Match 55: Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers

Venue – Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi

Head to Head: Delhi Daredevils – 4; Deccan Chargers – 2

Delhi Daredevils

Depending upon the results of the first match between Chennai and Punjab, this match will assume significance. If Chennai win, this match will become a virtual quarter-final with the winner moving to second spot while the loser will have to hope Kolkata doesn’t win by a huge margin against Mumbai tomorrow. If Chennai lose, then both Delhi and Deccan have a better opportunity to qualify. Delhi will have the home advantage and their biggest strength will be the presence of two quality spinners in Amit Mishra and Daniel Vettori as compared to one for Deccan in Pragyan Ojha. The Delhi wicket is a tired pitch with low bounce and two paced that will make the job difficult for the batsmen to counter spin. Delhi can also use the services of Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan as they did against Chennai to put the brakes on the scoring.

Best bet for Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag – 9/10

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 8/10

Gautam Gambhir – 8/10

Amit Mishra – 8/10

Daniel Vettori – 8/10                                     

Deccan Chargers

Deccan would like to win to make the sailing easier, however their hot and cold performances will concern captain Gilchrist. Rohit Sharma has been the only consistent performer for Deccan while Gilchirst will be disappointed with his other overseas players Gibbs and Symonds who has played little role in victories. Especially Gibbs form is a big concern which may see him sit out once again while Mitchell Marsh is likely to be continued with.

Best Bet for Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist – 9/10

Rohit Sharma – 9/10

Pragyan Ojha – 8/10

Ryan Harris– 8/10

Andrew Symonds – 8/10

Match 54: Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super Kings

Venue – Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala

Head to Head: Kings XI Punjab – 1; Chennai Super Kings – 5

Kings XI Punjab

The match is of less importance to Kings XI Punjab as they are already out of the tournament. It will be even harder for Sangakkara’s boys to know that even a win will not help them move ahead of the bottom spot in the points table; however Punjab will like to sign off on a high with a win over one of the stronger teams in the tournament. They may make some changes to their team and one that is likely to happen is Shalabha Srivatsava, the pace bowler will be replaced by Sreesanth or any other local bowler while Yusuf Abdulla who impressed all with a spending performance last season may get him first chance.

Best bet for Kings XI Punjab: Kumar Sangakkara – 9/10

Mahela Jayawardene – 8/10

Yuvraj Singh – 8/10

Irfan Pathan – 7/10

Shaun Marsh – 7/10                                       

Chennai Super Kings

The situation for Chennai is crystal clear. Win today to go through the semi-finals or lose to pack their bags home. However much will depend on the result of this match as Delhi, Deccan and Kolkata will have a keen eye on the proceedings. Chennai though would like to see Matthew Hayden strike gold as he is yet to play anywhere close to the way he did in any other T20 tournaments he was involved in. Chennai will also look to make some changes to their batting while inclusion of Muralitharan is unlikely to happen.

Best Bet for Chennai Super Kings: Matthew Hayden – 9/10

Suresh Raina – 9/10

MS Dhoni – 8/10

Ravichandran Ashwin – 8/10

Murali Vijay – 8/10

Match 53: Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals

Venue – Eden Gardens Stadium, Kolkata

Head to Head: Kolkata Knight Riders – 1; Rajasthan Royals – 4

Kolkata Knight Riders

With two more matches to go, Kolkata can still fancy their chances of a semi-final place if they win their two matches. First step for them will be to win today with a huge margin that will help them improve their net run-rate. Sourav Ganguly was visibly a disappointed man after their humiliating defeat to Chennai Super Kings, but he is not the kind to give up things easily. The selection let them down on a turning track at Chepauk, but no one better than Sourav will know Eden Gardens. With home fans cheering Kolkata will try to remain upbeat about the chances to keep their hope alive.

Best bet for Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly – 9/10

Brendon McCullum – 8/10

Ashok Dinda – 8/10

Manoj Tiwary – 8/10

Murali karthik – 8/10                                     

Rajasthan Royals

For Rajasthan a nothing less than a huge win is needed in their last league match to make semis depending upon the other results. One thing that will please Shane Warne’s boys is that they have won four of the five games player between the two teams and have some quality T20 specialist in their ranks. Royals will need all of them to fire at one go to get the desired results but more importantly more than the talent it is their attitude that will be tested.

