Kings XI Punjab may start as overwhelming favourites to meet Rajasthan Royals in the final but if there’s one team they might have wanted to avoid in the semi-finals it would probably have been Chennai Super Kings. Punjab have been nearly unstoppable in the competition but Chennai have found a way to get past them twice - first on the back of Michael Hussey’s century in Mohali and later thanks to L Balaji’s five-wicket haul in Chennai.

However, it would require a special effort for Chennai to make it three in three. A fine mix of foreign batsmen and Indian bowlers makes Punjab the most balanced side in the tournament. Shaun Marsh has consistently set up launch pads and Yuvraj Singh couldn’t have regained his touch at a better time - as he did with a ballistic 16-ball 49 in the final league match against Rajasthan.

Chennai’s batting has been a worry ever since Matthew Hayden and Hussey left and things have got trickier with the departure of Stephen Fleming. Albie Morkel has provided much needed stability but it may ultimately require Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to guide them to a winning total.

Tournament position
Kings XI Punjab: P14, W10, L4, NRR +0.509
Chennai Super Kings: P14, W8, L6, NRR -0.192

Form (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Kings XI Punjab: WLWWW
Chennai Super Kings: WLLWL

Watch out for …

Muttiah Muralitharan against Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Murali has dismissed both at crucial stages of earlier games.

Chennai’s new opening pair with Fleming missing in action.

How Dhoni uses Balaji - especially after his hat-trick while bowling at the death in the previous match.

Team news

At the end of Punjab’s previous game, out of touch Yuvraj had claimed that they had found the “right combination”. James Hopes, who was with the bat, came good and he along with Irfan Pathan offer flexibility. Mahela Jayawardene missed the last game but he could return, especially given the threat Murali poses. Luke Pomersbach may have to make way but he, in his defence, can point to the half-century he made on this ground a few weeks ago.

Kings XI Punjab (likely) 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 James Hopes, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Tanmay Srivatsava, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Ramesh Powar, 10 VRV Singh, 11 Sreesanth.

Fleming’s absence may provide an opening for S Vidyut or S Anirudha (the son of former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth) unless Chennai decide to push Abhinav Mukund to the top of the order. Chamara Kapugedera would be expected to beef up the middle order. The rest of the line-up is likely to be unchanged from the one that won comprehensively against Deccan Chargers.

Chennai Super Kings (likely) 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 S Vidyut, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 S Badrinath, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Manpreet Gony, 9 L Balaji, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Stats and trivia

Punjab have the best run-rate in the tournament (9.05). Chennai are third on the list with 8.50.

Chennai have struck the least sixes in the Powerplay (9). Punjab have a whopping 26 sixes in comparison.

Murali has spells of 1 for 33 and 1 for 32 in the two games against Punjab, both important efforts in the context of the games.

Quotes

“We had beaten them early in the tournament when we had our strongest team and later on even without the overseas players we still managed to win. It’s an advantage to go into the semi-finals against them with this record.”
Kepler Wessels, the Chennai coach, talks up his team’s prospects.

“It’s a different ground and circumstances are different. We are coming into the game with greater confidence and will be looking to do our best with ball, bat and on the field.”
Tom Moody, the Punjab coach, isn’t reading too much into his side’s previous losses against Chennai.

Team India captaincy may have been a crown of thorn for Sachin Tendulkar but the Indian Premier League has been a completely different experience and the champion batsman says he is thoroughly enjoying skippering the Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Twenty20 extravaganza.

Tendulkar, who had two rather forgettable stints as Team India captain, said he was feeling good to be back at the helm. "It has been good," Tendulkar told reporters on Friday, on the eve of the Mumbai side's crucial IPL encounter on Saturday at the Ferozeshah Kotla. "I've enjoyed being out in the middle and it feels quite good as I'm leading after a long time," he said.

A groin injury kept him out of the first half of the IPL and former South Africa skipper Shaun Pollock stepped forward as the makeshift captain. Finally back to the action, Tendulkar said the presence of two former international captains -- Pollock and Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya -- have made his job easier.

"With Shaun and Sanath's help, it has become easy. In fact all the players are thinking about solution to the various problems we face on the field and chipping in with ideas," Tendulkar said.

