by Anton Johan
The finals of the Indian Premier League will be played out in Chennai on
Saturday, May 28th between the Chennai Super Kings and the winner of Friday's
qualifier game.
As such, the Super Kings could either see itself up against the Mumbai
Indians or the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Odds in the qualifier match are RC Bangalore 11/10 and the Mumbai Indians
8/11 to win the game.
The Chennai Super Kings come into the finals on Saturday with the distinct
advantages of a familiar environment and a home crowd.
According to Stephen Fleming, the coach for the Chennai Super Kings, the team
is happy to be back at home. "We certainly do not want to take home conditions
for granted," he said. "We have been comfortable playing at home this year. If
we wanted to play final, it is certainly at home."
Fleming said that he has no preference as to which side the Super Kings take
on in the final on Saturday.
"We were up against both RCB and Mumbai, and both have match winners in their
side," he said. "There is no preference because both may be tough opponents. It
is very even and close call, and no preference."
Absent Randiv Won't Impact Finals
Fleming said that he doubted that the absence of off-spinner Suraj Randiv
would impact the finals. Randiv is playing for Sri Lanka in England right now,
and it was known ahead that he would need to leave the IPL in the middle and
wouldn't make the finals.
Fleming said that his replacement, Suresh Raina has "really picked up well."
"In fact," he said, "the conditions suit his bowling."
Outright Betting on the IPL
Odds for the outright winner of the Indian Premier League as follows:
Chennai Super Kings 5/6
Mumbai Indians 15/8
Royal Challengers Bangalore 7/2
