Heavyweights battle it out for top-spot (Preview)

With the business end of the tournament nearing, mad scramble for various positions on the points chart is on. Although, both Bangalore and Chennai are assured of a play-off spot, their last match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore still holds a lot for them.

The big picture is that top-spot in league table is up for grabs; current leaders Chennai have 18 points while as, Bangalore have 17 points. Whosoever wins this match for sure would finish the league stages as the top ranked team. That is of some significance, as per the modified tournament rules the top two teams in the table get two bites at the cherry, even if they lose one game in the play-offs they have another chance to redeem themselves. The bad news however is that the team that goes down in this match may finish outside of the top two and thus lose the obvious advantage.

The technical nitty-gritty of qualification apart, Bangalore would look to undo the damage they suffered at the hands Punjab in the last match. After a stupendous run of seven victories Bangalore were very ordinary. The bowling in the absence of veterans Vettori and Zaheer Khan came in for some serious punishment. Chris Gayle was bound to fail at some point in time, and when that happened the batting just came apart. Now, each game can make or mar a team’s chances, the home team have to keep the plan B ready in case the West-Indian fails to fire at the top of the order.

Chennai, on the other hand have been very consistent in IPL-4 thus far. They have been the team to beat. With a calm man in the form of MS Dhoni leading the side, their journey to the play-offs has been without any fuss. Their batting is very solid with Michael Hussey, Badrinath and Suresh Raina leading the way. Even the newcomer Wriddhiman Saha put his hand up against Kochi to power Chennai to a winnable position. Their bowling is a potent unit with lot of variety and quality; there is the economical Bollinger, the mysterious R Ashwin and a lot of other support bowlers who can be handy on most surfaces.

Chennai would surely come up with a plan for Gayle but as we all know, if he fires and finds his range, the game will be over for the visitors in blink of an eye.

BANGALORE

Players who can make impact...

Chris Gayle… He has single-handedly changed the course of Bangalore’s faltering campaign with a series of match-winning knocks. The law of averages caught up with him against Punjab, he has to begin afresh against Chennai in a crucial tie.

Virat Kohli…He has filled Vettori’s shoes as Captain of the Bangalore side. He got a mixed bag, a win and a loss under his leadership. If Gayle starts to hit it early, the rest of the batsmen in the team find it very easy but if he goes early, Kohli and co. have to get their act together and help their team to a good total.

SQUAD

AB de Villiers, Abhimanyu Mithun,Abrar Kazi,Arun Karthik,Asad Pathan,BN Barath,Charl Langeveldt,Cheteshwar Pujara, Daniel Vettori (c),Dirk Nannes,Johan van der Wath, Jonathan Vandiar,Luke Pomersbach,Mayank Agarwal,Mohammad Kaif,Muralidharen Gautam,Nuwan Pradeep,Raju Bhatkal,Rilee Rossouw,Ryan Ninan,Saurabh Tiwary, Sreenath Aravind, Tillakaratne Dilshan (withdrawn player) ,Virat Kohli, Zaheer Khan.

CHENNAI

Players who can make impact

Michael Hussey…Mr. Cricket as he is popularly known for his dedication towards the game and way he conducts himself on the field and off it. He has again proved that age is no bar and continues to pile up runs at will. He has turned out to be a real impact player for the side scoring heavily at the top of the order.

R Ashwin…Young wily off-spinner Ashwin’s tight bowling and his ability to give vital breakthroughs for the team. With Chepauk pitch suitable for spin bowlers, Ashwin could turn out to be more than handy and make an impact with his off-spinners and the mysterious carom ball.

SQUAD

Abhinav Mukund, Albie Morkel, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Ganapathi Vignesh, George Bailey, Joginder Sharma, K Vasudevadas, Michael Hussey, MS Dhoni (c)(wk), Murali Vijay, Nuwan Kulasekara, R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Scott Styris, Shadab Jakati ,Srikkanth Anirudha, Sudeep Tyagi, Suraj Randiv, Suresh Raina, Tim Southee, Wriddhiman Saha,Yo Mahesh.