Back to back 50 over matches isn’t something that players like but it’s a side effect of the run for big money that creates a heavily packed calendar. But Sri Lanka still would like not to relent and field their best side today to seal a final berth. They have been the winners thrice and runners up five times in the previous eight editions of the tournament and in all likeliness will keep the trend going.
Bangladesh would look to give in a spirited performance like they did batting against India. They may have a window of opportunity should the Lankans decide to rest a few key players.
Look out For
Kumar Sangakkara – He comes across as a greedy batsman. He doesn’t leave any opportunity to score runs and will be looking to compile another big score against the slightly weaker test playing nation, Bangladesh.
Sanath Jayasuriya – He turns thirty nine today and would be looking to celebrate with a big innings and a big win which would take Sri Lanka into the finals of the Asia Cup.
Mohammad Ashraful – He will have to play a big innings if Bangladesh are to have any chance of beating Sri Lanka. He is batsman with natural flair and can score quickly.
Alok Kapali – He batted wonderfully well in the match against India. He also bowls loopy leg spinners which could be difficult to handle if Bangladesh bowl second.
Verdict: Bangladesh’s only chance to get a win here would be to bat first and score in excess of 275 runs. Even then their bowling might be found wanting. If one of Jayasuriya and Sangakkara get going, they are dead and buried.
Indian Premier League (IPL) Match Preview – The Grand Finale
The Armies – Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings
Rajasthan Royals made brief work of it with an emphatic 105 run win over the Delhi Daredevils on Friday. Chennai Super Kings, the firm non-favorites beat Kings XI Punjab by 9
wickets with overs to spare.
The Battleground – DY Patil Cricket Stadium, Navi Mumbai, Mumbai
While the pitch at Wankhede had help for spinners, the pitch at this ground has more pace and bounce. Rajasthan bowlers have bowled well on most pitches. Chennai with Ntini, Morkel and Gony will be happier to play on this sort of pitch and absence of Graeme Smith on this sort of pitch will be a factor. Rajasthan have played a match at this ground. Although they were shot out here by Mumbai but Warne would surely have picked a point or two.
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.
Mother of all clashes, this could well be the dress rehearsal for the finals of the inaugural Indian Premier League and both sides would be looking to score points over the other.
Men at the Helm
Yuvi and Warny both have been inspirational. Yuvi hasn’t performed as well himself but he has a great influence on the younger players. The way he has handled Sreesanth and Chawla and encouraged Marsh and VRV has been phenomenal. Warny has been Midas for the team. Both have handled pressure like only few can in the world.
We have the bat
On paper, Punjab may look a better batting side but apart from Marsh and Sangakkara, others havn’t had many big scores. On other hand for Rajasthan, Smith, Asnodkar, Watson and Pathan have consistently made good scores.
We have the ball
If Punjab have Sreesanth, Pathan and Chawla superb form, Rajasthan have the bowler of the tournament thus far, Sohail Tanveer and the spinner of the tournament, Shane Warne in their ranks. Munaf, Siddharth and Watson too have hit the right line and lengths more often than not. Yusuf Pathan has come in real handy as well.
Patrolling Party
Rajasthan have been very good in the field, while Punjab have had a few poor fielding games. Both will want to eliminate lapses in fielding to give their bowlers an edge over the opponents.
High on betting meter
Rajasthan are slightly high on certain betting meters owing to their better record, while the teams are at level on others.
Who gets the tick?
Rajasthan are on a roll and it will take either an outrageously superb spell of bowling from Sreesanth or Pathan or a lapse on the part of Rajasthan batsmen to make Punjab victorious.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians at Bangalore
This match was initially scheduled to be played on the 10th of May but due to polling in Karnataka, it had to be rescheduled. Now, both teams are out of contention for the semi finals but a match between the teams owned by the power man Mukesh Ambani and the liquor baron Vijay Mallya can not be short of fireworks.
Men at the Helm
Rahul aka Jammy has shown some superb resolve throughout the tournament and has shown what he is capable of at the few instances when his team mates have contributed a little. Sachin on the other hand has seemed short of strategy and innovativeness or may be he has prepared a lot of strategy and predetermined the moves and has thus been predictable.
We have the bat
Mumbai are a much stronger batting side than Bangalore but even Bangalore have shown some encouraging signs and their batsmen definitely have the class to come up with the goods. Watch out for Dravid, Kallis, Misbah and White.
We have the ball
Mumbai have Pollock in very good form but departure of Bravo has hit them badly. Others have been patchy at best. They must look to play Nel in place of Fernando. Bangalore have been quite good and Dale Steyn’s pace and accuracy gives them a definite edge over the other teams.
Patrolling Party
Bangalore have had odd off days, otherwise they have fielded pretty well. Virat Kohli and Cameroon White have been exceptional. Mumbai on the other hand been ordinary, spilling some pretty important chances.
High on betting meter
Mumbai are slightly higher on the betting meter courtesy their greater all round strength.
Who gets the tick?
Mumbai depend heavily on Jayasuriya for a big score and Pollock for early wickets. If Bangalore can take care of these two they can bag in one more win.
