Quite a game to look forward to

May 24,2009 | Abbas Ali Baig

The first semi final was virtually lost by Delhi when their first two wickets fell for not a run on the board. It was then not easy for the likes of Sehwag, Dilshan and de Villiers to steady the ship and post a big enough total to provide comfort. In the end their 153, though a par figure in the context of IPL2, was simply not enough to stall a rampaging Gilchrist—50 in 17 balls, 21 in one eventful over from Nannes (one of the tournament’s most respected bowlers) 3 sixes in an over against Sehwag were all mindboggling efforts and in the twinkling of an eye, the score had reached 102 in a mere 10 overs. After that, it was but a formality for the remaining batsmen to bat sensibly and cross the finishing line.

The significance of one of the first three batsmen providing the base on which to hang a sizeable total has been repeatedly in evidence in the major part of this tournament. Hayden has proved this time and again and so have Gilchrist and Kallis to some extent. Unfortunately for Delhi, both Sehwag and Gambhir failed on a boringly regular basis( as indeed did McCallum for Kolkata).Despite this, for Delhi to progress so far in the series is a tribute to their resilience and allround capability with Dilshan and de Villiers plugging the loopholes from time to time. However the continued absence of McGrath was a decision that puzzled many as his nagging accuracy would have been an asset on some critical occasions.

The other semi final between Chennai and Bangalore did not come up to expectations. With Hayden falling early, Chennai were always going to struggle to put up a sizeable score. Dhoni, Raina and Morkel all contributed but the target was simply not good enough. This was a good illustration of my earlier point that one of the established batsmen has to get a big score ( not just a 20 or 30) for a decent total to be achieved. Bangalore did not have to break too much sweat to reach their target with young Pandey confirming that his previous hundred was not a flash in the pan, and Dravid playing aggressively yet sensibly. Murli’s tight spell was just not enough to roll back the tide.

By a strange quirk of fortune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, the wooden spoon holders last year are to face off for the trophy. Hyderabad have the greater fire power in Gilchrist, Gibbs, Symonds and Rohit Sharma and if one of them explodes, Bangalore will have a problem on their hands. However their bowling is over dependant on RPSingh and Ojha. Likewise Bangalore's bowling department appears equally bare with only Kallis and Kumble looking the part. All portents thus indicate a tall scoring contest. Should be exciting.