IPL Semi-finals: Bangalore vs. Chennai

As Delhi found out last night at the hands of Adam Gilchrist, there are no certainties in Twenty20 cricket – it’s this x-factor that makes the shortest form of the game so exciting. Tonight Royal Challengers Bangalore (2.20) and Chennai Super Kings (1.67) face off to see who will meet the Deccan Chargers in the IPL Final on Sunday. Both teams are even with ball in hand, but, with a order full of brutal strikers, Chennai wields a match winning advantage with bat in hand.

IPL odds supplied courtesy of Canbet.com. New members receive a £25 Cricket Free Bet.

IPL match preview:

Royal Challengers Bangalore

IPL 2009 so far: Played – 14, Won – 8, Lost – 6

After four consecutive losses in the early stages of the tournament, Bangalore has done remarkably well to bounce back under the gritty leadership of Anil Kumble. Combining individual brilliance with team effort, the squad has stepped up to deliver a truly commendable run of play. Their bowlers have been efficient and, more importantly, they have consistently set the standard in the field throughout Indian Premier League 2009. Can they translate momentum into victory?

Team (Likely): Jacques Kallis, Manish Pandey, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Ross Taylor, Mark Boucher, Van der Merwe, Robin Uthappa, Praveen Kumar, B Akhil, Anil Kumble.

Best Bet for Bangalore Royal challengers:

Anil Kumble: With vast international experience behind him, the captain is a big match winner – 9/10

Jacques Kallis: His all-round show as an opening batsmen and opening bowler is supremely handy – 9/10

Praveen Kumar: He is a thinking cricketer with street smart variations up his sleeve – 8/10

Rahul Dravid: One man any team can rely on. He will certainly hold one end and allow others to play around him, if Bangalore loses Kallis early – 9/10

Ross Taylor: The talented Kiwi can win matches virtually single handedly for Bangalore – 8/10

Chennai Super Kings

IPL 2009 so far: Played – 14, Won – 8, Lost – 5, N/R – 1

Though they are second on the points table, Chennai has a few issues to worry about. Their fielding hasn’t been up to standards and their bowling has been invariably inconsistent. However, Chennai will get a boost by Matthew Hayden’s return, whereas it will be interesting to see if they include Mike Hussey who has joined the squad recently replacing Jacob Oram.

Team (Likely): Matthew Hayden, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Jacob Oram/Mike Hussey, Subramaniam Badrinath, Albie Morkal, Shabad Jakati, Sudeep Tyagi, Laxmipathy Balaji, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Best Bet for Chennai Super Kings:

Matthew Hayden: The most prolific run scorer in this tournament – 10/10

MS Dhoni: A phenomenal reader of play, this cool customer delivers more often than not – 9/10

Suresh Raina: He is in form and has shown both maturity and consistency – 8/10

Albie Morkal: Newly found opening ball bowler, he’s been successful in getting early breakthroughs and is handy with the bat lower down the order – 8/10

Muttiah Muralitharan: The magical off-spinner can win matches for his team in just 4 overs – 9/10

IPL Semi-finals: Daredevils vs. Chargers

Fifty six matches down, just three to go – it’s been a captivating Indian Premier League 2009 and it just keeps getting better. After dominating the group stage, the Delhi Daredevils are joint favourites to take first prize, but first they must overcome the determined, though inconsistent, Deccan Chargers at Supersport Park in Centurion tonight. We’ve entered the elimination phase of the tournament, so it’s do or die for the IPL top four. Which franchise can best handle the pressure?

IPL odds supplied courtesy of Canbet.com. New members receive a £25 Cricket Free Bet.

IPL match preview:

Delhi Daredevils

IPL 2009 so far: Played – 14, Won – 10, Lost – 4

Captain Virender Sehwag is back in form and, ahead of the first IPL semi-final, he couldn’t have timed his comeback any better. Gautam Gambhir is also looking fluent with the bat, and it’s more than likely that they will open the batting together in the knock-out stages of the tournament. Since they have a strong order, Delhi will opt for two spinners in Daniel Vettori and Amit Mishra in addition to three fast bowlers.

