The second semi-final of the DLF IPL will have the Chennai Super Kings play the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. In their previous game, Bangalore had beaten the Super Kings in a rather close match, thanks to Ross Taylor’s valiant knock of 41.
 
Chennai (4/5 at Stan James to win the semi-final) had rung in the changes in the previous game against the Kings XI Punjab, partly due to injuries, and partly to allow a couple of them a chance before the knock-out game. Matthew Hayden (5/2 at Stan James to be the highest scorer) hasn’t had a hit for two games, but the Chennai brand ambassador, Krish Srikkanth had confidently averred that he should play in the all-important semi-final. It may not be easy for him to return back with the same kind of touch that he possessed before his injury, especially on a wicket which has shown to assist the bowling side.
 
This will mean that George Bailey will go out. In all likelihood, it will be Parthiv Patel (6/1 at Ladbrokes to be highest scorer of the Chennai side) who will open the batting for Chennai – and not Murali Vijay – because he provides the captain with an option to relive his gloves.
 
The batting though, will revolve around the middle order of Suresh Raina (4/1 at Stan James to be top-scorer), M.S.Dhoni (5/1 at Sky Bet to be highest scorer for Chennai) and S.Badrinath (8/1 at Boylesports to be highest scorer for Chennai). Raina has been in supreme touch, and it may not be beyond him to be the highest scorer for the Super Kings, whereas, despite Dhoni’s failure in the Punjab game, he should be tuned in fully. The issue that these batsmen may face on the Jo’burg wicket is that it is much slower than the rest, and scoring runs has been much more difficult. This could mean that someone like Badrinath may be sent up the order to be the glue that binds the line-up together and one of my favourites to get to the highest score for Chennai.
 
The Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (5/4 at Coral to beat Chennai) change in fortunes has been as an unexpected as rains in the Atacama. Their last few games have seen them beat all the other three semi-finalists, and different players have come to the party at different times. Manish Pandey’s (5/1 at Ladbrokes to be the highest scorer for Bangalore) century made him the first Indian to hit one at the IPL, whereas the Ross Taylor (5/1 at Stan James to hit the highest for Royal Challengers) looks to have got to his best batting form with two match-winning innings. Jacques Kallis (4/1 at Ladbrokes to be the highest Bangalore scorer) and Rahul Dravid (11/2 at Boylesports to be top scorer) may be a trifle slow as compared to the expected strike rates in this format of the game, but the team management has done well to separate them out’ Kallis bats as an opener, while Dravid will bat down the order according to the situation.
 
Bangalore may not want to disturb a winning combination, which means that Jesse Ryder will remain out, as will Dale Steyn.
 
Tips:
Favourites: Chennai Super Kings (4/5 at Stan James)
Top Bangalore batsman: Jacques Kallis (4/1 at Ladbrokes)
Top Chennai batsman: S.Badrinath (8/1 at Boylesports)