On Saturday¢s match, Tendulkar said the idea would be to remove Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag and run-machine Gautam Gambhir cheaply. "I have played a lot with both of them. They are quality players and quite dangerous too. Efforts would be to send them back quickly because they are the two key players, who have scored most of the runs for the side."

Asked if Saturday¢s match would see a renewal of his well-documented battle with former Australian spearhead Glenn McGrath, Tendulkar said, "I've always maintained that the match is played among 22 players and not just two individuals. What eventually matters is how 11 members of a particular side fare."

Spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan on Friday rated Rajasthan Royals, captained by another great of his craft and long time competitor, as favourites to win the Indian Premier League.

Talking to the media on the eve of Chennai Super Kings match against Rajasthan Royals here on Saturday, Muralitharan said, "According to the performance of teams in the IPL at the moment, the Royals look stronger (to win the tournament)," the Sri Lankan said.

"Anything can happen in Twenty20. It is unpredictable and can be anybody's game any day, though at present, based on performance, Rajasthan stand a better chance at winning," he added.

Opining that Twenty20 format was a batsman's game and did not hold much for the spinners, Muralitharan pointed out that since the boundary lines have been brought in, it was difficult to arrest the run rate and the bowling side was rather forced to concentrate on defending rather than attacking.

"A bowler gets just four overs and it is more of a batting wicket and the pitch doesn't hold anything much for spinners. Bowlers have to take wickets to win matches. Containing the flow of runs is not easy in Twenty20. Anyway people want to see more runs than wickets," he explained.

Giving a thumbs up to his team's batsmen, Muralitharan described the Chennai Super Kings performance with the willow as above average.

"We are the most consistent side (in batting) with just two failures out of 12. Our average of more than 160 is above average IPL score," he emphasized. 

Asked to compare the positive effects of Shane Warne and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the bowler known for his doosras quipped that they cannot be compared but Warne was more experienced.

"Warne has 20 years of experience and Dhoni has just started. But both are good and their teams have done well," he said.

It was a case the fastest man in the world meeting (arguably) the most dangerous batsman in the world.  Always keen to learn from other sportspersons, Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds took some time off to get a few tips about running from the fastest man on earth -- Asafa Powell.

 

Symonds, touring with the Australian cricket team for their Test series against the West Indies, met Powell, favourite for 100 metres gold at the Beijing Olympics, for a session with him at the athlete's MVP track club at Jamaica's National Stadium.

 

"I always find that there's something to learn from other successful athletes, even if your sports aren't too similar," Symonds was quoted as saying in 'The Age.'

 

Symonds and Stuart Karppinen, Australia's strength and conditioning trainer, watched Powell do his training as the athlete was trying to come back from a chest injury.

 

The two Aussies took photographs and compared notes as Powell, the Commonwealth Games gold winner who has broken 10 seconds for the 100m as many as 33 times and holds the world record at 9.74, went through his training schedule.

 

Symonds said his session with Powell would prompt him to watch this year's Olympics with more interest.

 

"What he has achieved in his career so far is pretty amazing, and it was great to see and hear first-hand about the things Asafa does to get where he is.

 

"Knowing what I know now, it will make watching the Olympics later this year even more interesting."

 

Powell was also delighted to receive the Australian cricketer.

 

"Everybody knows who he is and what he's done. He is a great player. With travel and training, it can be hard to keep up with the cricket, but I'll definitely try to get down to Sabina Park this week to watch him," he said.

'Ponting TV' -- a big screen plasma television that helped captain Ricky Ponting come out of his form slump -- is all set to become an essential part of the Australian cricket team's kit.

 

Ponting, who was going through a rough patch since last summer and did not do well in the Indian Premier League, struck form with an aggressive 158 in the first Test against the West Indies in Kingston.

 

The Australian skipper used the TV set at the nets to review his batting and it helped him immensely in finding his form.

 

The equipment, which enables Ponting to play a stroke and watch its replay after five seconds, is all set to become an important part of his luggage during tours.

 

"That might be something that we will look at taking around the world with us," Ponting said.

 

"If we can get everything right and take a big screen with us, where the guys can just have a glance over into the next net and see how everything is going, I think it is very beneficial," the Aussie skipper was quoted as saying in the 'Herald Sun.' After hitting his 35th Test century, Ponting said he was satisfied with his performance after a forgettable stint in the IPL.

 

"It's nice to know you've got six hours to go out and build an innings. In the IPL sometimes you've got six balls or six minutes.

