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Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils1st semi-final, Mumbai Friday, May 30Start time 20.00 (local), (GMT)
Rajasthan and Delhi brace for knock-out clash
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The Big Picture
The irony of the Indian Premier League's first semi-final is that Delhi have Rajasthan to thank for their place in the final four. Stuck on 15 points after 14 matches, Delhi needed Rajasthan to beat Mumbai in Jaipur and only after Mumbai's final-ball choke was Delhi's spot secured.
Ironic because Rajasthan have lost to only three teams in the IPL - Punjab, in a dead rubber; Mumbai; and Delhi, their semi-final opponents, in their first match of the tournament. Rajasthan were crushed in that encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla by nine wickets and 29 balls to spare. They settled scores with Delhi during the home game , but that victory too looked improbable until Shane Watson blitzed 74 off 40 balls.
Past IPL form, though, will count for little during the high stakes of a knock-out match and the contest could be decided by which team keeps its cool. Delhi have Glenn McGrath's tremendous experience to fall back on while Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik were part of the Indian squad that won several close battles during the World Twenty20 in South Africa. Rajasthan, however, will rely on Graeme Smith's experience at the top of the order and the inspirational captaincy of Shane Warne to keep emotions under control and instill self-belief in high-pressure situations.
That they have already played each other twice should leave little room for surprise but, by a quirk of circumstance, Delhi's strong top-order are yet to face Sohail Tanvir, the IPL's best fast bowler. Tanvir was on Pakistan duty in the first encounter and, for the return, was rested to give Dimitri Mascarenhas a chance. Tanvir has been deadly with the new ball and tops both the wickets and economy charts (among those who've bowled at least 10 overs) with 21 scalps while conceding only 5.97 per over.
Tournament position
Rajasthan Royals: P14, W11, L3, NRR +0.632
Delhi Daredevils: P14, W7, L6, N/R1, NRR +0.342
Form (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals: LWWWW
Delhi Daredevils: WWLWL
Watch out for ...
Tanvir against Delhi's openers, Sehwag and Gambhir.
Team news
Rajasthan toyed with their line-up for their final league game against Punjab, resting Smith, Swapnil Asnodkar, Tanvir, Ravindra Jadeja and Warne. All five are expected to return for the semi-final. Niraj Patel's excellent form against Mumbai and Punjab might see him edge Mohammad Kaif for a spot.
Rajasthan Royals (probable): 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Swapnil Asnodkar, 3 Yusuf Pathan, 4 Shane Watson, 5 Niraj Patel, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 8 Shane Warne (capt), 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Siddharth Trivedi, 11 Munaf Patel.
Delhi are likely to leave out Brett Geeves, who played their final league game against Mumbai, and bring back Mohammad Asif, who missed the last three games because of a hand injury. He was seen bowling at the nets on the eve of the semi-final.
Delhi Daredevils (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Farveez Maharoof, 8 V Yomahesh, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Mohammad Asif 11 Glenn McGrath.
Stats and trivia
Quotes
"I have seen in previous matches that the ball does a bit in the first half of the match and in the second half batting is easier. Both teams have good bowlers and shot selection is important."
Sehwag hints he might prefer to chase at the Wankhede.
"It's been an interesting journey with the Daredevils. Basically, we have been in three finals already to get in to the semi-finals. If that doesn't prepare you for a semi-final, then nothing else will. To get through three must-win games steels the team. It will be a huge advantage for Viru and his guys.
Dennis Lillee, Delhi's cricket advisor on the team's preparations.
"We should have hosted the semi-final instead of playing it at a neutral venue. We have been the best team in the league so far but have not gained any extra advantage. Playing at home would have given us a big advantage. These are some of the things that need to be improved by the IPL authorities next year, especially by allowing the top two sides to host the semi- finals."
Warne, whose team has been unbeaten at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
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Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings
IPL, Hyderabad Tuesday, May 27
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)
CAN MURALI TUrN IT AROUND? Chennai Super Kings captain M.S. Dhoni will be banking on Muttiah Muralitharan to come good in the crucial match against Deccan Chargers.
The Big Picture
The match may be of little significance for the home side but, with one semi-final spot up for grabs and two teams in the fray, this is almost a quarter-final for the Chennai Super Kings, who have been sputtering of late. Win tomorrow and they make the last four; lose, and the race for that semi-final spot shifts to Mumbai Indians' final game against the Bangalore Royal Challengers. If Mumbai lose that game, Chennai go through. For Chennai to be knocked out, Mumbai must win. Even if tomorrow's match is abandoned, Chennai will qualify.
