Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore look frontrunners to make it to play-offs

he franchises have looked the best teams in this years’ IPL and have balanced teams.

 

By Vinay Anand

 

We are getting to the fag end of the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the top four are slowly starting to separate themselves from the bottom half. The doors look to be shut on debutants Pune Warriors while the Deccan Chargers don’t seem to be doing their cause much good.

 

Here’s a look at the teams most likely to lock horns in the knock-out stages:

 

Mumbai Indians

 

This team deservedly is at the top of the pack, as far as the points table is concerned. Sachin Tendulkar, like fine wine, gets better with age; his body does not seem to understand the word ‘stop’! The sheer aura and presence of the man has inspired the youngsters in the team to raise their game.

 

Ambati Rayudu has been a star No 3 for the Mumbai Indians, and that is the advantage the team has. Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds and Kieron Pollard make a dangerous middle-order with all three capable to sneak in a few overs as well.

 

The team is not entirely dependent on Tendulkar for their batting, as much Lasith Malinga for their bowling. “Slinga” Malinga, has picked 22 wickets in the tournament so far, and has made the Purple Cap his own. Seering yorkers, ferocious bouncers and the sound of the stumps rattle is now an everyday occurrence with Malinga.

 

Munaf Patel has done well partnering Malinga and Harbhajan Singh‘s experience is invaluable to this team. The fielding standards too have risen with Jonty Rhodes as coach.

 

Mumbai look invincible and only Chennai seem to have it in them to dethrone them. What the Mumbai Indians must guard against is complacency, something that proved to be their undoing last time around.

 

Chennai Super Kings

 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni sure is the man with the Midas touch. At one stage of the tournament, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were languishing in the bottom half of the points table, but are now third and very much contention for a semi-final slot for the fourth consecutive time.

 

CSK, as ever, has always been batting driven. It’s no different, this time around. In fact, the bowling looks thinner with the departure of Muttiah Muralitharan. CSK have more or less retained the nucleus of their side that have done so well in the past for them. Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay form the core of the batting, ably aided by Subramaniam Badrinath and Albie Morkel.

 

The fielding has been top notch, but, it’s the bowling that is huge cause for concern for the Super Kings. Besides Doug Bollinger, the bowling is suspect against good batting line-ups. Morkel’s been expensive, while Ravichandran Ashwin looks to be a shadow of the bowler he was in the World Cup.

 

As stated, Chennai’s fielding has been electrifying and this could make them the favourites to defend the IPL title this year. Now that Dhoni has been accepted as one of the finest captains in present-day cricket, a season with a World Cup and an IPL will only be another jewel to his already priceless crown.

 

Kolkata Knight Riders

 

The laggards of the first three seasons have now become serious contenders of the IPL. With a new-look team, the Knight Riders have been far from the team they were in the previous editions of the IPL.

 

With a blend of young and experienced, foreign and Indian, the Gautam Gambhir-KKR have raised visions of making the knockout stage, something that’s eluded them for long.

 

Jacques Kallis at the top of the order offers solidity to the batting order, as the team look to build around the foundation set by him. The flexibility of the KKR is envious; they bat right up to No 10 in Brett Lee and have six to seven options in the bowling department.  Lee gives Kolkata’s bowling some business-class status and he just had one bad over against Kochi which led to KKR losing.

 

Young Iqbal Abdulla has formed a web around one and all, being the leading wicket taker among spinners in the tournament. He has been complemented well by Yusuf Pathan, who has chipped in with nine.

 

Kolkata are and have always been the problem child, full of potential, never quite harnessed. Things finally seem to be coming together for KKR, ironically in the absence of Sourav Ganguly. If KKR manage to sort out a couple of glitches in their fielding, they sure are serious contenders going into the knock-out stages.

 

Royal Challengers Bangalore

 

Although Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has played eight matches so far, their revival has been like an electric shock to many. And it is primarily because of one man – Chris Gayle.

 

If the history of mankind can be divided into BC and AC, the history of Bangalore’s tournament so far can be divided into BG and AG. BG – that is, before Gayle, was when Bangalore played like the underdogs. Despite the win against Kochi in the first match, they collapsed sensationally in the next four games. A batting line-up containing heavyweights like AB de Villiers, Tillakratne Dilshan and Virat Kohli could not take the team to the victory post.

 

The youngsters in Saurabh Tiwary and Cheteshwar Pujara have been major disappointments, both of whom had huge reputations in the domestic circuit.

 

Gayle made a hundred against Kolkata, single-handedly chasing a tough target at the Eden Gardens. He carried his form against Delhi Daredevils in Delhi and Bangalore achieved another crucial away-win. RCB then followed that up with an easy home win against Pune, making it a hat-trick of victories.

 

Ever since Mahela Jayawardene took him apart in the World Cup final, Zaheer Khan has never been the same. Despite being one of the highest wicket takers in the World Cup, Zaheer has under-performed for the RCB, putting a lot of pressure on the younger inexperienced bowlers.

 

Daniel Vettori has tried valiantly, but hasn’t received support from the other bowlers.

 

Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai look set to make it to the semis. It’s the fourth spot that is up for grabs. Bangalore have the best chance as they have got a game in hand, but you can never count out Shane Warne and his Rajasthan Royals. Meanwhile, Kochi’s win over the Knight Riders has brought them back into the fold. Delhi on the other hand, will need both Lady Luck and Virender Sehwag to favour them big time. The rest could just hope to spoil others party and look to come back strongly next year.

 

While the primary objective remains to get into the top four, teams would strive to finish in the top two, as that would mean assuring themselves of a Champions League berth.

 

(Vinay Anand, 17, has an uncanny eye for detail. He revers cricket – looking beyond the glamour into the heart of the game where true passion, perseverance and grit meet. To him, there is no greater joy than coming closer to the sport while exploring its intricacies through his writing and treading ahead to establish himself as a writer and presenter)

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