Now when the T20 league is heading towards the semifinals with its all pomp and show, the excitement and thrill of the league is almost double! Since its starting the league has been facing many controversies from cheer leaders’ dress code to the Bhaji slapping scandal! Many times rains played the spoilsport in crucial matches. But the spirit of the cricket was not dampened.

Many new records emerged from this breath taking tournament. The excellent batting and bowling spells in various matches has completely engulfed the whole nation. The T20 fever has grown stronger as the teams come to the battle arena of semis!

With millions of dollars invested, the final show will surely emerge as the complete entertainment and “Paisa Vasool” for all the spectators. In the first semi final Rajasthan is meeting Delhi. Both the teams are star studded with local and international players.

Both look strong as both the teams have outsmarted the other teams to reach this level. The first semi final will be held in Mumbai on Friday. All the roads in Mumbai will lead to the Wankhede stadium as the thousands of fans will throng the city to watch the live action.

Tickets for the Indian Premier League semifinal matches are going to cost the fans dear with the rates fixed between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 12,000. Even then a mass of crowd has already booked the tickets for the Karma yudh of cricket!

Interestingly the stage is set for the teams starring Australian bowling legends Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath to clash in the League semi-finals. With the higher stakes the teams now look like sworn enemies! In this extremely important match even a single delivery will have the stamina to change the course of the semis. Every ball will be critical and compelling.

To win the match the captains will need greater skill, courage, concentration and nerve. In this real test of competence of the teams, much pressure will be there on both the sides. On one hand Delhi is behind Rajasthan in points that will add pressure to the Delhi’s side. On the other hand the last night defeat of Rajasthan from Punjab will surely put the Warne & Co. under strain.

This enormous pressure has made it a battle of minds. So now it has turned into a case of ‘who blinks first’. So far the T20 has taken players to their limits. Even in this match players like Smith, Pathan, Warne and Tanvir will stretch themselves to the limits to win the semi.

Other than batting and bowling, the result will also depend on many crucial decisions like the field placements, shot selection, batting orders, bowling changes etc. All will influence the result of the semifinal.

Delhi team will try to get maximum benefit from the bats men like Gambhir, Sehwag and Dhawan. For Delhi’s bowling side much will depend on the success of bowlers like McGrath, Maharoof and Dilshan.

The team which assesses the pitch and adapts accordingly quickly will surely have an upper hand. As usual shrewd and active leadership of Warne will place the Rajasthan team in a better position. The bowling side will have to come up with every type of deliveries in their armory to conquer Delhi. With 22 points under their belt the Rajasthan team appears stronger but after last evening’s defeat, nothing can be predicted.

The teams:
Rajasthan (from): Shane Warne (captain), Swapnil Asnodkar, Mohammad Kaif, Yusuf Pathan, Shane Watson, Rajandra Jadeja, Siddharth Trivedi, Mahesh Rawat, Sohail Tanvir, Munaf Patel, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal, Pankaj Singh, Taruwar Kohli, Dinesh Salunkhe, Graeme Smith.

Delhi: Virender Sehwag (capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, A.B. de Villiers, Rajat Bhatia, Shoaib Malik, Dinesh Karthik, Glenn McGrath, Mohammad Asif, V. Yomahesh, Pradeep Sangwan, Farveez Maharoof, Mithun Manhas, Brett Geeves, Manoj Tiwary, Amit Mishra and Tillakaratne Dilshan