Cricket: Indian Premier League

[kevshat]

Mumbai picked the wrong day for the worst batting performance of the tournament. Absolutely shocking really. Were never in that. Back to +22 for the tournament but I'm playing both matches tomorrow.

10pts Kolkata to beat Chennai Evs Totesport

Two of the three sides with a 100% record clash in the 1st match of the day which comes from Chennai. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai take on Saurav Ganguly's Kolkata side in what promises to be a high scoring encounter. Whoever wins this match will take top spot on their own as Delhi don't play on Saturday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni may opt to go into this match with an unchanged side. That would mean Matthew Hayden, who hit a brilliant 81 last time out will open with Hussey coming in at 3. Both will be playing their last match for the Chennai franchise here. The captain would bat at 4 and there's still Suresh Reina and Jacob Oram to come in after them. With the ball, Chennai will be hoping Muttiah Muralitharan can take advantage of a day game to spin them to success.

Kolkata have a very explosive top 4. Saurav Ganguly will be partnered by Brendon McCullum at the top of the order with Ricky Ponting (another who plays his last match here) coming in at 3 and David Hussey at 4. Mohammad Hafeez could bat 5 but he's not certain to play. The reason he's not certain to play is Kolkata could choose to bring Umar Gul into their bowling attack. He was the top wicket taker at the Twenty20 world cup last year so it would be folly to leave him out against such a good batting lineup. Also likely to be in the bowling attack is the explosive Ishant Sharma, Agit Agarkar and spinner Murali Kartik. That looks a top notch bowling attack and if the big 4 get big runs Kolkata will be really tough to beat.

Under lights on Wednesday Chennai just about defended 208 against Mumbai so this promises to be high scoring but Kolkata's special bowling attack could prove harder to get away and that could be the difference when all is said and done. It's that reason why I'm taking the away side here.

10pts Bangalore to beat Rajasthan Royals Evs Stan James

Both these sides won their last match. Bangalore won theirs much easier than Rajasthan won theirs but winning is all that counts. This match sees Rahul Dravid up against Shane Warne in the captaincy stakes while South African duo Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis go up against their international captain Graeme Smith.

Bangalore were pretty impressive in their last match after kopping a right beating against Kolkata in their opener. They'll go in with Chanderpaul and Dravid opening again with Jacques Kallis in at 3. Massive hitting Misbah-ul-Haq is now available and he's likely to come into the side at 4 in place of Ross Taylor with Mark Boucher floating up the order. Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar will open the bowling with Jacques Kallis backing them up. Sunil Joshi is likely to offer the spin.

Rajasthan are likely to open up with Graeme Smith and Yusuf Pathan with Kamran Akmal rested so either Younis Khan or Sohail Tanvir get a game. Shane Watson will bat 3 with Mohammad Kaif at 4. Warne aside the bowling looks a bit weak which is why Tanvir is likely to get the nod in this one. Shane Watson can be ok but he's usually a gimme for 10 an over in all truth. Warne is no stranger to changing things though so Yusuf Pathan could bowl his spin early in the piece if needed.

I'll never write a Shane Warne side off lightly. Having seen him 1st hand captain Hampshire for the past few seasons I know only too well how he can turn a game but Bangalore look like they have too many options for Warne's side here. Rajasthan were extremely lucky to beat Deccan on Thursday and Bangalore just look the more reliable side and with home advantage I'll go with them.

[Sir Fernando]

gl Kev,think these games are getting tighter to call.

[kevshat]

2 shocking batting performances from the two sides I backed today wipes the profit down to just +2pts but that's twenty20 I guess. I'm confident Delhi, by far and away the best side in this thing for me, won't make that mistake though.

10pts Delhi to beat Kings XI Punjab 10/11 Boylesports

The Kings XI finally got their 1st IPL win in their last match with a win over Mumbai Indians on Friday but they face a totally different kettle of fish in Delhi in the early match on Sunday. Delhi look the real deal to me in this competition. Normally twenty20 matches are about the batting lineup's but I think this one could be about the bowlers as both sides have very good bowling attacks.

I see no real reason why Kings XI would change their side for this one. Sarwan may drop out if James Hopes has recovered from the shits but other than that it should be as we were. Lots rest on Kumar Sangakkara with the bat. He was majestic on Friday night. With the ball well Brett Lee set that win up with his opening burst and he's sure to give it his all in his last game of the tournament. Sreesanth is lively while Pathan is solid. Piyush Chawla finally bowled well but his figures were helped by a number of sitting ducks at the other end.

Delhi amazingly have played two matches and have only lost two wickets so far. Nobody below number 3 Shikhar Dhawan has batted so far but Shoaib Malik and Dinesh Khartik are there if needed. Virender Sehwag lit up Delhi's last match and will be sure to come out and take Brett Lee on. With the ball, Kings XI's batsmen are going to have to try and score off Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif 1st up and then once they've got past those, Farveez Maharoof will attempt to tie them up.

This is a day match so it should come down to the best side winning. Delhi are the complete package. Great batting lineup, superb and stingy bowling lineup and the best side in the field. That all signifies an away win to me.

