Knight Riders take on Daredevils
    13 May 2008, 9:13 am

Rejuvenated Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Delhi Daredevils at Eden Garden in an Indian Premier League match. Delhi surprisingly lost 3 consecutive matches after their wonderful run in the initial matches. Delhi is depending too much on its top order but absence of match winners in the middle order and lack of all-rounder like Daniel Vettori is costing them much. David Hussey and Shukla are revelation for Kolkata Knight Riders and they will expose Delhi’s fifth bowler. Kolkata needs to play Saha in the top order in order to capitalise on power play. Accumulators like Akash Chopra may score 20-30 runs but they can’t fully utilise first 6 overs.

Delhi needs to utilise Farveez Maharoof more astutely as he is a big hitting all-rounder. Glenn McGrath needs to quickly remove Salman Bhatt and Sourav Ganguly in the first spell. Delhi top order can easily tackle Shoaib Akthar’s pace if he plays for Kolkata.

Deciding factor: How Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan will perform against their Ranji team mate Ishant Sharma?

Match timing: From 8 PM to 11 PM.

IPL Statistics:

1. Delhi Daredevils lost 3 straight matches while Kolkata won two straight matches.
2. Sourav Ganguly won back to back man of the match awards.
3. This is the first match between two teams.
4. Both teams won 4 matches while losing 4 games.
5. Gautam Gambhir is the leading run scorer in IPL 2008.
6. David Hussey is the only Kolkata batsmen in the top 10 list.

Key cricketers:

Kolkata Knight Riders:

1. Sourav Ganguly: “Dada” is back to his best and won two man of the match awards in straight games.
2. David Hussey: Most consistent batsman in IPL along with Rohit Sharma.
3. Ishant Sharma: Maturity beyond his age.

Delhi Daredevils:

1. Glenn McGrath: Economical bowling hero.
2. Sehwag- Gambhir: Most consistent and dangerous openers in IPL.
3. Shikhar Dhawan: Consistency is his forte.

Verdict: Delhi Daredevils have slight edge despite recent losses but they have to cope with resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders and Eden Gardens atmosphere where 90,000 passionate fans support their home fans. Match result will depend on how Kolkata bowlers expose weak Delhi middle order. If Glenn McGrath quickly removes Sourav Ganguly, Kolkata will be in trouble. If Ishant Sharma can take care of Delhi top order, Kolkata is safe. Interesting contest.

Probable teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Sourav Ganguly (Captain), Aakash Chopra, Salman Butt, David Hussey, L. Shukla, Saha, Tatenda Taibu, Umar Gul, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda and Murali Karthik.

Delhi Daredevils:

Virender Sehwag (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, De Villiers, Rajat Bhatia, Maharoof, Dinesh Karthik, Yo Mahesh, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohammad Asif and Glenn McGrath.

Shaun Marsh smashed Royal challengers
    12 May 2008, 7:20 pm

Young Australians Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach steered Punjab Kings Eleven to a comfortable victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers. Mohali IPL decimated Bangalore IPL by 9 wickets at PCA stadium in Mohali. These young cricketers destroyed famed Bangalore bowling attack with 4’s and 6’s especially South African fast bowler Dale Steyn who gave 33 runs in just 2 overs. This 34th match in Indian Premier League glorified weaknesses in Bangalore test squad. What will Vijay Mallya do after this humiliating defeat? He needed a coach like Tom Moody whose faith in Marsh and Pomersbach is vindicated.

Both these young cricketers were banned from Western Australian team due to their late night drinking habits. But they wonderfully bounced back in the domestic tournament (PURA Cup). Shaun Marsh was selected as “Western Australia cricketer of the year” and was selected for 2008 West Indies tour of Australia.

Image courtesy: Wellpitched.com

IPL Statistic:

1. Shaun Marsh: 5 matches; 295 runs; Average – 98.33.
2. Rahul Dravid is the highest scorer for Bangalore in IPL 2008.

IPL T20 Score:

Bangalore Challengers: 143/8 in 20 overs.

Punjab Kings: 144/1 in 15.4 overs.

Result: Mohali won the match by 9 wickets.

Man of the match: Shaun Marsh – 74 not out.

