 Battle of the equals in first IPL semis
29th May 2008 18:05 IST
Agencies
The battle between McGrath, with support from Sri Lankan Farveez Maharoof and Yo Mahesh, and Rajasthan's successful innings launchers Graeme Smith (416 runs) and Swapnil Asnodkar could be crucial to the game's outcome.
The same applies to the Sohail Tanvir-Shane Watson-Munaf Patel combine who will be up against the marauding Delhi opening pair of Gautam Gambhir (523) and Sehwag (403), as well as another in-form batsman at number three, Shikhar Dhawan.
Tanvir, with his extra quick bowling arm action similar to another Pakistani Wasim Akram, has been a real revelation in the IPL and has hardly been collared by any rival batting line-up, indicated by his superb haul of 21 wickets at just 10 runs per victim.
The left-armer has been outstanding both in the beginning and at the death and is a major threat that needs to be negotiated well by the Delhi batsmen who did not play against him in the previous two clashes.
Rajasthan possess a better spin attack in the great Warne and his understudies Yusuf Pathan and Dinesh Salunkhe while Delhi depend on Amit Mishra, for the most part, with Sehwag chipping in with his off breaks. But seam bowlers are expected to play a bigger role at the Wankhede.
Delhi have had a sizeable break of five days going into the tie while Rajasthan, without a few key players including Warne, were outclassed by Punjab King's XI yesterday.
Winning the toss and fielding first has become the order of the day for matches which commence at 8 pm and the trend is likely to continue tomorrow.
It has been largely rain-free so far in Mumbai, barring light drizzles, and the IPL authorities must be hoping that the weather remains clear over the next few days.
The high prevailing humidity, however, is not only uncomfortable for the players but also an indicator that rains are around the corner. |