Best Bet for Rajasthan Royals: Yusuf Pathan – 9/10

Shane Watson – 9/10

Shane Warne – 8/10

Naman Ojha – 8/10

Kamran Khan – 7/10

Match 52: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians

Venue – Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Head to Head: Royal Challengers Bangalore – 3; Mumbai Indians – 2

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Bangalore is almost through to the semis with a superior run rate but they would like to win their final match against formidable Mumbai to gain some momentum going into the next stage. On the other hand, Bangalore will look to give chance to the likes of Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor and Kevin Pietersen to play as many overs as possible as they got limited opportunities in the matches so far. Praveen Kumar may get a look in.

Best bet for Royal Challengers Bangalore: Rahul Dravid – 9/10

Kevin Pietersen – 8/10

Anil Kumble – 8/10

Ross Taylor – 8/10

Pankaj Singh – 8/10                                        

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai are sitting comfortably at the top of the table with a semi-final spot already secured. Therefore they would like to sort their combinations out before heading into the knockout stage. Shaiker Dhawan will be back in place of Jayasuria or Chandan Madan, both of whom failed to grab their opportunities. Malinga and Pollard are certainties, so it will be a tossup between Ryan McLaren, Dwayne Bravo and JP Duminy for the remaining two overseas slots. All-rounder Ali Murtaza has done reasonably well in his only chance to give R Satish some headache but will be interesting to see if he gets another chance today.

Best Bet for Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar – 9/10

Ambati Rayudu – 9/10

Lasitha Malinga – 8/10

Zaheer Khan – 8/10

Harbajan Singh – 8/10

Match 40: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers

Indian Premier League 2010, Day 29

Match 40: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers

Venue – Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Head to Head: Royal Challengers Bangalore – 3; Deccan Chargers – 2

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The tournament has reached the business end of it but the two finalists of IPL 2 are facing each other for the first time this season. It’s a must win match for both team as a win for Bangalore will give them a sigh of relief as they will take one step further towards the semi-final spot while for Deccan a win will keep the their hopes alive. Bangalore will look to bring Dale Steyn in that will make Cameron White sit out. A move that will also prompt another change to bring in Manish Pandey in place of Abhimanyu Mithun to maintain the balance of the side.

This is Bangalore’s real chance to pay back their defeat in the finals at Wanderers as a Bangalore win will knock Deccan out of the tournament. Anil Kumble has indicated that there will be a shuffle in batting order which means that Rahul Dravid will be back at his usual one down position while Robin Uthappa will play lower down the order.

Best Bet for Royal Challengers Bangalore: Kevin Pietersen – 9/10

Rahul Dravid – 8/10

Dale Steyn – 8/10

Robin Uthappa – 8/10

Anil Kumble – 8/10

Deccan Chargers

A must win game for the defending champions. Captain Gilchrist holds the key as a big knock from him will put Deccan in a winning situation. Except one fifty Gilchirst has been playing little attractive cameos but failed to convert them into big ones. Gibbs should get his place back replacing Dwayne Smith and should open the innings with Gilchirst while Laxman should bat at number three. Deccan’s fringe players like Suman, Venugopal Rao, Bhilakia and Anirudh Singh have not come to the fore and this has hurt Deccan badly. In such a situation, Gilchrist will require to do a Warne in inspiring these lesser known players to perform.

Best bet for Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist – 9/10

Rohit Sharma – 8/10

Herschelle Gibbs – 8/10

Chaminda Vaas – 8/10

Andrew Symonds – 8/10

Match 38: Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab

Venue – Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur

Head to Head: Rajasthan Royals – 3; Kings XI Punjab – 2

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan will be upbeat about the victory over Deccan Chargers which has put them in strong contention for the semi-final spot. Shane Warne has slowly rediscovered his magic touch with the ball and the team is delivering to his expectations. Naman Ojha has been a revelation while Shane Watson’s induction has given the Royals the defining factor. Watson in his two innings has batted explosively while his bowling has been handy at times. Yusuf Pathan form has blown hot and cold this IPL however he is due for at least one more match winning innings.