Best Shot: Misbah’s four in Sreesanth’s bowling.

Defining moments:
1. Misbah out hit wicket when he was playing sensational shots.
2. Shaun Marsh and Pomersbach scored 21 runs in a Dale Steyn’s over.

Highlights of T20 Cricket match:

1. Sreesanth once again bowled exceptionally well in the initial overs. Sreesanth performance improved after the “Slap gate” row.
2. Misbah-Ul-Haq batted superbly in his short stint at middle and he showed glimpses of his talents. Misbah’s association with bizarre outs is continuing.
3. Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid and Mark Boucher played useful knocks but failed to score big knocks.
4. In my opinion, every team will have 6-7 Australians in their squad especially youngsters in IPL 2009. Their reserve players are playing better than our icons. Mohali is lucky to have 3 Australians (Shaun Marsh, James Hopes and Pomersbach) in the top order.

Verdict: Mohali is the most vibrant team in IPL. Young cricketers, beautiful franchisee owner and stunning displays from players – Do you want more? Punjab coach Tom Moody is doing wonderful job for Punjab. Australians are ruling Indian Premier League in all departments despite absence of main players.

Sourav Ganguly decimated Hyderabad IPL
    11 May 2008, 2:48 pm

Sourav Ganguly’s all-round performance enabled Kolkata Knight Riders to defeat patchy Hyderabad Deccan challengers at Uppal stadium in Hyderabad. Hyderabad lost all the home matches while Kolkata raised semi-final hopes with two consecutive wins. Venugopala Rao performance is the sole bright spot for Hyderabad IPL. They are sloppy in fielding and bowling. Sourav Ganguly was supported well by ever reliable David Hussey but Venugopal Rao found no support from other end.

Ganguly surprised everyone by opting to bat after winning the toss. But he was right at the end partially due to Hyderabad’s poor bowling and fielding.

IPL Cricket score:

Kolkata Knight Riders: 204/4 in 20 overs.

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: 181/7 in 20 overs.

Match result: Kolkata won by 23 runs.

Man of the match: Sourav Ganguly who scored 91 runs in just 57 balls with 11 fours and 5 sixers. This is one of the best innings in the recent IPL matches. He missed well deserved century. Ganguly also took two vital wickets by giving just 24 runs in his 4 overs.

Venugopala Rao: Exceptional all-round performance.

Bowling: 4 overs; 24 runs.
Batting: 71 runs in 42 balls – four 4’s and six 6’s.

Verdict: Gregg Chappell is a brilliant talent spotter. He believed in Dhoni leadership and abilities of Suresh Raina and Venugopal Rao. He criticised “seniors” politics. Now he is in Rajasthan management team.

Highlights of the match:

Kolkata innings:

1. Sourav Ganguly played his best innings in the recent days. Except Vijay Kumar and Venugopala Rao, he destroyed all the bowlers with 4’s and 6’s.
2. I can’t understand why Kolkata picked Akash Chopra. Be innovative man. Send a batsman like Saha to utilise power play.
3. David Hussey is one of the top 3 batsmen in IPL 2008. The way he plays according to the situation and the way be built his innings is a lesson for every aspiring cricketer. He scored 57 runs in just 29 balls.
4. Vaas and RP Singh bowled without line and length. David Hussey and Sourav Ganguly exposed them. When other Indian fast bowlers bowling beautifully in this tournament, RP Singh disappointed with his worst performance in IPL. Do you that he played vital role in India’s Twenty20 world cup win? RP Singh gave 59 runs in his 4 overs in this match!!
5. Poor captaincy from Gilchrist. He once failed to utilise the full quota of his best bowler, Vijay Kumar as he did in previous matches.
6. I have not seen such a pathetic fielding in IPL T20 matches. These Hyderabad players have neither desire nor will to win the matches.
7. Congrats to Venugopala Rao for bowling superbly in this high scoring match (24 runs in 4 overs).

Hyderabad innings:

1. Except Venugopala Rao and Rohit Sharma, none of the Hyderabad batsmen showed willingness and application to chase the Kolkata total.
2. There is no place for bits and pieces players like Scott Styris in Twenty20 cricket. He is neither an ideal T20 batsman nor a good bowler. Shahid Afridi is at least a better bowler than him. But Hyderabad dropped him.
3. Venugopala Rao showed his all-round brilliance in this match.

