The Champions League Twenty20 might not have found as much success as its counterpart the Indian Premier League, however, it is more than evident that the players in the championship have been taking this tournament very seriously. A number of incidents highlight the extent of desperation and thirst of the players to win the matches; the dejection on Virat Kohli’s face as he squatted on his haunches in the middle of the pitch in Durban after an inspiring innings that almost snatched victory against Mumbai Indians.
Those happiest with the results over the last two days will most certainly be the organizers of the tournament who find two of the IPL teams making their way in the semi-finals. One of the team from IPL has already made its way into the final ensuring greater viewership, which would not have been the case had the non-Indian teams qualified.
Chennai Super Kings have all the right to be bragging about their absolutely impressive form, since they were also the winners of this year’s edition of IPL. However, if the Royal Challengers Bangalore manage to upstage the army of MS Dhoni and his men, then they will certainly have something to boast about. These two sides have met before in the semi-final of a tournament, the IPL 2009 that took place in South Africa, where Bangalore went on to win with an impressive 6 wicket win over their rivals.
Both the teams can also reflect on their past performance with the IPL, which should give them more confidence keeping in view the fact that both the teams had started off poorly in the league, however managed to end strongly by the end of the season. The major difference between both the teams is that Chennai heavily rely on spinners while Bangalore have a number of quick bowlers up their sleeve to dominate other sides.
A couple of very important exclusions in the final league matches have been the absence of all rounder’s Jacques Kallis who has been ruled out of the tournament due to a neck injury, while Albie Morkel has not played a couple of matches due to illness. The absence of the South African all-rounder has surely upset Bangalore’s balance, which would give Chennai a great advantage if Morkel manages to recover from his illness in time.
The overall record between the two sides has seen Bangalore winning 4, while Chennai winning 3 matches against each other that simply goes on to depict the competitive rivalry that exists between the two sides. The semi-final today surely promises to live up to the expectations of the fans.
Chennai had armoured their side with spinners for their match against Warriors in Port Elizabeth, however that strategy is less likely to work in Durban where the track is not very spinner-friendly.
Bangalore, on the contrary, are most unlikely to make too many changes to a side that seems set and in good form. However, one drawback that they might face is that the only recognized spinner they have is Anil Kumble. Cameron White can bowl leg-spin, however it is still to be seen if they choose to go with that option.
Ross Taylor and his form will definitely be a major factor that can completely overturn the tables in his teams favour, and he has been relatively overshadowed during this tournament. MS Dhoni has also been quiet in the tournament so far, and if he manages to find his explosive form it will certainly be a deciding factor in the result of the match.
Michael Hussey’s presence with Chennai might also be another important factor, and if he manages to give his team a good start it will make things very difficult for their adversary.
“The spinners have done the job for us so far. Hopefully, on the Durban pitch, the fast bowlers will do well for the team," MS Dhoni noted as the two teams braced themselves for the contest.
CLT20 Preview: Chennai Super Kings vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore
The last edition of the Champions League saw none of the three participating IPL sides make it as far as the semi-finals; ultimately leaving New South Wales to fight it out with Trinidad & Tobago for the title. This time though, two of the four semi-finalists are Indian sides, much to the delight of the organizers of the tournament, and with these two teams taking each other on in the first semi-final, an IPL team is guaranteed to reach the final.
While the stats suggest Chennai & Bangalore have reached this far in contrasting fashion, nothing could be further from the truth. Chennai have won three out of the four league games, losing only to Victoria in a thrilling Super Over, on their way to top Group A. Yet, they almost never made it – a 10 run victory in their final league match against the Warriors after the South African side had already qualified, the only reason they are in the last four. Had that been the first match of the Group Stage instead of the last, you would have expected the Warriors to go all out for a win, and Victoria not Chennai would be in the semis. Bangalore, on the other hand, qualified for the CLT20 thanks to a third-place finish in the IPL, and have managed to scrape through to the semi-finals despite a 50:50 win-loss record in the group stages, they too barely sealed the second semi-final spot with some last ditch heroics in their final game against the Highveld Lions.
Chennai Super Kings:
Despite R Ashwin being pummeled by David Hussey in the super over loss against Victoria, Dhoni stuck with his spinners on a slowish Port Elizabeth track and the move paid rich dividends with Chennai managing a spirited defence of a mere 136 against the Warriors. With the action shifting to Durban for the semi-final though, Dhoni would probably go back with a two-spinner strategy and that would mean L Balaji coming back for Shadab Jakati.