For Deccan, this is their last chance for a home win. They can draw inspiration from Kolkata's consolation win against Kings XI Punjab and give their home supporters something to cheer. They will, however, remain at the bottom of the pile no matter what the result is and that's a bitter pill to swallow for their captain Adam Gilchrist, who probably hasn't seen failure of this magnitude through his playing career.
Tournament position
Chennai Super Kings: P13, W7, L6, NRR -0.241
Deccan Chargers: P13, W2, L11, NRR -0.478
Form (last five matches, most recent first)
Chennai Super Kings: LLWLW
Deccan Chargers: LLLLL
Watch out for ...
Team news
Chennai pushed Rajasthan Royals close during their chase of 212 on Saturday so it's unlikely they will tinker with their line-up. Joginder Sharma could earn a recall and if he does, Abhinav Mukund may have to sit out. Abhinav faced just one ball in the loss on Saturday.Chennai Super Kings (probable):
1 Parthiv Patel (wk), Stephen Fleming, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Albie Morkel, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), 6 S Badrinath, 7 Abhinav Mukund/ Joginder Sharma, 8 Manpreet Gony, 9 L Balaji, 10, Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Makhaya Ntini.
Deccan would want to sign off in style so they may not experiment with too many inexperienced players. Shahid Afridi, if included, would have one last chance to play true to his reputation. His campaign so far has been very disappointing and Deccan need more from him. Nuwan Zoysa, who's played just three games, could come in for Chaminda Vaas, who hasn't had a great tournament either.
Deccan Chargers (probable):
1 Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Venugopal Rao, 5 Shahid Afridi, 6 Ravi Teja, 7 Arjun Yadav, 8 Sanjay Bangar, 9 Nuwan Zoysa, 10 RP Singh, 11 P Vijaykumar.
Stats and trivia
Rohit Sharma's eight catches is the most for the tournament so far.
Quotes
"We are not concerned about the Chargers' record in the IPL. We would like to focus our team rather than worry about the opposition. We had a good start to the tournament due to some exceptional players in our team. We are in with a chance to qualify."Kepler Wessels, the Chennai coach, believes his team will find the momentum
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Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians
Jaipur
Monday, May 26, 2008
Start time 20.00 (Local), 14.30 (GMT)
Match Overview
The Mumbai Indians are in a must-win situation after two successive losses. If they win against Rajasthan Royals and follow it up with another victory in their final league game against Bangalore Royal Challengers on Wednesday, they will make the semi-finals. If they lose one of their remaining two clashes then they will have to hope that Chennai Super Kings lose their final match against Deccan Chargers.
Mumbai can blame no one but themselves for their precarious state. Their six-match winning streak - the longest in the IPL - is a distant memory already and they need to get the right combination which got them to winning ways after losses in their first four games. Sachin Tendulkar raised eyebrows when he opted for rookie spinners in last week's losses against Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils ahead of the medium-pacer Rohan Raje and wicketkeeper Yogesh Takawale, who excelled in pressure situations earlier in the tournament. Tendulkar can't afford any miscalculations against Rajasthan, proud occupants of the top spot in the points table.
Shane Warne is still smarting from the humiliation suffered in Mumbai in the first week of May where his batsmen were tied down by a charged-up Mumbai bowling. That loss ended Rajasthan's winning run at five games and now, with another chance to go for six successive triumphs, Mumbai again stand in their way.
Team Positions
Rajasthan Royals: P12, W10, L2, NRR +0.918
Mumbai Indians: P12, W6, L6, NRR +0.590
Look for these Fighters
· Shane Warne v Sachin Tendulkar: Last time round this dream bout didn't happen as Tendulkar failed to recover from his groin injury. He is now back, and in good nick, and Warne, the best slow bowler in the IPL, will like to score over his old nemesis.
· Sanath Jaysuriya v Sohail Tanvir: Jayasuriya has been in vintage form, disdainfully clobbering new-ball bowlers while Tanvir has been both incisive and economical and hasn't lost too many tussles with batsmen in the IPL.
· Big hits: Yusuf Pathan, Shane Watson, Jayasuriya and Abhishek Nayar will keep the cheerleaders busy
Mumbai Indians
After the failed experiments with spin, Mumbai are likely to replace offspinner Siddharth Chitnis, who was not even given a bowl against Delhi in the previous game, with Raje who is a good fielder as well Takawale, who had made some handy scores as Jayasuriya's partner in the absence of Tendulkar, might take over wicketkeeping duties from Pinal Shah. Dominic Thornely's all-round skills could see him picked ahead of South African fast bowler Andre Nel.
