be used and might be a little better.

DY Patil Stadium – Ground Stats

Mumbai would have started clear favourites had it not been for Sachin’s split finger webbing. He is in doubt but his team would want him to play even if he can just manage to hold the bat. His mere presence on the field would be a positive influence and a confidence booster for the youngsters in the team. Chennai who have played sensational cricket in the last two matches may not admit but must be more assured within if Sachin doesn’t play.

Bowling had been a big weakness for the Super Kings but since Bollinger’s arrival they have looked a different bowling unit. Him and Ashwin have stifled openers as well as taken some crucial wickets. Murali’s good spell in the last match would have come as a big relief for Dhoni. The local fast bowlers have been a big disappointment for them so Chennai are likely to field three front line spinners yet again. Opening is still a worry for them as Matthew Hayden has looked awfully out of touch and Murali Vijay who has shown signs of brilliance has been inconsistent. If the openers and captain MS Dhoni fall early, Super Kings may find themselves in a situation that Deccan Chargers were in yesterday.

Mumbai are a very formidable side but will lose that magic zing about them if Sachin doesn’t play the final. Minus Sachin they may be a little low on strength but will still start slight favourites. Duminy, Tiwary, Rayudu and Pollard have all been in good form. If Sachin doesn’t play and the pitch is dry, Fernando may also not play and then Jayasuriya and Ali Murtaza will be the likely inclusions. Tendulkar and the team management will have to have their thinking caps on as Jayasuriya and Murtaza are both slow left arm bowlers and Chennai have many left handed batsmen. Mumbai have preferred to bat first and defend totals in this tournament and on this pitch they would want to do it even more so. Malinga and Zaheer have got initial breakthroughs and have been superb at the death. Pollard has also bowled pretty well apart from his match turning cameos down the order. Harbhajan may open the bowling, especially with Hayden at the top struggling very badly.

Mohit Goyal
Intern
R.N.T. Medical College, Udaipur
dr.mohitgoyal@gmail.com
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Semi final 2 at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

The two teams have a lot in common. Both qualified for the semis on the penultimate day of the league phase, both are lead by wicketkeepers, both have retired Aussie southpaws struggling at the top of the order and both look a bit thin in the bowling department. But the similarities would end here and while one would make it to the big final on Sunday, the other will play for the last spot in the Champions League on Saturday

While Kumble and Pietersen were the most economical bowlers for Royal Challengers, the lone spinner in Mumbai Indians – Harbhajan Singh, was the only one to be taken for big runs. The pitch looks fantastic and true and that makes for an exciting clash with the two teams in reckoning having lots of stroke makers. There is bounce on offer which may reap rewards to bowlers who can get in some accurate short balls.

Against Punjab, even after Raina and Badrinath’s excellent innings a target of 193 was looking beyond Chennai when they needed 44 runs in the last three overs. But just then Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to make it his day and scored 32 runs in the next 11 balls he faced to take Chennai home with two balls to spare. This season Dhoni hadn’t made much of an impact before this innings but now the opposition captains have yet another thing to worry about. Matthew Hayden hasn’t had a great season this time but he and his mates would dearly be hoping that he can deliver today. Vijay, Raina, Badrinath have all done well and Albie Morkel too has chipped in with a couple of crucial cameos. But the main area of worry for them is their bowling. The best Indian pacer for them has been L Balaji who too has given 8.87 runs per over. Muttiah Muralitharan has given away an astonishing 131 runs in the last 12 overs he has bowled and also taking into account that most of the Chargers’ batsmen are right handed he will sit out in this match. Morkel too has been very expensive but will retain his spot owing to his capabilities with the bat. Michael Hussey who has made just 37 runs in the three innings he has had is likely to sit out in favour of Justin Kemp who additionally brings in some accurate fast medium stuff to stifle the batsmen in the middle overs. Although the pitch at the DY Patil has good bounce, Shadab Jakati the left arm spinner from Goa is likely to play as none of the local fast bowlers has showed any sort of promise. Chennai’s fate in this match is likely to mirror that of Doug Bollinger. While he could make a telling difference with a good spell, him being taken for runs by the Deccan bowlers could well mean game over for Chennai.

