The Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai is the battlefield for two of India's greatest batsmen of the modern era as Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly lead their respective franchises on the field in the 17th match of IPL 3.0 on March 22nd. While Sachin seems to be at his prime even at the ripe age of 37, Bengal's favourite son Ganguly is finding it difficult to adjust to the high octane cricket, post retirement, in the ongoing IPL.The Hosts
After the first couple of matches in which they managed to post 200 plus totals on the board, the Mumbai Indians' batting failed to fire on Saturday and were beaten comprehensively by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (read more). As a result, they had to relinquish top spot in the League to Bangalore. But, that will be added motivation for the home team to get the better of the visitors on Monday.
Though the Mumbai Indians would be disappointed with the defeat, they would be happy with the start they have got to the IPL this year. The batting looks strong on paper and the performance on field has really not disappointed thus far. The confidence that Mumbai Captain Sachin has shown in his youngsters like Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu, by sending them ahead of power hitters Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard, seems to be paying off. But that has given the West Indian pair little opportunity to shine with the willow. Bravo looks likely to be given a chance to bat at number three, if not in the match against Kolkata, at some stage in the tournament for sure.
While Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga have looked in great form with the new ball, India's leading off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's lack of effectiveness remains a cause of concern for the Mumbai Indians. Bravo and Pollard, both of whom had leaked runs at over a dozen per over against Bangalore, will be hoping for a much improved performance against Kolkata.
The Visitors
None better than Kolkata Knight Riders know the importance of maintaining momentum in the Indian Premier League and how losing can become, not just a habit, but also a disease! In the first edition of the IPL, KKR had a dream start to the tournament winning their opening two matches but then had to wait for five games to get back to winning ways. And in South Africa last year, they were on a 10 match win-less streak. If the KKR think tank doesn't come up with new and improved ideas, they may well be on their way to another long run.
In their last match against the Rajasthan Royals, the Kolkata batsmen never seemed to get going as they failed to chase down a par score of 168 despite being just three down for the major part of the last six overs (read more). The opening pair of Manoj Tiwary and Brad Hodge have had mixed fortunes with a couple of decent starts and a couple of mediocre performances. The arrival of West Indian Captain Chris Gayle will surely bolster the KKR batting and he looks certain to replace Owais Shah or Brad Hodge for the game against Mumbai. While Sourav has found it difficult to strike the ball with either finesse or power, he would be hoping that he is just a hit away from finding some sort of rhythm. The Knight Riders might also have to rethink their batting order as the men in form - Owais Shah and Angelo Mathews, seem to be coming in either with the team in dire straits due to loss of early wickets or with too steep a target to achieve like in the previous match.
Murali Kartik has been KKR's standout bowler with an outstanding economy rate of under six in the four matches so far in addition to his three strikes. Ashok Dinda, who was given an opportunity in the last match, might consider himself desperately unlucky if he fails to make it to the playing XI on Monday after a decent show against Rajasthan. He might have to make way for either Rohan Gavaskar or Laxmi Ratan Shukla, if KKR team management decides to strengthen their batting.
Trump Cards
Saurabh Tiwary: The Dhoni look-a-like Jharkhand youngster looks to be in the form of his life. His fearless attitude and unflattering confidence make him a dangerous batsman in the shortest format of the game
Chris Gayle: The Jamaican rock star who is returning from the West Indies, after a man of the series performance against Zimbabwe, must be raring to go in the IPL. If Gayle gets going, the Mumbai crowd might be in for a treat, irrespective of whether or not they like it.
Head-2-Head
Mumbai have never been defeated by Shah Rukh Khan's Knight Riders in the two previous IPLs and KKR have to be at their best to have any chance of overpowering their hosts this time around. Last time when the Knight Riders visited Mumbai in 2008, they were bundled out for a paltry 67 in under 16 overs. The Marata marauder Jayasuriya completed the formalities with a breezy innings of 48 (17b) to take his team to victory inside the Power Play.
