Tag: T20

Cricket: IPL Qualifier 1 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Ricky Ponting and Stephen Fleming enjoyed some epic battles as foes representing Australia and New Zealand.  As players, and as captains the two went head to head in all forms of the game, and they are now set to continue those battles as head coaches of two exciting IPL franchises.

Fleming’s coached Chennai since the IPL’s inception, he knows the format, knows his players and has put together an incredible overall franchise record.

Ponting on the other hand is in his first year of IPL coaching and has pioneered a massive change in fortune for his Mumbai franchise.  After losing their first four games the Indians’ have stormed back into contention and could surprise the slow finishing Super Kings.

The Ponting / Fleming storyline is a great sub-plot to the match which provides direct entry into the IPL final.

The Last Time These Two Met

The teams have split the two meetings in the Pepsi IPL.  In the first encounter of the season in Mumbai, the Super Kings chased down 183 with three overs and six wickets in hand.  However almost a month later Ambati Rayudu helped Mumbai even the ledger and chase down 158.

In terms of form, Mumbai probably enter the contest in the best space having won four of their last five to storm their way into the finals.  They are red-hot.

But, CSK lead the playoff head to head by 4-1.

The Teams

Mumbai Indians (likely): 1 Lendl Simmons 2 Parthiv Patel (wk) 3 Rohit Sharma (capt) 4 Ambati Rayudu 5 Kieron Pollard 6 Hardik Pandya 7 Harbhajan Singh 8 J Suchith 9 Mitchell McClenaghan 10 Vinay Kumar 11 Lasith Malinga

We can’t imagine that Mumbai will change their team that has won four of their last five games.  Although they do have Alex Hales at their disposal after the Englishman arrived on a short term contract.

Chennai Super Kings (likely): 1 Dwayne Smith 2 Michael Hussey 3 Suresh Raina 4 Faf du Plessis 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk) 6 Pawan Negi  7 Dwayne Bravo 8 Ravindra Jadeja 9 R Ashwin 10 Ashish Nehra 11 Mohit Sharma/Ishwar Pandey

Brendon McCullum has flown to England to be with the Black Caps test team.  He’s likely to be replaced by Michael Hussey who had a run in the Super King’s last game of the season.

The Key Players

Lendl Simmons – Simmons has been immense for the Indians this season and just shades the unexpectedly successful Mitchell McCelenaghan as the key player. Simons has put together 407 runs from 11 knocks this season to back up his stellar 2014 IPL.  He is quickly becoming one of the most consistent batman in the format and another good start from him here could go some way in delivering Mumbai another win.

Dwayne Bravo – Bravo’s twenty wickets in the 2015 edition of the IPL idoesn’t quite match his 32 form the 2013 edition but they have been arguably more important.  Chennai have struggled to put together consistently big scores, yet they have still managed a competition best nine wins, and plenty of those wins have come courtesy of stifling bowling and fielding efforts.  Bravo in particular has been crucial with ball in hand and in the field.  Can he stop teammates Simmons and Pollard?

The Match Odds*

Mumbai Indians – $2.10

Chennai Super Kings – $1.72

*Courtesy of Bet365 Australia.

The Prediction

Chennai have all the big game experience and all the nous to deliver wins when it matters.  Plenty of their performances this season have been below par, yet they keep getting W’s.  That makes this match an interesting battle between stability and spontaneity.  Between consistency and red-hot form.  While we don’t think Chennai will go all the way this year we think they’ll take this one out by 14 runs or 3 wickets.

The Best Bets

Suresh Raina’s form is tough to ignore.  We think he’ll top score for CSK @ $4.50.

For Mumbai, there are safer options but we fancy Pollard to top score @ $7.50.  The money’s just too good to ignore, plus he scored 64 off 30 balls in the first meeting of the teams this year.

Cricket: Big Bash League Final Preview

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No side has ever won the Big Bash League twice.  Surprising, when you consider the Perth Scorchers have played in every final of the competition thus far.  However, both sides competing for the title in 2015 have lifted the trophy.  The Scorchers last year and the Sixers in 2011/12.  Thus the winner of this matchup will become the most successful franchise in the league’s short history.

Manuka Oval plays host to the two teams.  A ground notorious for big scores.  Perfect for the big occasion.  Last year the Perth Scorchers made 191 in their 20 overs and defended it with ease.  The conditions at Manuka should suit a similar score, unless the strong bowling attacks of both sides have anything to say about it.

The Last Time These Two Met

The teams have clashed just once in BBL4.  On that occasion, the Scorchers came out winners by 36 runs in a low scoring affair at the SCG.  Batting first, the Perth outfit made just 135, of which young Marcus Harris top scored with 36.  In response the Sydney side mustered just 99; stifled by an accomplished group effort by the Scorchers fielding unit.  The Scorchers have defended totals (both low and high) all tournament long, and arguably have the most complete bowling unit in the competition.

The Teams

Perth Scorchers (likely): Adam Voges , Shaun Marsh, Michael Klinger, Michael Carberry, Whiteman, Ashton Turner, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Yasir Arafat, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Brad Hogg.

