IPL 2011 Preview: KKR Vs Deccan Chargers

Deccan chargers captain Kumara Sangakkara

  Kolkata Knightriders will take on Deccan Chargers at Eden Gardens on Monday. Both teams lost their first games against Chennai and Rajasthan respectively. Kolkata lost to Chennai due to poor captaincy by Gautam Gambhir while DD lost against weak Rajasthan due to lack of balance in the team.  Match venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata.  Match timing: at 8 PM on April 11.   Ratings for Teams & Captains:     KKR: Team - 8/10 & Captain - 7/10.  DC: Team - 7/10 & Captain - 8/10   Major battles:   1. KKR Batting Vs DC bowling.  2. Dale Steyn Vs Jacques Kallis.  Best strategy: Batting second on Eden Gardens is not easy especially for KKR as DC has 2 good spinners - Pragyan Ojha & Amit Mishra & Steyn.   Analysis of KKR & DD:    Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR):   KKR lost first game to Chennai due to lack of passion and uninspirational captaincy by Gautam Gambhir. Jacques Kallis's wonderful innings failed to help KKR as other batsmen played careless shots. I don't know why they dropped Ryan Does Chate. Most expensive players - Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan - are the worst performers in that match. Their strength is in the batting but bowling is not adequate - fortunately DC is not a strong batting side.  Not available for selection: Brett Lee, Brad Haddin & Shakib Al hasan.  Probable squad: Gautam Gambhir (Captain), Jacques Kallis, Maninder Bisla, Manoj Tiwary, Eoin Morgan, Rajat Bhatia, Yusuf Pathan, Iqbal Abdulla, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, L. Balaji & Sarabjit Ladda/Ryan Does Chate.   Deccan Chargers (DC):   DC has very good bowling line-up but its batting is the problem. If they can not play well against weak KKR bowling, it will be difficult for them to bounce back against stronger sides. DC already lost to weak Rajasthan Royals. Daniel Christian, Ishank Jaggi (Jharkhand) & Raviteja were impressive against RR. But, Pragyan Ojha bowled poorly while Ishant and Mishra are o.k but not exceptional.  Not available for … [Read more...]

IPL Game preview: Bangalore Vs Kolkata

 After a promising start, the Royal Challengers Bangalore are making hard work of IPL 3 and they next face the Knight Riders in Bangalore on Saturday with both sides still in the hunt for a semi final place. One time certainties for a semi-final place, the Royal Challengers have lost four of their last five and are in serious danger of missing out. They will hope to get things back on track against an inconsistent but dangerous Kolkata. Venue and Conditions: The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has been one of the better surfaces for bowlers in this tournament and even though it looks a little drier now, there is still bounce and seam movement on offer for the quicker bowlers, as well as hint of swing. Trivia: Kolkata have beaten Bangalore on each of the three occasions that they have faced one another on Indian soil. Royal Challengers: Both these sides have won Five of their ten games in the tournament so far but the Royal Challengers will be disappointed to have let a commanding position in the points table slip in recent days. RCB have lost four of their last five to slip back into the chasing pack. RCB has a tough run in with games against the Chargers, the Royals and Mumbai Indians to follow this match. It’s strange that the recent disappointing results sequence has coincided with the arrivals of Pietersen, Cameron White and Ross Taylor. Kevin Pietersen has missed two games and may get a recall, at the expense of Cameron White or Ross Taylor. Bangalore have limited room for manoeuvre besides this and there appears no chance of Mark Boucher or Roelof van der Merwe getting a game any time soon. If Steyn is raw pace and bounce, Praveen Kumar looks for variations to do the job. Vinay Kumar may be a tad expensive, but has the happy knack of picking up wickets, while there is no one better than skipper Anil Kumble to tie the opposition down. Kallis brings his truckload of experience to the table, and assess the situation and adjust better than most Kolkata Knight Riders: The Knight Riders are hanging in there and their recent win over the Daredevils has revived their … [Read more...]