Not going to bet on the other match. Obviously Mumbai could well be on their 3rd choice captain with Harbhajan suspended for slapping Sreesanth on Friday. I'm sure there's many in the cricket world who've wanted to do that . Shaun Pollock is likely to captain Mumbai with the soap opera of Tendulkar's fitness still ongoing. And even though they've 4 seriously big hitting batsmen in Gilchrist, Afridi, Symonds and Sharma I can't be backing a Deccan side without a bowling attack and who've lost their 1st 3 at odds on so that's an obvious no bet.

[TazaD]

Originally Posted by kevshat

Obviously Mumbai could well be on their 3rd choice captain with Harbhajan suspended for slapping Sreesanth on Friday.

How about the sobbing afterwards?!!

Us non-Europeans laugh at soccer players, but that's probably the softest thing I've ever seen on a sporting field!!

Funny tho!

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by TazaD

How about the sobbing afterwards?!!

Us non-Europeans laugh at soccer players, but that's probably the softest thing I've ever seen on a sporting field!!

Funny tho!

It really was funny . I've seen a possible punishment for Harbhajan could be a life ban . Seems a bit extreme .

Another loser for me today. Teams seem to have lost the art of setting a score. So many men caught on boundaries in the last few days when the team is already in trouble. It's poor cricket really. -8 for the tournament now. I wanted to bet tomorrow to try and end this losing run I'm on but Chennai are just too short for me. It's the last match before Hayden, Oram and Hussey leave so I'm expecting fireworks from them but as I've said before in this thread I don't like backing teams at 4/7 in twenty20. Hopefully over the coming days we'll get some wrong prices with players coming and going

[kevshat]

Change the above. Just seen a ridiculous top bat price.

5pts Misbah-ul-Haq Top Bangalore Batsman 6/1 Blue Square

Misbah-ul-Haq loves twenty20. He has a stunning record in the event and was a matter of inches away from winning the world cup for his country last September. Internationally in twenty20 Misbah averages an outrageous 67.60 while domestically he only averages 56.91. He has 8 twenty20 50's and a century to his name from his total of 30 innings so he knows how to bat in this discipline and obviously thrives in it. He comes here off the back of an 87 not out from just 53 balls in a twenty20 international against Bangladesh so he comes here in form. Being from Pakistan he'll be used to the type of wicket he'll be batting on here too. Bangalore don't really have a big hitter. Ross Taylor would probably be the biggest they have but there's talk of him opening the innings which wouldn't suit him. Misbah will come in at 4 and looks to have every chance. The Chennai bowling isn't that great so 6/1 is way too big on arguably the best batsman going in this format and is well worth medium stakes.

[Sharpe1ne]

Harbhajan-Sreesanth spat
Harbhajan banned for 11 IPL games
Cricinfo staff
April 28, 2008

Harbhajan Singh has been handed a 11-match ban following his altercation with Sreesanth at the end of Mumbai Indians' match against Kings XI Punjab on Friday. It means he is all but out of the first edition of the IPL - unless Mumbai reach the semi-final of the tournament, which looks highly unlikely at this point.
Sreesanth was let off with a warning after video evidence showed Harbhajan to have slapped him without any provocation. Harbhajan also faces separate action from the Indian board, which has asked him to explain, "as a contracted player", his role in the incident which came to light after Sreesanth broke down in front of the cameras.
Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said on Monday that Sudhir Nanavati, a lawyer, has been appointed to conduct a "preliminary inquiry" and submit a report "within 15 days" to Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, who will refer the findings to the board's disciplinary committee for possible action.
Farookh Engineer, the former Indian wicketkeeper who was the match referee, fined Harbhajan 100% of his match fee for Friday's game. Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Mumbai side, has also been found guilty of a level 2 offense and fined 15% of his match fee.
"Rajput was right behind Harbhajan when the incident took place. He didn't take any step to restrain him. He has been fined 15% of his match fee," said Lalit Modi, the commissioner of the IPL who is also a vice-president of the BCCI.
IS Bindra, a member of the IPL governing council who is also president of the Punjab Cricket Association which hosted Friday's match at Mohali, had told Cricinfo Harbhajan faced a minimum ban of 10 IPL games

[Sir Fernando]

Bangalore Vs Chennai

Chennai are going great guns in the IPL, sitting pretty at the top, they've got plenty of fire power with the bat, Hayden/Hussey/Dhoni/Raina have all looked decent at times, however their bowling options dont look the best, the likes of Kallis/Boucher/Haq could hurt them. Nothing major but at the prices will take a chance on the home team.

Bangalore win @ 6/4

top chennai batsman MS Dhoni @ 5/1

top bangalore batsman Cameron White @ 6/1

[Sir Fernando]

Chennai won by 13 runs,

least Dhoni was top scorer, White didn't play.

[kevshat]

I'm really lost with this Bangalore franchise. Ok he hit a pretty quick 50 tonight but Jaffer and Dravid can not play in the same 20 over team and expect to win. For the life of me I can't work out why Misbah wasn't playing. Taylor aside there isn't a big hitter in that team. Really poor stuff from them for me.

