Kolkata Knight Riders vs Pune Warriors – Indian Premier League 5 – Match Preview
Loyalties will be tested; emotions will run high, when Kolkata’s favourite son, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sourav-Chandidas-Ganguly-c90746, leads his adopted Indian Premier League franchise Pune Warriors on the field, against his former team, Kolkata Knight Riders, at the Eden Gardens Stadium, today, May 5, 2012.
The return of ‘Prince of Kolkata’ to his old hunting ground has magnified the importance of this game. After featuring for his city of berth in the first three IPL seasons, two as captain, Ganguly went unsold in last year’s auction.
The decision of the Knight Riders to axe him did not go well with the passionate Ganguly fans, who blamed the franchise for ill-treating their iconic Bengali leader. However, the former Indian skipper managed to attract suitors, with Warriors securing his services last term, after http://www.senore.com/Cricket/A-Nehra-c873 suffered an injury.
With http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yuvraj-Singh-c98364 out, owing to illness, Ganguly’s role has been elevated to captain/mentoring the franchise, and a return to his city of birth will certainly put loyalties at stake.
However, as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/G-Gambhir-c1447, KKR’s current skipper, pointed out that he hopes that fans will support their home team, as the game is not about individuals. Despite his plea, one can expect the unexpected from the Bengali crowd as they embrace their favourite icon.
Ganguly’s reputation will precede him, and nothing will please the fans more that watching their http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Warriors-c861’ push into the top four and they need wins in order to stabilize their faulty position on the points table – occupying second from bottom spot.
Their most recent loss was distressing after they had restricted the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 Indians to a lowly 120, only to fall just one run short. With six defeats from their last seven matches, the Warriors will need to win all their remaining bouts to keep their fate, of qualifying for the knockout stages, in their own hands.
Their overseas contingent will need to fire – http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Steven-Barry-Smith-c91279.
With the Kolkata pitch on the slower side, one expects http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AD-Mathews-c913.
However, coming up against an inform Kolkata side will not be easy. The team is sitting pretty at no.2 on the IPL standings, and will be confident going into the game. Their upsurge is largely attributed to some exceptional bowling performances from their bowlers, coupled with some significant, lone, batting contributions from Gambhir.
The left-hander has been their best batsman, scoring 365 at 144. The rest have yet to shine wholeheartedly, including http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BB-McCullum-c1129. However, both are expected to preserve their places for the upcoming sell out game.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brett-Lee-c48419 will fill the other overseas spot, with the former being their safest bet in terms of providing crucial breakthroughs.
The pitch at Eden Gardens has offered plenty of assistance to the slow bowlers and one expects both sides to go spin heavy. One hopes that weather remains clear, despite showers and thunderstorms expected to encircle the city.
On current form, Kolkata remain overwhelming favourites but Ganguly’s presence might allow the Warriors to feel at home – an indicator of which could be India- http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757’s ODI clash in 2005.
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