Indian Premier League: Analysis of the 1st Qualifier's result and its affect on the league
The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 crowd witnessed yet another spectacular match in the ongoing fourth edition of the Indian Premier League, as the mighty
Chennai Super Kings took on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first qualifier between the top two teams of the event.
According to IPL rules, the team which would win the first qualifier would automatically reach the final, while the runners-up will have to face the winners of the elimination final, an event between the bottom two teams of the final four.
This situation was enough to encourage Chennai and Bangalore to have a dig at each other in order to save their place in the final.
The match was a sensational thriller. Batting first, the Royal Challengers, under the captaincy of the mild mannered http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Daniel-Luca-Vettori-c52306, piled up 175 runs on the board. The Chennai bowlers were helpless and vulnerable in front of the Royals.
While the royals were smacking the Chennai bowlers, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820, the skipper of the Super Kings must have felt luck slipping out of his hands.
However, this was a Dhoni led squad and anyone who has ever seen the 29-year-old Dhoni captain a side, knows well that the wicketkeeper batsman, never lets nerves get the better of him and always manages to inspire his boys.
This game was no different and after coming out to bat in a bid to chase a mighty total there was every reason to believe that Chennai could pull off another outrageous victory.
Thanks to the brave innings from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SK-Raina-c2539, Chennai carved a victory out of oblivion.
Raina who by now has become an integral part of the Indian national team, showed that he was equally good and dangerous in the lucrative league.
This is going to be the third time the Golden Men will feature in the final of the IPL in its four year history.
The record speaks for itself and any team facing Chennai in the final http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Peter-Willey-c81951 have to wrok very, very hard.
Now, the winner of the Eliminator between Mumbai and Kolkata, will face the Royals Challengers in a bid to take on Dhoni XI in the final.
Today’s match is testament to the fact that there is no telling what will happen in an IPL, making it one of the most unpredictable Twenty20 tournaments on the globe.
Any team that qualifies for the final will be wary of the fact that they will have to dominate Chennai in both batting and bowling departments.
The current situation between, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore is quite tight, they will have to lift their game in almost every department now.
If anything, the Chennai side has proven that any team can crawl to the top if it does not let up on hard work.
With an attitude like this, Dhoni XI may succeed in lifting the title this year as well, nonetheless, it is still too early to write-off the rest of the teams either.
The final, scheduled to be played on May 28, 2011 at Chennai, will be a thriller of a match.
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