[Sir Fernando]

I see your point mate, although Jaffer got 50, his style is not geared up for 20/20, the guy is primarily an opening Test match batsman, he doesn't even feature in India's ODI side. VVS Laxman is a similar type player aswell, decent stroke maker but hasn't got that explosive ability like a Matt Hayden would have.

[Sir Fernando]

confident the Knight Riders will brush Mumbai aside tommorrow, will check team news before having a bet though, Mumbai are side in crisis with the recent Harbajhan 'Slap' incident and Icon player Mr Tendulkar struggling for fitness, if he returns could be the boost they need.

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by Sir Fernando

I see your point mate, although Jaffer got 50, his style is not geared up for 20/20, the guy is primarily an opening Test match batsman, he doesn't even feature in India's ODI side. VVS Laxman is a similar type player aswell, decent stroke maker but hasn't got that explosive ability like a Matt Hayden would have.

Yep. Laxman gets away with it though with the explosive batting around him. Sometimes it's better him getting singles and giving the strike to the big hitters. They know wickets won't tumble at both ends so can go for it a bit with good results as Gilly showed yesterday.

For Bangalore, the perfect case was in their opener when chasing 220 odd to win out walked Jaffer and Dravid to open!! As I said before how Misbah can't get into that side I will never know.

[Sir Fernando]

Originally Posted by kevshat

For Bangalore, the perfect case was in their opener when chasing 220 odd to win out walked Jaffer and Dravid to open!! As I said before how Misbah can't get into that side I will never know.

maybe they thought they had 50 overs to knock the 220 off

Old Misbah had a very good Tournament in the 20/20 World Cup aswell.

Do you play much Kev? My season starts on saturday if it stops raining that is.

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by Sir Fernando

maybe they thought they had 50 overs to knock the 220 off

Old Misbah had a very good Tournament in the 20/20 World Cup aswell.

Do you play much Kev? My season starts on saturday if it stops raining that is.

Made his name there didn't he mate? Have to admit I'd not heard of him before then but looking at what he's done recently, in tests and ODI's as well how he's not in a team ahead of Chanderpaul who played the last match I'll never know.

I used to play a lot when I was a kid but my knee is fcuked so I can't now which is a real pain because as I'm sure you've gathered I absolutely love the game .

[Sir Fernando]

True.

Im sure when i get my duck on saturday, i'll have so much joy scoring for the rest of the game.

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by Sir Fernando

confident the Knight Riders will brush Mumbai aside tommorrow, will check team news before having a bet though, Mumbai are side in crisis with the recent Harbajhan 'Slap' incident and Icon player Mr Tendulkar struggling for fitness, if he returns could be the boost they need.

I agree mate. I think Kolkata will win but I can't even begin to consider backing them at 8/15 on that Eden Gardens wicket and even more so after their awful effort with the bat the other day.

[Sir Fernando]

Kolkata Vs Mumbai

Agree about the price, thought the knight riders would be little bigger than 1.56 on BF. Still only an outside chance Tendulkar will make the game aswell.Looking for Ponting to sign off in style and Uthappa to build on his consistent form.

top run scorer market;

Kolkata Ricky Ponting @ 4/1

Mumbai Robin Uthappa @ 4/1

[kevshat]

Going to bet tomorrow. Slightly skinny odds but I think Delhi will be too good.

10pts Delhi to beat Bangalore 4/7 Coral

Both these sides come into this match having lost their last game so both will be wanting victory here to get their IPL's back on track. Defeat for Delhi wasn't that bad on Sunday as they lost to a rampant Kings XI side. Bangalore had every chance of beating leaders Chennai on Monday but a late innings collapse put paid to that.

Delhi will look to their Indian players to fire with the bat. It was their batting which let them down against the Kings XI. Some silly dismissals at bad times didn't help them but they have enough experience to learn from that. Sehwag will lead the side with Gambhir opening alongside him. Dinesh Khartik briefly showed what he can do in the last game and one of Shoaib Malik or AB de Villiers will give the batting further explosion. Daniel Vettori is likely to replace Farveez Maharoof with the ball which should make Delhi watertight. Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif are a great new ball pairing.

I'll be honest and admit I haven't been able to work out Bangalore but it looks as though they will play both Jaffer and Dravid again here which can't be right. I said it in the last game but I would expect Misbah now has to play here with Bangalore slowly getting cut adrift. Their bowling has taken on extra power with Dale Steyn's arrival. He along with Zaheer and Kumar gives the Royal Challengers a good seam attack. Their bowling ends there though.

Delhi have home advantage here and I maintain they still have the best all round side in the competition despite their batting blip on Sunday. Bangalore are jekyll and hyde but if Misbah gets a game and he tees off they'll have a chance but that would be taking a risk to back Bangalore on that assumption so I'll play safe and stick with Delhi.

[Sir Fernando]

would be happier if Dehli were chasing;

only bet

Delhi top batsman - Sehwag @ 7/2