 

"It is really satisfying to be out there and really feel in control again," he said.

Shah Rukh Khan still cannot believe he had been stopped from entering the dressing room of the team he owns and the actor sulks he has been singled out for such a harsh treatment.

Shah Rukh, who owns the Kolkata Knight Riders team of the Indian Premier League, made it clear that he was very upset after being told, by an official of the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, to stay away from the players.

"I have paid my players to win. Will I pay them now to lose? This is illogical," an angry Shah Rukh told journalists on the sets of his television show "Kya Aap Panchvi Paas Se Tez Hain" at the film city in suburban Mumbai.

The actor was clearly upset at being treated as if he was a bookie.

"IPL has its set of rules and regulations and I am a law-abiding person. But, why pick me? Other team owners are seen near their players. Is it because I am a celebrity and vulnerable?" he asked angrily.

 

IPL authorities subsequently decided that an owner can stay in the team dug-out; while four visitors would be allowed to 15 minutes each and they can be there one at a time. Shah Rukh was far from happy with the IPL decision to give only 15 minutes to the visitors.

"Why should I be given only 15 minutes time with my players? This is unfair," the actor said.

He said IPL is a domestic cricket tournament and should follow the rules and regulations of BCCI.

Scoffing at reports in a section of the media that he does not get along with his team captain Sourav Ganguly, Shah Rukh asked, "Reports said that I was kicking chairs. Don't I have any work other than clarifying to the whole world that nothing of this sort has happened?"

He said Knight Riders has lost a couple of matches and the team was down at present, but it should not be looked as an opportunity to "hatch conspiracy theories".

"I have learnt that the world loves only winners," he said.

The actor said Ganguly messaged him thrice requesting to clarify on the media reports of the alleged rift between them.

"My team told me that they have yet to meet a better human being than me. This is a huge compliment for me," said the actor.

SRK admitted that his team's losses were hurtful and disturbing.

"But this is a game and if there is a winner then there has to be a loser also," he said rubbishing rumours that he was planning to sell off his team.

"Don't hit someone when he is down. I have seen too many losses and victories in my career including films flopping, running successfully and speculations of not getting along with fellow film fraternity members. This is just one small incident," he said.

Four persons were arrested after Kings XI Punjab, the IPL Mohali franchise, the local police and TicketPro together "discovered and exposed an illegal ticket selling racket".

 

"Some of the suspects, who have been arrested by Mohali police, were caught selling tickets of Mohali home matches in black," Kings XI Punjab CEO Neil Maxwell told reporters here this evening.

 

He said footage of video surveillance installed at various gates had picked up lot of evidence and the culprits had been identified with its help.

 

"Video footage is being reviewed and already further suspects have been identified. These people will be handed over to police very soon," he said.

 

He said TicketPro, together with Kings XI Punjab and the Punjab Cricket Association, has put into place additional security measures regarding sale of tickets of home matches.

 

"Every gate will now be scrutinised by hi-tech video surveillance cameras," he said.

 

Maxwell said that IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi had been informed about the incident. "Mr Modi told us that any form of black market ticketing will not be tolerated and the IPL in conjunction with the franchise will prosecute anyone associated with such practice to the full extent of the law," he said.

Languishing at the bottom of the points table and with no hopes to make it to the semis, Adam Gilchrist admitted that his team Deccan Chargers had been "outplayed" and they would be playing to get "some momentum going" in their remaining IPL games.

 

"We have been outplayed in big areas though a number of games have been quite close. But close enough is not good enough," Gilchrist told a pre-match press conference here.

 

Chargers will face Kings XI Punjab, which has virtually ensured their berth in the semi-finals of the IPL.

 

Gilchrist did not blame any individual for the poor showing and said the team failed to click as a unit.

 

About Shahid Afridi's poor run in the tournament, he said, "I can say we all could have done better. No one individual has necessarily let us down".

 

Asked to comment on Cricket Australia having begun formulating regulations to start a IPL-type competition Down Under, the Australian wicket-keeper batsman said he read but was not much aware much about it.

 

"I don't know too much data. But obviously, Twenty20 cricket is a big thing now. It's big part of cricket calendar everyone realises," he said.

