Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Deccan Chargers will face each other today in the 32nd match of the Indian Premier League's (IPL) fifth edition, at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The two teams will meet for the second time in three
days as the Knight Riders outclassed Deccan on Sunday by five wickets.
KKR is currently holding the second spot on the chart with eight points after seven matches and considering the fact that they will face the Chargers on their home turf, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/G-Gambhir-c1447 and company will start the match as favourites.
Most of the Kolkata players have not been at their best in the tournament, but the team is still doing well and has gathered momentum recently, which is a very good sign for the management.
The likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BB-McCullum-c1129 are match-winners but they have so far failed to have lasting impacts on the current season. Once they start to get going, KKR is surely going to be a team to beat in the tournament.
Pathan has always done exceedingly well in IPL and was named as the Player of the Match in the final of the very first edition of the cash-rich league in 2008. He played a vital role in the success of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 Royals in the inaugural season. However, since
moving to KKR, Yusuf is yet to ignite the league with his power-hitting.
The bowling coach of the Knight Riders and former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292, has a lot of faith in the abilities of the all-rounder and expressed that it is crucial for KKR to have Pathan in form. Akram went one step ahead and feels that the hard-hitting
batsman should never have been dropped from the national team.
“We need Yusuf because he is simply fantastic when he clicks. One of the best in limited-overs cricket. Why he was dropped is beyond me. The selectors didn’t do any favour to his confidence by omitting him. Pathan is a big match player and will surely come
good,” said Akram.
Yusuf will be under pressure to deliver the goods against Deccan and it is widely expected that a player of such potential will find back his form sooner rather than later.
On the other side of the coin, Deccan has had a horrible tournament so far and lost all the five matches they have played. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KC-Sangakkara-c1779 and the management of the Chargers is under immense pressure to perform before it gets too late.
If Deccan still has hopes of qualifying for the play-off stage, they need to get going and will have to win most of their matches from now onwards in the tournament.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Trevor-Lionel-Penney-c94362, Chargers' fielding coach, believes that his team is improving with the passage of time and one win can change the fortunes for the under-rated side. Deccan’s fielding has been heavily criticized recently as they have dropped numerous catches.
If they have any hopes of giving a tough time to the major teams of the event, the Chargers must improve their ground-fielding as well as catching.
Penney said, "I think in the last four matches we've played good cricket. It's just that at the big moments we've made a mistake either with the bat, the ball or in the field, whether it be a poor over, a dropped catch or not taking on the right bowler at
the right time."
The Chargers are likely to make one change in their team as they may replace Cameron White with another Australian, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Daniel-Christian-c1308.
KKR will start the match as firm-favourites but one can expect the Chargers to come back hard on them like cornered tigers.
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