All to play for if Auckland wins

October 23, 2012
Start time 1730 local (1530 GMT)

The semi-finalists from Group A will only be decided after the match between Delhi Daredevils and Titans in case Auckland Aces beat Perth Scorchers in the preceding match. If Perth beat Auckland in the first match, both Titans and Daredevils will be through and the result of second match will only decide who they will play in the semi-finals.

A win for Auckland, however, will put them level with Daredevils on 10 points, and ahead of the Titans who are on eight. If Daredevils win, they will be through to the knockouts along with Auckland. If Titans win, they will finish at the top of the table and the second team will be decided based on the net run rate.

Daredevils will be confident after their hard-fought three-wicket win over Perth in their previous game. They were efficient in their other victory - against Kolkata Knight Riders - but had to sit out eight days between the two wins as the game against Auckland was abandoned.

The Titans had a horrible evening against Knight Riders in their last game when they were bowled out for 89 runs. It was a wake-up call, according to opener Henry Davids, but the timing of the thrashing is worrying. In the previous two games they had much better outings, with comfortable wins against Perth and Auckland.

For a player whose participation for the Delhi has generated so much interest and divided opinions, Kevin Pietersen has had a quiet campaign so far. He got off to a slow start against Kolkata and fell trying to force the pace. Left-arm spin took care of him in the last game, Michael Beer taking full advantage of his unnecessary aggression. With a place in the semifinal on the line, Pietersen is the best person to expect a big performance from.

Titans however will hope to bring in Roelof van der Merwe the moment Pietersen walks in, not merely because he's a left-arm spinner but because he has bowled three good spells. Van der Merwe is one of the eight bowlers in the tournament who have an economy rate below the five-run mark and the only one among the Titans. He would want to improve on the four wickets, though, and a certain wicket would definitely encourage van der Merwe.

"(The win over the Perth Scorchers) was too close for comfort. We'd have liked to win more easily than this but a win is still a win. We've got to make sure we keep going well and one IPL team goes the distance in the tournament."

"This team was due for a bad game and luckily we've got it now. We've got one more game in which we must raise our game some notches higher and play to our potential."