Rajasthan are the only team with double-digit victories and have the liberty to try out any combination. Graeme Smith is likely to sit out after pulling a hamstring in his previous game and Shane Watson could come back after a one-game break. Warne might also pick the hard-hitting Ravindra Jadeja instead of Taruwar Kohli.
Statistics
· Their 103 against Mumbai remains Rajasthan's lowest score so far in the tournament
· Besides being the tournament's second highest wicket-taker, Tanvir has the best average and economy-rate among bowlers who have sent down more than 20 overs
· Both the young spinners that Mumbai tried proved ineffective - Vikrant Yeligati and Chitnis both have economy-rates greater than ten.
Source: © Cricinfo
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Saturday, May 24, 2008
Start time 20.00 (Local), 14.30 (GMT)
The two teams have had contrasting journeys so far: Delhi began in style, winning four of their first five games, but have since gone off the boil, winning just two of the last eight. Mumbai, on the other hand, made a disastrous start, losing their first four matches, but then won six in a row and were just two runs away from seven successive victories.
Both teams have a top-heavy batting line-ups and one outstanding new-ball bowler, and how Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock match up against Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Glenn McGrath could well decide which way the match turns. Mumbai's support cast, though, has contributed more consistently - Dhawal Kulkarni, Ashish Nehra and the now-absent Dwayne Bravo have been among the wickets, while Abhishek Nayar and Robin Uthappa have contributed useful runs. Delhi have the big names in their middle order - AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan are both free-stroking batsmen - but neither has found his range in the IPL.
To make matters more uncertain for both teams, the unseasonal Delhi rains threaten to disrupt the action, with forecasts for more showers on Saturday. A washout will mean Mumbai will only need to win one of their last two games to push Delhi out of contention.
Watch out for ...
Rain - the forecast suggests possible thundershowers on Saturday.
Delhi's middle order has been a worry throughout the tournament, but they're unlikely to tinker too much with the line-up. Their bowlers set up the victory against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in their previous match, and the only disappointment was Rajat Bhatia, who could face the axe for this key clash.
Stats and trivia
Delhi have been the superior batting team in the middle overs, scoring at an average of 39.13 runs per wicket, and 8.44 per over, between overs seven and 15. For Mumbai the corresponding numbers are 29.95 and 7.75.
McGrath has dismissed the Mumbai openers 25 times in international cricket: Tendulkar has fallen to him 13 times and Jayasuriya 12.
McGrath and Pollock have stunningly similar stats in the tournament so far: McGrath has 12 wickets in as many games at an average of 23.33 and an economy rate of 6.08. Pollock has 11 wickets in ten games at an average of 19.90 and an economy rate of 6.25.
Quotes
"Playing with Sehwag has always been a great experience as he takes the pressure off me. We both are stroke players and when we go out to open the innings we have just one thing in mind, to give a good start, and that's what we have tried to do right through the tournament."Gautam Gambhir on being part of one of the most formidable opening pairs in the IPL.
Source : Cricinfo
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Rajasthan Royals v Bangalore Royal Challengers
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Start time 16.00 (local), 10.30 (GMT)
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The Big Picture
Uncertainty loomed over this fixture after a series of bomb blasts ripped through the heart of Jaipur on May 13. Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals captain, and other high-profile overseas players were reportedly wary of staying on in the city while Bangalore requested the game be switched to the Chinnaswamy Stadium. However Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, refused to change the venue and assured the "necessary security arrangements" would be put in place for "the safe conduct of the game".
A shift in venue, though, may have increased Bangalore's chances of winning, for Rajasthan have won all of their five matches at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium and start as overwhelming favourites. Their team strategy has been simple: field first, restrict the opposition and approach the run-chase without the pressure of a tall asking-rate. Bangalore will either have to win the toss, or their out-of-form batsmen will have to fire against Shane Warne, Sohail Tanvir and Shane Watson if they are to disrupt those plans.
Rajasthan are sitting pretty at the top of the points table and know that another victory or two will cement a spot in the final four. However, a defeat for Bangalore, who are at the bottom of the league, will eliminate the slimmest of semi-final hopes. They have struggled to find a winning combination and their owner, Vijay Mallya, has fired salvos against the captain, prompting Anil Kumble to stand up for Rahul Dravid.