Team	Matches	Points
Rajasthan	12	20
Mohali-Kings	12	18
Delhi	14	15
Chennai	13	14
Mumbai	12	12
Kolkata	13	11
Bangalore	12	6
Deccan	12	4

Kevin Pietersen has been offered a record three-year deal in excess of $4 million, more than what MS Dhoni gets, to play in next year's Indian Premier League and ECB will not object to the explosive England batsman turning out for the lucrative Twenty20 tournament, a report claimed.

According to a report in the 'Daily Mail', Pietersen will be given the green light by the England and Wales Cricket Board to ink the most lucrative deal yet offered in IPL though it has not till now allowed its centrally contracted players to play in the BCCI-backed Twenty20 venture.

"The ECB is resigned to allowing Pietersen to accept the three-year contract which has been offered by one of IPL franchises, which want England's best batsman 'at any price' and are prepared to better the $1.5 million a year given to Dhoni," the newspaper said.

This comes as a blow to the ECB, who had hoped to prevent their players from being lured to India ahead of an important 2009 summer that includes the ICC World Twenty20 and, of course, the Ashes.

The newspaper claimed that the head coach Peter Moores would have the final say on which contracted players would be permitted to join the IPL, but in Pietersen's case, they were already resigned to making an exception.

That means the Hampshire batsman is likely to head to India virtually as soon as England return from their tour of the West Indies at the start of next April and play in the IPL for three weeks to a month before returning to prepare for the World Twenty20 tournament in England and the Ashes.

 

Not a big total to chase, the opening pair of Chennai Super Kings showed maturity and consistency in their inning. Of the two, Fleming was more aggressive and Parthiv quiet subdued. They were scoring runs and hitting boundaries whenever they got the opportunity. They competed the partnership of 50 runs in the eighth over.

The fiery duo were on their hitting spree while getting on with thier run-chase of 150 runs against Kolkata till rain disrupted the match at the Eden Gardens. By this time Chennai were at a score of 55 runs at loss of none in eight overs. The Duckworth-Lewis method was brought into use, according to which Dhoni's Super Kings needed 55 runs at loss of no wickets to be declared as the winner of the match. Chennai had already crossed the benchmark, the scorecard showing a total of 55 runs at loss of none. Hereby, the final decision was taken and the game was declared in their favor. 

Earlier, the Kolkata team till the 10^th over failed to turn the advantage of winning the toss into their favor. They lost their opener Mohammad Hafeez (6) to Ntini in the third over, Gony took an easy catch on fine leg off.  The pacer came back in the fifth over to clean bowl skipper Sourav Ganguly (2).  After 10 overs the score was 61/2.

 

It was opener Salman Butt who stood firm on one end despite the regular fall of wickets. Posting his best score in T20 so far, he hit 10 fours and one six in his superb 73. He was dropped on 57 by Vidyut in the 15^th over. Together with DB Das he added 86 runs to the third wicket.

 

The dangerous partnership between Das and Butt was broken by Ntini again as he double struck for Chennai. The first and second ball of Ntini¢s fourth over, and innings 17^th, took the leg and off stumps of DB Das (27) and David Hussey (0) respectively. It was the third hat-trick of the tournament. Ntini had scored it against Kolkata Knight Riders for his Chennai team.This was the turning point of the match as it stopped the momentum for Kolkata. Butt was next to go in the 18^th over. Balaji caught him leg before. Three quick wickets were enough to put a full stop to the rising run rate. Shukla (13) and Saha (13) remained unbeaten. 

 

For Chennai Ntini and Gony made an impression taking 4 wickets for 21 runs and giving only 17 runs in 4 overs respectively. Muralitharan proved the costliest; in his 4 overs he gave away 41 runs without taking a wicket. Butt hit him for three consecutive fours in the 16^th over. They gave away 13 in extras.

Kolkata Knight Riders has threatened to take "all actions including legal" against Pakistan daily 'Nation' for its report that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was questioned at the Karachi airport for allegedly carrying a large number of syringes.

"We are contemplating all action including legal against the paper," Knight Riders manager Jay Bhattacharjee told newspersons here.

 

Describing the report as a deliberate attempt to malign Akhtar, now plying the Indian Premier League for the Knight Riders, Bhattacharya said, "We are talking to lawyers. We want to see whether we can make out a case, then we will proceed." "Both Shoaib and the Kolkata Knight Riders are extremely upset over the clear attempt to slander him," he said.

