NSW vs RCB, first semi-final

The last match that was played at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore saw 429 runs scored in 40 overs of batting carnage. The last two innings that the two semi-finalists of today - New South Wales and Royal Challengers Bangalore - played fetched a combined total of 416 runs from 40 overs. Two things are blindingly clear: both sides' batsmen are in form and the pitch on which the match will be played has been good to batsmen in form. The first semi-final will likely be a run-glut.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The most important thing about Bangalore's victory over South Australia was not that they showed heart all through a daunting chase, or that many of their batsmen kept their cool even under great pressure - it was that they won a tough match without any starring role being played by Chris Gayle. All through IPL 2011 and until Bangalore's previous match in the Champions League, very little had been won without a major contribution from Gayle. That such a big chase was achieved without him should give plenty of confidence to the Bangalore boys ahead of the knock-outs.

Bangalore's strengths are their top-order batting and the bowling of Daniel Vettori. Each of Gayle, Dilshan and Kohli have scored more than 100 runs in the tournament at strike-rates that range from very good (137 by Dilshan) to jaw-dropping (176 by Gayle). As for Vettori, he has been brilliant, with an economy rate of just 6.37 and 5 wickets in the 4 matches played so far. Conversely, Bangalore's weakness is in the fact that the lower-middle order does not inspire too much confidence in case of a top-order failure, and the bowling apart from Vettori has been rather easily hittable. One change they could consider is bringing in Abhimanyu Mithun for S Aravind, after the latter was taken for a whopping 69 runs in his 4 overs against South Australia.

New South Wales As the tournament has gone on, the New South Wales Blues have only gotten better with every match they have played. They were beaten rather handily by the Cape Cobras in their first match, won a Super Over battle against Trinidad and Tobago in their next match, were run fairly close by the Mumbai Indians, and then completely outplayed the Chennai Super Kings. With two victories against two IPL sides back-to-back, the Blues will fancy their chances of making it three in three when they take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

New South Wales' main strength have been their bowlers. Amongst the bowlers to have bowled at least 10 overs for the, not a single one has gone for more than 7.3 runs per over. In conditions that are expected to favour batsmen, the ability of the bowlers to keep it tight will be possibly the most vital quality to possess. Their other strength has been the form of David Warner, who smashed a scintillating century against Chennai. The major worry, however, is the form of the rest of the batsmen. All the rest of the top order barring Warner, have struggled to get going. In fact, not a single batsman - again barring Warner - has a strike-rate of more than 110, which is just as worrisome as their bowlers' economy rates are impressive.

Key Players:

Chris Gayle: As long as he is there, even if Bangalore are chasing a huge target, they will feel confident of getting it. Gayle's made-to-order-for-Twenty20 game continues to be the cornerstone of Bangalore's might.

David Warner: What Gayle can do for Bangalore, Warner can do for New South Wales. He may have started the tournament a little slowly, but his innings against Chennai showed that he has shaken off the cobwebs. An under-rated ability of Warner that is lost amid his big-hitting, is his spectacular out-fielding. He is easily amongst the world's best out-fielders and there are few people who move as quickly to a ball as he does.

Virat Kohli: He scored about 75% of his runs from boundaries during his match-defining innings of 70 against South Australia, and more than the runs he scored or at the speed with which he got them (strike-rate of 194.4), Virat Kohli served notice that he had arrived as a Twenty20 batsman. He had played several good innings in this format in the past too, but this one was by far the most impressive.

Steven O'Keefe: In a bowling line-up containing the likes of Stuart Clark and Pat Cummins, Steve O'Keefe has emerged as the best bowler with his left-arm spin. He has taken 6 wickets in 4 matches, but more importantly has done so at an astounding economy rate of 5.7 runs per over. Amongst the bowlers left in the tournament, this is the best economy rate. He hasn't had much opportunity with the bat, but O'Keefe can be a pretty handy lower-order batsman to have too.

Final Word:

The battle of the match will be between Bangalore's strong top-order and New South Wales' strong bowling attack. The winner of that battle should be well placed to make it to the finals of the Champions League 2011.

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