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A roller coaster ride for the semifinalists

Kunal Diwan

— PHOTO: AKHILESH KUMAR

GLAMOROUS GAME: Spectators at the IPL matches have not only been treated to some exciting performances on the field but also have had a chance to interact with star owners like Preity Zinta.

CHENNAI: If Test cricket widens the gap between the ordinary and the special, Twenty20 bridges it, allowing the great and the good to compete on a common platform for riches hitherto unimaginable in the game.

Speaking after Rajasthan Royals' exit, skipper Shane Warne, while hinting this might be his last IPL as a player, said picking a winner in the tournament was an exercise in futility.

“I am not sure if I will return as a cricketer next year. We've played every team twice, and all of them are good. Any team can beat any other team, so selecting a winner is a tough ask,” he said.

Fresh battles loom

As teams line up for the knockout stage with a clean slate and refurbished psyches, the contest begins anew on April 21 when the first semifinal gets underway at the newly-designated venue — the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

By far the most dominant team in the league phase, Mumbai Indians' place in the last four was a foregone conclusion even a fortnight ago.

The identity of the remaining three semifinalists, however, remained as murky as that of the Kochi franchise bidders, until M.S. Dhoni and Chaminda Vaas decided things in significant last-over performances for their respective teams on Sunday.

What Dhoni did for Chennai Super Kings against Kings XI Punjab epitomised the irreverent nature of the format: you can traipse along for most of the game and yet slink through if you get that last move right.

Indeed, Mumbai, for all its points and the veneer of supremacy it wore in the league phase, will be truly wary of a flash-in-the-pan performance that throws it off-guard in the encounters that follow.

With a result-oriented owner cracking the whip, Royal Challengers Bangalore has been one of the more balanced sides in the fray. Jacques Kallis has been going great guns at the start of the innings and Robin Uthappa has been a ravaging revelation towards the end. Throw in the miserly bowling performances of skipper Anil Kumble and what you have is a combination to reckon with.

Led by Adam Gilchrist, Deccan Chargers needed to win five matches in a row to reach the semifinals, something it accomplished with minimal contribution from its off-colour skipper.

No bearing

At a post-match interaction after Chargers' rout of Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla, Gilchrist appeared relaxed and indicated that what transpired in the league phase will have little or no bearing on the semifinals.

“It's like a whole new tournament from now on. Anybody can make it from here,” said the former Australian wicket-keeper. That Gilchrist is due for a big knock may bode ill for Chargers' semifinal opponent, Super Kings, which looked down for the count before its Indian stars — Dhoni, M. Vijay, Suresh Raina, and R. Ashwin — gave fans something to cheer about.

Fair retribution

Super Kings was beaten by Rajasthan Royals in the final of the first edition. In South Africa, in the year past, it was knocked out by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semifinals.

Every single member of the frenzied crowd that made its way to Chepauk this time will consider it fair retribution indeed if Chennai remains the last team standing on April 25.

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