The manager pointed out three discrepancies in the report. "First, Shoaib travelled to India from Lahore, not Karachi. Secondly, he travelled to Kolkata via Delhi, not Mumbai. And thirdly, he did not travel with any hand baggage, therefore obviously there were no syringes," he said.

The report in the 'Nation' had said that prior to boarding the flight to Mumbai en-route to Kolkata to join the Knight Riders "the customs officials had questioned Shoaib on an inordinately large number of syringes in his baggage -- reportedly as many as three dozens in number".

Bhattacharya claimed that after verifying with various sources, the Knight Riders were convinced that Akhtar was neither stopped nor questioned by any Indian or Pakistani customs officials.

"All these statements are independently verifiable by the media. And on our part we are talking to lawyers both in India and Pakistan," he said when asked whether the case would be filed in Pakistan or India.

Bhattacharya, however, refused to give the media any access to Akhtar on the matter. "I don't even want Shoaib to open his mouth on the issue."

In what could snowball into an embarrassment for the Indian Premier League, some Australian cricketers who participated in the cash-rich twenty20 series claim they have not received the wages for their short stints despite repeated reminders to their respective franchise owners.

 

Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) chief Paul Marsh has claimed that the players, who returned home after playing in the IPL for the first two weeks due to national commitment in West Indies, were frustrated with the impasse.

 

'The Sun Herald' quoted an un-named Australian player as saying that his franchise was not clearing his money despite claiming on three occasions that his wage was on its way.

 

"First I was told it would be in two weeks. That passed by and I was told it would be in the following week. Then I was told it would be in the next few days. I just said, 'I'll believe it when I see it'," he revealed.

 

Another player was reportedly trying to get his money in installments as he needed it urgently to make mortgage payments.

 

The newspaper's report said one of the players got his payment only a few days ago but that too after a lot of effort.

 

The top Aussie cricketers who returned after the first couple of weeks in IPL included skipper Ricky Ponting, pace spearhead Brett Lee, Michael Hussey, Simon Katich and all-rounder Andrew Symonds among others.

 

Marsh said the ACA was keeping a close eye on the matter and will assist the players in getting their due from the IPL franchisees. "It's something we're aware of. There's still a few that haven't been paid," Marsh said.

 

"It's certainly something we've got our eye on but it's not something that we're panicking about. We just want to get a result as soon as we can," he added.

 

Marsh said though the delay has been frustrating, the Aussies were not inclined to make it a big issue but the ACA would speak to the BCCI if the impasse continued for long.

 

"I don't want to blow this up into something that it's not, but I also do want to sort it out as quickly as possible. It's something we'll go a bit harder on in the not too distant future if it doesn't get sorted out. The bad PR that would eventuate if the players weren't paid would be so bad that none of the players would go back and the whole thing would fall over," he added.

 

The ACA chief said the cash-rich league, which saw absurd amount of money being bid on cricketers during the players' auction, could have been more professional in its dealings.

 

"You're talking about some billion-dollar corporations so you just can't see how they wouldn't pay their players. They know they have to pay their players and that's why we're not panicking.

 

"The clubs' focus has been about putting their teams on the field. It's organised chaos over there. But at the same time, we'd like to think they would have been more professional than this," he said.

Pakistan Cricket Board has come under fire for allowing pacer Muhammad Asif to play in the Indian Premier League just days after recovering from a serious elbow problem that kept him out of cricket for nearly six months.

Asif, who is playing for the Delhi Daredevils team, is believed to have suffered a recurrence of his elbow problem after appearing in a few IPL matches in which he bowled with an elbow supporter.

Former Test captain Rashid Latif said he didn't think it was prudent for the board to allow Asif permission to play in the IPL but admitted only a player could tell finally if he was 100 percent fit or not.

'The News' also questioned the wisdom of PCB in allowing Asif play in the IPL.

A senior board official, however, made it clear that Asif was told to make his own decision only after two leading hospitals studied his MRI scans and cleared him of the elbow problem for which the pacer required a key hole surgery in Australia earlier this year.

"Asif was told clearly it is his decision if he plays in IPL but obviously he was keen to go there because of his contract with Delhi team. We cleared him only after he played two games against Bangladesh and was fit," the official said.

He said the board was concerned with reports about Asif's fitness issues as the national team has a hectic schedule with the Asia Cup and Champions Trophy coming up.

