Continuing from the previous piece, where I had previewed the chances of two of the IPL teams, this is the preview to the three bottom-placed sides in Bangalore Royal Challengers, Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Mumbai Indians are on nine points from ten games, Bangalore are a point behind at eight while the Kolkata Knight Riders are languishing in the final spot with only one win and three points.
The Mumbai Indians (10/1 at Betfair to win the IPL) had come into the tournament as favourites behind the Delhi Daredevils and had three wins in the first six matches to be in the running for the semi-finals. Their batting depended a lot on the opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar (who had started out as one of the top five favourites to be the highest run-getter and now Betfair offers 27/1 for him to be the top scorer) and Sanath Jayasuriya, but after the initial flair, both began to lose form. Unfortunately for the Mumbai Indians, not too many had planned for this eventuality and the middle order – despite the presence of J.P.Duminy (15/1 at Betfair to be top batsman at IPL) – has looked vulnerable.
One bowler who has looked penetrating throughout the tournament is Lasith Malinga (4/1 at Betfair to wear the purple cap), and the only factor that can stop him from being the top wicket-taker is that he may not play in the semi-finals and the finals; something that R.P.Singh – the highest wicket-taker so far – has a great chance of doing.
At this stage, Mumbai need to win all their matches, or lose one at maximum and then hope that some of the other results go their way, in order to reach the semi-final.
The Royal Challengers (27/1 at Betfair to win IPL-II) were just about in reckoning before their loss to the Mumbai Indians, thus allowing them to edge past the Royal Challengers. With only eight points from ten games, it will need a Herculean task for them to get back their lost momentum and get to the knock-out stage.
Unfortunately for them, Jacques Kallis is the only batsman who has looked like getting some runs, but even he has not seemed very consistent. Betfair offers 19/1 for him to be the top run-getter, but that probability looks bleak give the situation, and Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina’s form with the bat.
Anil Kumble (19/1 at Betfair to be highest wicket-taker) had scalped five in the very first game that his team played in, but since then, hasn’t done much with the ball. So much so, that he does not lie even in the top fifteen of the bowlers who could go on to become the highest wicket-takers.
The Kolkata Knight Riders (199/1 at Betfair to try and clinch the tournament from this stage) story seems to have finished even before it started. Going into the tournament with a team that looked one of the more balanced ones, they have capitulated from one defeat to another, and just one when thinks that it can’t get worse for them, their despairs grow further.
Their batting has looked woeful, with none except Brad Hodge in a couple of games, and Sourav Ganguly in another two living up to some expectations. To the outsider, the rest seem to be filling in the numbers. The bowling was highly dependent on the duo of Ishant Sharma and Ajantha Mendis, but the pasting that the latter got at the hands of Yusuf Pathan and Sachin Tendulkar has rendered him to the sidelines.
