Semi-final hopes wide open

The IPL heads into its last couple of weeks with most teams still fighting hard for a spot in the last four.

Only ten days to go before the semi-finalists get decided, and seven teams have a theoretical chance and six a realistic one. That is as much a measure of the format as it is of the strengths of the teams and I hope that never changes at the IPL.

Two unexpected results have put new life into the standings because it had started to look like Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders would join Kings XI Punjab among the also-rans. But as the tournament progresses, we are discovering that 180 is quite a daunting score and passage of time hasn’t rendered the chase less forbidding. Teams that make a cautious start in pursuit of that kind of target discover that overs 13-16 are where they need to be particularly alert. Teams that tee off have a better chance but need to be careful not to lose wickets.

From that point of view the Chargers’ pursuit of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s target was excellent. And the changes in the batting order worked for them. It gave Suman a bit of responsibility and the time in the middle to show why he is a good player and why therefore, Harbhajan bothered giving him a send off! And it allowed Symonds to do what he is best at: go after the bowling without having to worry about building an innings.

The win would be particularly satisfying for Deccan Chargers since it came against a team that has the best balanced bowling line-up and I got the impression that this is the team that RCB would like to stick with. On most days with a team like that, they will win and yet they find themselves in a situation where they have to arrest a slide.

So we are down to that stage in the tournament where teams have to keep an eye on other results as well. I guess the easiest thing would be to win every match but given that no team has managed to do that, everyone is now dependant on other results - some of which have been very interesting!!