"We are keeping in touch to ensure the situation does not get out of hand." Asif suffered from a chronic elbow problem since 2006. He didn't play cricket from October last year and only made a comeback against Bangladesh last month.

After Australian cricketers complained of delay in the payment of their Indian Premier League wages, Kings XI Punjab CEO Neil Maxwell today said clearing the money was a time-taking process as it involved "taxation issues".

"The players are being paid in installments because there are a number of taxation issues. It is the first installment that is taking the most time because it's not simple as a lot of taxes are involved," Maxwell told a news channel reacting to Australian media reports which said players were getting frustrated with long delay in their IPL payments.

Maxwell said too much was being read into the delay and asserted that every player would be paid his contract money. "I think too much is being made out of it. It's a little lengthy process and everyone has to be patient. The players are contracted with their franchisees and they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding," he explained.

Australia's Test cricketers had a short stint at the IPL and played only for the first couple of weeks before leaving to fulfill their national commitments in the West Indies.

Chargers opened the inning with skipper Adam Gilchrist and Shahid Afridi coming to bat. After a good fielding session, the home crowd must have anticipated a similar inning with the bat as well. But they were in for dissapointment. Afridi was the first to get caught by Thornely on Dwayne Bravo's delivery. That was the second over.

Gilly along with Rohit Sharma tried to bring momentum in the show and score runs. Fifth over came and bought hard luck for the Chargers. It was Fernando's over and he struck twice. The Sri Lankan bowler took two crucial wickets in the form of Gilchrist and Sharma on the second and the third ball respectively, of the fifth over.

Hyderabad's top order was quite skillfully skirted out by the Mumbai bowlers. It was now for the middle-order to play cautiously and add up runs to the dwindling tally.  

Sanath Jayasuriya carried forward from where he had left in the last two innings giving Mumbai Indians a blazing start. He not only superseded the record of maximum number of sixes but made a fiery 36 runs off 15 balls before he was caught by Singh on Venugopal's delivery.

Sachin who hasn't really shown much of his calibre in the tournament so far was playing cautiously along with new man Thornley. but, the ninth over turned out to be crucial for Deccan Chargers when Shahid Afridi struck twice on the second and the fourth ball of the same over removing Tendulkar first followed by Thornley. Robin Uthappa who was next to join crease was looking lost from the word go and so was soon sent out on Venugopal's ball when Afridi caught him excellently on the ropes.

With the loss of four wickets Mumbai Indians were reqiured to steady the inning first and then score runs on every given opportunity. And thats what precisely the pair of Bravo and Abhishek Nayar did. The pair created an awesome partenership of 53 runs off 28 balls. Nayar who was looking in a aggressive mood scoreda flamboyant 38 runs with the help of 2 sixes. But, seventeenth over again proved to be unlucky for Mumbai as they lost two well-settled players. Abhishek was caught by Sharma and Bravo was bowled out on R P Singh's deliveries.

After the departure of Abhishek and Bravo, the tail enders did their bit by scoring whatever came their way. At the end of the inning Sachin's boys were able to muster 178 runs at the loss of 7 wickets.

when Deccan Chargers won the toss and decided to bowl first. Shaun Pollock wasn't fit to play for today's match. Dilhara Fernando will be playing in replacement to Pollock and definitely the South African all-rounder's presence will be missed.

Deccan Chargers: A Gilchrist, R Sharma, Ravi Teja, Shahid Afridi, Venugopal Rao, C Silva, R P Singh, H Das, Nuwan Zoysa, D P Vijaykumar, Pragyan Ojha

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jaysuriya, Robin Uthappa, D J Thornely, Dwayne Bravo, A Nayar,P shah, Y Takawale, R Raje, A Nehra, D Fernando

Resurgent Mumbai Indians' stand-in skipper Shaun Pollock said that in spite of the team's revival of fortunes with three straight victories after four defeats, the team was not eager to count the chicken before they are hatched.

"We are in with a chance of making it to the semis, but it's still a long way off. We are taking it a game at a time and not looking too far ahead," the former South African captain told reporters a day after his team swamped league front-runners Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets.