There was also a lot of hue and cry about Matthew Hayden being left out in favour of Michael Hussey against the Warriors but with the latter scoring a fine half-century, he should get the nod for the semis too. His opening partner, Vijay has been the man in form for Chennai with two half-centuries in the tournament, and with the likes of Raina and Badrinath also amongst the runs, Chennai are well placed in the batting department. Their lower order has a feeble look to it though, with a visible lack of form amongst the big-hitters, and in case they lose too many wickets early in their innings, it is difficult to see them coming back into the game. Albie Morkel just failed to make the squad for the final league game on health grounds, but should replace Justin Kemp with the two extra days to recover. Morkel’s presence adds another dimension to both the batting and bowling attacks of Chennai.
Bowling has to be Chennai’s strength with two key men, Muralitharan and Doug Bollinger, leading from the front. Surprisingly though, it is R Ashwin, with 10 wickets who has emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament and expect Dhoni to use him as his major strike bowler at the start of the Bangalore innings to inflict some early damage.
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Anil Kumble would be thrilled to see his side come this far after a disappointing 2 run loss against arch-rivals Mumbai, and though his side will miss the services of the brilliant Jacques Kallis, the skipper would be confident of a strong showing against another IPL side. Manish Pandey looked fluent in his knock against the Lions and he should continue to open the batting with Dillon du Preez fitting in lower down the order.
Though the top order looks to be in fine form with both Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli amongst the runs for Bangalore, the middle-order hasn’t quite got going. Between them, Robin Uthappa and Ross Taylor have scored 98 runs in the four league games and Kumble would expect more from two of the most destructive batsmen in his line-up. Cameron White hasn’t got too many opportunities to sparkle with the bat lower down, though he has looked stable in the little we have seen of him.
The bowling hasn’t been much of a worry for Bangalore so far with all of their four frontline bowlers putting up a good show. Kumble has led from the front being the most economical of the lot, and has been ably supported by the domestic pacemen in Praveen & Vinay Kumar. Dale Steyn’s experience is sure to come handy against the young Chennai batsmen, with the likes of Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Badrinath & Srikanth possible targets on a bouncy Durban pitch. The South African pace spearhead is yet to hit his best form in the tournament, but his bowling style is tailor made for this kind of a wicket against an inexperienced batting unit.
Likely Playing XIs:
Chennai Super Kings: Hussey, Vijay, Raina, Dhoni, Morkel, Badrinath, Anirudha, Ashwin, Balaji, Bollinger, Muralitharan
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Pandey, Dravid, Kohli, Taylor, Uthappa, White, du Preez, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Steyn, Kumble
Watch Out For:
Suresh Raina: With Chennai lacking the depth in their batting, they will heavily rely on one of their top-order batsmen and Suresh Raina, a big-game player looks most likely to take the onus upon himself.
Dale Steyn: The pacy Steyn could pose a big question for Chennai’s wavering top-order not only with his uncomfortable pace but also with his ability to move the ball away from right-handers and how Chennai deal with his 4 overs will have a huge bearing on the game.
Form Guide:
Chennai Super Kings (WLWWW)
22nd Sept. 2010: Chennai vs. Warriors: Chennai won by 10 runs
18th Sept. 2010: Chennai vs. Victoria: Match Tied (Victoria won via the Super Over)
15th Sept. 2010: Chennai vs. Wayamba: Chennai won by 97 runs
11th Sept. 2010: Central Districts vs. Chennai: Chennai won by 57 runs
25th April. 2010: Chennai vs. Mumbai: Chennai won by 22 runs
Royal Challengers Bangalore (WLLWW)
21st Sept. 2010: Lions vs. Bangalore: Bangalore won by 6 wickets
19th Sept. 2010: Mumbai vs. Bangalore: Mumbai won by 2 runs
17th Sept. 2010: Bangalore vs. South Australia: South Australia won by 8 wickets
12th Sept. 2010: Bangalore vs. Guyana: Bangalore won by 9 wickets
24th April. 2010: Bangalore vs. Deccan: Bangalore won by 9 wickets
Prediction: With both bowling attacks well balanced, it is a battle of the batsmen and the presence of multiple big-hitters in their line-up gives Bangalore a slight edge. It’s just a faint edge and though we would still go with a Bangalore win, Dhoni is a winner and Chennai’s inspirational leader could make all the difference!
Watch this match live on http://www.livecric.tv