Deccan are the form team at the moment having won their last five matches to make it to the semis. Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds and T Suman have all contributed consistently in their latest winning streak. Monish Mishra also came good in the last match and with skipper Adam Gilchrist due for a big one the team must surely now be eyeing an encore of the second season. The lower middle order is still a problem for them but they would want to persist with Mitchell Marsh there who is a more reliable batsmen than Dwayne Smith. But the need to strengthen the bowling as well may prompt them to recall Smith. Like Chennai, Deccan are also thin on local fast bowling resources. RP Singh has had a disastrous season and was dropped for Deccan’s last league match against Delhi. Harmeet Singh had won them a match against Bangalore but went for over 10 runs an over against Delhi. Pragyan Ojha has been bowling extremely well and and got good support from leggie Rahul Sharma in the last match.

Since both the teams are batting heavy, an excellent spell of bowling from Doug Bollinger or Pragyan Ojha could well be the deciding factor. When teams have weak bowling they may think of bowling first and getting the worrisome area out of the way but it could well backfire if the other team gets a very big score. Batting first has remained the preferred option of most teams in big games but with the pitch here likely to hold well, loosing the toss may be a blessing in disguise.

Probable starting elevens
Chennai Super Kings – Matthew Hayden, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Albie Morkel, S Badrinath, Justin Kemp, R Ashwin, Sudeep Tyagi, Shadab Jakati, Doug Bollinger

Deccan Chargers – Adam Gilchrist, Monish Mishra, T Suman, Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Mitchell Marsh/Dwayne Smith, B Sumanth, Chaminda Vaas, Pragyan Ojha, Harmeet Singh, Rahul Sharma/ RP Singh

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Against 11 and a 50,000 Super kings

Mumbai have been on an absolute roll this season but come Tuesday, apart from the eleven cricketers in the Chennai squad they will also have to account for the yellow brigade of 50,000 in the stands. Chepauk might have been a happy hunting ground and a home away from home for Sachin but when Dhoni leads CSK here there will be little doubt as to what side the crowd will be on. The pitch here has always been a batting paradise and the last match here between Chennai and Rajasthan saw a mammoth aggregate of 469 runs. Toss wouldn’t be a big factor as the pitch generally holds well and dew is also not expected. Still, the team that wins the toss would like to bat first, score big and put pressure on the chasing side.

Even after scoring 246 runs courtesy a 57 ball 127 from Murali Vijay, Chennai could have against Rajasthan if not for Doug Bollinger who gave away just 15 runs and accounted for two crucial wickets. In him they have some support for Muralitharan who has looked in top form barring the last two matches. Other bowlers are still a big worry for Chennai but batting has always been their driving force. Hayden hasn’t clicked this season but Murali Vijay with his last two innings has taken a lot of pressure off his opening partner. While Raina has played some crucial innings, Dhoni too has invariably looked in good touch. Badrinath can come in handy on a day when Chennai lose 2 or 3 wickets quickly but they haven’t found anybody for that seventh spot.

Ryan McLaren hasn’t looked too impressive but Sachin has so far chosen not to tinker with the winning combination. It may be time for him to make way for Graham Napier, Duminy or Dilhara Fernando. Mumbai are practically through to the semis and that may prompt them to bring in Jayasuriya and get him in form before the knock out phase begins. Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu have been sensational, scoring quickly and consistently. Sathish, Bravo and Pollard are live wires on the field and help keep morale of the bowlers up. But the real reason why Mumbai have done consistently well is because Zaheer, Malinga and Harbhajan have been in good form and at various times have put their hands up to bowl some unplayable spells. Mumbai have shown their penchant for batting first through the season and would look to do the same in Chennai as well.