Likely Playing XI
Mumbai Indians: Jayasuriya, Tendulkar (c), Tare, S Tiwary, Rayudu, Pollard, Bravo, Sathish, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Malinga.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Gayle, M Tiwary, Pujara, Ganguly (c), Hodge, Mathews, Saha, Kartik, Dinda, Bond, Sharma
Prediction: In spite of the blemish that Mumbai had in their previous match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, they have immense firepower in their team that might just prove too much for the Sourav led side to handle.
Though the Mumbai Indians would be disappointed with the defeat, they would be happy with the start they have got to the IPL this year. The batting looks strong on paper and the performance on field has really not disappointed thus far. The confidence that Mumbai Captain Sachin has shown in his youngsters like Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu, by sending them ahead of power hitters Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard, seems to be paying off. But that has given the West Indian pair little opportunity to shine with the willow. Bravo looks likely to be given a chance to bat at number three, if not in the match against Kolkata, at some stage in the tournament for sure.
While Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga have looked in great form with the new ball, India's leading off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's lack of effectiveness remains a cause of concern for the Mumbai Indians. Bravo and Pollard, both of whom had leaked runs at over a dozen per over against Bangalore, will be hoping for a much improved performance against Kolkata.
The Visitors
None better than Kolkata Knight Riders know the importance of maintaining momentum in the Indian Premier League and how losing can become, not just a habit, but also a disease! In the first edition of the IPL, KKR had a dream start to the tournament winning their opening two matches but then had to wait for five games to get back to winning ways. And in South Africa last year, they were on a 10 match win-less streak. If the KKR think tank doesn't come up with new and improved ideas, they may well be on their way to another long run.
In their last match against the Rajasthan Royals, the Kolkata batsmen never seemed to get going as they failed to chase down a par score of 168 despite being just three down for the major part of the last six overs (read more). The opening pair of Manoj Tiwary and Brad Hodge have had mixed fortunes with a couple of decent starts and a couple of mediocre performances. The arrival of West Indian Captain Chris Gayle will surely bolster the KKR batting and he looks certain to replace Owais Shah or Brad Hodge for the game against Mumbai. While Sourav has found it difficult to strike the ball with either finesse or power, he would be hoping that he is just a hit away from finding some sort of rhythm. The Knight Riders might also have to rethink their batting order as the men in form - Owais Shah and Angelo Mathews, seem to be coming in either with the team in dire straits due to loss of early wickets or with too steep a target to achieve like in the previous match.
Murali Kartik has been KKR's standout bowler with an outstanding economy rate of under six in the four matches so far in addition to his three strikes. Ashok Dinda, who was given an opportunity in the last match, might consider himself desperately unlucky if he fails to make it to the playing XI on Monday after a decent show against Rajasthan. He might have to make way for either Rohan Gavaskar or Laxmi Ratan Shukla, if KKR team management decides to strengthen their batting.
Trump Cards
Saurabh Tiwary: The Dhoni look-a-like Jharkhand youngster looks to be in the form of his life. His fearless attitude and unflattering confidence make him a dangerous batsman in the shortest format of the game
Chris Gayle: The Jamaican rock star who is returning from the West Indies, after a man of the series performance against Zimbabwe, must be raring to go in the IPL. If Gayle gets going, the Mumbai crowd might be in for a treat, irrespective of whether or not they like it.
Head-2-Head
Mumbai have never been defeated by Shah Rukh Khan's Knight Riders in the two previous IPLs and KKR have to be at their best to have any chance of overpowering their hosts this time around. Last time when the Knight Riders visited Mumbai in 2008, they were bundled out for a paltry 67 in under 16 overs. The Marata marauder Jayasuriya completed the formalities with a breezy innings of 48 (17b) to take his team to victory inside the Power Play.
Likely Playing XI
Mumbai Indians: Jayasuriya, Tendulkar (c), Tare, S Tiwary, Rayudu, Pollard, Bravo, Sathish, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Malinga.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Gayle, M Tiwary, Pujara, Ganguly (c), Hodge, Mathews, Saha, Kartik, Dinda, Bond, Sharma
Prediction: In spite of the blemish that Mumbai had in their previous match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, they have immense firepower in their team that might just prove too much for the Sourav led side to handle.
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