Likely team: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, T Dilshan, AB DeVillers, Dinesh Karthik, Daniel Vettori, Rajat Bhatia, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra

Best Bet for Delhi Daredevils:

Virender Sehwag: Sehwag is back in form with a characteristic half-century against Mumbai Indians in their last league match – 9/10

Gautam Gambhir: Thought he is yet to make a big contribution, he is scoring consistently for Delhi – 9/10

Ashish Nehra: The lanky left-arm pacer is one of the leading wicket-takers in the Indian Premier League thus far and has provided Delhi with crucial breakthroughs when required – 8/10

T Dilshan: Has been the mainstay of Delhi’s batting order, scoring consistently and with ease – 8/10

Dinesh Karthik: Karthik has evolved to become a promising match winner this year for Delhi and his ability to finish matches is commendable – 8/10

Deccan Chargers

IPL 2009 so far: Played – 14, Won – 7, Lost – 7

Struggling to devise the optimal team composition, their form has been indifferent of late. The middle-order remains a cause of concern for Adam Gilchrist; only Rohit Sharma has performed consistently when they lose quick wickets upfront. In addition, their bowlers need to display more discipline in the later, and most important, overs of the innings.

Team (Likely): Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, TS Suman, Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Ravi Teja, Venugopal Rao, Ryan Harris, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha and Shoaib Maqsusi

Best Bet for Deccan Chargers:

Adam Gilchrist: Arguably the best big match player alive – 9/10

Rohit Sharma: Consistent and highly resourceful with both bat and ball – 8/10

Herschelle Gibbs: Can be extremely destructive on his day – 8/10

RP Singh: Singh has to deliver if Deccan is to seize the initiative – 8/10

Andrew Symonds: One of the best all-rounders in cricket and a big match winner on his day – 7/10

Super Kings vs. Kings XI Punjab

Despite holding an almost insurmountable statistical advantage over the Rajasthan Royals, the Super Kings (1.70) can ill afford to lose against the Kings XI Punjab (2.15) in the second of today’s fixtures at Kingsmead. Dhoni’s side will be looking to secure their spot in the semis and, in doing so, end Punjab’s tournament. Chennai has to do a lot wrong here tonight to spoil their Indian Premier League party, while Punjab will no doubt be ruthless in their quest for IPL survival.

IPL odds supplied courtesy of Canbet.com. New members receive a £25 Cricket Free Bet.

IPL match preview:

Chennai Super Kings

IPL 2009 so far: Played – 13, Won – 7, Lost – 5, N/R – 1

The Super Kings already have one foot in the top four and are playing to cement their place at number two. However, a loss here would see them qualify at number four, just ahead of the Rajasthan Royals due to a better net run rate. Dhoni has come down hard on his bowlers for their poor showing against Kolkata when they failed to defend 189. Their fielding has also been a cause of concern and

Best Bet for Chennai Super Kings:

Matthew Hayden – 10/10
MS Dhoni – 9/10
Suresh Raina – 9/10
Albie Morkal – 8/10
Muttiah Muralitharan – 8/10

Kings XI Punjab

IPL 2009 so far: Played – 13, Won – 7, Lost – 6

It’s do or die here for Kings XI Punjab, they must win to advance to the IPL semi-finals. In their favour, Yuvraj Singh is having a good run with the ball, as is Irfan Pathan. Fiery speedster Brett Lee is also potential threat up front for the Super Kings batsmen. Sangakkara has struck form at the right time with the willow, however Punjab will hoping that Jayawardene recovers in time to bolster the order. They are in a roll at the moment after beating Delhi and Deccan, and have the potential to be a highly competitive side.