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Aussies to aid the struggle in the middle

Chennai managed to beat Bangalore after a string of losses while Rajasthan’s four match winning streak came to a halt when they were pumped by the Daredevils. Momentum is on Chennai’s side and arrival of Michael Hussey and Doug Bollinger will add reliability and teeth to their line up. For Rajasthan, Shane Watson is back and even if he is Jet lagged and doesn’t play, he can provide valuable insights on Hussey and Bollinger’s weaknesses.

Hussey and Bollinger are likely to move into Chennai’s playing eleven straight away. Abie Morkel hasn’t been able to turn games with the bat and has been very expensive with the ball. Thushara has done a reasonably good job in the two matches he has played but Bollinger is a lot quicker and can bowl some good yorkers in the death overs. Chennai would dearly want Hayden to start firing now as nobody can push the run rate continually like him.

If Watson isn’t under-rested, Rajasthan would want to play him as he lends balance with his ability to open the innings and can bowl decent four overs. Shaun Tait was the most expensive bowler in the match against Delhi but he has the ability to take wickets and get in some unplayable yorkers. Yusuf Pathan didn’t have time to play himself in against Delhi and Warne must look to sending him in at 4 or 5. Rajasthan would want to win the toss and bat first. With it being a day match and the sun beating down in Chennai, the pitch is certain to favor the team that bowls second more.

After three consecutive wins against Chennai, Punjab and Delhi, Deccan’s charge has received a rude shock with three consecutive losses to Rajasthan, Mumbai and Kolkata. Symonds, Gibbs and Rohit have all played some good small innings but these losses have highlighted how highly they rely on Gilchrist. Gibbs and Symonds scored 50 and 45 respectively in the last match, but strike rates of 111 and 121 were never going to be enough to chase down 182. Ryan Harris has arrived and that must be a big relief for the Deccan camp. He has more pace than Vaas and is much more accurate than Roach. Suman and Venugopal Rao haven’t done anything of substance this year but Deccan don’t have replacements either.

Mumbai have been simply splendid this year. Zaheer, Malinga and Harbhajan have all been bowling consistently well. Sachin has been in sublime form and Dhawan, Tiwary, Rayudu and Sathish have all supported him well. They are practically into the semis and Sachin would like to try out options at hand before they enter the knock out stages. Ryan McLaren has got many chances but has failed to impress. Dhawal Kularni if fit or Ali Murtaza may get a look in. They may also play JP Duminy or Graham Napier to find out what kind of nick they are in.
Deccan would want to bowl first and get their weaker half out of the way. Also, bowling first Harris and co. might get a little swing and bounce at Brabourne.

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.twitter.com/drmohitgoyal

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For a team that reached semi finals in both the previous editions of the IPL, Chennai have a poor 2-4 win-loss record against Bangalore. They have had a tough time this season with Matthew Hayden not coming into his own as yet and Dhoni missing a few games with injury. Bangalore on the other hand have done well but must guard against complacency, as they are barely half way through.

Chennai rely heavily on Hayden, Dhoni, Murali and Albie Morkel. Raina has done well but hasn’t been able to make a telling single handed impact. Thushara and Jakati did well in the last match and are likely to be retained. The spot for an Indian pacer is an area of concern and we may witness the game of musical chairs being continued. Joginder Sharma is likely to vacate that spot for Sudeep Tyagi, who must then be persisted with. Badrinath has been too slow in the chances he has got and Arun Karthik looked like an amateur in the last match.

Chennai would want to bat first, score heavy and then let the slower bowlers like Murali and Jakati come into play. If they can win this game they will remain in the hunt and are likely to get a major boost with Michael Hussey and Doug Bollinger joining them in a couple of days.

Bangalore were on a four match winning streak when their juggernaut was haulted in the last match by Delhi. Eoin Morgan has failed to make any use of the chances he has got and is likely to make way for one of Kevin Pietersen and Cameron White. Steyn and Praveen Kumar went for big runs in the last match but their exploits in the previous matches will keep their places safe. Its a day match and with the sun beating down hard, Bangalore too would want to win the toss and bat first.

