<p><strong>Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders – Champions league T20 – Match Preview</strong></p>
<p>The men from Kolkata travel to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to take on their Indian Premier League rivals, Royal Challengers Bangalore in a must win day and night encounter of the Champions League T20, which will be played today, September 29, 2011.</p>
<p>The Knights by far remain the only team yet to make a note-worthy impression. They were lucky to come out from the qualifiers and get a place in the group stages; however, even the presence of skipper, Gautam Gambhir has failed to inspire the troops.</p>
<p>Despite boasting one of the strongest squads in the tournament, the team looks short on confidence and is relying on individual brilliance to lead them to victories. Someone from the team’s experienced lot will need to set up and take up the added responsibility
of regrouping the morale of a camp which looks bleak at the moment.</p>
<p>So far the bowling and batting for the Kolkata franchise haven’t gelled in to produce a collective performance. The batting order needs a shuffle and their Netherlandian recruit, Ryan ten Doeschate, needs to be promoted up the order. He was the only bright
spot against South Australia but by the time he came to the pitch, the tie had already been lost.</p>
<p>Also the bowling contingent looks short in terms of attacking options. Brett Lee has failed to take wickets upfront and has no reliable partner in the pace department who can control the tempo of the scoring rate from the other end. The spin department is
also not utilized properly.</p>
<p>The key for them is their skipper, Gautam Gambhir. The left-hander has not been in the best of form since his return and being in the line of fire for his preference towards league cricket over national committments may further hamper his performances.</p>
<p>However, with a semi-final berth a realistic prospect, one could expect the team to come all-guns blazing.</p>
<p>Their opponents, Royal Challengers Bangalore were dealt a blow with the news that South African AB de Villiers will miss the remainder of the campaign due to a finger injury. Having said that, the news is even more upsetting one for the Proteas boss, Gary
Kirsten, as this means that he will have to find a new skipper and wicket-keeper for the upcoming tough home series against Australia.</p>
<p>This makes Sri Lankan captain, Tillakaratne Dilshan, a straight swap for the injured De Villiers, who once again will slot in the opening spot with left-hander Chris Gayle. The duo performed well in the fourth edition and with both possessing the added ability
to bowl, it gives their opponents a formidable fight.</p>
<p>However, they too will be wary of the defeat they suffered in their first match at the hands of Warriors, and skipper Daniel Vettori addressed the fact, blaming the fielders for their lack of concentration.</p>
<p>They need to put in a solid performance and get a win in order to give them an automatic chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. A defeat will mean that they have to get convincing wins in their final two matches, a predicament similar to that of their
opponents.</p>
<p>Playing on their home ground under a packed stadium, the match will surely attract most of the local supports including the passionate owners of the respective franchises.</p>
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