IPL Preview: Mumbai Vs Deccan Chargers

  Deccan Chargers need to quickly rediscover their momentum against table toppers Mumbai Indians in the teams' second leg clash of the Indian Premier League on Saturday. With six wins from their first seven games and a current winning streak of four, Mumbai are a couple of games clear at the top of the table. Mumbai have been unstoppable and have emerged as the single strongest side thus far, whereas Deccan has had to face some harsh realities of life, lying almost at the bottom of the pile.  Venue and Conditions:  The Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai is the colonial setting for the second meeting of the Mumbai Indians and the Deccan Chargers this week. No team batting first has yet come close to matching the 212-6 Mumbai reached in the first of the five IPL 2010 matches played here so far.  The Indian Host:  Led from the front by the evergreen Little Master, the Indians have won every game save the one blemish against the Royal Challengers of Bangalore, and a very strongly positioned to be the first team to qualify for the semis  There hasn't been any over-aggressive big hitting from the little man; mere deft touches and field piercings have done the job for him, and that too with a very healthy strike rate of 140. Local players like Saurabh Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu and Shikhar Dhawan have also done a great job playing around him. West Indian allrounder duo Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo complete a most formidable batting lineup and though they have not yet really come to the party, it is only a matter of time before the dangerous duo explodes.  Lasith Malinga, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan feature very high in the list of top wicket-takers, and with very impressive economy rates as well. Ryan McLaren, Bravo and Pollard are very much capable of bowling 8 good overs between them, which puts the captain in good stead if one of the prime bowlers is having an off day.  The fact that Mumbai have made just the one change in the last 4 matches, that too forced by an injury to Rayudu, and that they have won all 4 means that a very settled looking outfit will take the field against the Deccan Chargers, as … [Read more...]

IPL Preview: Chennai Super Kings Vs Punjab Kings

 Chennai Super Kings vs King XI Punjab: Suresh Raina's merry band of boys take on the struggling Kings XI Punjab in their second home game of the season and the young captain would be hopeful of a repeat performance from his boys which led to a crucial win in a tight contest with the Daredevils. The left-handed opener’s mangoose-bat demolition of Delhi Daredevils’ bowling made compelling viewing. The Australian opener’s 43-ball 93 was high on octane and low on respite for the opposition. Hayden striking form – with whichever bat – is good news for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He is still influential and can still strike the ball with immense power. With skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni out with an elbow injury till CSK’s away game against Mumbai Indians on March 25, CSK needs this Australian’s solidity. Hayden will be a clear and present danger to the struggling Kings XI Punjab in the IPL game here at Chepauk on Sunday night. While the Super Kings have shrugged off their initial lethargy and also managed to bounce back after losing their first-choice captain MS Dhoni, the Kings XI have struggled to get going as a unit failing in all three of their games. While the tournament is still in its early stages, time is fast running out for Kumar Sangakkara's men and they would need to stop relying on individual performances and collectively fire in order to get back to winning ways In Dhoni’s absence, Suresh Raina has skippered the side well and batted with both responsibility and flair. While Raina and Hayden are in good form with the bat, they would definitely look for better support from Badrinath and Justin Kemp. Parthiv Patel too finds his way back into the side with Dhoni out, and it would be a crucial time for him and Murali Vijay to deliver. In the bowling department, the lanky Lakshmipathy Balaji has upped his pace and is hitting the deck harder with a fine wrist and seam position. The bowling looks well settled with Muralitharan leading it and though both he and fellow spinner R Ashwin haven't picked up too many wickets, they have been extremely thrifty. Raina might re-consider Manpreet Gony … [Read more...]

March 20 matches preview

kolkata70

 Author: Mona Gupta, New Delhi IPL 2010 Matches Preview: 20th March: Saturday’s double header in the IPL-3 T20 comes from Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The Rajasthan Royals will face a big test against the Dada’s Knight Rider while the Royal Challengers take on Mumbai Indians. Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Shane Warne and his Rajasthan Royals have lost all three of their matches so far and things may not get any easier when they take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday. How the Royals need a change in fortune. They narrowly lost their opening game of IPL 3 but things have gone from bad to worse on and off the field since then. First the news of key players Graeme Smith and Dimitri Mascarenhas being ruled out of the rest of the tournament through injury, a defeat at home to Delhi, and then a real hammering in Bangalore on Thursday. Bottom of the log, the Royals look to set for a struggle and their 92 all out against RCB on what has been a decent batting track was the lowest score of the tournament so far. By contrast, the Knight Riders won their first two matches although they were comfortably beaten by Chennai in their most recent game. Wins over the Deccan Chargers and the Royal Challengers were achieved on merit and despite the loss to the Super Kings the Knight Riders look set to give things a real go this time around. Also in their favour, Chris Gayle could now be available for selection for KKR and his presence alone would give the team even more momentum to build on what has largely been a promising start. Brendon McCullum is still with the Black Caps and will not be available until the test series against Australia finishes. The Verdict: I’m in the Knight Riders camp anyway but it’s worth keeping an eye on the team news as any appearance from Chris Gayle could tip the scales even further KKR’s way. Even now, they should still have enough to heap more pressure on the Royals and that’s the way I’ll be going. Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians: Both the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers have been full of runs and that sets up … [Read more...]