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The Man who made kangroos jump higher

A chubby body and a childish face – That is the physical appearance of the Australia’s best captain – Ricky Ponting. Quote the word ‘physical’ in bold letters, because his mental appearance is far from this childish physical features. Inside that chubby face there is a mysterious, cunning and sharp mind which could bring home Poting victory and supremacy in the match.That’s the reason why he still wears the Aussies captain’s cap !

He is the man who led the Aussie team which won the World cup in 2003 and 2007. A captain who led the team to victory, twice – itself shows us Ponting’s class ! Ponting, a good captain, with aggressive ideas, clinical batting and agile fielding proved him to be leader of the best cricketing team in the world. His Velcro-hands and bat has always created terror in the opponents minds. He is the one and only threat for the world’s best batsman – Sachin. As Ponting has records which are very near to Sachin’s records. He has scored more than 30 centuries and broke Gavaskar’s record last year, which Sachin too had broken. If Sachin retires now, it’s sure that at-least some of his records would be overwritten by Ponting.

He had been the captain of ICC ODI team for several times. Remember that ICC team is formed by selecting only the best players around the world. Choosing Ponting as the captain of the ODI team itself shows his value.

He will truly be remembered by every cricket lover for his enthusiastic captaincy and batting skills ……

Gilli stunned Delhi and played as if playing in a Gully!

Deccan Charged Up Pradip Sangwan’s body language was showing every fear of a rookie bowler bowling against a gifted player. Viru did a costly mistake to introduce him when Nannes was punished for five consecutive fours in the very first over.

Full credit goes to Gilli. He put all his experience of playing finals and winning them. He not only scored runs but killed opponents attitude to play the game to win from the very first over. Even Viru seemed confused when Gilli was in full flow. Only Nehra was looking confident and positive.

With the record of fastest fifty in IPL in just 17 balls, he is also having height strike rate and score (85). This player is unstoppable in full flow. This style of hammering down the ball was introduced by West Indians in early 70s. Richards, Lloyd, Sobers played with the hammer in hand. Recently, Lara had that magic in his bat. In late 80s and early 90s, Aussie era started and won three world cups. Gilli was integral part of the team and Aussies success.

Now, morals are charged up and opponents must be thinking of tightening the screws against him. Another Aussie making his mark with quick 24 in 15 balls was Symonds. A player out of Gibbs, Symonds, Rohit, Gilli and others with quick fire 40-50 runs can make 250+ runs possible. And yeah, this total seems very very difficult for any team in finals.

It’s all ifs and buts but, with such a stunning performance, Deccan Chargers has become strong contender for holding the shining IPL trophy.

Kings XI Punjab still have a chance of reaching the IPL-2 Semifinals!

Yes it’s true… even though Kings XI Punjab have lost their last match to Chennai Super Kings, they are still in the race for the Semifinals. In my post “How can Kings XI Punjab reach the IPL 2 Semifinals?” yesterday, I did mention this scenario.

Let us first have a look at the current points

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Delhi Daredevils	13	9	4	0	0	18	+0.251	1812/237.5	1788/242.4
Chennai	14	8	5	0	1	17	+0.951	2086/255.3	1855/257.1
Deccan Chargers	13	7	6	0	0	14	+0.265	1953/252.4	1927/258.1
Bangalore	13	7	6	0	0	14	-0.253	1824/256.0	1869/253.2
Kings XI Punjab	14	7	7	0	0	14	-0.483	1787/251.2	1887/248.3
Rajasthan Royals	14	6	7	0	1	13	-0.352	1688/253.1	1810/257.5
Mumbai Indians	13	5	7	0	1	11	+0.401	1732/236.2	1636/236.1
Kolkata	14	3	10	0	1	7	-0.789	1757/248.5	1867/237.5

Pay special attention to the points of Kings XI Punjab, Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore. All the teams are currently at par with 14 points. When Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore play against each other today evening, the winning team will clearly make it to the Semifinal. The losing side will end up with 14 points on the table along with Kings XI Punjab, and in this case the Net Run Rate will decide who makes it to the Semifinal against Delhi Daredevils – who are at the top of the table.

In case, Deccan Royal Challengers lose today’s match, it will be really difficult for Kings XI Punjab (Net Run Rate of -.483) to beat Deccan Chargers (Current Net Run Rate of +0.265) and make it to the Semifinals.

In case, Bangalore Royal Challengers lose the match, it could be a tricky situation as the Net Run Rate could play a major part and Kings XI Punjab might just get through to the Semifinals.

Well, Deccan Royal Challengers and Royal Challengers Bangalore might even be praying for a complete wash out of the match by rains, so that both the teams end up with 15 points each and comfortably reach the Semifinals, without the risk of the pressure match.

Illustration on how bleak or sound are the chances for Kings XI Punjab to make it to the Semifinals?

Let us assume Royal Challengers Bangalore lose the match against Deccan Chargers and try to find how the stats could decide Kings XI Punjab’s fate.

If Deccan chargers play first…

Let’s assume Deccan Chargers score 150 runs in 20 overs

Now, Royal Challengers Bangalore need to score at least 89 runs in 20 overs to still make it to the Semifinals outperforming Kings XI Punjab on the Net Run Rate.

