You are here: Home / Archives for IPL Previews

IPL 2011 Preview: KKR Vs Deccan Chargers

April 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Deccan chargers captain Kumara Sangakkara

  Kolkata Knightriders will take on Deccan Chargers at Eden Gardens on Monday. Both teams lost their first games against Chennai and Rajasthan respectively. Kolkata lost to Chennai due to poor captaincy by Gautam Gambhir while DD lost against weak Rajasthan due to lack of balance in the team.  Match venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata.  Match timing: at 8 PM on April 11.   Ratings for Teams & Captains:     KKR: Team - 8/10 & Captain - 7/10.  DC: Team - 7/10 & Captain - 8/10   Major battles:   1. KKR Batting Vs DC bowling.  2. Dale Steyn Vs Jacques Kallis.  Best strategy: Batting second on Eden Gardens is not easy especially for KKR as DC has 2 good spinners - Pragyan Ojha & Amit Mishra & Steyn.   Analysis of KKR & DD:    Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR):   KKR lost first game to Chennai due to lack of passion and uninspirational captaincy by Gautam Gambhir. Jacques Kallis's wonderful innings failed to help KKR as other batsmen played careless shots. I don't know why they dropped Ryan Does Chate. Most expensive players - Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan - are the worst performers in that match. Their strength is in the batting but bowling is not adequate - fortunately DC is not a strong batting side.  Not available for selection: Brett Lee, Brad Haddin & Shakib Al hasan.  Probable squad: Gautam Gambhir (Captain), Jacques Kallis, Maninder Bisla, Manoj Tiwary, Eoin Morgan, Rajat Bhatia, Yusuf Pathan, Iqbal Abdulla, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, L. Balaji & Sarabjit Ladda/Ryan Does Chate.   Deccan Chargers (DC):   DC has very good bowling line-up … [Read more...]

Filed Under: IPL Previews · Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

IPL Match preview: MI Vs DD

April 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Mumbai Indians squad

  Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Delhi Daredevils (DD) at Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi. Both teams are led by dashing openers - Sachin Tendulkar & Virender Sehwag. Strongest team in IPL, Mumbai Indians, is playing as favourites to win in IPL 4 tournament.  Match time: 4 PM on April 10  Stadium: Feroz Shah Kotla grounds, Delhi.  Ratings for Captains & Teams:   1. Sachin Tendulkar: 8/10 & Mumbai Indians: 9/10  2. Virender Sehwag: 7/10 & Delhi Daredevils: 7/10  Interesting battle:  Lasith Malings Vs Virender Sehwag & David Warner.  Mumbai Indians (MI) analysis:  MI has squad that can send tremors across the spine of opposition. Team management is providing best possible facilities and services to the players. Mumbai played so well in IPL 3 but lost their way in the finals. Sachin is in the form of his life while we know what Pollard and Symonds can do. Lasith Malinga is the best fast bowler in T20 format. Delhi will collapse if Malings takes care off Sehwag and Warner. Suman, Rayudu and Rohit Sharma have good record in Indian Premier League T20.  Best strategy for Mumbai: Ask DD to bat first and chase its score as Delhi is looking weak in the bowling department.  Probable squad: Sachin Tendulkar (Captain), T. Suman, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu (WK), Andrew Symonds, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, James Franklin, Harbhajan Singh, R. Satish & Munaf Patel  Delhi Daredevils (DD) Analysis:  DD has sensational openers - Virender Sehwag and David Warners - who can decimate any bowling department on their day. Colin Ingram won the T20 player of the year in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: IPL Previews · Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Preview: Deccan Chargers Vs Rajasthan Royals

April 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Rajasthan Royals IPL squad