Tournament position
Rajasthan Royals P9, W7, L2, NRR +0.592
Bangalore Royal Challengers P9, W2, L7, NRR -1.381
Watch out for ...
Team news
Rajasthan have one of the most balanced sides - with a fine mix of Indian and foreign players. Siddharth Trivedi and Munaf Patel have exceeded expectations with the ball and it's unlikely that they would meddle with the bowling combination. Tanvir is likely to make a comeback in place of Dimitri Mascarenhas, who has returned to Hampshire. Niraj Patel hasn't had much of a role in his two games and Warne may give him another go.Bangalore could go in with a largely unchanged combination. Misbah-ul-Haq, who began with a flurry of fours before knocking the stumps with his back foot, would be expected to bat at No. 3. Vinay Kumar could be replaced by either B Akhil or Sunil Joshi while Jacques Kallis may come in for Cameron White.
Stats and trivia
-Rajasthan's average 20-over score at home is 177.
-Graeme Smith has played 102 dot balls out of a total of 217 deliveries.
- Seven different batsmen - Bharat Chipli, Praveen Kumar, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer and J Arunkumar - have opened for Bangalore.
For the 40th match Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab at Delhi - May 17, 2008 Visit here !
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Mumbai Indians VS Kolkatta Night Riders
Friday, May 16, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)
The Big Picture
If the marquee names play to form this could be an intense contest. The key battle will be between the Kolkata Knight Riders' new-ball pair of Shoaib Akhtar and Ishant Sharma and the Mumbai Indians' opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya - sheer pace and movement against mammoth experience.
Shoaib remains the key after making a resounding Indian Premier League (IPL) debut. Bowling at optimum pace, he demolished the Delhi Daredevils, though he was helped by a couple of Delhi batsmen who decided to match him with aggression rather than remain patient. But Tendulkar and Jayasuriya have faced him often enough in others forms of the game, and at times tamed him with their repertoire of shots.
Mumbai are likely to zero in on Kolkata's weakness - batting. Sourav Ganguly and David Hussey are the only Kolkata batsmen to come to grips with building and finishing an innings. The absence of a quality opener like Brad Hodge is a further headache for Ganguly, who prefers opening to coming down the order. But he has had to adjust and adopt a safety-first policy.
If Mumbai win, it will be their fifth in a row, giving them further confidence in their bid for a semi-final spot. Their streak started at Eden Gardens and Kolkata, on a winning run themselves, will be looking for revenge after being humbled by Shaun Pollock and Jayasuriya with the ball in that match. As both captains agreed, it will be a "close contest".
Tournament position
Mumbai Indians: P8, W4, L4, NRR -0.056
Kolkata Knight Riders: P9, W5, L4, NRR +0.619
Watch out for ...
• Shoaib and Ishant against Jayasuriya and Tendulkar. If a pumped-up Shoaib presses on the accelerator to gain maximum speed, the wiry Ishant will test the batsmen with his bounce and movement. Tendulkar said he never "entertained" the argument that Twenty20 is a young man's game but it will be a true test of reflexes for Mumbai's experienced duo.
• Sourav Ganguly. Despite a partisan Mumbai crowd, 'dada' (as Ganguly is widely known) still has his own bunch of die-hards everywhere he goes. He might have been slow off the Twenty20 blocks but he has caught up in recent games, scoring a 57-ball 91 in the away game against the Deccan Chargers.
• Shahrukh Khan, owner of the Kolkata franchise. Eden Gardens might have become his second home but Mumbai will always remain first love for the Bollywood superstar, who will be out once again egging on Kolkata.
Team news
Mumbai would hate to disrupt their winning rhythm so they might stick to the same XI that beat the Chennai Super Kings.
Despite opener Aakash Chopra's trouble adapting to the Twenty20 format, Ganguly said it was not a matter of concern as the team had won three matches in a row. Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez might get the nod for his all-round skills ahead of Tatenda Taibu and Mumbai local Iqbal Abdulla might make way for fellow left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, who has some fond memories of the Wankhede, including his match-winning 6 for 27 in the final game of the ODI series against Australia last year.
Stats and trivia
• Kolkata have conceded the most number of extras in the tournament - 120 from nine matches.
• Shaun Pollock is the only Mumbai bowler with an economy-rate under 7.25.
• Shoaib bowled just nine balls in the nets on the eve of his IPL debut, against Delhi. On Thursday he bowled four.
Source: Cricinfo.com