Bangalore v Chennai, 1st qualifier, IPL 2011, Mumbai
Tuesday, May 24, Mumbai
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)
It began with a last-ball thriller, meandered in the centre, and concluded with possibly the most thrilling match of the season. The IPL league phase is over, and although there were a few spirited rivals, the 4 squads who looked most powerful from the beginning are the ones that have developed.
In the middle of the randomness of the extented certification time period Royal Challengers Bangalore currently have provided some balance. With eight wins in their prior nine events, they are undoubtedly favourites, a notion so essential to the majority of sporting contests, but considered taboo in the Indian Premier League. They have earned the tag, and not just through the belligerence of Chris Gayle. S Aravind and Virat Kohli have been consistent, Daniel Vettori has been effective in his unassuming manner, Zaheer Khan has shown glimpses of his capabilities and, maybe, most significantly they've been relatively reliable with their hooking in a tournament plagued by poor fielding.
They beat Chennai in their last league game and a identical result in the first qualifier on Tuesday will make certain a berth in the final.
Chennai, although, have the opportunity to play some MS Dhoni-supported "fearless" cricket, understanding that the lifeline Kolkata's L Balaji and Mumbai's Ambati Rayudu combined to manage them on Sunday night is a sturdy one. Their second chance, should they need it, will be in Chennai, exactly where they won all seven of their matches in the group stage.
It will be interesting to see whether they acquire some risks to derail the Bangalore juggernaut; maybe throw caution to the blowing wind with the bat, or maybe put in some close fielders for the remarkable Gayle.
Form guide
Bangalore: WLWWW (first on points table)
Chennai: LWWWL (second on points table)
Squad talk
In three matches since Tillakaratne Dilshan's departure, Bangalore tried three different opening partners for Gayle, all without much success. The latest move, to push AB de Villiers up the order, was the boldest, as it clusters Bangalore's 3 finest batsmen at the top, and leaves the middle order looking inexperienced.
If they do stick with de Villiers up the order, Luke Pomersbach is fairly thrown away as a 4 . foreign player. They could take the place of him with either Asad Pathan or Arun Karthik, and get in Charl Langeveldt, who took five wickets in the two to three opportunity he was given, in spot of Abhimanyu Mithun. Vettori also encouraged after the current game that Bangalore may draw in spinner J Syed Mohammad in place of a batsman if the review looks like it will turn.
Chennai have not transformed their XI in their former four games, but may give some thought to a number of of tactics after the knocking they were handed in Bangalore. Albie Morkel has not displayed the wicket-taking capability he did in the 1st one half of the tournament, and with Chennai's batting line-up certainly long enough, Tim Southee is still an option
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