  Depleted Rajasthan Royals will take on Deccan Chargers at Uppal stadium in Hyderabad. Hyderabad has poor record at home ground while Rajasthan is struggling due to financial problems. Both teams are looking strong in bowling department. Both IPL squads have very good leaders - Shane Warne and Kumara Sangakakra. Unavailability of Shane Watson (best all-rounder in IPL) is a big blow to Rajasthan Royals.    Match time: 4 PM on April 9  Stadium: Uppal stadium in Secunderabad.  Hyderabad Deccan Chargers:    Deccan Chargers management always struggled to pick up right players during the auction. They spend too much on 2-3 foreign stars and forget about Indian players. They are once again fielding an average team in IPL. But, it has 2-3 stars who can singlehandedly win the games. They are looking strong in bowling department just like Rajasthan Royals but their batting fotunes depend on Kumara Sangakkara and JP Duminy. We have to see how Ishant Sharma performs - Indian cricket badly needs him.  Probable squad: Kumara Sangakkara (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Raviteja, JP Duminy, Bharat Chipli, Daniel Christian, Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra.   Rajasthan Royals:    Rajasthan is in trouble. Shane Watson is not available while it lost Paul Collingwood to injury. Deepak Chahr had wonderful Ranji season and can make it to Indian team if he performs well in IPL 4. But, Royals have good bowling line-up and many unknown utility players. Ross Taylor is also a dangerous player. Hyderabad is also one of the weak teams in IPL. So, they can still fancy their chances against chargers. Never underestimate players like … [Read more...]

Filed Under: IPL Previews · Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Preview: Chennai Super Kings Vs Kolkata Knight Riders

April 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Chennai Vs Kolkata IPL T20 cricket match in Chennai

  Get ready for IPL 4. 2011 IPL T20 Cricket tournament. Opening ceremony will be held at 6 PM and match will start at 8 PM in Chennai. Best performer in IPL history will take on the worst performer in IPL history. Chennai always reached semi-finals in IPL while Kolkata never make it to semi-finals in the 3 editions of IPL. But, Kolkata made massive changes and bought wonderful players. These group B teams have the potential to reach knock-out round irrespecive of the result in this match.   Nostalgic moment: Who can forget the sensational performance of Kolkata in the first game of IPL 1 against Royal Challngers? Can Kolkata able to repeat hisotry?  Surprise: Chennai boy L. Balaji will play against Chennai. He played for Chennai in IPL 1, 2 & 3.     Match timing: 8 PM on April 8 (Don't miss opening ceremony before the match)  Stadium: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai   Analysis of Chennai & Kolkata squads:  Note: Doug Bollinger and Brett Lee are not available for Chennai and Kolkata respectively.  Chennai Super Kings:  Cool captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni may not give Kolkata a chance to create sensation in the opening game of IPL 4. Dhoni may use his best bowler R. Ashwin to control Kolkata (Gambhir) in the initial overs. Absence of Doug Bollinger is a problem. I am interested to see how Dhoni will control maverick hitters like Yusuf Pathan and Eoin Morgan. Chennai will try to expose Kolkata's weakness in the bowling.  Crucial players: M.S. Dhoni, Suresh Raina and R. Ashwin.  Kolkata Knight Riders:  Owner Shahrukh Khan is expecting better performance from his team in IPL 4. It … [Read more...]

Filed Under: IPL Previews · Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

IPL 2010 Final: Mumbai Vs Chennai

April 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

 After 58 matches and almost seven weeks, the IPL Final takes place on Sunday and Mumbai Indians have home advantage when they take on the Chennai Super Kings. Mumbai are slight favourites in what has the making of a thriller. Venue and conditions: The DY Patil stadium has a toss bias, in total five matches played there so far four have been won by the side batting first. It is clear the surface wears as a match progresses, making it difficult for batsmen to hit through the line of the ball with confidence. In the first innings, the average run rate is 8.23. In the second it is just 6.9. Trivia: The BCCI's top brass will refuse to attend the final to distance themselves from Lalit Modi, IPL's under-investigation commissioner. Suresh Raina, with 1318 runs to his name, has overtaken Adam Gilchrist as the leading scorer in all IPL matches. Tendulkar is fifth with 1122 runs. He also holds record for most catches, 26, for a non-wicketkeeper. Team news: Mumbai Indians: Mumbai must decide whether they want to gamble for a second time. The decision to pair Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando, instead of one from Dwayne Bravo or Ryan McLaren against Bangalore in the semi-final, was a strange one. Of course, it paid off but in terms of balance it makes little sense. Bravo or McLaren bowl more than useful overs and offer vital runs. Five stitches in Sachin Tendulkars right hand make the Mumbai Indians captain and star performer a doubt for the final. It would be a real blow were Sachin to miss out after his performances with the bat and as skipper guided Mumbai to the final via a largely trouble free passage. They won 10 of 14 games to make the semi finals where they disposed of the Royal Challengers in a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: IPL Previews · Tagged With: , , , ,

