The fact is that there is no one team at this stage of the DLF IPL 2009 except the genuine tailenders Kolkata Knight Riders who is out of the reckoning for a semi final berth. All the other teams are closely bunched up in terms of points ranging from 7 to 10. A three point deficit can be made up in two games even if one of them is abandoned without a ball being bowled. So this competition is still excitingly wide open and the race to get into the top four spots is on, so that pretty much any team can make it to the semi finals.  

Bangalore was a team that began with a bang and then sank into obscurity for a while making everyone in international cricket wonder what was wrong with the side that looked so strong on paper and was so unable to perform in actual fact. Then the team has undergone a change of fortune; perhaps it is a coincidence that that there was a change of fortune as they have now won their three matches on a trot, the first win against the laggards KKR and the other two coming under the captaincy of Anil Kumble.

Things have really come together for the team as the South African players really seem to be pulling their weight. The last instance all four of the foreign player quota was filled admirably by the South Africans. Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, debutant Dillon Du Preez and Roelof van der Merwe may all make the line up today because of how well each of them gelled for the team.
 
Rajasthan Royals are missing some key players this year, but after a rather dismal start have come together in some winning efforts. This team has also won their last two encounters against the Kings XI Punjab as well as the Deccan Chargers. Against the former they made 211 runs in their allotted 20 overs which is the highest score in the competition so far. The fact that Graeme Smith has also hit form (about time as he himself admits) is another plus for the team. And Shane Warne will be much cheered by the prospect of having one more Shane in his camp; Shane Watson will soon be rejoining his camp as the Australians finish off the one off T20 match against the Pakistanis today in Dubai.

It will be an exciting contest between two resurgent sides to watch out for in the first of today’s T20 matches.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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