This second semi-final is a sign of how healthy and competitive this IPL has been and in this second semi-final, we don’t have a clear favourite. There really is little separating Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, primarily due to how well Bangalore have rallied in the second half of the tournament.
At the halfway stage of this year’s tournament Bangalore looked to have fallen upon their besieged ways of 2008, with just two wins from seven games. In the same timeframe Chennai had won three of seven, with one match washed out. They then went on to win five in a row, prompting many to declare them surefire semi-finalists. Then they were halted by Bangalore in Durban, a thrilling match that turned around Bangalore’s fortunes. Chennai have both sputtered and smacked in recent matches, on the one hand being beaten by Kolkata Knight Riders after posting 188 yet bouncing back to clinch a low-scoring thriller over Kings XI Punjab. Bangalore have won four in a row and can rightfully stare Chennai in the eye.
Past IPL form, though, may count for little during the hazards of a knock-out match and the fight could be decided by which team keeps its cool. Chennai have the practiced wiles of Muttiah Muralitharan, coming off a tremendous Man-of-the-Match game, and Matthew Hayden. Chennai’s Indian players have performed better than Bangalore’s – Suresh Raina is second to Hayden in runs scored, MS Dhoni has been consistent, the bowlers have all contributed – and on that level Chennai hold an advantage.
Bangalore will rely heavily on Anil Kumble, and hope that Jacques Kallis recovers from a hamstring strain picked up in their last match. While one pair of Bangalore openers are yet to click together, the side have been handed a massive boost by young Manish Pandey’s century in the last round-robin match. Ross Taylor and Mark Boucher offer power-hitting down the order. Praveen Kumar is always a threat with his subtle changes of pace with the new ball, Kumble is always there with the ball, and Roelof van der Merwe can be relied on to keep it tight.
At this stage last year, Chennai found themselves up against overwhelming favourites Punjab, but knocked them aside to make the final. Bangalore, conversely, finished last year second from bottom on the points table. Call it the south Indian Ashes, if you like, for back on the domestic circuit these two state sides enjoy a storied history.
