IT seems unfair that a team that topped the IPL with 11 out of 14 wins now faces a knockout semi against a team which won only half of its games. But that is the scenario confronting Shane Warne's Jaipur franchise as they tangle with Delhi here. Warne's team has performed above all expectations but a loss here would see them skidding out of the tournament and a lot of Warne's great work would have been in vain.  

 

Delhi were lucky to sneak into the semis especially considering they probably would have finished last without the sensational imputs of their opening batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautum Gambhir. An interesting sideline here is the pitch which has shown plenty of life at times throughout the tournament. Both coaches are expecting a tight tussle rather than a high-scoring slogfest.  

 

Another interesting factor is that this match contains the two players who Australia would have desperately loved when things got tight in the first Test against the West Indies. Whoever goes better in the bowling duel between Warne and Glenn McGrath (Delhi) could go some way towards deciding this match. As is usual in Twenty20 cricket, past deeds count for little when assessing this semi-final and we have to look at the likely lineups to see who should get the cookies.  

 

Jaipur will welcome back Warne, Graeme Smith, Swapnil Asnodkar, Sohail Tanvir and Ravindra Jadeja after they were rested for the last game. We could go on and on assessing this match but we will get to the point and say that Jaipur are pretty much an irresistable force to win this one. Their top-order of Graeme Smith, exciting local Asnodkar, the outstanding Yusuf Pathan, Shane Watson and the big-hitting Jadeja just look too good here. We know that Delhi have McGrath but the bottom line is that the great Pigeon only gets four overs and Delhi's other bowlers have mainly been lambs to the slaughter in this tournament.  

 

For Delhi, as usual, way too much relies on Sehwag and Gambhir to get them a win here. The cagey Warne will be well aware of that and will have some specific plans in place for the Delhi openers - knowing that the game is as good as over if he gets them cheaply. Jaipur are the feelgood story of this tournament - the team nobody expected to win but the team that just keeps on winning. We see no reason to tip against them now - especially against a Delhi side in which too much relies on too few. It is Jaipur all the way for us here and a two unit bet at $1.75 with Global, Col Tidy or Betstar . No need to get too funky here, just bank on the bankable Warne to continue his team's winning surge. Lasseters have several interesting head to head batting markets posted but some of these are too hard to read with much confidence because they pit good players against each other. Just get on Jaipur (Rajasthan).