If Royal Challengers Bangalore play first…

Let’s assume Royal Challengers Bangalore score 150 runs in 20 overs

Now Royal Challengers Bangalore need to make sure that if Deccan Chargers win the match they should make 151 (or 156 to be on a safer side) in not less than 12 overs so that Royal Challengers Bangalore still get into the Semifinal outperforming Kings XI Punjab on the Net Run Rate.

Going by this illustration, chances of Kings XI Punjab making it to the Semifinals are very bleak.

Side Talks: The faces of Preeti Zinta and Shilpa Shetty throughout the tournament were live commentary of the fate of their teams. Both of them were caught in private moments of despair on the big screen after their respective matches. Sadly, for Shilpa Shetty the campaign got over last night, while Preeti Zinta would still be hoping for a miracle.

Crictalks’ Prediction: Who will reach the IPL-2 Semifinals?

Given all the possible permutations, chances of Chennai Super Kings making it to the semifinals are really good. While for Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers, it is up to their performances in their respective last matches. For Rajasthan Royals, their chance of making it to the semifinal doesn’t only depend on winning their last match, but also on the result of the match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings.

Well, who-so-ever makes it to the semifinals or the final, one thing is for sure… the last 7 matches of IPL-2 are going to be mind blowing!!!

The Possibility…

Given that the chances of Rajasthan Royals are bleak, we still feel that they can make it to the semifinals under the leadership of the magic man – Shane Warne. Although Kings XI Punjab has bounced back in the tournament and Chennai Super Kings are seen struggling with their performance in the bowling department in the last few matches, Dhoni’s men would be putting the best show to win the last match and leave least minimum to the mathematical puzzles.

For Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore the task is pretty straight forward. Win the virtual knock-out and reach the semifinals. Given the balance of the teams and the past performances, Deccan chargers do have a slight edge over the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The Prediction…

Considering all the factors, CricTalks is predicting following line up for the semifinal:

First Semifinal – Delhi Daredevils Vs Rajasthan Royals
Second Semifinal – Chennai Super Kings Vs Deccan Chargers

Though, Cricket is a funny game and predicting anything in T20, especially IPL, is quite a challenge, but we here at CricTalks are committed on giving you a fresh look at the game and some real insights. We are open to hear from you what you would like to read and how should we shape up to make it your favorite destination.

The world cup T20 is around the corner and we will are gearing up here to provide you the best coverage.

By the way, are you checking our daily Virgin IHL contest? There are some cool freebies on the shelf to be distributed. Hurrry!!!!

How Chennai Super Kings WILL reach the IPL-2 Semifinals?

The ‘Rajasthan Royals Vs Kolkata Knight Riders’ match would be over by the time Chennai Super Kings get to play against Kings XI Punjab.

If Rajasthan Royals win the match, they will end up with 15 points. Chennai Super Kings, in this situation will have to beat Kings XI Punjab to end the marathon with 17 points, sealing the 2nd place for themselves on the table.

The second situation would be… even if Chennai Super Kings lose the match to Kings XI Punjab, they will have to keep their net run rate better than Rajasthan Royals, as a result matching Rajasthan Royals at 15 points. Chennai Super Kings will have an advantage here as they would know in advance what they need to do to keep their net run rate better than Rajasthan Royals.

Now even in this situation, they will have to assume that the match between Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore is not canceled due to rain. In an unlikely event that “Deccan Chargers Vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore” match is declared as a “No result”, there will be a 4 way tie between DC, RCB, CSK and RR with each having 15 points.

Bottom-line: Beat Kings XI Punjab and celebrate!

Who gets to decide which teams will reach the IPL-2 Semifinals?

Only 2 days left in the league and 3 of the four Semifinal tickets are yet to be finalized.

With Delhi Daredevils through to the semifinal, the rest of the places in the semifinals are yet to be decided. Last week witnessed some very closely contested matches and it hasn’t been easy to guess who will be in the semifinals.

Fans are already going crazy and the cricket madness will be on its peak when the last 4 matches of the league will be played on May 20 and May 21.

While Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore will be fighting their skins out on the last 2 days to secure a place in the semifinals, Delhi Dare Devils, who are already on the top of the table, will continue to experiment. Kolkata Knight Riders who are already out of the contest will be only playing for some respect… perhaps even to ruin the sport-dreams of Rajasthan Royals for their ticket to the semifinals.

This is a really tricky situation… other than how these 5 teams play, there are 3 other factors that will decide the fate of the teams. First is the performance of the Kolkata Knight Riders team, the second being the Net Run Rate and third being the God of Rain.

A look at how the teams are currently placed:

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR
Delhi Daredevils	13	9	4	0	0	18	+0.251
Chennai	13	7	5	0	1	15	+0.932
Deccan Chargers	13	7	6	0	0	14	+0.265
Bangalore	13	7	6	0	0	14	-0.253
Kings XI Punjab	13	7	6	0	0	14	-0.423
Rajasthan Royals	13	6	6	0	1	13	-0.360
Mumbai Indians	13	5	7	0	1	11	+0.401
Kolkata	13	2	10	0	1	5	-0.891

A quick look at the remaining matches in the league:

Date and time	The Fixture
Wed 20 16:00 IST	Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Rajasthan Royals
Wed 20 20:00 IST	Chennai Super Kings vs. Kings XI Punjab
Thu 21 16:00 IST	Delhi Daredevils vs. Mumbai Indians
Thu 21 20:00 IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Deccan Chargers

Keep reading CricTalks to know the fate of each of these 5 teams and their chances of making it to the Semifinals.