Player watch:
Imran Tahir, Mitchell Johnson and Dale Steyn - I would be extremely surprised to see any of these 3 NOT being dropped by their respective teams after their performances in the last match. While Tahir has faded off late, Johnson and Steyn have been disappointing all season.
Hardik Pandya - With the MoM performance against Chennai Super Kings, Pandya has definitely sealed his spot in the Mumbai Indians playing XI for the rest of the season. However, he has his limitations. His bowling is strictly average and he doesn't have the potential to slog even decent pacers or someone who can mix his pace up. I would even go to the extent of employing Transfer bait with him if I see a better option.
Eoin Morgan - Morgan seems to have found his touch back. With the Sunrisers playing their remaining matches on flat decks, he is quite an option to have. But you shouldn't forget that the Royals have one of the worst bowling attacks this season. I would wait to see more of him to captain him. Playing a team like DD or RCB may be a different ball game altogether.
Ambati Rayudu - Rayudu looks as good as he has ever been, and with Unmukt Chand out of the team now, he will get a lot of deliveries to face to make an impact.
Sunil Narine - Narine isn't the same player anymore. The chucking issue has clearly had an effect on him. I don't see him getting a lot of wickets and can get banned soon too.
Michael Hussey - With Brendon McCullum expected to leave for national duties soon, Chennai Super Kings might want to give Michael Hussey an extra couple of games to settle in. So, the Kiwi captain may be asked to sit out once CSK ensure their qualification to give Hussey some batting time before the knockouts.
NEW ZEALAND PLAYERS LEAVING IPL:
On May 21, New Zealand play England in the first of the two-match Test series, so the likes of Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Corey Anderson will be leaving early to join their national team. However, they are set a deadline of only May 19 by their cricket board. So, they will only be missing the knockout matches. The league stage ends by May 17.
Eoin Morgan is not part of England Test squad, so he should stay.
Transfer bait - Sunil Narine, Hardik Pandya, Brendon McCullum, Tim Southee
Transfer in - Michael Hussey, Dale Steyn (As Trent Boult is set to leave)
KKR vs KXIP:
Captaincy picks: Brad Hogg, Piyush Chawla, Andre Russell, Sandeep Sharma
As it has been in the past few matches at Eden Gardens, the spinners can be expected to dominate this game. Hogg was really unfortunate to be not amongst the wickets last match. Angelo Mathews's onslaught on him and ability against spinners in general forced Gambhir to take Hogg out of the attack early.
If KKR chase today, Russell may not get to bat at all, as Kings XI Punjab won't score much; therefore, captaining him can backfire. Also, there is a threat of Russell not bowling his full quota out if KKR spinners do well. It could have happened in the last match too but for Botha who failed to deliver.
There is a bit of assistance for pacers on this deck with the new ball, which can be exploited by Sandeep Sharma. If Karanveer Singh plays, he is worth the gamble. And that also means you shouldn't captain Robin Uthappa, who doesn't play spin all that well. Akshar Patel, however, is not the bowler who can exploit this surface. He is more of a container.
DD vs SH:
Captaincy picks: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, JP Duminy, David Warner
This is the first match that will be played at Raipur this season. Generally though, it is a good batting deck. If I have Bhuvneshwar or Coulter-Nile, I wouldn't captain a batsman here. Both the teams boast of good bowling attacks, especially the Sunrisers new ball bowlers.
While Warner can be choked through swing, Duminy might find the new ball pairing of Bhuvneshwar and Boult too hot to handle. Therefore, a bowler who bowls at the death is a safer bet. Bhuvneshwar is a better choice than Boult, as he bowls 2 overs at the death as against Boult's 1.
However, Duminy can chip in with the ball too, especially when the Sunrisers have 3 left-handers in their top 6.
MI vs RCB:
Captaincy picks: AB de Villiers, Mitchell Starc, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu.
Do not depend on Chris Gayle, despite his century against Kings XI Punjab. Even if he escapes the Mumbai new ball bowlers, he will be trapped by Harbhajan Singh, who has an exceptional record against the Caribbean big hitter and left-handers in general.
An early wicket will give plenty of batting time to AB de Villiers, while Mitchell Starc could easily get another 3-for courtesy of bowling two overs at death.
Rohit Sharma hasn't been doing too well of late, but his promotion to No.3 following Unmukt Chand's axing may just prove to be the difference. Ambati Rayudu looks as good as he has ever been, but the uncertainty surrounding his batting position always makes him a risky option. RCB new ball bowlers have been in top form and they could get rid of the Mumbai openers early.
Lasith Malinga should be back for this match, but De Villiers and Kohli can nullify his threat.
CSK vs RR
Captaincy picks: Ravichandran Ashwin, Dwayne Bravo, Suresh Raina, Pawan Negi
Yet another match that will be dominated by the spinners. I wouldn't depend on any Rajasthan players, as the team doesn't usually play well on slow, low decks. If you have no other options, Steven Smith or Ajinkya Rahane are your best captaincy bets.
Bravo has been unplayable at the death at Chepauk, so it doesn't really matter if he gets to bat or not. He would be my first captaincy choice, as I don't see the Royals middle order losing more than a couple of wickets to Ashwin.
Raina can make use of the weak Rajasthan bowling attack. Rajat Bhatia could be brought back into the Rajasthan playing XI considering the nature of the deck. If it happens, Dhawal Kulkarni is likely to make way for him.
