Pune v Deccan - Pune Warriors eye the play offs while Deccan Chargers play for pride
Pune Warriors India (PWI) will take on Deccan Chargers (DC) today (May 16, 2011) in the 62nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750.
There is a glimmer of a chance for PWI to make it to the play-offs, but they will have to win all their remaining matches.
Pune is placed at number eight in the pool with four wins in 11 games and they still have three more to go. Their skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yuvraj-Singh-c98364, is still confident of his team’s chances to qualify for the play-offs, keeping in mind the unpredictable nature of Twenty20
cricket.
The aggressive left-handed player stated, “Our fate in the league is still very much on the edge and for us the situation is rather too simple. Win all the games and then you see where you end up in terms of final equation for the play-offs. It all ends
up with the equation in terms of points, net run rate and how other results have gone.”
Yuvraj further said that he was taking one game at a time and will not be thinking of the end results, as this could put the team under immense pressure.
The 29-year-old’s form will be crucial for the team in the upcoming games, as he has the ability to bat for longer periods and score runs quickly.
The wristy batsman holds the record for hitting six sixes in an over to England’s fast bowler, Stuart Broad, which is a proof of his destructive batting.
Although one man can change the course of the match in the shortest version of cricket, the team still requires a cumulative effort in order to win with consistency.
PWI shouldn’t be over dependant on their captain and some senior members of the side should step up their game.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Robin-Uthappa-c2356 is one player, who can help his side win more matches with consistency. He has been doing a terrific job for the team keeping wickets throughout the tournament, and will be required to continue his efforts in the remaining fixtures.
Uthappa wasn’t given much of an opportunity to bat in the earlier games, as he was sent low down the order. However, the team has realised his importance and promoted him in the top-order for the past couple of matches.
Injuries have also hurt PWI throughout the tournament. They have lost some key players like Angelo Matthews and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ashish-Nehra-c46293 already.
The South African duo, Graeme http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Smith-c90598 and Wayne Parnell, has also been in and out of the playing-11 due to injury problems.
However, these issues have given an opportunity to former Indian captain, Saurav Ganguly, to take part in the fourth edition of the IPL.
The veteran cricketer made his debut of the season against DC and will be up against the same team again. He scored an unbeaten 32, guiding his team to a victory last time and will be going for a similar display today.
The Leg-spinner, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-Sharma-c83352, has been the strength of Pune’s bowling attack. He has taken 14 wickets in 11 games so far and has proved to be economical compared to his team-mates.
On the other hand, Deccan has some talented players in the line-up, but no chance of making it to the play-offs.
However, they can still influence the tournament by defeating other teams in their remaining fixtures.
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