Road to the semis

30th May 2008

The inaugural DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) has reached its knock-out stage and the semi-finalists have been decided. So, let's take a look at the journey of the four franchises that have come a long way since the Twenty20 championship began on April 18. We've had some high-voltage, nerve-wrecking and entertaining league matches.

First to qualify for the semis were the Rajasthan Royals team. The Shane Warne-led side was termed as a unit without fizz but from game two onwards, things turned around immensely for the Royals. The underdogs tag was quickly removed as the Jaipur team stunned the big teams in the tournament for five consecutive wins on the trot.

Despite a surprising loss to the Mumbai Indians, the Royals didn't let the momentum drift away as they got back to their winning streak with six successive victories after that for a spot in the semis and finished top of the table with 22 points. They are the only side in the tournament to have won all of their seven games at home.

The second franchise to put their foot into the knock-out stages was Kings XI Punjab. This was another unit who began the tournament on the wrong note. After losing their initial two games in the IPL, the Mohali franchise was blamed for their lack of intensity on the field. But their maiden win in the tournament against the Mumbai Indians changed things around for them. Since then, the Kings XI side never looked back and went on to win five games in a row. Maintaining their consistency throughout the tournament, the Yuvraj Singh-led team collected 20 points to finish second in the table behind the Rajasthan Royals.

The Delhi Daredevils' entrance into the final four was all about luck. The Delhi side began the tournament as favourites but inconsistency and a string of losses marred their journey into the semi-finals. After an abandoned game against the Kolkata Knight Riders and a tight do-or-die win against the Mumbai Indians team, the Delhi franchise was placed in a tough position on 15 points and they required Mumbai and Chennai to lose a game each. Lady luck favoured Delhi, as the Super Kings and Mumbai Indians lost their respective encounters to open the floodgates for Sehwag's men to enter the semis.

The Chennai Super Kings, the fourth and final entrant into the semis had an extreme journey into the penultimate rounds. The side began on an astonishing note by winning four consecutive games but with their Aussie counterparts leaving the IPL for national duty, inconsistency followed and the team found itself into the bottom half in the second phase of the tournament. Two consecutive losses against the Bangalore and Rajasthan teams, added to a negative run rate put the Super Kings into a testing position, with them needing to win their final encounter. Suresh Raina's heroics helped them achieve so, as the Chennai team beat the Deccan Chargers for a berth into the semis, eliminating Mumbai's chances in the process.