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)
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.
Seasonal Nor-wester Storms disrupted DLF IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings and once again Duckworth Lewis method was used which awarded the win to Chennai on the basis of run rate.
Knight Riders started off badly with the loss of Salmun Butt, Hafeez, Ganguly and Hussey - the major bats but managed a moderate score of 145 for the loss of 5 wickets.
Chennai opened with a firm stand between Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming who played steadily given the low target.
Chennai managed to maintain there league position while Knight Riders slipped into further uncertainty. Ntini bagged the MOM award for his superb spell of 4 for 21 with a hat-trick in which he bagged Hafeez, Ganguly, Das and David Hussey - all important wickets.
In the other match Mumbai Indians continued their dream run with a straight win against Deccan Chargers who once gain failed to make it in their home ground. However, R P Singh got the purple cap while Dwayne Bravo who leaves shortly bagged the man of the match award with 3/24.
Sahid Afridi once again failed to make any mark with his bat while it was not a lucky day for Gilchrist and Sachin and the crowd missed fireworks badly except for a momentary blasting by Sanath Jayasuriya.
After losing four successive games, Delhi Daredevils fianally defeated Deccan Chargers by 12 runs yesterday - their fifth victory out of 10 games played. Amit Mishra claimed the second hat-trick of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Thursday night to guide Delhi Daredevils to a thrilling 12-run win over Deccan Chargers.Earlier Laxmipati Balaji of Channei Super Kings claimed the first hatrick in IPL.
Mishra picked up five for 17 and became the third bowler after Sohail Tanvir (6/14) and Lakshmipathy Balaji (5/24) to claim five wickets or more in an IPL innings.
Both teams have been badly wounded in the last few matches. Both lost to Kolkata by similar margin of 23 runs. But, both have tigers in plenty. So, watch out for this clash.
Men at the Helm
Laxman is still doubtful for this game. Gilly and Viru both have been very aggressive and led on instincts. Both will want to better their records and Deccan probably have the last chance to keep their semi final chances alive.
We have the bat
If batting of Delhi depends on Sehwag and Gambhir, for Deccan its depended on Gilchrist and Rohit. Overall. Deccan batting is stronger on paper but they have failed to fire. Delhi need Sehwag or Gambhir to play well up the order while for Deccan, Gibbs will want to set records straight.
We have the ball
Delhi have a far superior bowling line up and have restricted most teams to relatively low scores. Vaas and RP need to come good for Deccan.
Patrolling Party
Delhi are a very good fielding side but they were outdone by Kolkata in their last match. Deccan have good fielders but they need to get their act together.
High on betting meter
Delhi give a return of 8 on 11 while Deccan a 1 on 1.
