Teams look to keep semi-final hopes alive

Match facts

Nov 5, 2008
Start time 7.30pm (1400 GMT)

The Big Picture

Chandigarh Lions would have virtually sealed a semi-final spot had they not lost their last two games against Lahore Badshahs and Dhaka Warriors. They will need to come good in their remaining two fixtures - against Delhi Giants and Ahmedabad Rockets - in order to add the ICL 20-20 Indian Championship to the 20-20 Domestic Championship they won earlier this season.

Delhi's chances of making the semi-finals are remote, given their poor net run-rate, but they would want to finish their league games on a high. Marvan Atapattu and his men, though, will be buoyed after their narrow one-run win over Hyderabad Heroes.

Where they rank

Chandigarh are currently sixth with six points and will look to benefit from home advantage. A big win may propel them to No. 3 in the standings ahead of Dhaka and Hyderabad. Delhi are in seventh position, with six points as well. An emphatic win, coupled with other results going their way, may still see them make it to the top four; however, it's an unlikely prospect.

Form guide (last five matches, most recent first)

Chandigarh: LLWLW
Delhi: WLWLL

Stats

Players to watch

All eyes will be on Graeme Hick, the newest member of the Chandigarh team. He scored 14 in his first match of the season against Lahore but more will be expected of the Worcestershire legend.

S Abbas Ali has been the star performer for Delhi, consistently dishing out match-winning performances. If his 53 was the highest score in their previous match against Hyderabad, he scored 31 off 19 balls against Mumbai Champs which followed a match-winning 52 against Lahore.

Quotes

"Some of our players have not been performing as well as we would like them to. Even when we have been running the opposition close, we have failed to get that extra momentum needed to win."
Delhi Giants captain Marvan Atapattu reasons why the team finds itself in the lower half of the points table