The IPL caravan is down to three matches, the most important of this year’s edition being staged in South Africa. Delhi Daredevils, who topped the table, winning 10 matches will clash with Deccan Chargers in the semifinals at the Centurion later Friday.

The first semifinal clash promises to be an exciting affair between a side that is seen by many as the favourite and a team that has enjoyed mixed fortunes but looks good enough to tackle all-comers.

In a good sign for Delhi, which has been tipped by the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar to lift the trophy, skipper Virender Sehwag found himself among the runs and is certain to strike fear into the hearts of the Hyderabad bowling attack led by R P Singh.

Sehwag said he was relieved to have struck form with a match-winning 50 in the inconsequential game against Mumbai Indians as a good opening partnership will be crucial in the last four encounter.

‘I am pretty happy with my performance. It’s nice to have scored a fifty. I am looking forward to the semifinals now. Being back in form is good for the team as the openers doing well is very important,’ said Sehwag after the four-wicket win over Mumbai yesterday.

The aggressive opening duo of Sehwag and his pal Gautam Gambhir ruled the roost in IPL 2008, which somehow they have not been able to repeat in South Africa. With the captain smashing a quickfire half-century and more importantly finding his touch ahead of the knockout phase, Delhi looks even more threatening.

The unsung trio of AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dinesh Karthik have stepped up when the dreaded openers have faltered. The top-heavy Daredevils line-up would pose quite a challenge for Hyderabad.

RP Singh has been in top form and leads the wicket-takers list but the other bowlers will need to be at their best if Sehwag & Co have to be kept in check. The Chargers will sure be no pushovers. A top-heavy batting line-up comprising the skipper Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds is sure to send a chill down every bowler’s spine.

Gilchrist, who has accumulated 410 runs with 24 sixers can destroy any attack on his day and on his shoulders rest Hyderabad’s chances of piling up huge totals to put pressure on the rival. Gibbs scored a half-century last night but today will be a big day and team needs him to fire.

If these two fail to get going, Rohit and Symonds can provide the big hits. The batting has to click if they have to upset the favourite team to clinch a berth in the title clash. All said and done, a high-voltage clash is in the offing and it remains to be seen if it turns out to be a memorable one.

Teams (from) — Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia, Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra, Pradeep Sangwan, Dirk Nannes, Glenn McGrath, Daniel Vettori, V Yomahesh.

Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), Herschelle Gibbs, T Suman, Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Dwayne Smith, Venugopal Rao,  Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Ryan Harris, Shoaib Ahmed, Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh, Harmeet Singh, Chaminda Vaas, Jaskaran Singh, Azhar Bilakhia, D Kalyankrishna, Manvinder Bisla, VVS Laxman, Scott Styris, P Vijayakumar.