Find Me A 100 Winner / Scott Ferguson / 26 April 2009 /

Under-rated Deccan should have too much for a struggling Chennai, says Scott Ferguson.

Team news

Deccan Chargers are on fire at the moment, written off by everyone pre-tournament, their upper order is firing and PP Ojha won the game against Mumbai by claiming the vital wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan and JP Duminy. The all-rounder spot has been the only change so far with Dwayne Smith replacing Scott Styris for the last game. Smith contributed with the bat, but did little with the ball, while Styris has taken five wickets in his two matches. Some handy players are in the wings but with Chennai and Delhi, the pre-tournament favourites, to face in the next five days, why change a winning line-up?

Chennai are struggling, two losses and a washout they'd expect to have won, and the overpaid Flintoff departing for further surgery. Freddie's batting will be missed, not so his bowling on his early efforts. Jacob Oram, Thilan Thushara or perhaps even Makhaya Ntini will take his place. The Super Kings need to support Matt Hayden - Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni have all done a little but beyond them, the cupboard is bare.

Venue, pitch and conditions

The pitch in Durban is delivering runs, an average of 165 for each completed innings. There's no excuse here for batsmen not performing, particularly during daylight hours. The weather looks perfect for a day of sitting on the hill and consuming a couple of pints of Castle.

Match Odds

Chennai will go into this match as favourites, based more on their pre-event rating rather than current form. Against Mumbai though, they did have the game under control until a rush of blood from Flintoff triggered a collapse. Deccan have done nothing wrong so far, and if punters and bookies continue to under-rate them, I'll be lining up to take better than [2.1].

Top batsmen

With markets only forming just before the match, it's not a market to get too excited about. Hayden is in impeccable form for the Super King and Gibbs is blazing a trail for the Chargers, but remember, it's all about value and on a pitch with a par score of 165, anyone can make runs.

Featured market

It's a shame there's no liquidity in the Highest Individual Score market. Set at under/over 68.5 runs, it's a tempting figure. Only three batsmen at time of writing have covered that line but three others have been out in the sixties. Under should be slight favourite but this match will be dominated by the batsmen.

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