Kolkata Knight Riders v South Australia – Champions League T20 – Match Preview
Kolkata Knight Riders and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hyderabad-c792, today September 27, 2011.
The return of their influential skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Somerset-c843 side, still without their international stars. The left-hander was dismissed on a first ball duck,
rounding of a shaky start to the tournament.
Despite the battling efforts of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JH-Kallis-c1692 and Yusuf Pathan, which led the team to post a fighting total of 161 on the board, the team could not restrict the Somerset charge as they easily cruised to victory.
The main worry for the team has been their bowling department with no one being able to pick up regular wickets despite having the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brett-Lee-c48419 in the squad. The bowlers lack aggression and remained sloppy, as they gave away too many runs in the first
quarter.
Gambhir himself addressed the problem after the match but was optimistic in his team’s chances of qualifying for the semi-finals. However, to do that, they must ensure that they play with confidence or else will remain in the competition just to make up
the numbers.
The key for them will be http://www.senore.com/Cricket/YK-Pathan-c2815, who again gave a good account on his favourite, Hyderabad pitch. He did not bowl in the previous match, which was a surprise considering he had done well in the qualifiers.
With batting remaining their strong link, one could expect changes to the bowling line with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lakshmipathy-Balaji-c72130 most likely being given the axe, provided the team relies on spin.
Their Australian opponents were out maneuvered by a formidable http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AU-Rashid-c1106 and Aaron O’ Brien,
all of whom went for plenty of tap from the Proteas outfit.
None of the slow bowlers took a wicket, with only O’ Brien managing to complete his full quota of overs. Despite such an appalling outing, star batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CJ-Ferguson-c1264 has hinted that the team will go into the game with the same trio, as all have performed
well over the past couple of years.
To add to their misery, raw pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JJ-Smuts-c1701. The seamer went for 53 in his four and will look to make amends of his horror show when facing Kolkata.
The key player for the team will be Ferguson, who could only make 7 in his previous outing. The skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Michael-Klinger-c76093, showed glimpses of his old form with a brisk 34 and will again look to give his side a good start.
With both teams low on confidence it will be a nervy encounter but there will be support for the Indian Premier League outfit with their owner, Shah Rukh http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Khan-c71319, most likely present in the stands for much needed inspiration.
The loser of this encounter would face an uphill task to qualify for the semi-finals so it will be up to the respective captains to re-group their troops in time for yet another cliffhanger.
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