Delhi have been on a roller coaster this season but look more confident with the return of their skipper Gambhir after a long injury break. Dirk Nannes injured a finger trying to stop a shot from the Kolkata keeper Saha and may miss the next few matches. Nannes and Mishra have by far been the two top performers with the ball for Delhi. Farveez Mahroof may take Nannes’ place while Andrew McDonald who went for a lot of runs and Rajat Bhatia may be replaced by AB de Villiers and Pradeep Sangwan or Ashish Nehra.

Rajasthan look settled and aren’t likely to make many changes. They may look at replacing Sumit Narwal who was expensive in the last match by either Munaf Patel or Amit Uniyal or even Kamran Khan. The Royals interestingly haven’t ever lost defending a score of 150 or more. The pitch at Kotla isn’t the best T20 pitch in the world and the side winning the toss would want to make first use of it. Rajasthan would dearly want to bat first otherwise a blinder from either Sehwag or Warner could straight away kill their chances on the Delhi strip.

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/drmohitgoyal

Chennai start minus 16

16 – that’s the difference in years between Kumble and Raina’s ages. What an experience it would be for Suresh Raina to lead a side against Anil Kumble, who started bowling for India when Suresh Raina could at best have been riding a tricycle. The clash promises to be mouth watering with the Super Kings facing certain Royal Challengers. Steyn v Hayden and Murali v RCB top order could be the battles within the war, that could decide the balance of the pan.
Manpreet Gony didn’t have a good game and is likely to be replaced by Sudeep Tyagi or Joginder Sharma. They may also think of getting in a more attacking batsman in place of Murali Vijay who doesn’t seem to be of much use down the order. Chennai would look towards Muttiah Muralitharan to provide the impetus and stifle the Bangalore batsmen. He is a class act anyway but Bangalore don’t have many left handed batsmen, something Murali wouldn’t relish much. Murali may come to bowl in the power play overs and create inroads into the Bangalore top order. Chennai would want to bat first and bat Bangalore out of the match as their friable middle order could crumble under pressure.
Bangalore wouldn’t be looking at making many changes. One they could look to, is to induct Cameron White if he reaches in time and isn’t too disoriented by the Jet lag. For no fault of his own, Eoin Morgan may have to sit out, only because of the stature that White has built for himself in the last few months and more importantly the form with which he comes in. Kumble would want Steyn and Vinay Kumar to bounce people like Raina and Parthiv, who have invariably showed vulnerability for the short stuff. Also a more economical performance would be expected from Praveen Kumar who has been swinging the ball like anything. Bangalore again shouldn’t mind batting or bowling first.

Dr. Mohit Goyal
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Charismatic Ganguly and Dhoni clash at Eden while workmen-like Kumble and Sangakkara face off at Bangalore

Knight Riders had looked stronger than ever even before the IPL-3 actually kicked off but they have done really well to win two out of two even in the absence of Gayle, McCullum and Bond. Bond is with the team now but Whatmore and Ganguly will have a tough time trying to fit him in with the 4 foreign players cap. A numbingly freezing triple sundae including Bond, Ishant and Langeveldt could give the Chennai batsmen some toothache. Kolkata look formidable as four batsmen in their line up – Hodge, Tiwary, Matthews and Owais Shah have good innings under their belts already.
Chennai desperately need support for Matthew Hayden at the top. Vijay, Raina and Badrinath left too much for the lower middle order in the last match. They may look at bringing in Thushara or Ntini in place of Morkel or more likely in place of Kemp. Sudeep Tyagi’s position may also be challenged by Gony or Ganapathy.

With one loss from one for each, Punjab and Bangalore will look to redeem at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Punjab’s bowlers weren’t bad in their first match against Delhi but still a pacer could replace Ramesh Powar, who didn’t have much to do in that match. They would really want two of their big four – Sangakkara, Yuvraj, Jayawardene and Bopara to fire. Punjab might bring in “all-round asset” Reetinder Sodhi in place of Manvinder Bisla, who failed to impress. Jayawardene, Sangakkara or Irfan Pathan may open the innings then.
For Bangalore, in all probability Shreevats Goswami and Dale Steyn will make way for Mark Boucher and one of Vinay Kumar or Abhimanyu Mithun. In that case Eoin Morgan will open the innings, which anyways should always have been their choice in first place. Praveen Kumar, Kumble and Roelof van der Merwe bowled well in the first match. Kumble must also look to use Virat Kohli more frequently as a bowler. He is a mean customer and diversifies the options.