Verdict: We should not expect wins from a team which lacks desire to win. My request to Hyderabad franchisee owners (Deccan Chronicle) is please sell your team to someone who has real passion for cricket. I am also requesting IPL authorities to conduct fitness tests before auctions especially to icons and other aged players. IPL needs a passionate team like Kolkata Knight Riders in semi-finals. I hope they will reach it.

No more Hopes for the DC in IPL
    11 May 2008, 2:20 pm

The Chargers did it again they lost to the Kolkatha Knight Riders here at Hyderabad. They were already at the last position in the table and they did it again.

All the cricket experts are completely surprised with this performance by the Deccan Chargers. DC were one among the Hot favorites when IPL started. But now it is in the last position.

The Knight Riders started of well with some good partnership from Ganguly and Chopra later on mike Hussuy took the responsibilty with some grest shots.

The Chargers seemed good with Gilly but after his dismisal there was no hope for the Chargers. Venu Gopal Rao did a good job in the end but was not worth to win the game. He scored 69 from just 42 balls with 5 sixers on the card. He hit the maximum sixers in the match.

It was for the first time in the IPL that a man batting a 6th poistion scored a half century. All the credit goes to Venu Gopal Rao but he was not able to bring the match for the Chargers.

Score Card

Knight Riders

Batting:

Ganguly-91
Hussy-57
Chopra-24

Bowling:

Singh – 1-59
Vijay – 1-21
Vaas – 1-36

Deccan Chargers

Batting:

Rao – 69
Sharma – 33
Gilly – 24

Bowling:

Dinda – 3-33
Ganguly – 2-25
Gul - 1-43

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Can Gilchrist save Hyderabad IPL?
    11 May 2008, 8:03 am

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers will attack Kolkata Knight Riders in a do or die clash at Uppal stadium in Hyderabad. Hyderabad is on the verge of elimination if it loses this IPL game. But Kolkata is on high after defeating Bangalore Royal Challengers in the last match. Hyderabad wins if Gilchrist plays well; that’s the situation. Brad Hodge departure will not have much impact on Kolkata fortunes. There are still some doubts over Shoaib Akthar whether he plays or not. VVS Laxman is unavailable for Hyderabad due to injury.
Image courtesy: Eenadu Daily.

Salman Butt should play for Kolkata as he is in immense form in the recent Pakistan series. David Hussey will once again need to play vital role as he did in the last match between the two teams which was marred due to bad pitch and flood light problems. Ishant Sharma should take the wicket of Adam Gilchrest early; otherwise Kolkata will be in trouble. Kolkata top order batting is a concern.

Why Kolkata is taking a batsman like Akash Chopra into their team? Except Rajasthan and Chennai, other teams are not doing much ground work. No team is employing surprise strategies, innovations and different plans according to the situation. I hope we will see more such things in IPL 2009.

Match timing: From 4 PM onwards at Uppal stadium in Hyderabad.

IPL Statistic:

1. Hyderabad lost all the home matches and Hyderabad is the only team that owns this dubious record.

Key players:

1. Adam Gilchrist: One man army.

2. Rohit Sharma: Consistent performer.

3. Ishant Sharma: Gilchrist needs to be more careful against him.

4. David Hussey: Unsung hero in IPL. He is like Mohinder Amaranath of Kolkata (mental strength). Unforgettable innings even in defeat along with Saha.

Why Hyderabad is losing:

1. There is no visible passion either in the team or franchisee.
2. It has worst coach in the form of Robin Singh.
3. It has captain who doesn’t spend minimum time to spot young talent and nurture him.
4. They are not practising seriously even before the match day.
5. There is no clear strategy or match planning.
6. Absence of strike bowler.
7. Captain and coach don’t know strength and weaknesses of teammate especially younger players.
8. Failure of big hitters like Gibbs and Afridi. There is no motivation or enthusiasm to win the matches.
9. Adam Gilchrist is a legendary batsman but worst captain. Unlike Warne, he failed to spot young talent and nurtures them.
10. List will go on.

