MATCH: Kolkata Knight Riders v South Australia
DATE: Tuesday, September 27, 2011
TIME: 2000 hours IST (1430 hours GMT)
VENUE: Uppal in Hyderabad
In a vital seventh game of the Champions League T20 2011, Kolkata Knight Riders will look to turn around their two-match losing streak when they play South Australia at Hyderabad.
Past Record:
Kolkata Knight Riders have now lost two games in a row and both to Somerset. In the first game, in the qualifiers, they failed to chase down 167 required for a win and in the second one, in the main draw, they allowed the English county to get to 162 set as the target. Earlier, they had beaten Auckland off the last ball of the game.
South Australia were crushed by Warriors in their first game of the tournament, when they fell 50 short of the target.
Side-effect:
A loss for either team could just about spell curtains for them in the tournament. Both, Kolkata (6/11 at
Bwin) and South Australia will be going into this game with a loss under their belt apiece. In a tournament where only two of the five teams make it to the semi-finals from each group, two defeats in two games is a potential end.
The issue is compounded for South Australia (6/4 at
Blue Square), who went down by 50 runs in their previous game. Their net run-rate is so appalling that even if they were to win the remaining two matches, they would only manage a tie for the second spot and go out on a net run-rate.
Team News:
Callum Ferguson (4/1 at
Boylesports) may have sounded out that the side would look to continue going into the match with three spinners but it is a strategy fraught with danger. Especially against a side which is known to have the arsenal to counter the spin bowling; Yusuf Pathan (7/1 at
Stan James), Jacques Kallis (5/2 at
BetFred) and skipper Gautam Gambhir can all do their bit against the slow bowlers and the Redbacks will do well to go in with more pace – even on a surface that is of a slower nature.
Kolkata have a bowling issue or two as well. While Brett Lee and the spinners have been doing a decent job, the problem seems to stem from their fourth and fifth bowling options – none of Kallis, Jaidev Unadkat or L Balaji have done the job. It is a surprise then, that Ryan ten Doeschate hasn’t been given the ball despite there being no news of any fitness issue.
Who is hot?
It will be interesting to see whether Pathan plays this game after he was seen to be limping in the previous game against Somerset. He did his bit with the bat when he smashed four sixes but did not bowl despite the obvious problems that the side was having with the batting of Roelof van der Merwe.
South Australia will need their batting duo of Michael Klinger (7/2 at
bet365) and Daniel Harris to adapt and play the long one. Klinger got a start in the previous loss to the Warriors but without any support from the other end, struggled to do much of note.
Prediction:
It is a tough call to make here, but given the conditions Kolkata have a better side of the two teams. They should beat the South Australians Redbacks.
