MATCH: Kolkata v Warriors
DATE: Saturday, October 1, 2011
TIME: 2000 hours IST (1430 hours GMT)
VENUE: M Chinnaswamy in Bangalore
Kolkata take on Warriors in a Group B game on October 1. This will be the Knight Riders’ last game in the tournament and if they lose, their last of the tournament.
Past Record:
Kolkata qualified for the main draw with a narrow win over Auckland before going down to Somerset twice – in the qualifiers and the main tournament. This was followed by another defeat to the South Australia Redbacks which had left them with no option but to win their remaining two matches. They have beaten Bangalore in one and play the Warriors in this one.
The Warriors have won two games out of two and are currently at the top of the table. They beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first match before overcoming South Australia in their second. Not only do they have the full points but also a superb net run-rate given their 50-run win over the Redbacks.
Side-effect:
A win for the Warriors (11/10 at
bet365) will take them to the semi-finals unless some heady mixes of permutations go against them. Even if they lose, they will have a game against Somerset still to be played and the chances of qualifying will be as bright for them. On the other hand, Kolkata (4/5 at
Paddy Power) have no option but to win this one – a loss will knock them off, while a win is no guarantee of qualification either.
Team News:
The way Kolkata chased down the tricky, 170-run target against Bangalore, the confidence would have returned back. What did help them was the return to batting form of Gautam Gambhir (9/2 at
Totesport), after his successive failures at the beginning of the tournament and the all-round skills from Jacques Kallis.
It was interesting to see the side go in with Brad Haddin at the top of the innings and making a couple of changes to their bowling as well. The decision to drop Shakib al Hasan and replacing him with Haddin, seemed to have played rich dividends as the wicket-keeper got them a superb stumping of T Dilshan and scored a quick-fire 42 at the top of the innings.
The Warriors look to be a well-oiled unit under the astute of leadership of Johan Botha, and their batting depth and all-round bowling strength has been the reason for their success. There have been no chinks in their game, with even Mark Boucher coming to the party in the South Australia game.
Of course, where they have been helped is by a strong start from the likes of Ashwell Prince (4/1 at
Totesport) or JJ Smuts and it would be interesting to see how they go if the openers go cheaply.
Who is hot?
If it is was Prince who batted through in the first game, then Smuts put them in the winning position in the second. It could well be the turn of Colin Ingram this time, for the Warriors. Kolkata will look to their top three as well, Haddin, Kallis and Gambhir, knowing well that their fifth bowler remains to be an expensive option and they need to score well to buffer against it.
Prediction:
Warriors will be favourites to make it three in a row.
