So, who fills the remaining two slots in case CSK and RCB miss the bus ? MI are plagued by injuries but should Rohit Sharma and KPollard become more consistent they should be in a position to take the 3rd spot at least. Most worrying for MI should be that Bhajji who started his captaincy stint well also seems to be short of ideas and his use of resources have not been all that great. So, it is still anxious time for MI. The next side to watch and likely dark horses could be KXIP. Azar Mehmood seems to have not just strengthened the bowling attack but also seems to have given fillip to others bowlers like Awana and the spinners making them look the best bowling side of IPL. If they manage to put up slightly better batting performances and compliment their improved bowling then it is going to be their best ever chance for Punjab to make it to the semis. But they will have to win 5 out of 7 matches! Possible ? Not impossible! The two underdogs, PW and RR so far have played to above their potential .With joining of M Clarke and S Watson respectively it remains to be seen if the two teams could find the semis spot within their striking distance. DC will have to win 8 out of the 9 remaining matches. Looks tall order.
True, as IPL-5 crosses the half way stage the intensity is going to rise with matches becoming more exciting. While big teams are faltering the some of the supposed underdogs are making fight of every game making IPL more interesting. So far only DD appear to be clear leaders moving quite ahead of others followed by KKR who also seem to be marching ahead with the Captain leading from the front. Unless these two teams play very badly in the remaining 7-8 matches the two should be in the semis. In fact the inconsistent form of the other three biggies ,namely CSK,MI and RCB is making things easier for the DD & KKR and opening up the remaining two slots for lesser teams. Just 3 more wins out of 8 matches for DD and 4 more out of 7 matches for KKR should see them through to the semis. For CSK, the main problem seems to be Dhoni's instincts and gamble not paying off. For RCB it was virtually unmitigated disaster yesterday against KKR thanks to some sloppy fielding adding to the weak bowling woes. Even the best teams can fail to chase down such a massive total on eden wickets. As it is RCB bowling is weak and on the top of it they are not getting their combination right because choosing the right 'four' overseas players has become tricky in addition to Virat Kohli not firing. Both CSK and RCB have serious problem in hand indeed.
