How fitting the points table looks at the moment, with last year’s winners and the runner-up (Rajasthan and Chennai respectively!) at the top of it! The duo of Chennai Super Kings (10/3 with Paddy Power to win tournament) and Rajasthan Royals (9/2 at 888Sport to win IPL this time) also clash against each other on the 9th of May at Kimberly, in the 37th match of the tournament, after having met once earlier.
In their previous match, the Super Kings were the run-away winners, with Suresh Raina getting to a near-hundred and Laxmipathy Balaji run through the middle and lower order with a four-wicket haul. The good thing for the Royals was that the current orange cap holder, Matthew Hayden (1/2 at Stan James to be top scorer of the tournament) had departed without troubling the scorers too much, but that is as far as their joy went.
Chennai go into the match as favourites (8/11 at Paddy Power) and that is not without reason. The momentum is very much with the Super Kings, and their batting is clicking like no other. The bowling has been a little Achilles Heel for them, but with the likes of Muthiah Muralitharan (11/4 at Stan James to be most economic bowler) supporting Albie Morkel (5/1 at Stan James to be most economic bowler) and Laximathy Balaji, it is only a matter of time that it gels together again.
The Royals, on the other hand, have contrasting problems. Their bowling has done rather well, defending low scores and producing new bowlers with alarming regularity. Kamran Khan is injured for now, and Amit Singh’s two matches for seven wickets has been followed by a few issues with his bowling action, which makes me think that it could just be the day of Shane Warne (4/1 at Stan James to be most economic bowler). Warne has had a mediocre IPL as a bowler so far and he will want to rectify that quickly.
Matthew Hayden’s (5/2 at Sky Bet to be top Chennai batsman) run of form has been akin to Shaun Marsh’s last year, with a slight difference; he has bludgeoned most attacks out of sight! Rajasthan’s Graeme Smith (7/2 at Coral to be top Rajasthan scorer), on the other hand, has struggled through most of the matches and will still look to come into his own very soon.
Suresh Raina (4/1 at Ladbrokes to be Chennai’s top run-getter) did not have a great start to the tournament, but he has slowly moved into the second spot – behind Hayden – in the highest run-getters’ chart, while Naman Ojha (4/1 at Stan James to be top Royals scorer) has almost come from nowhere and started getting the desired runs at the top.
It has also been some time since one heard of the explosive Yusuf Pathan (5/1 at 888Sport to be top Rajasthan scorer), and it may not be surprising if Pathan gets sent in a trifle earlier to bat and bites into the opposition bowling.
Tips:
Favourites: Chennai Super Kings (10/3 with Paddy Power)
Top Chennai batsman: Suresh Raina (4/1 at Ladbrokes)
Top Rajasthan batsman: Graeme Smith (7/2 at Coral)
Most economical bowler: Muthiah Muralitharan (11/4 at Stan James)