Best Bet for Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson – 9/10

Naman Ojha – 8/10

Yusuf Pathan – 8/10

Shane Warne – 8/10

Abhishek Jhunjhunwala – 7/10

Kings XI Punjab

Two Sri Lankans played to their reputation to revive Punjab’s nightmare this IPL in their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders. Mahela Jayawardene’s ominous form as an opener will convince the Punjab’s team management to play him in the same role. Shaun Marsh if recovered will be a boost for Royals who will open along with Jayawardene. Sangakkara and Yuvraj are also slowly finding their flow with bat while bowling might still be a concern. Brett Lee went for runs and was dropped for the last match while no other bowlers impressed in the last match. It will be interesting to see how they tackle the hard hitting Rajasthan batsmen.

Best bet for Kings XI Punjab: Yuvraj Singh – 9/10

Mahela Jayawardene – 8/10

Kumar Sangakkara – 8/10

Juan Theron – 8/10

Irfan Pathan – 7/10

Match 22: Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers

Indian Premier League 2010, Day 15

Match 22: Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers

Venue – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad

Head to Head: Rajasthan Royals – 3; Deccan Chargers – 1

Rajasthan Royals

The Royals look resurgent with two consecutive wins and will fancy their third against defending champions Deccan Chargers. Though the two wins have come against the two teams struggling in the tournament, Shane Warne will look to capitalize on the momentum gained out of those victories. For Rajasthan, form of their foreign players Michel Lumb and Shaun Tait will be a welcome one, after poor run in the previous matches.

After a blistering 100 in their first game, Yusuf is due for a match winning knock, however opposition bowlers will fancy their chance with short deliveries against him. Munaf had a poor outing in his last match but being considered a senior bowler he is likely to get another chance.

Best Bet for Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne – 9/10

Michel Lumb – 8/10

F Faizal – 8/10

Yusuf Pathan – 8/10

N Ojha – 7/10

Deccan Chargers

Adam Gilchrist will be pleased with his team’s performance after losing their first match. There will also be a sense of comfort and confidence for Deccan Chargers after winning the first set of home matches in Cuttack. Their batsmen have been in good form, but one aspect that will bother Gilly is the form of his strike bowler of IPL season last year RP Singh. However RP’s poor form is shadowed by stupendous bowling by pro Chaminda Vaas who is likely to keep his place in the eleven despite the presence of pace sensation Kemar Roach in the squad. Another area of concern will be the opening partner for Gilchirst. VVS Laxman did a decent job before getting injured in a freaky incident and had to miss a few matches. But he is fit and likely to take back his place replacing Monish Mishra who failed to deliver in his first IPL outing.

Best Bet for Deccan Chargers: Andrew Symonds – 9/10

Adam Gilchrist – 8/10

Chaminda Vaas – 8/10

Rohit Sharma – 8/10

T Suman – 7/10

Match 12: Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings

League 2010, Day 8

Match 12: Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings

Venue – Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi

Head to Head: Delhi Daredevils – 2; Chennai Super Kings – 2

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi will be without their captain Gautam Gambhir who is out due to a hamstring injury he suffered in the opening over of their previous match against Mumbai Indians. In his absence Dinesh Karthik, the wicket-keeper batsman will lead the side. Karthik has enough captaincy experience in domestic circuit, but it will be a challenge for him to lead the side with many international players in a global tournament like IPL. Bowling has been very good until Tendulkar and company derailed them. Therefore it will be interesting to see if they can bounce back with authority in the absence of their regular captain.

Delhi will also bring in David Warner who is likely to partner Sehwag at the top; will be replacing Maharoof who proved too expensive in his two outings with the ball. Avishkar Salvi or Yo Mahesh will be the other bowler in the line-up.

