Rajasthan Vs Chennai, battle for last four slot (Preview)

If Rajasthan ever needed a win at their fortress, it is now. Given their not-so-impressive away record, the home games have to be won at every cost. The business end of the tournament is nearing and with the mad scramble for the top four spots on, each and every point is critical. Chennai, on the other hand are in a slightly better position but they too do not have a guaranteed place in the ‘green zone’.

The big picture is that the top two teams in the league table, Mumbai and Kolkata are safely through to the next round and that leaves only two spots for rest of the teams. The way Chris Gayle propelled Bangalore are going, they are the favorites to qualify. Hence, it should be a three horse race for the remaining top-four slot between Rajasthan, Chennai and Kochi. Then there is Punjab who can qualify as well if they win all their games.

Both Rajasthan and Chennai would go all out for a win in tomorrow’s match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. For the hosts, the big loss against the same team in their last match would have been deflating but this is a home game and they haven’t lost a single match at their fortress. They would once again be looking up to their talismanic skipper Shane Warne who has decided to hang his boots after IPL-4. The Australian would like to leave on a high.

It would be interesting to see the kind of surface Rajasthan prepare for this match as both the teams are loaded with quality spinners. Rajasthan have the magical Warne and very impressive Johan Botha while as, Chennai have the services of carrom specialist R Ashwin and Sri Lankan spinner Suraj Randiv.

There is no doubt the home side’s batting is their weak link, Watson has thrown it away after getting starts, Dravid at best can play the role of a sheet anchor, Ross Taylor has not fired consistently. Chennai however have a better looking batting line up with the likes of Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, Badrinath and MS Dhoni among their ranks. But, even this heavy looking batting struggled in the match against Kolkata which they lost through the D/L.

The visitors have been one of the best fielding units in the whole tournament, unlike Rajasthan who looked ragged and sloppy on the ground. Since the Shilpa Shetty owned side rely on their bowling to a large extent, the fielders have to back them up well.

RAJASTHAN

Players who can make impact…

Shane Warne….He is playing his last IPL and what a player he has been for Rajasthan. He has a knack of bringing out the best from his players and leads from the front with his own performances. He has only one game after this at his home ground, a good show is expected.

Johan Botha…The gutsy all-rounder has done it for the home team more than once this season. He bats, bowls and is a fantastic fielder. His success at top of the order would be vital for Rajasthan.

SQUAD

Aakash Chopra, Abhishek Raut, Aditya Dole, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Paunikar, Amit Singh, Ankeet Chavan, Ashok Menaria, Deepak Chahar, Dinesh Salunkhe, Dishant Yagnik, Faiz Fazal, Johan Botha, Nayan Doshi, Pankaj Singh, Pinal Shah, Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor, Samad Fallah, Shane Warne (c), Shane Watson, Shaun Tait, Siddharth Trivedi, Stuart Binny, Sumit Narwal, Swapnil Asnodkar.

CHENNAI

Players who can make impact…

Suraj Randiv….His strangling slow bowling has stopped many batting line ups from scoring freely. He is very potent on friendly surfaces and the Jaipur pitch is no belter.

R Ashwin…..Another Chennai bowler who has played the role of stifling opposition batsmen very effectively. His finger spinners deviate both ways and the camouflage is good enough to fox even the very best.

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