Best Bet for Kings XI Punjab:

Yuvraj Singh – 9/10
Kumar Sangakkara – 9/10
Brett Lee – 8/10
Irfan Pathan – 8/10
Simon Katich – 7/10

Knight Riders vs. Rajasthan Royals

The kamikaze Knight Riders (2.10) would like nothing more than to end the Rajasthan Royal’s (1.73) hopes of making the IPL final four with victory when the two sides clash in Durban tonight. The problem for Kolkata is, and has always been, their bowling in IPL 2009 and their attack looks very vulnerable against a determined Royals outfit. I’m tipping an epic hard fought encounter.

IPL odds supplied courtesy of Canbet.com. New members receive a £25 Cricket Free Bet.

IPL match preview:

Kolkata Knight Riders

IPL 2009 so far: Played – 13, Won – 10, Lost – 2, N/R – 1

An inspired run chase by the Knight Riders in their previous fixture against Chennai yet again highlighted the resilience of the Kolkata franchise. They would love to finish the group stage of the tournament with a win, and thereby dash Rajasthan’s hopes of making it into the IPL semi-finals. Brad Hodge and Brendon McCullum are in tremendous form.

Best Bet for Kolkata Knight Riders:

Brad Hodge – 9/10
Brendon McCullum- 9/10
David Hussey – 8/10
Ajit Agarkar – 7/10
Ishant Sharma -7/10

Rajasthan Royals

IPL 2009 so far: Played – 13, Won – 6, Lost – 6, N/R – 1

In contrast to their miraculous triumph in IPL 2008, the Rajasthan Royals have been totally off color throughout this tournament and now their chances of making the IPL semi-finals are slim – they need to defeat the Knight Riders by a huge margin and then hope Chennai loses badly to Kings XI Punjab. The result of the Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers clash will also affect their probability of advancing. Hard luck for Royals.

Best Bet for Rajasthan Royals:

Shane Warne – 9/10
Graeme Smith – 8/10
Yusuf Pathan – 8/10
Ravindra Jadeja – 8/10
Naman Ojha – 7/10

Super Kings vs. Rajasthan Royals

The second game scheduled for Centurion today sees last year’s Indian Premier League finalists clash under lights in a battle of brain versus brawn. Chennai’s opener, Matthew Hayden has been in good touch devastating bowling attacks with ease, while the Royals Captain Shane Warne is a crafty cricketer and spinning legend – the fact that they are both ex-Australian cricket heroes adds intrigue to the encounter. Centurion has the tendency to be a low scoring ground so tactics will be the key. All IPL cricket match odds are available right now at Canbet.com – the world’s biggest cricket betting community.

IPL match preview:

Chennai Super Kings

IPL 2009 so far: Played – 5, Won – 1, Lost – 3, N/R – 1

Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings are surprisingly finding themselves in complete disorder, claiming only a solitary win from five matches. Their bowling has been a source of constant disappointment, letting them down in every fixture thus far. Subsequently, Dhoni has hinted that the Super Kings may play more spinners in this matchup. This means that left-arm spinner Shabad Jakati is likely to play his first Indian Premier League match alongside Muralitharan. A loss will effectively end their hopes of making the IPL Semi-finals.

Best Bet for Chennai Super Kings:

Matthew Hayden – 10/10
Suresh Raina – 9/10
MS Dhoni – 9/10
Muttiah Muralitharan – 8/10
Jacob Oram – 8/10

Rajasthan Royals

IPL 2009 so far: Played – 5, Won – 2, Lost – 2, N/R – 1

The Rajasthan Royals stunned the Delhi Daredevils in their previous fixture, adding valuable momentum to their campaign as last year’s IPL finalists lock horns in Durban. Statistics give Rajasthan the clear edge over the Super Kings – they defeated Chennai in all three of their encounters last year. Finally, things seem to be falling into place for Shane Warne’s defending champions and they appear to have found the right team balance.   

Best Bet for Rajasthan Royals:

Yusuf Pathan – 10/10
Shane Warne – 9/10
Graeme Smith – 8/10
Ravindra Jadeja – 7/10
Drimiti Mascarenhas – 7/10