IPL5: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils - Match Preview
Gautam Gambhir led Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to open up their IPL-5 campaign by taking on the Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens today, April 5, 2012.
Knight Riders were mediocre in the first three editions of the Indian Premier League, but they improved last year and finished fourth on the points table in the fourth season. Many attribute their resurgence to the change in captaincy. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sourav-Chandidas-Ganguly-c90746 as captain last year, after he went unsold in the auction.
On the other hand, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andre-Dwayne-Russell-c44235, they will be a force to reckon with.
The Knight Riders have a formidable batting line up, which includes skipper Gautam Gambhir, the prolific South African all-rounder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BB-McCullum-c1129, Manoj Tiwary and the all-rounder Yusuf Pathan.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shakib-Al-Hasan-c2492, who comes into the series at the back of an impressive all-round performance in last month’s Asia Cup, is also eyeing.
Their bowling attack will be the same as last season. The Australian pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brett-Lee-c48419 will be leading the attack, and the out of favour Indian fast bowler, Laxmipathy Balaji is most likely to share the new ball with Lee. Kallis will be the first change. The only addition in KKR’s attack from last season is South African pacer Marchant de Lange
Both sides have the right mix of players for a perfect T20 encounter, but the Knight Riders are the more settled side, as they go into the tournament opener with a full strength squad. Their http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DA-Warner-c1301 and Kevin Pietersen, who are all busy with their national squads. In the Twenty20 format of the game, teams mostly rely on their batting and the absence of the trio till the end of April will be a big challenge for Virender Sehwag.
The absence of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 skipper Ross Taylor at the start of the season will be another blow for the Delhi based franchise.
In the absence of the big guns, Sehwag will be relying heavily on the young talent at his disposal, which includes the likes of Naman Ojha, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gulam-Bodi-c1512.
Promising bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan could be the game changer for the Daredevils. His left-arm medium pace coupled with his death over blitz with the bat will be part of Delhi’s game plan. Besides http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Graham-Robert-Cowdrey-c60631 der Merwe.
Their spin attack however, looks a bit weak with left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem spearheading the attack and the South African all-rounder Roelf van der Merwe making up the options.
Last season, the teams played each other only once at the Feroz Shah Kotla with KKR winning the match comfortably by 14 runs. Overall, Delhi has won 28 out of the 57 matches played so far. KKR, on the other hand, has won 24 and lost 30 of the total 55 matches played over the last four seasons.
Teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders : Gautam Gambhir (c), http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BJ-Haddin-c1170 (wk), Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum.
Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (c), http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Morkel-c73528, Roelf van der Merwe.
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