Verdict: If Adam Gilchrist scores above 70 runs, Hyderabad wins otherwise it loses. If Hyderabad bats first, Kolkata win is a foregone conclusion. Opposition can chase any total against this Hyderabad attack. Hyderabad urgently needs a Shane Warne like captain.

Congrats to Preity Zinta and Sharukh Khan for really involving in the IPL Cricket unlike Hyderabad owners. When will Akshay Kumar and Amir Khan own franchisees?

IPL T20 Preview: Kings will take on Super Kings
    10 May 2008, 11:15 am

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Chennai Superkings will take on Indian vice-captain Yuvraj Singh led Punjab Kings eleven at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Chennai IPL won the last ball thriller against Delhi Daredevils thanks to Gony and Badrinath. Chennai seems to have found an ideal batting lineup in that match after the exit of Hayden and Hussey. Punjab Kings Eleven is in superb form having won the last five matches. Chennai may find it difficult to stop Mohali to cruise to sixth straight victory. Winner of this match is almost assured of a berth in semi-finals of Indian Premier League. Chennai won the first round match against Mohali.

Stadium: MA Chidambaram stadium, Chennai.
Match timings: 8 PM – 11 PM.



Punjab Kings Eleven:

Punjab bounced back admirable after the initial losses and won five consecutive matches even after the exit of Brett Lee. It is playing in IPL with a bowling attack comprising of only Indian players. Punjab missed the services of Kumara Sangakkara due to injury.

Key cricketers:

1. Irfan Pathan: Leading wicket taker and useful batsman. Punjab needs to use him in batting also.
2. Shaun Marsh: This young man lifted the spirit of Punjab with stunning performances in the top order.
3. Yuvraj Singh: Big innings due.

Chennai Superkings:

Chennai’s international bowlers Muralidharan and Ntini are continuously failing to take wickets despite good bowling. It is depending too much on Manpreet Gony. Dhoni and Raina are failing to convert their good starts to match winning knocks. Balaji form is a good omen for Chennai.

Key players:

1. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan: He played scintillating knock against McGrath & Co. Sreesanth needs to be more careful against him.
2. Dhoni: Big innings due.
3. Albie Morkel: Most important player in the Chennai team. He is one of the best all-rounders in IPL along with Shane Watson and Irfan Pathan. Piyush Chawla is the target.

Verdict: Punjab has edge over Chennai based on recent form. But Chennai batsmen may try to expose wayward Sreesanth and spinner Piyush Chawla. Match result will depend on who will win these battles. Chennai should not allow Shaun Marsh to explode in the initial overs.

Rajasthan Royals decimated Hyderabad IPL
    9 May 2008, 7:22 pm

What a performance from Rajasthan Royals! Jaipur IPL decimated Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in a one sided encounter at Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur. Yusuf Pathan played a breezing knock (68 runs in 37 deliveries) to take the match away from Hyderabad. Adam Gilchrist played superb knock in the initial overs but Rajasthan bounced back in the late overs thanks to Shane Warne and Trivedi. With this win, Jaipur is almost assured of semi-final berth while Hyderabad is on the edge of elimination. Hyderabad team is playing without any strategy. They take young opener Ravi Teja but sent him at No.6. Is there any planning in their game? It is waste to write about this team. They don’t have desire to win the matches.

Toss: Shane Warne won the toss and asked Hyderabad to bat keeping in mind that Rajasthan Royals never lost a match batting second.

IPL T20 match score:

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: 140/8 in 20 overs.
Rajasthan Royals: 141/2 in 16 overs.
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 8 wickets with 4 overs to spare.

Man of the match: Yusuf Pathan. He scored 68 runs in 37 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixers. He also took the wicket of Scott Styris to trigger major collapse.

IPL Statistics:

1. Rajasthan Royals are now at top of the table. They are undefeated in all their home games and in which they batted second.
2. Rajasthan won 6 matches out of 8 they played while Hyderabad lost 6 games out of 8 they played. Interesting statistic.
3. Rajasthan Bowler Trivedi gave just 8 runs in his 3 overs.

Verdict: Rajasthan Royals recovered wonderfully after their humiliating loss against Mumbai Indians. Hyderabad may not win many matches with this bowling attack. Anil Ambani should take over this team and inject much needed passion and desire to win matches. Congrats to Rajasthan Royals.