IPL T20: third place play off

April 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment

 Play offs for 3rd place for this year’s IPL offers the incentive of a place in the next T20 Champions League. The Royal Challengers take on the Deccan Chargers in Mumbai on Saturday and RCB are the favourites. Team News: Bangalore Royal Challengers: Who can pick themselves after semi final disappointment? The Royal Challengers were comfortably beaten (35 runs) by the Mumbai Indians in Wednesday’s semi final whilst The Chargers fell 38 runs short when chasing a modest Super Kings total on Thursday. Both the semi finals were played in Mumbai and both were won by the side batting first. Despite the comfortable winning / losing margins in the semi finals both RCB and Deccan had their chances. RCB got the prize wicket of Tendulkar early doors and looked to be on their way to restricting Mumbai to a manageable total until a combination of slack bowling and awesome hitting saw Mumbai cut loose and eventually post 184/5. RCB were never really in the chase. Meanwhile the Chargers restricted the Super Kings to 142 and were trading deep in the red at the interval before failing miserably in the chase. Royal Challengers would look forward to Jacques Kallis rediscovering his magic touch that gave them a superb run in the earlier part of the tournament. The Bangalore team has tried out Manish Pandey and Rahul Dravid in the opening slot to accompany Kallis with mixed results. In the lower order, Robin Uthappa has given them a flourishing finish on a few occasions with his clean hitting. The team would look forward to the youngster with powerful shoulders to do the bidding against the Chargers along with Kevin Pietersen at the top. RCB skipper Anil Kumble said his team had two days at its disposal after losing by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: IPL Previews · Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

First IPL Semi-final preview: Mumbai Vs Bangalore

April 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

 The first semi final in IPL 3 sees the Mumbai Indians take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday. The fact these two meet in the semis comes as a surprise to many, who thought they'd only lock horns in the final. Mumbai are favourites after topping the table but any side with Bangalore's batting line-up can't be written off. Venue and Conditions: After 56 games in IPL 3 the eight teams have finally been whittled down to four and now it's time to get serious. The first semi final will see the Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the Mumbai Indians and for the winners the spoils couldn't be higher: a place in the final and also a guaranteed spot in the lucrative Champions League this autumn. Originally this match was scheduled to be played in Bangalore, but given there were two explosions before the last Bangalore home game, it has now been switched. Fortunately for Mumbai the game is now to be played in Mumbai, at the huge Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, where 60,000 Sachin Tendulkar fans will be out in force to cheer on their hero. Only two IPL matches have been played there so far so there are no obvious trends but the wicket does appear to provide assistance to the spinners. Team News:  Mumbai Indians: Mumbai rested a number of players for their dead rubber match against Kolkata, so expect to see many changes from that game. Tendulkar, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan will all come back in, while Dwayne Bravo will likely be the most high-profile overseas player to miss out. As recently as last weekend, the Mumbai Indians hammered the Royal Challengers by 57 runs in Bangalore. Mumbai were ruthless on the day as they were already assured of their semi final place. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: IPL Previews · Tagged With: , , , , , ,

