Bangalore look strong ahead of qualifier against Chennai
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the first qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai in India.
Bangalore will be confident of winning the match, as they crushed the same team in the 69th game of the cash rich tournament, but the pressure of the knockout stage will make things tough for both sides.
RCB finished on top of the pool after winning nine matches out of the 14 played. The team started off badly in the tournament, losing a few games, but things turned around for them since the arrival of the West Indian star, Chris Gayle.
The Caribbean dynamite was brought in the side as a replacement for injured pacer, Dirk Nannes. Gayle’s presence made the difference for RCB, as the team won seven straight games since his inclusion in the franchise.
He is currently the top scorer of the tournament with 511 runs from just nine matches and will be looking to storm through to the final of the lucrative league.
Daniel Vettori, who is the skipper of RCB, has been leading the side very nicely until now. He had to miss a couple of games due to a knee injury, which he sustained in a match of the ICC World Cup 2011 against Pakistan. He fell on his knee in an attempt
to stop the ball and has been struggling since then.
However, the Kiwi all-rounder was given clearance to play after his visited his doctor in New Zealand for a check-up. Vettori’s presence will certainly be a huge confidence boost for Bangalore, as he has proved to be an inspirational leader.
One concern for the Bangalore team will be to determine their opening combination. The team stated the innings with Gayle and Sri Lanka’s, Tillakaratne Dilshan, for most part of the tournament, but the latter had to leave for national duty.
Star South African, AB de Villiers, was sent at the top of the order to open the innings alongside Gayle, but the experiment didn’t work out for the team. De Villiers was dismissed for a duck and will most probably bat in his usual position in the upcoming
match.
Talented Indian youngster, Virat Kohli, has been scoring runs with consistency throughout the cash rich tournament and his form will be crucial for the team in the upcoming game. His compatriot, Zaheer Khan, will also be eying a strong show with the ball,
as he has been doing throughout the event.
On the other hand, Chennai have also been consistent in the tournament. They finished just one point behind RCB in the pool and will be eying a revenge of their previous defeat.
CSK’s skipper, MS Dhoni, has proved to be a phenomenal leader and has scored plenty of runs for his franchise as well. His form will be crucial for the team, but will be eying some support from other players in the side.
The strength of Chennai is their batting, as they have some utility cricketers like, Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina and the captain himself. The team also has some quality all-rounders in the shape of, Dwayne Bravo and Albie Morkel, who provide
flexibility.
However, the main concern for the Dhoni led side will be to get rid of Gayle, who can take the game away from the opposition in a very short time. The team will be looking up to spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, who has the variety to trouble the hard hitters.
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