Chris Gayle… The destroyer from Jamaica has played with consistency of Don Bradman and the power of Viv Richards. After just nine outings for Bangalore, he holds the ‘Orange Cap’. More importantly, his team has lost just one match in which Gayle failed to fire with the bat. His would like to carry forward his good form into play-offs so that Bangalore earn their maiden IPL trophy.
Daniel Vettori…He had to miss three games due to knee injury but returned with an excellent spell againstChennai in the last match. As a captain, he had it easy with a talented set of players at his disposal. His nagging bowling has, however, stood out every time he donned the Bangalore colours.
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Gautam,Nuwan Pradeep,Raju Bhatkal,Rilee Rossouw,Ryan Ninan,Saurabh Tiwary, Sreenath Aravind, Tillakaratne Dilshan (withdrawn player) ,Virat Kohli, Zaheer Khan.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 Super Kings:
MS Dhoni….He has the knack of taking his game to the next level in key encounters, his stupendous knock in the2011 World Cup Final testimony to his big-match player reputation. Dhoni calm demeanor would be tested once again if Chennai bowlers fail to remove Gayle early.
Michael Hussey…The left-handed batsman has been a start stop kind of performer this year. His overall numbers may look good but his dismissal at crucial junctures has put the team in trouble. He will want to set the record straight in a match that may take Chennai just one step away from glory.
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.
Preview:
After 70 matches and 6 weeks of hectic T20 action, the suspense over the top four teams of IPl-4 is over. The big-boys have been separated from the also-rans; Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata will now battle it out in an interesting play-off format for the top honours. The beauty of the play-offs is that it offers the top two teams an added incentive- the winner in first qualifier straightaway finds a place in the finals where as, the loser gets one more chance in the second qualifier.
This year’s IPL has been full of pleasant surprises; the last day of the league phase was a dress rehearsal for the play-offs. Bangalore and Chennai locked horns on super Sunday where Chris Gayle’s heroics were too hot to handle for the defending champions. Chennai seemed to be too consumed by the prospect of having to bowl at Gayle, in the process lost their way in their batting.
The good thing for Chennai who finished just behind Bangalore on the points table is the assurance that if they run in to a marauding Gayle once again, they get another chance to redeem themselves in the play-offs. That should relieve Dhoni-led side off the added pressure of playing at the business end of the tournament. Since the qualifiers would be played in Mumbai, MS Dhoni’s popularity as Team India captain may well work in his team’s favour.
Chennai however, will have to improve their all-round performance to halt the Bangalore juggernaut. First and foremost, Chris Gayle batting needs to be taken care of, his presence in the middle for a few overs can spell doom for the opposition. Chennai also need to step-up their batting that has faltered more than once this season.
On the contrary, Bangalore have been the team to beat in the later stages of the tournament. Except an aberration against Punjab, the Vettori led side has been the best team on display by some distance. The sheer presence of Gayle at the top has taken the pressure off rest of the team. Well-accomplished batsmen like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have had to play the support role in the Gayle show. But, they have the ability to do damage in case the West-Indian comes a cropper.
Bangalore come into the match as favorites but Dhoni’s smart captaincy and the never-say-die approach of the ‘men in yellow’ may turn the tables anytime.
Source: www.vcricket.com
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