Best Bet for Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag – 9/10

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 8/10

Dirk Nannes – 8/10

Dinesh Karthik – 7/10

David Warner – 7/10

Chennai Super Kings

Super Kings are sailing in the same boat as their opponents Daredevils. Their captain MS Dhoni will also be out of action for a few weeks due to injury suffered in their previous match and will be led by Suresh Raina. Though Raina is not new to captaincy, he is relatively less experience than his counterpart Dinesh Karthik and he looked out of sorts with bat in the two matches played. Things look worse for the Super Kings as their main stay with bat Matthew Hayden is also out of form. Chennai will require these two to deliver goods right away to keep their campaign floating.

Chennai’s bowling was a revelation in the last match and in absence of big fish Dhoni, Chennai will hope their bowlers perform the same way they did against Kolkata. In Dhnoi’s absence Parthiv Patel will keep wickets and is also likely to replace Vijay at the top.

Best Bet for Chennai Super Kings: Albie Morkel – 9/10

Matthew Hayden – 9/10

Subramaniam Badrinath – 8/10

L Balaji  – 8/10

R Ashwin – 7/10

Match 11: Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab

Indian Premier League 2010, Day 8

Match 11: Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab

Venue – Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

Head to Head: Deccan Chargers – 0; Kings XI Punjab – 4

Deccan Chargers

It’s been an even-out result for Deccan Chargers with one win and one loss. This is their home match but Chargers are yet to win a home match in IPL. Will Cuttack be lucky? Only time will tell. Their batsmen have shown form but no big contribution from any except half-centuries from Gilchrist and Symonds. Much awaited wait for Kemar Roach is now over but Gilchrist has the headache of who to leave out among Gibbs, Symonds and Vaas all of whom have contributed immensely in the two matches played. Chargers have quality swing bowlers, but their problem has been bowling at the death.

Best Bet for Deccan Chargers: Chaminda Vaas – 9/10

Adam Gilchrist – 8/10

Rohit Sharma – 8/10

T Suman – 7/10

Andrew Symonds – 7/10

Kings XI Punjab

Losing both their matches Kings XI will look to take inspiration from their past performances against Deccan Chargers. Four out of four speaks volumes for a side that is desperate to kick-off their points tally. Batting was their concern in the first game, but Sangakkara’s faith was answered with a powerful display against Bangalore but bowling has been below par in the absence of Brett Lee. With too many big strikers in Deccan’s line-up it will be yet another challenge for Kings XI before they can end up on the winning side.

Best Bet for Kings XI Punjab: Yuvraj Singh – 9/10

Kumar Sangakkara – 9/10

Ravi Bopara – 8/10

Sreesanth – 7/10

Irfan Pathan – 7/10

Indian Premier League 2010, Day 5

Match 7: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab

Venue – Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Head to Head: Royal Challengers Bangalore – 1; Kings XI Punjab – 3

Royal Challengers Bangalore

No positive came out of their first match in Kolkata but as they say it is a very long tournament. One loss will not change the fortunes of the Bangalore team and Anil Kumble will be aware of it. Youngsters Sreevats Goswami, Manish Pandey and Virat Kohli didn’t make use of the opportunity in the first outing, however the later two are likely to retain the place but Goswami might be replaced by Mark Boucher. In that case, Dale Steyn will be the one to sit out and either of Mithun or Vinay Kumar will get the nod. A team is as good as their captain, so is vice-versa. Therefore one can expect determined Anil Kumble bringing the best out of his players at the home ground.

Best Bet for Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Manish Pandey – 8/10

Rahul Dravid – 8/10

Virat Kohli – 8/10

Ven der Merwe – 7/10

Anil Kumble – 7/10

Kings XI Punjab

Sangakkara’s men threw it away against Delhi Daredevils with a help of some poor shot selection despite big names in the top order. However, these men are far too experienced to repeat such mistakes and are expected come out blazing against an unstable attack. On the other hand, Punjab poses a decent attack in the likes of Sreesanth, Abdulla and junior Pathan and can make up for the loss of pace sensation Brett Lee. Lee is set to miss the whole tournament as he did not recover from injury.

Best Bet for Kings XI Punjab: Kumar Sangakkara – 9/10

Yuvraj Singh – 9/10

Irfan Pathan – 8/10

Yusuf Abdulla – 8/10

Ravi Bopara – 7/10

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