Pollock said missing the services of master batsman and regular captain Sachin Tendulkar was indeed frustrating. "It was frustrating to see Sachin, who can win a match off his own with the bat or the ball, not able to play. But he's got a good chance of playing on our next match (on May 14 against Chennai Super Kings)," said the ace all-rounder who has retired from international cricket. On his back niggle he said, "I should be okay for the next match with some rest."

Pollock said that it would indeed be a tough task to play seven matches running in just under a fortnight when action resumes for the squad on Wednesday. "We have seven matches in say 14 days. We had a momentum and we have this break. But at the same time it helps players to take some rest, and for us to rework our strategies for the coming matches," he said.

 

Pollock said that the stumping effected by teammate and young Maharashtra Ranji Trophy player Yogesh Takawale yesterday off his bowling to send back compatriot Graeme Smith was only the second such dismissal in his career. Smiling at the memory, Pollock said, "That's what this IPL is about, getting to match your wiles against your countryman. It was a planned dismissal. We saw Graeme coming down the wicket in the previous over (of Ashish Nehra) and planned it," he said.

Takawale stood close to the stumps against the pace bowler and effected a stumping despite a fumble as the left-handed Smith had gone too far out and did not try to regain the crease. "No, that was the second time it has happened off my bowling," he elaborated.

Pollock did not want the team's focus to get diverted by the enquiry being conducted by the Cricket Board about the slapping incident involving Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth. "He's a fine player. But it's not under our control (the probe and its findings). No, we will not be disturbed by something which is not controllable," he said.

Twenty20, sometimes you are hit and sometimes you are not," he added.

Sehwag said 187 was not a small total and his batsmen, especially Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan, batted well but in the end he felt the absence of a fifth bowler.

"187 is not a small score. Gambhir and Dhawan batted superbly and then V Yo Mahesh and Pradeep Sangwan did their job while bowling. Everything was going to our plan till the 15th over (of Chennai innings). At the end we lost at the last over," he rued.

Sehwag admitted his side felt the absence of a specialist fifth bowler which cost them dear today.

 

"If we had a specialist fifth bowler, we would have saved 30-40 runs, we miss a fifth bowler. We are including a specialist spinner in the next match," said Sehwag. With today's loss, the Daredevils slumped to the fourth position of the IPL points table but Sehwag said they are still in the competition.

"We lost a match today but it happens in cricket we will bounce back," he said.

Sehwag said there was nothing wrong in the game plan but it happen that they had to lose in the last over. "Our top order was batting beautifully and bowlers bowled well, it so happen that we had to lose in the last over."

Super Kings player Albie Morkel, who faced the media instead of captain MS Dhoni, said they were hopeful of Gony and Badrinath getting the required 15 runs in the last over. "In Twenty20, getting 15-20 runs from the last over is not that difficult. Moreover, a spinner was bowling (the last over) and Gony had hit two sixes in the last match in the last over. So we thought we were in for a win," he said.

Talking about hitting Sehwag for three successive sixes, he said, "It was satisfying, He was doing all the hitting all the while. Today it was my turn. The South African further added, “ our top order also fired today and that set up the chase."

Team	Matches	Points
Chennai	8	10
Mohali-Kings	7	10
Rajasthan	7	10
Delhi	7	8
Mumbai	7	6
Bangalore	7	4
Kolkata	6	4
Deccan	7	4

Talking from Dubai, Chief Technical Architect of www.iplt20.com, Akash Aurora confirmed Riya’s appointment. He said, “Yes, we have appointed Riya as the brand ambassador of our website.

Explaining why they chose Riya, Akash said, “We saw Riya attending a couple of the IPL matches. We observed that she was quite well-versed with the game and its proceedings. Rather than having somebody naive on board, we preferred getting someone who knows about the game. Riya was our first choice and we went ahead with her.”

“Riya has already signed the contract. The duration of the contract will depend on the response we get from our readers,” Akash added.

“I was a guest at IPL's inaugural match. And I know all the organisers very well, including Lalit Modi. It was our mutual love for cricket that got us together,” said Riya. “As brand ambassador of the website, I am supposed to attend at least five matches, but I am planning to attend more than 12 matches if I am not working at the time.”

When asked about her role as brand ambassador, she said, “My role requires me to be present at the IPL matches, interact with the cricketers, and post my reactions and views on the site.”

So who is she rooting for? “Since I am from Kolkata, it is but natural that I will be rooting for the Kolkata Knight Riders,” she said.