Sydney Sixers (likely):  Riki Wessels, Michael Lumb, Nic Maddinson, Moises Henriques,  Jordan Silk, Ryan Carters, Sean Abbott, Steven O’Keefe, Brett Lee, Nathan Lyon, Dough Bollinger

The Key Players

Nathan Coulter-Nile – The crucial wicket of the entire Big Bash League may well have been Coulter-Nile’s dismissal of Melbourne Stars kingpin Kevin Pieterson.  That’s a remarkable feat for the lanky all-rounder given the semi-final against the Stars was his only appearance in this year’s Big Bas League.  In that game Coulter-Nile got runs and wickets, and the Australian rep will be expected to do the same in tomorrows final.

Jordan Silk – Silk has been quite the find this season.  Known for his fielding and conservative batting approach, Silk has exploded in the finishers role, helping his side to important wins along the way.  269 runs at 67.25 have seen him rewarded with a three year extension with the Sixers.  Silk’s at $21 to take out the man of the match award.

The Odds*

Perth Scorchers – $1.72

Sydney Sixers – $2.15

*Courtesy of BetEasy.

The Prediction

The Scorchers are incredible bowling and fielding side, but we’re not backing their batsman to do enough to get them over the line.  We like the Sixers.  Led by Lumb, Wessels and Maddinson to prevail.

Cricket: South Africa welcome back stars ahead of ODI series

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The Twenty20 series scheduling was a little puzzling on account of the World Cup beginning in less than a month.  Sure, the demographic is different and presents a gate-taking opportunity for the hosts (and ICC), but to ensure the highest quality of cricket come the World Cup you would forgive organisers for foregoing T20 cricket until afterwards.

Nevertheless, the play time is over.  Coaches can devise game plans; iron out the kinks.  Players can get down to nailing their World Cup spots down.

The West Indies can complete a series without walking out too, after players association negotiations ruined their last ODI series in India.

The Last Time These Two Met

These two haven’t played too much one day cricket against each other of late.  The last series was in 2010, and the last match – a tie in the 2013 World Cup in Cardiff.  We can’t use historical form as guide then, so we’ll use the just finished T20 series as an indication that this one will be close.

The Teams

South Africa (likely): 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Rilee Rossouw, 3 Faf du Plessis 4 AB de Villiers (capt, wk), 5 JP Duminy 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 David Miller, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir

Almost back to a full strength line up after resting a number of stars during the T20 series.  Only Quinton de Kock is unavailable so Rilee Russouw gets an opportunity to open up in his absence.  de Kock’s absence also means both Miller and Behardien play in the middle order, while AB de Villiers will take the gloves.

West Indies (likely): 1 Chris Gayle/Lendl Simmons, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Leon Johnson, 5 Andre Russell, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Sheldon Cottrell 

The West Indies are missing both Bravo’s (one of them permanently), and Kieron Pollard, so we assume they’ll need to strengthen the batting line-up with Leon Johnson or Lendl Simmons.  Both might play if Chris Gayle is given another day off.  He is training again after being rested for the final T20 but it’s understandable if the West Indies manage his workload heading into a major tournament.

The Key Players

JP Duminy – Chronic knee problems have badly impacted on Duminy’s ability to forge a lasting legacy in international cricket; a result that seems scarcely believable after his start to domestic and international cricket.  With the World Cup just around the corner and Duminy finally fit, now is the opportunity to turn that around and help his side win an overdue World Cup.  Tonight’s series opener is the perfect time to start the preparations.

Marlon Samuels – For all the talk about Chris Gayle there’s another chap in the West Indies side who does just as much for his team.  Marlon Samuels (when his attitude permits) is a massvie contributor in all three formats of the game.  Before his failure in the final T20 match, his scores in all matches were 33, 17, 101, 43, 74, 41, and 60, illustrating his importance to the side.

The Odds*

South Africa – $1.35

West Indies – $3.20

*Courtesy of Tom Waterhouse.

The Prediction

de Villers believes his side is the best in the world.  He was quoted as saying “I still feel we will be the best team at the World Cup and I can’t wait to go there.”  Who are we to disagree?  South Africa to win.

 

Cricket: Gayle, West Indies eye series sweep

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Chris Gayle has launched a number of attacks over the past few days.  First, a scintillating record beating fifty in game one.  Then came even better 90 in which he hit 8 sixes and equaled the record for the total number of sixes hit in international T20 cricket.  To cap it off, his most scathing attack wad directed at the WICB who refused to pick Dwayne Bravo and Pollard in the West Indies World Cup squad.  Kingsmead could be on the receiving end of the fourth.

To prevent that, South Africa must find a way to quell Gayle.  However, even if they do, they still have the rest of the West Indies line up to contend with, which is not an easy prospect for a side playing with as much confidence as they are.  The best bet is to play in the disciplined way they know how and by winning the smaller battles first – the fielding, the catching, the 1%’ers.