Hyderabad will take on Rajasthan Royals
    9 May 2008, 4:08 am

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers will take on Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur. Hyderabad played wonderfully to defeat Chennai and Adam Gilchrist once again played match winning innings. He is the player to watch out for in this match. Rajasthan Royals exhibited poor performance against Mumbai Indians but they are still strong favourites on home ground. Hyderabad lost previous encounter with Jaipur due to poor captaincy from VVS Laxman (He gave last over to out of form Symonds). Shane Warne has sweet memories of that last match.
Hyderabad IPL:

Herschelle Gibbs needs to play match winning knock along with Adam Gilchrist. Hyderabad should open with Gilchrist-Ravi Teja combination. Deccan Chargers are looking unbeatable on paper but not playing to their full potential. VVS Laxman is still in doubt for this match. Rohit Sharma is consistently playing well and Shane Warne will target this young man. Young fast bowler Vijay Kumar bowled exceptionally well along with RP Singh in the last match.

Key players:

1. Rohit Sharma: Most consistent player in unpredictable Hyderabad team.
2. Adam Gilchrist: Man of the match award performance in both Hyderabad wins.
3. Herschelle Gibbs: Don’t underestimate this match winner.

Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan success hinges on how their top order will perform. With Graeme Smith, Yusuf Pathan, Asnodkar and Shane Watson in superb form, Hyderabad bowlers have a difficult task at their hand. They will try to exploit weak Hyderabad bowling on their home turf. England cricketer Mascarenhas may play his first IPL match who is big hitting all-rounder but whom will he replace. Mohammad Kaif is the only under-performer in this energetic squad.

Key cricketers:

1. Shane Watson: He is in top 10 list in both bowling and batting rankings in IPL 2008.
2. Sohail Tanvir: Best bowling performance in IPL.
3. Asnodkar: Hyderabad needs to quickly remove him who has an average of more than 100 runs in Ranji cricket in this season.
4. Shane Warne: He will try to take crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shahid Afridi and Scott Styris.

Interesting battle:

1. Shahid Afridi Vs Shane Warne: Can he slam-bang Warne?

IPL Statistics:

1. Rajasthan Royals won all the matches at their home ground.
2. Shane Watson is the number one player in all-rounders list.

Verdict: Rajasthan Royals has slight edge but Hyderabad match winners are dangerous in any match. Interesting battle lies ahead. Match result will depend on how Hyderabad bowlers will perform and whom they will pick.

Chennai IPL clinched a last ball thriller
    8 May 2008, 5:00 pm

Chennai Super kings clinched a last ball thriller against Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground in Delhi. Badrinath scored vital single in the last ball to stun home fans. Manpreet Gony is the unlikely hero with the bat by hitting six and four in the last over for Chennai IPL who registered their first win in the last 4 matches. This is the second successive loss for Delhi IPL. Chennai top order which failed in the recent matches played exceptionally well against top quality bowlers like McGrath and Asif.

Indian selectors must pick Shikhar Dhawan when they select ODI squad. He is an exceptional talent. The way he builds up innings is a lesson even for experienced cricketers. If nurtured carefully, he will become “Michael Hussey of India”. I can’t find the logic behind Manoj Tiwary selection over Rajat Bhatia. Most of the teams are losing the matches due to selection mistakes and bad captaincy. Chennai won this match just due to good selection policies. They left out ineffective Joginder Sharma and Makhaya Ntini. But Delhi picked ineffective Shoaib Malik.

Albie Morkel scored 3 consecutive sixers in the bowling of Virender Sehwag to change match course. Yo Mahesh took two crucial wickets in the penultimate over to turn the match in Delhi’s way but Shoaib Malik bowled carelessly in the last over to gift Chennai crucial win.

Toss: Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first.

IPL T20 Scores:

Delhi Daredevils: 187/5 in 20 overs.
Chennai Super Kings: 188/6 in 20 overs.
Result: Chennai won by 4 wickets.

Man of the match: Mahendra Singh Dhoni??? This is the second Man of the Match award for Dhoni. Gautam Gambhir scored 80 runs in 49 balls.