Mohit Goyal
dr.mohitgoyal@gmail.com
www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Adam Gilchrist the Captain of Deccan Chargers, began by winning the toss and a superfast 38 from 17 balls, while becoming the first batsman in the IPL to reach 1000 runs.  Andrew Symonds overcame a sluggish start to slam the game’s only half-century. Symonds proved a good ally albeit at a later stage to Gibbs – at one stage he was just 3 off 17 balls and then jumped to 50. Gibbs and Symonds both fell in succession, when Deccan was just past 150. After which, much to Captain Dhoni and everyone else’s surprise Sudeep Tyagi contributed a 22-run final over thanks to his full-toss balls apart from some amazing knocks by Rohit Sharma and T Suman which helped Deccan Chargers reach a total of 190 for 4.

The Chennai onslaught was started off by Chamunda Vaas with three quick wickets inlcuding Hayden and they could hardly manage a total of 159 at the close of 20 overs with 0 wickets down. This win was set up by Deccan’s batsmen, namely their four big Gilchrist, Giibs, Symonds and Vass – all overseas players.

Chennai conceded 63 in the last five overs and that proved to be the decisive period of the match which helped Deccan Charges level the first loss in the opening match.

Editorial

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.

– Rashida Shabbir Arsiwala
http://rasharsiblog.blogspot.com/

Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting could be in for some bashing from all cricketing corners including the media because of his baffling strategy to up the over-rate when everybody thought that Australia would look to bundle out the Indians and get one hand on the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

India were cruising along in the first session on the fourth day of the Nagpur test but lost momentum after wickets fell in a heap after lunch. Tendulkar was run out at the stroke of tea, leaving India tottering at 166 for the loss of six wickets. India were just 252 runs ahead and everyone awaited intriguing two hours of cricket post-tea. The experts predicted a quick brushing of the Indian tail by the Aussie pacers, especially with the ball reversing.

Interestingly the proceedings started with all spin from Cameron White and Jason Krejza. When Lee expressed his desire to bowl, Michael Clarke told him that they were nine overs behind the rate. Krejza kept bowling from one end while White was replaced after two overs by Michael Hussey, who was later replaced by a not 100 percent Michael Clarke.

The Australians bowled 17 overs in one hour but were still seven overs behind the rate. It was only after 100 minutes into the third session that Watson was brought into the attack. Indian skipper MS Dhoni combined with Harbhajan to put a century stand as both the batsmen raised their fifties. Indians were finally bowled out for 295 leaving Australia a target of 382 at more than four runs an over.

Had the Aussies gone in for a kill after tea and restricted India to even 40 runs less they would have had a smaller target and much more time and overs to get there. International captains need to give a serious look at their teams’ bowling rates but this tactic of Ponting is beyond brains. He has not been up to the task of getting overs in time for months now and its been too many times now but he responded today in the way he did only because a one test match suspension hung over him.

Is Ponting’s not playing a test match, bigger than a test win for Australia, a test series for Australia, the Border-Gavaskar trophy for Australia. Eversince I have watched cricket, I have been a big fan of the Aussies putting team before individuals and at times been critical of Indians not doing so. But I doubt if Mr. Ponting has any explanation to what he did.

On the other hand, I just watched and admired Mahendra Singh Dhoni who ran his heart out between the wickets even with a cramped hamstring. India are already ahead in the series and with seven one dayers against England knocking at the door, Dhoni could have chosen to cut out the tight twos and threes. But he chose otherwise and showed us signs of some brilliant things to expect from him and his team in the future.

Even after the tactics that they employed, Australia fell well behind the desired over-rate. The spotlight is on Ponting right now and it remains to be seen what answers he has on offer or are we counting down his days?

Dr. Mohit Goyal