Last Chance To Shine For Proteas

JP Duminy will be hoping to help the Mumbai Indians through to the IPL final.

After five weeks of non-stop Twenty20 action, the Indian Premier League finally reaches the business end, with the first of two semifinals today. There’s plenty still to play for. Obviously, the overall honour of being champion is first prize, while clinching a lucrative T20 Champions League spot (the two finalists, and winner of the third/fourth playoff go through) is also sought after, but for many of the players, these last few games also offer the chance to show their national coaches they have what it takes to perform on the big stage.

And for the Proteas on display, it’s no different – with some players needing a stand-out performance more than others.

The first semifinal sees the table-topping Mumbai Indians taking on the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have flattered to deceive this season, despite their awesome squad.

It certainly is a ‘tale of two tournaments’ for the Proteas’ batting duo on display today. Jacques Kallis no longer needs to prove his Twenty20 credentials – this IPL has shown that he can score runs quickly and can bat through the innings. He’s scored 542 runs in the tournament, with only the great Sachin Tendulkar ahead of him. If he could help RCB to a surprise victory over Mumbai, it would increase his status as a match-winner, which has often been the criticism of him.

On the other side of the field is Proteas’ midfielder JP Duminy. Off form early in the competition, he was dropped as the Mumbai Indians continued to win with runs from their other batters. He received a late recall after Mumbai suffered a shock defeat to Chennai and has been grabbed that opportunity with one hand at least. Scores of 42* and 21* in two of his last three outings showed glimpses of the Duminy of old – a outstanding performance in the semi will certainly make coach Corrie van Zyl feel more confident about the Proteas’ middle order.

Tomorrow the Chennai Super Kings take on the defending champions, the Deccan Chargers. While it looks highly unlikely that the truly disappointing Herschelle Gibbs will get a place in Deccan’s starting line-up, CSK should feature two SA all-rounders hoping to enhance their claims of a World Cup first-team spot.

Albie Morkel is the incumbent all-rounder in the SA T20 side, and his solid performances for Chennai should see him retain that mantle.  Coming in late in Chennai’s batting order, Morkel has maintained a impressive strike rate of 147 – and has come up with the big shots when needed.

For the unfortunate Justin Kemp, who has had a stop-start season due to injuries, the semifinal offers the biggest chance to show his stuff. The second all-rounder position in the Proteas T20 line-up is not without worries – and an impressive display from the Cobras big hitter in the next two games could see him greatly enhance his claims.