Indian Premier League and Cricket News by IPL Cricket Forum

Editorial: Mohit Goyal

Indian Premier League Match Preview – Semi final 1

Rajasthan Royals Vs Delhi Daredevils

Semi final 1 is to be played between the teams which stood at the first and the fourth position in the league.

The Armies – Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils

Rajasthan Royals with 22 points stood at the top of the league winning 10 of their 14 matches and winning all 7 they played at their home ground, Jaipur.

Delhi Daredevils qualified by grabbing the fourth and the last spot. They were victorious in 7 matches while one was washed by rain. They ended on 15 points.

The Battleground – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

The pitch here is the one that seems most likely to help the spin bowlers. The run scoring can be controlled in the middle overs if the spinners have a good day.

Knock out time

The stage is all set and the performers are raring to go. Its knock out time and the Daredevils have made the cut. This is a team, most would have liked to avoid in a knock out situation. But Shane Keith Warne would probably be the last man on earth to be thinking about it.

The spin wizard from Victoria leads his men, the pre-tournament underdogs as the favorites now to win the inaugural Indian Premier League.

Jab we met

When these teams first met in Delhi, it was the first match in the league for both. Delhi then, bowled out Rajasthan for a meager total of 109 and then got home pretty quickly.

In the next tie at Jaipur, Rajasthan managed to beat Delhi comfortably. The clash has adrenaline flowing high with Sehwag getting charged up in the field and Royals management lodging a complaint against him.

Leading from the front

Both Viru and Warny have led by example. Both have had a good tournament personally and that’s been a reason why things have sailed smoothly for them.

The clash between these two too promises to be a high voltage affair. Watch out for a run out that is not referred to the third umpire.

Left Right Right

Left-Right seems to be right for both the sides. With southpaws Smith and Gambhir opening the innings with Asnodkar and Sehwag respectively there is lot for bowlers to work out. Smith and Asnodkar have been rotating the strike with consistency and this has given many a bowlers some headache. Gambhir is very swift between the wickets and Sehwag more often than not has responded to his calls.

Sub continental Curry

Royal Tanveer and Daredevil Maharoof have been successfully tried as pinch hitters by their captains. It will be interesting to see if this has a bearing on the game.

There and there about

Glen Mc Grath seems to wake up from sleep and still be able to bowl that nagging line and length in and around the corridor of uncertainty.

Munaf Patel sees Mc Grath as his idol and has emulated him pretty well in this league. The change in his attitude and body language has been refreshing to watch.

Firing them or not firing them in

Sohail Tanveer has been an absolute revelation in the tournament. He has bowled with immense control. He’s bowled good bouncers, fired in yorkers and got the slower one going. He’s even managed to find yorker length with slower ball consistently.

Maharoof too has slipped in some useful bouncers and been in the channel outside the off stump. He too would be looking to use the slower one to good effect.

Spinning it square

Wankhede is one venue in the league where spinners would get the most purchase. If they can bowl well they will play a huge role. And if bowling well is required, one man who does it on any pitch is Shane Warne. This pitch will suit him and he could run away with the match if fast bowlers get a couple of early wickets.

Sehwag would look to use Amit Mishra to lure batsmen into big shots and then pulling the trap. He should be looking to use Dilshan and rolling his own arm over too.

Keeping it safe

Dinesh Karthik and Mahesh Rawat have done a good job behind the stumps. For Rajasthan, Akmal is unlikely to play because of restriction on the number of foreign players that can take the field. Dinesh Karthik would be looking to contribute with the bat too. He won Delhi their match against Mumbai.

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Tags: AMit mishra, cricket, Delhi Daredevils, gambhir, india, indian premier league, IPL, Maharoof, match preview, Rajasthan Royals, sehwag, Shane Warne, Sohail Tanvir, viru, Wankhade

Indian Premier League Match Preview

Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians at Delhi

This is do or die match for Delhi. A win doesn’t gaurantee them a place in the semis but a defeat definitely puts them out of contention. Mubai will like to win this one otherwise they will need to win both of their last two matches, one of them being against Rajasthan Royals.

Men at the Helm

Sehwag has been operating smoothly throughout the competition while Sachin looked out of sorts in the last match against Mohali where he probably mismanaged the distribution of overs amongst the bowlers. Well, thats just one issue but Sachin has done pretty well otherwise and seems to be learning the nuances of this game quickly.

We have the bat

Both are very good batting line ups but Mumbai have a slight advantage over Delhi. Delhi rely heavily on Sehwag, Gambhir and Dhawan and need at least two of them to play well. Mumbai on the other hand have had contributions from Sachin, Sanath, Uthappa, Nayar and Pollock. They will definitely miss Dwayne Bravo as they did in the last match against Punjab.

We have the ball

Again Dwayne Bravo will be sorely missed by this department as well. Daredevils Mc Grath and Maharoof and Pollock and Nehra for Indians have been bowling well. Both the teams are likely to have problems with overs of the fourth and fifth bowlers and batsmen must wait to pounce on these.

Patrolling Party

Delhi are an excellent fielding unit and Mumbai’s fielding although good but will have to go few notches still higher to compete with Delhi.

High on betting meter

Mumbai are slightly higher on most betting meters while both are on level on others.

Who gets the tick?

Mumbai will look to win this one but will a blazing inning fron Sehwag or Gambhir pull this Delhi’s way?

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Tags: Bravo, Delhi, Delhi Daredevils, dhawan, Earning, gambhir, indian premier league, Maharoof, match preview, Mohali, Mumbai Indians, Pollock, Sachin, sehwag, tendulkar

Editorial: Mohit Goyal

Indian Premier League Match Preview

Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab at Delhi

Last time these two teams met the match went to on till the last over. Sehwag and Gambhir had failed then. If any of these fires this time and add to that the exploits of Marsh and Pomersbach, we could have a run feast on menu.

Men at the Helm

Viru and Yuvi both are aggressive and pro active. Both like to catch competition by the throat and have an unabandoned approach. It has all the makings of a fiercely aggressive and competitive battle.

We have the bat

If Delhi depend heavily on Sehwag, Gambhir and Dhawan, Punjab do on Marsh, Yuvraj and Mahela. Both the teams need other men to come to party running into closing stages of the league round.

We have the ball

Both the teams have very good bowling line ups. Delhi have a slight edge having Mc Grath, Asif and Maharoof because, although Punjab bowlers are in pretty good form but Sreesanth and Piyush can be vulnerable.

Patrolling Party

Both are superb fielding sides. Probably the two best on show in the league. Watch out for some scintillating stuff as Marsh, Yuvi, Hopes, De Villiers, Dilshan and Dhawan take the field.

High on betting meter

Both teams stand at same levels on most betting meters with returns of 90 percent and shade under.

Who gets the tick?

Both teams have good bowling line ups and thus the result is likely to be decided by the batting. It will need an extraordinary innings from a batsman to turn the tide in his team’s favour.

© IPL Cricket Forum

Tags: Delhi Daredevils, dhawan, gambhir, indian premier league, Kings XI Punjab, Maharoof, marsh, match preview, Mcgrath, Piyush, Pomersbach, sehwag, shaun, Sreesanth, Yuvraj