Mission control for contrasting teams
Match facts
Monday, April 28, 2008Start time 20:00 local, 14:30 GMT
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The Big Picture
Overwhelmed by Rajasthan Royals over the weekend, the Bangalore Royal Challengers host the Chennai Super Kings at home in a match perhaps most significant for a shifting of guard. For Chennai, Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey leave on May 1 while Jacob Oram catches a flight on April 30, which means it will be the last the fans see of the trio. Both Hayden and Hussey have scored valuable runs and Oram was Man of the Match against Kolkata. Table-toppers Chennai will surely miss them and it's hard not to imagine them wanting to sign off in style. Bangalore have struggled to defend and chase totals at home, and their team composition needs serious addressing. Their best bets would be to bring in Misbah-ul-Haq and Dale Steyn, arguably their best players. While Chennai prepare to lose three stars, Bangalore need to embrace two.
Watch out for ...
... final hurrahs from the aforementioned Chennai stars. The short boundaries at the Chinnaswamy Stadium will entice Hayden, and Hussey has been a bit quiet since his manic hundred against Mohali; if Oram gets promoted in his last game, well then ...; and don't forget Misbah and Steyn, if they play.
Team news
Misbah didn't feature on Saturday - surprisingly - but he should slot in this time for Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The longer Bangalore keep him on the bench, the harder they'll find it to win games. He's a bona fide Twenty20 star and Bangalore seriously need some power in the batting. Ross Taylor departs on May 1, and given his hard-hitting capabilities, he should get as much playing time as possible, perhaps even open the innings. Steyn's pace and his ability to swing the ball gives the side plenty of firepower with the ball. He reportedly touched the 150kph mark in the Standard Bank Pro20 final and should play given his form. It may sound harsh, but dropping Jacques Kallis for him seems the best option. Kallis has failed to click in three games; his bowling especially has been pedestrian. Bangalore have persisted with 37-year-old Sunil Joshi but three games and no wickets isn't encouraging. Charu Sharma, the team's chief executive, had to field some questions on the logic of fielding Joshi and Kumble after the latest loss, so a change isn't entirely improbable. There are plenty of local players to pick from.Bangalore (probable) 1 Ross Taylor, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Praveen Kumar, 8 B Akhil, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 R Vinay Kumar.
Chennai are unlikely to change their final XI after a convincing win over Kolkata Knight Riders. The South African duo of Albie Morkel and Makhaya Ntini has joined the squad but both will have to wait for Hussey and Hayden to go before slotting in. The two young pace bowlers, Manpreet Gony and Palani Amarnath, have improved with each game.
Chennai: (probable) 1 Parthiv Patel, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Michael Hussey, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Jacob Oram, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 S Badrinath, 8 Joginder Sharma, 9 Palani Amarnath, 10 Manpreet Gony, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.
Stats and trivia
Quotes
"In the last two games, I bowled too short or too wide. This time I bowled a better line and length. Yet, I am not completely happy with my bowling. But I am getting there."Oram, who netted a match-winning 3 for 32 against Kolkata, prepares to sign off.
Jamie Alter is a staff writer at Cricinfo