IPL Game: Delhi Vs Hyderabad

April 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment

 Sunday's second IPL game is a straightforward affair in which the winners are guaranteed a place in the semi-finals. Pre tournament favourites Delhi will take on reigning champions Deccan. This is a fascinating contest between two teams who have got their acts together in time to be in with a chance of the semi-finals. Venue and Conditions: Pitches have deteriorated as the tournament has gone on and the Feroz Shah Kotla seems to have suffered the most. Delhi was skittled out for 111 here last time on a slow track that offered variable bounce and prodigious turn. Team News: Delhi Daredevils: Delhi's worry is indifferent form of their top order batsmen particularly explosive opener Virender Sehwag. He has not done much damage so far and the attacking batsman would love to break the shackles. If he gets going, nothing could be better than that for Delhi. Skipper Gautam Gambhir has played a vital role in keeping the team in contention and the youngster would surely be aiming to see his side through tomorrow. Going by present form, Delhi's chances rest on a good show by their bowlers, especially their opening fast bowlers Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra and spinner Amit Mishra. Delhi will surely recall Daniel Vettori on this pitch but they will have a tough call over which of their overseas players to drop and it could be that Tillakaratne Dilshan returns to the bench after the briefest of recalls. Deccan Chargers: Deccan have been a settled unit in recent games and their only real decision is whether to bring back Herschelle Gibbs in favour of Mitchell Marsh. Delhi have their task cut out as Deccan's young players like Rohit Sharma and T Suman, guarding the middle-order, have the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: IPL Previews · Tagged With: , , , , ,

Preview: Mumbai Indians Vs Royal Challengers

April 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment

 "Two giants of the game - Tendulkar and Kallis - come together when Royal Challengers and the Mumbai Indians meet in Bangalore on Saturday. Venue and Conditions: The first game of the day takes place at the M Chinnaswamy stadium as the Bangalore Royal Chargers host the Mumbai Indians. The average first innings score at the stadium is 166, suggesting that it is not an easy track to score on. However, that average is dragged down by Rajasthan's abysmal tally of just 92 all out earlier in the tournament and Bangalore's reply of 93 without loss in 10.4 overs provided evidence that there are no gremlins in the pitch. Trivia: • Mumbai have suffered the least run-outs in the competition - only four to date in 12 matches. • Kallis has scored ten fifty-plus scores in the IPL (all seasons), Tendulkar is joint-second with eight. • Across all three IPLs, Harbhajan Singh has been the stingiest bowler, conceding an average of 6.41 an over. Anil Kumble is a close third, with 6.52. • Bangalore has been the most boundary-happy venue this year, with 57.66% of the runs scored there coming in boundaries. Only Cuttack has a higher ratio - 59.76%. • Mumbai have been the best batting side in the last six overs, scoring at 11.04 an over. Team News: Bangalore: This is Bangalore's final round robin match and victory will certainly guarantee them a place in the semi-finals. They have made hard work of it so far and they could still miss out though their net run rate makes that unlikely. Seven wins and six defeats puts them level on points with the Daredevils and the Chargers but they are well ahead on run rate and a win here would be a giant stride towards securing second place and a home semi final. They … [Read more...]

Filed Under: IPL Previews · Tagged With: , , , , , ,

IPL match preview: Hyderabad Vs Chennai

April 10, 2010 by 1 Comment

 The reigning champions secured a vital win on Thursday to halt a nightmare run of form. But they are still some way from breaking into the top four. They will take on the Chennai Super Kings in a vital IPL game in Napur on Saturday. Both sides have semi final aspirations but the Super Kings are firm favourites. Venue and Conditions: The wandering Deccan Chargers play their second game at the Vidharba Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur. This ground boasts the largest boundaries in the tournament and so offers some respite for hard-pressed spin bowlers. Trivia: Chennai have hit more sixes than any other team in the tournament, 69 in total. Deccan Chargers: The Chargers gave themselves a lifeline with an excellent win over the Royal Challengers in Bangalore on Thursday. They had struggled to close games out, particularly with the bat and their big guns had not turned in the huge scores they are capable of. But Andrew Symonds steered them home against the Royal Challengers and that will have done their confidence a lot of good. A seven wicket win after successfully chasing 185 for victory halted a run of five successive defeats and just about keeps Gilchrist’s men in the tournament. They may well need to win all four of their remaining games which include another game against Royal Challengers, then the Kings XI and finally the Daredevils. The win over Bangalore was the first time the Chargers had successfully chased a total in IPL3 with Symonds and Suman seeing them home with some great hitting. Pragyan Ojha has been the most consistent bowler for Deccan, picking up 15 wickets to lie at the top of the bowlers list in IPL III and although RP Singh has been in and out of the team, he has … [Read more...]

Filed Under: IPL Previews · Tagged With: , , , , ,
« Older Posts