Under-pressure franchises prepare for battle

Match facts

Thursday, May 8, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

	Former India captains Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly will once again pit their wits against each other when Bangalore take on Kolkata (File photo) © AFP

The Big Picture

The two most high-profile teams, with the two most flamboyant owners, meet up for the second time in the tournament. Much has happened since the first meeting, which Kolkata won with ease: their form has disappeared along with their key overseas players, while Bangalore, the second most expensive franchise, haven't hit their stride. But they have reacted differently to their losses, Bangalore's owner Vijay Mallya sacking the CEO while Kolkata seem much calmer.

But there's a pattern to the cricket played by both teams: neither has had opening partnerships of note, neither team's composition has been settled, and the lack of Twenty20 experience has bitten both. As Cricinfo noted about Bangalore's progress so far, six different batsmen have opened in a tournament when wins have been largely based on opening stands. And now Wasim Jaffer, the one opener to have scored some runs, is out with an injured hand. For Kolkata, the much-awaited arrival of Shoaib Akhtar may not have any immediate impact as he has already been ruled out of Thursday's game.

Tournament position

Bangalore Royal Challengers P7 W2/L5 NRR -1.426
Kolkata Knight Riders P6 W2/L4 NRR +0.482

IPL form (last five matches)

Bangalore Royal Challengers LLLWL
Kolkata Knight Riders WLLLL

Watch out for ...

Dale Steyn against Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly handled Steyn very well in the Ahmedabad Test last month, but has struggled for form in the IPL. He can expect a fiery welcome.

Ishant Sharma v Rahul Dravid. Ishant cleaned up Dravid in the IPL opener, but Dravid found form with a 51-ball 66 against Deccan Chargers and could come back strong.

Team news

The team management has hinted that J Arun Kumar may open in place of the injured Jaffer. Three of Bangalore's overseas players - Cameron White, Jacques Kallis and Steyn - have so far underperformed and plenty is expected of Misbah-ul-Haq, who will play his third match. Kallis' contribution has been scrutinised and it may be that his time has come. If Bangalore choose to rest him then Chanderpaul, who has oddly been given just two games, would be man to step in.

Bangalore: (probable) 1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 2 J Arun Kumar, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rahul Dravid (capt), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Bharat Chipli, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 Dale Steyn.

Kolkata's batting has been a worry and they may reshuffle their pack. Scores of 16, 2 and 13 should be enough for them to swap Mohammad Hafeez for fellow Pakistani Salman Butt. Delhi's Aakash Chopra, who had a great limited-overs domestic season, is also an option as opener. Ajit Agarkar's form has dipped and Murali Kartik may come in to offer variety with his left-arm spin.

Kolkata(probable) :1 Sourav Ganguly, 2 Salman Butt, 3 Debabrata Das, 4 Brad Hodge, 5 David Hussey, 6 Laxmi Ratan Shukla, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashok Dinda.

Stats and trivia

Despite leaving after four matches, Brendon McCullum is still Kolkata's highest runscorer with 188 runs. David Hussey is second with 180 from six innings, while Sourav Ganguly has only 96.

Anil Kumble is yet to take a wicket after three matches and has conceded 105 runs at 9.26 runs per over.

Quotes

"I hadn't played a lot of Twenty20 games earlier. Now I'm getting used to it and I'm trying to learn and understand its pace and nature. I'm keeping it simple. There is not much stress on technique. You have to be ruthless. But a good cricketing shot is a good cricketing shot. And whenever I can, I concentrate on playing such shots."
Dravid, who scored 66 off 51-balls against Kings XI Punjab.

"Given that he has not played for a while, he will not be considered for selection. He is not in the condition he should be."
John Buchanan, Kolkata's coach, doesn't mince words about Shoaib.

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