Sunday, May 25, 2008

Battle-e-Royale

It will be after 4 years that the great magician Shane Warne will be taking on the player he ranks the best he has ever faced in a battle of any format. This has to be the star attraction in a game that is nevertheless critical for the survival of 3 teams in the IPL !

Shane Warne's Royals are not one of them - they are safely through and most likely assured of the No. 1 spot. But Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai cannot afford to put a foot wrong from here on - defeat here would not mean the end of the World but it would mean that they would have to rely on last placed Deccan to put it past Dhoni's men in the game tomorrow.

Chennai and Delhi will also be keenly watching the result of this game.

Teams
Graeme Smith's absence would be a huge plus for the Indians, but Watson might be back to make a difference with bat and ball. Akmal is striking great form for the Royals too, and the little dynamite Asnodkar is as dangerous as ever. Of course you cannot forget Sohail Tanvir the most dangerous bowler in the IPL so far, alongwith Warne himself.

For Mumbai their success against the Royals in their last game came largely on the basis of their good bowling launched on the performance of the great Shaun Pollock. But he has been a bit off the boil lately and suffering from some niggles. Mumbai must hope that he comes good. As also that Warne's presence in the opposition inspires the Little Master to come back with something special. Otherwise an in-form Jayasuriya might just not be enough given that the team is packed with lazy baby elephants like Uthappa.

Revenge Battles
Asnodkar v Raje (Raje)
Yusuf v Nehra (Nehra)
Watson v Jayasuriya (Tie)
Kaif v Raje (Raje)
Uthappa v Watson (Uthappa)
Uthappa v Warne (Uthappa)


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