IPL5 – Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders – Match Preview
The stage is set for an epic battle between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in the first qualifier game of Indian Premier League (IPL5), at the Subrata http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Symonds-c44611 Sahara Stadium Pune, on Tuesday, May 22, 2012.
No team can be tagged as clear favourites, as they are equal in every frame of the game. Furthermore, the match will be played at a neutral venue, thus it takes away the home advantage from both.
Knight Riders however, played more recently at Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium when they defeated Sourav Ganguly's Pune Warriors by 34 runs on May 19.
Delhi Daredevils, on the other hand, last played at this ground on April 24, when they thrashed the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Warriors-c861 by eight wickets.
Both, KKR and Daredevils are loaded with explosive batsmen in their line-ups. The skippers of Knight Riders and DD, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Sehwag-c2739, have led from the front with the bat and are placed at fourth and fifth, respectively,
on the leading run-scorers' list.
Sehwag, along with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Eric-Owen-Simons-c56137, head coach DD, is confident that they will feature in the first qualifier.
He said, “We didn't have an extended practice session for them. They had light practice as both were recovering from bouts of flu. We are confident that they will be fine.”
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Morkel-c73528. The Proteas international is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament and has bagged 25 scalps from 15 games.
On the other hand, Kolkata depend heavily on their spin bowlers. The West Indian import, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sunil-Philip-Narine-c91869, has come as a surprise package for the side, playing major roles in their successes.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brett-Lee-c48419.
Gambhir was relieved to have such experienced cricketers at this disposal. He said, “We have some quality players in the dressing room. Someone like Kallis, who is such a legend of the game. Brendon McCullum and Brett Lee are also
there. When you have such players, you don't need to motivate them. They all are thorough professionals. One thing important for us is that we need to play well as a unit.”
No high scoring games were witnessed at Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium this season, and anything around 150 should be a defendable total.
Team form:
Both Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders have won three out of their last five fixtures. In head-to head clashes this season, both sides emerged victorious once.
Kolkata Knight Riders(probable XI):
1 Gautam Gambhir (Capt.), 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shakib-Al-Hasan-c2492 , 10 Manvinder Bisla, 11 Jaydev Unadkat/
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajat-Bhatia-c83456
Delhi Daredevils (probable XI):
1 Virender Sehwag (captain), 2 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Venugopal-Rao-c2752, 8 IK Pathan, 9 M Morkel, 10 S Nadeem, 11 VR Aaron
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