The heat is on!
Harsha Bhogle reviews the IPL action so far and predicts Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai as possible semi-finalists.
I think Anil Kumble is right when he says that the Kotla is not a good track for T20. It wasn’t in the Champions League in October last year and while it started off well here, you can see the impact of the newly laid surface. It was still a good job done to bring it to where it is but teams will already be planning for the slowness and hoping to win the toss.
The Royal Challengers need to be just a bit careful here. If they lose another game, soon they will slip back into that middle bunch. I believe they will eventually go through, especially since they have two home games coming up, but a win in the next game will soothe some nerves.
The IPL had reached a stage where most teams were probably budgeting two points against Kings XI, always a dangerous thing to do against a side that was down in the dumps but not short of quality players. And Kolkata Knight Riders must be kicking themselves for that result. But it also shows how poor their bowling is. No Ishant, no Dinda, no Shukla means there is a big hole and I don’t see how that is going to be filled very soon. It also tells you that you can have the greatest in your support staff but if the bowlers cannot learn, it is not much good.
The three teams that have slipped a bit, Deccan Chargers, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals need a quick little two game-winning burst to hold a resurgent Chennai Super Kings at bay. I believe the arrival of Bollinger, though not a magic wand, will re-invigorate a team that has the class to go the distance. Murali Vijay has been a revelation, he will take pressure off Hayden and leave him free to go after the bowling and that can only be good. The return of Dhoni has been almost therapeutic for them as much as his absence was a dampener.
There are still some key games to be played but my instinct tells me it could well be Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings in the semis.
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CSK shud def make it to top4 unless they play some really bad cricket. RR can surprise a bit but I really dont think they will. I have the same pick as you at the moment.