The Last Time These Two Met

44 fours and 24 sixes tells the story.  The Wanderers record breaker was a match of epic proportions.  Remarkably the West Indies chased down 232 with four wicket and four balls to spare; exactly the same winning margin as at Newlands. Chris Gayle, as our preview predicted, was again the star of the show bludgeoning 90 off 41 balls and partnering with Marlon Samuels (60 off 39) to cap off a memorable win.  The chase overshadowed South African captain Faf du Plessis’ special hundred, which he scored from just 46 balls.

For the record, with his century du Plessis became the eight international cricketer to have scored hundreds in all three formats.  The others are: Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Mahela Jayawardene, Martin Guptill and Ahmed Shehzad.

The Teams

South Africa (likely): 1 Morne van Wyk (wk), 2 Rilee Rossouw, 3 Farhaan Behardien, 4 David Miller, 5 Justin Ontong (capt), 6 Wayne Parnell, 7 David Wiese, 8 Kyle Abbott, 9 Kagiso Rabada/Aaron Phangiso, 10 Marchant de Lange, 11 Imran Tahir

Justin Ontong steps in to captain the side after du Plessis was given the day off.

West Indies (likely): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Kieron Pollard, 5 Andre Russell, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Jason Holder, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

There may be a temptation to try Carlos Brathwaite or Andre Fletche, but we sense West Indies will opt for momentum and chase the series sweep.

The Key Players

Imran Tahir – The energy that this man displays when celebrating wickets defies his age, and although he didn’t get to do so during game two, he was the only bowler who went for less than 8 runs an over.  Tahir will play a key role again in stifling the West Indies run rate with his flat turners, and he’ll much prefer the Durban conditions to the batsman friendly altitude of Wanderers.

Another West Indies Player Chris Gayle – Just kidding.  Chris Gayle is the key again, obviously.  Two matches in the series and two rapid half centuries to the tall left-hander outline his importance to the West Indies.  He’s also voiced his disappointment at Pollard and Bravo missing out on World Cup selection, so we expect him to take his anger out on Kyle Abbot and the rest of the South African bowlers again.

The Odds*

South Africa – $2.02

West Indies – $1.78

*Courtesy of Luxbet.

The Prediction

There is a slight doubt hanging over the West Indies if Gayle doesn’t score runs.  How will they respond if their talisman fails?  Who will score the runs?  And for those that don’t think lightening can strike three times, South Africa’s odds look awfully enticing.

Having said that, we’re backing the West Indies for the whitewash.

Cricket: Gayle the key in second Twenty20

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

It’s not often South Africa start any game of cricket in their own back yard as underdogs.  But that’s exactly how the bookies see game two after the Gayle storm in the first match of the series.  The Windies have rushed to the favourites tag for the Johannesburg encounter.  A tag that is rightly placed when you look through their talented team.

The altitude at Wanderers could see Gayle and his teammates hit the ball even further.  A scary prospect for the South African team given Gayle has a history of scoring runs at this ground.  A repeat of his World T20 effort in 2007 in which he scored 117 off 57 balls would put the series well and truly to bed.

The Last Time These Two Met

In game one Chris Gayle single handedly destroyed the South African chances with the fastest T20 fifty in his country’s history.  He bullied his way to 77 off 31 balls in a masterclass that featured 8 sixes and 23 off a Wayne Parnell over.  Gayle’s return buoyed his team and despite a lat wobble, got home with four wickets in hand and four balls to spare.

The Teams

South Africa (likely): 1 Morne van Wyk (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 Farhaan Behardien, 6 David Miller, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 David Wiese, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10 Marchant de Lange, 11 Imran Tahir

We featured Marchant de Lange in our preview for game one and he missed out.  He may get a run at the expense of young Rabada in one of the few expected changes.

West Indies (likely): 1 Dwayne Smith, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Jason Holder, 10 Ashley Nurse, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

Probably no reason to make any changes to the side.  Although Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have missed out on World Cup selection so may not be used.  If they are, expect (angry) fireworks.

The Key Players

Rilee Rossouw – An excellent fifty at Newlands has helped solidify the hype on the young left hander that first cam about during his trip to Australia in November.  During the T20 and ODI series there he scored valuable runs in an attractive manner.  He must be pushing for Miller’s middle order place, or Duminy’s if he can’t get himself fit.  He’s the favourite to top score along with his captain Faf du Plessis.

Dwayne Smith – While all the attention was on Chris Gayle in the series opener, Smith quietly (in comparison) went about his business, forging an excellent partnership with the former captain.  His work ended on 20, but he helped the West Indies get off to an incredible start that eventually sealed the result.  Smith is now an experienced T20 traveller in his own right with plenty of experience to boot.  He’s paying $5.00 to top score if you can consider any one other than Gayle.

The Odds*

South Africa – $1.95

West Indies – $1.85

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Unibet Australia.

The Prediction

The nice thing about the West Indies side is that if Gayle doesn’t come off they still have the players to win the game.  Smith, Simmons, Pollard and Sammy can all change a game with bat and hand, and for those reasons we’re picking them to go back to back.