<p>Presciently dubbed the ‘Group of Death’ prior to the start of the tournament, Group A heads into its final round of matches with no team still assured of a semifinal berth.<br />Topping the group and with a foot already in the last four stage are Mumbai Indians. Next up is Australian side New South Wales Blues with four points, followed by Cobras with three.<br /><br />T&T, who claimed the giant scalp of local favourites and defending champions Chennai Super Kings on Sunday night, are in fourth with two points.<br /><br />The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK, also on two points, bring up the rear by virtue of an inferior net run rate.<br /><br />If the Cobras, who have only one win against New South Wales and a no result so far, win on Tuesday they will move to five points and may eke their way to the semis by virtue of a better net run rate than Mumbai Indians, who despite being group leaders have the worst net run rate among the lot.<br /><br />NSW too will progress as group winners with six points if the Australian side win in their crucial match against CSK.<br /><br />However, a defeat to either Cobras or NSW, will ensure Mumbai’s progression to the semifinal, while forming a three-way tie among NSW, CSK and T&T -- all with four points each, meaning the calculation will come down to run rate.<br /><br />T&T, on the other hand, will have to beat Cobras and hope NSW lose to CSK to stand any chance of entering the semis. Any other result and they would be eliminated.<br /><br />As things stand, T&T have the second-best net run rate in the group at +0.183, while Cobras have the best net run rate at +0.443.<br /><br />Their crucial encounter at the slow Chepauk pitch will be a test of application for batsmen and a challenge for bowlers to extract bounce and turn from it in order to eke out a favourable result from the match.</p>
<p>Presciently dubbed the ‘Group of Death’ prior to the start of the tournament, Group A heads into its final round of matches with no team still assured of a semifinal berth.<br />Topping the group and with a foot already in the last four stage are Mumbai Indians. Next up is Australian side New South Wales Blues with four points, followed by Cobras with three.<br /><br />T&T, who claimed the giant scalp of local favourites and defending champions Chennai Super Kings on Sunday night, are in fourth with two points.<br /><br />The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK, also on two points, bring up the rear by virtue of an inferior net run rate.<br /><br />If the Cobras, who have only one win against New South Wales and a no result so far, win on Tuesday they will move to five points and may eke their way to the semis by virtue of a better net run rate than Mumbai Indians, who despite being group leaders have the worst net run rate among the lot.<br /><br />NSW too will progress as group winners with six points if the Australian side win in their crucial match against CSK.<br /><br />However, a defeat to either Cobras or NSW, will ensure Mumbai’s progression to the semifinal, while forming a three-way tie among NSW, CSK and T&T -- all with four points each, meaning the calculation will come down to run rate.<br /><br />T&T, on the other hand, will have to beat Cobras and hope NSW lose to CSK to stand any chance of entering the semis. Any other result and they would be eliminated.<br /><br />As things stand, T&T have the second-best net run rate in the group at +0.183, while Cobras have the best net run rate at +0.443.<br /><br />Their crucial encounter at the slow Chepauk pitch will be a test of application for batsmen and a challenge for bowlers to extract bounce and turn from it in order to eke out a favourable result from the match.</p>