IPL Cricket preview: Delhi IPL Vs Jaipur Royals

Delhi Daredevils IPL team will take on Jaipur’s Rajasthan Royals at Kotla cricket ground in Delhi. Jaipur is weakened by absence of South African and Pakistan players. Delhi Daredevils team is the strong favourite to win this match. Jaipur’s young players may surprise cricket analysts if they maintain cool composure under stressful conditions.

Match timings: From 8:30 PM onwards. Match is live on Set Max.

Stadium: Ferozeshaw Kotla grounds, New Delhi. Stadium is renovated for IPL tournament.
Pitch: It may help slow bowlers especially in the second innings. Team batting first will have some advantage. Shane Warne and Daniel Vettori will enjoy the favourable conditions.

Interesting duels:

1. Shane Warne and Shane Watson Vs Glenn McGrath.
2. Sehwag and Gambhir Vs Munaf Patel.

Curious point: How Glenn McGrath will bowl in this match after retirement? Will he and Shane Warne remind us about eternal slogan “Class is permanent and form is temporary”!

Delhi Dare devils IPL team:

Positive strengths:

1. Gautam Gambhir in superb form
2. Virender Sehwag – He is simply unpredictable.
3. Home pitch and audience support.
4. Daniel Vettori experience and all-round capabilities.
5. Weak opposition.

Minus Point:

1. Absence of Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Malik.

Coach: Greg Shipard.

Bowling Consultant: Dennis Lillee

Franchise: GMR Holdings.

Brand Ambassador: Akshay kumar.

Players not available: Md. Asif, Shoaib Malik, AB de Villiers and Dilshan.

Team members:

Virender Sehwag (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Manoj Tiwary, Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia, Glenn McGrath, Dinesh Karthik, Daniel Vettori, Tejaswi Yadav, Maharoof, Mayank Tehlan, Sangwan, Mahesh, Amit Mishra, Brett Geeves, Yogesh Nagar.

Rajasthan Royals IPL Team:

Positive points:

1. Presence of too many unknown youngsters is its plus and minus point.
2. Shane Warne is a dangerous bowler and fighting character.
3. Superb fielding side.
4. Big hitters like Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan.

Minus points:

1. Absence of Graeme Smith and Kamran Akmal.
2. Weak batting and bowling side.

Coach and captain: Shane Warne.

Players not available: Graeme Smith, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal, Morne Morkel, Sohail Tanvir and Mascarenhas.

Team members:

Shane Warne (Captain), Md. Kaif, Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja, Justin Langer, Darren Lehman, Yusuf Pathan, Siddarth Trivedi, Anup Revandkar, Jaydev Shah, Neeraj Patel, Munaf Patel, Mahesh Rawat, Dinesh Salunkhe, Sumit khatri, Parag More, Aditya Angle, Pankaj Singh, Swapnil Asnodkar and Taruwar kohli.

My verdict: Delhi IPL can easily defeat Jaipur IPL team in a one sided match due to absence of important cricketers like Graeme Smith, Morkel and Kamran Akmal in the Rajasthan Royals squad.

Chennai SuperKings take on Punjab Kings

Chennai Superkings IPL team will take on Punjab kings eleven IPL team at PCA ground in Mohali. This is a twenty20 IPL match between kings of same strength. Unlike Bangalore IPL match, this match will go to last over to decide winner. I am routing for youthful vibrancy of Mohali IPL team. Chennai’s lack of world class fast bowlers will become its major Achilles heel. If Brett Lee fails, Mohali will succumb to big defeat. Pitch: It helps fast bowlers. It is interesting to see how Mathew Hayden will tackle Brett Lee on this fast track. Mohali may elect to field if it wins the toss.

Stadium: Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) ground, Mohali.

Match timing: From 5 PM live on Set Max channel.

Must watch:

1. Bhangra dance by Punjab dance group.
2. Preity Zinta.

Strange thing: Punjab Ranji fast bowler Manpreet Gony is playing for Chennai IPL team.

Interesting battles:

1. Muralidharan Vs Sangakkara and Jayawardene.

2. Brett Lee Vs Mathew Hayden and Michael Hussey.

3. Mahendra Singh Dhoni Vs Yuvraj Singh

Chennai Super Kings IPL Team:

Strengths:

1. Most balanced outfit.
2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni- cool captain and big hitter.
3. Jacob Oram is the most dangerous all-rounder in International cricket.
4. Mathew Hayden is the highest scorer in the twenty20 cricket world cup.
5. Muralidharan’s spin magic.

Weaknesses:

1. Makhaya Ntini and Morkel are not available for this match due to domestic obligations.
2. Balaji will miss this match due to lack of fitness.
3. Absence of world class fast bowlers.
4. Absence of all-rounder Morkel is a serious blow to Chennai chances.

Coach: Kepler Wessels.

Franchise: India Cements.

Chief selector: V.B. Chandrasekhar.

Brand Ambassadors: Vijay and Nayantara.

Team probables: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Parthiv Patel (Wicketkeeper), Mathew Hayden, Jacob Oram, Suresh Raina, Michael Hussey, Stephen Fleming, Muttaih Muralidharan, Joginder Sharma, Abhinav Mukund, V. Sivaramakrishnan, Arun Karthik, Anirudha Srikanth, R. Ashwin, P. Amaranath, S. Badrinath and M. Gony.

Punjab Kings Eleven IPL team:

Strengths:

1. Yuvraj Singh is the ideal batsman for 20-20 cricket.
2. Home ground advantage.
3. World number one fast bowler Brett Lee
4. Irfan Pathan all-round capabilities.
5. Young team and good fielding side.
6. Simon Katich’s experience in the twenty20 cricket.

Weaknesses:

1. Piyush Chawla lacks experience in the twenty20 format.
2. Absence of big hitters in the middle order.

Coach: Tom Moody.

Franchise: Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia.

Team: Yuvraj Singh (Captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Simon Katich, Kumara Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Pankaj Dharmani, Irfan Pathan, Brett Lee, Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, James Hopes, VRV Singh, Romesh Powar, Kylie Mills, Luke Pamarbach and Tanmay Srivatsava.

Verdict: Punjab kings eleven will start as favourite team as Chennai is missing Ntini and Morkel on this fast track. Can Dhoni, Oram and Hayden save Chennai? It depends on how they bat against Brett Lee.