Highlight of the match:

1. 131 runs fourth wicket partnership of Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan.

2. Vidyut Shivaramakrhnan's explosive knock against Mcgrath and Asif.

IPL Statistics:

1. Gautam Gambhir won the orange cap by becoming top scorer in IPL 2008.
2. Virender Sehwag is the second highest run scorer in Indian Premier League. There are 3 Delhi batsmen among top 8 batsmen list.
3. This is the first IPL match whose result was decided in the last ball.
4. I felt happy after seeing Balaji in action after a long time. He took 2 wickets for 35 runs.
5. Mathew Hayden is still in top 10 batsmen list despite playing in 4 matches only. His average is 63 in IPL T20 Matches. Unbelievable.
6. Shane Watson is the best all-rounder in IPL. He finds place in top batsmen and bowlers list.

Verdict: Both teams played well but best team won the match. IPL is continuously producing unpredictable results. IPL needs matches like these to get more audience. Chennai at last found an ideal batting lineup at crucial stage of tournament. Chennai won this match as they exploited Delhi part time bowlers (Sehwag and Malik) by milking 30% of runs in their 4 overs.

No place for part timers in T20 cricket:

There is no place for part time bowlers like Andrew Symonds, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Joginder Sharma and Shoaib Malik etc. in T20 matches especially in end overs. Batsmen cruelly expose these part time bowlers as it was done by Shahid Afridi (Joginder Sharma), Shane Warne (Symonds) and Manpreet Gony (Shoaib Malik). You need either genuine bowlers like McGrath or real all-rounders like Irfan Pathan and Shane Watson. There is no place for bits and piece cricketers.

Learn from Glenn McGrath:

Have you seen the body language of Glenn McGrath and Shoiab Malik in the last overs of the match? McGrath is all over the park by giving suggestions to young bowlers and saving runs while Malik is casual and looks uninterested in the proceedings of the match. That’s why McGrath expressed his unhappiness publicly over Shoaib Malik attitude after the match. Delhi should not take him into the team for the next match.

IPL T20 match: Kolkata IPL Vs Royal Challengers
    8 May 2008, 2:30 pm

Kolkata Knight Riders will try to end their poor run by winning against demoralised Bangalore Royal Challengers at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akthar will not play in this match. Bangalore team lost morale after Mallya’s shock treatment to their CEO Charu Sharma. Their big hope Misbah-Ul-Haq failed to reach even double digits in the last 2 matches.

Kolkata decimated Bangalore IPL in the first match of IPL T20 tournament thanks to McCullum heroics. Kolkata failed to win a single match after this win. They are playing this match after losing four successive matches. Except David Hussey, no other batsmen played well in the recent matches. How can they play well against strong Bangalore bowling attack? Kolkata bowlers failed to perform well after their superb showing in the initial matches.

Bangalore will play this match without their in-form opener Wasim Jaffer. Strong Bangalore bowling attack may disrupt weak Kolkata batting lineup. But to win this game, their batsmen need to play according to the requirement of Twenty2o matches.

Interesting battles:

1. Zaheer Khan Vs Sourav Ganguly: Ganguly became a big bunny for Zaheer Khan in the recent matches. Will he reverse the trend?
2. Misbah-Ul-Haq Vs Umar Gul:

Watch out for: Shahrukh Khan’s 20-minute performance off the pitch. Famous wrestler Kali will also appear along with Kareena-Saif.

Key cricketers:

Bangalore IPL:

1. Virat Kohli:
2. Mark Boucher:
3. Misbah-Ul-Haq:
4. Dale Steyn & Zaheer Khan:

Kolkata IPL:

1. David Hussey: Lone warrior who played heroic innings in the last match.
2. Shukla: Very good all-rounder.
3. Ishant Sharma:

Verdict: Bangalore bowlers may give their team crucial victory in this match. Kolkata batsmen may find it difficult to face Dale Steyn, Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar. Anil Kumble registered his best bowling figures (one day cricket) at Eden Gardens. Kolkata captain Sourav Ganguly needs to lead his team from front but he rarely played well against quality bowling. How long David Hussey wage lone battle? Bangalore needs to tackle 90,000 strong Kolkata fans who are still supporting their home team despite its losing streak.