Preview: Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders

DECCAN CHARGERS VS KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

Venue: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai( Neutral Venue )

Date: 12th March,2010 (Night Match, 8pm)

Game No. 1

Deccan Chargers

The team is filled with explosive batsmen. Gilchrist, Gibbs, Symonds and Rohit Sharma can be relied upon to send the ball flying past the boundary. Following them will be Suman, Venugopal Rao and Ravi Teja who will look to add some depth to the batting tomorrow. This is certainly a power-packed batting lineup. The bowling, however, is the weak point of the team – there aren’t enough aggressive attacking options at Gilchrist’s disposal. Unfortunately for Deccan, Kemar Roach won’t play the first game as he is busy with international commitments. RP Singh was great in IPL 2, but he has often been found wanting on Indian soil. A lot will rest on the young shoulders of spinner Pragyan Ojha.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata were in 2009 what the Deccan Chargers were in 2008. Deccan changed their jerseys after the failure in 2008, and lifted the Cup in 2009. This time, KKR too have changed their team jersey. They will be hoping that fortune smiles on them in the same way as it did on Deccan last year. But statistically speaking, KKR have reassembled as a team. It won’t be any surprise if Brad Hodge opens with Ganapathy Vignesh, the former ICL player who did well in that tour. The Captain of the team, Ganguly, is expected to guard the No.3 position. The middle order responsibility will be given to Owais Shah. Giving him support will be Manoj Tiwary, Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Co. Ishant Sharma is expected to open the bowling along with Jharkand newbie pacer Varun Aaron.

PITCH NATURE:

It has been reported that the soil for the DY Patil pitch was imported from South Africa. So the nature of the pitch might just turn out to be akin to pitches found in South Africa. Batsmen will be able to hit some shots and bowlers will be gifted if they bend their backs.

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:-

KKR

Sourav Ganguly:- He is back as the Captain and a lot will be depend on him. His performance can motive the batsmen around him.

Brad Hodge:- The Australian is in great form and will be expected to deliver. With him opening the innings, the opening partnership will likely have solidity and stability.

DC

Adam Gilchrist:- We can expect plenty of fireworks from the Captain of the Chargers. Gilchrist has always led the team front the front and he will look to do that this time too.

Pragyan Ojha:- With IPL back in the Indian hut, a lot will be expected from this spinner.

SQUAD

KKR:-

Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Ali, Ashok Dinda, Chirag Pathak, Cheteshwar Pujara, Eklakh Ahmed, Ganapathi Vignesh, H.Khadiwale, Iqbal Abdulla, Ishant Sharma, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, Murali Karthik, Rohan Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly, S. Singh, V. Aaron, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajantha Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Brad Hodge, Brendon McCullum, Charl Langeveldt, Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Mashrafe Murtaza, Owais Shah, Shane Bond

DC:-

Adam Gilchrist, Ammana Ashish Reddy, Andrew Symonds, Anirudh Singh, Arjun Yadav, Azhar Anjum Bilakhia Bodapati Sumanth Chaminda Vaas, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Dwayne Smith, Harmeet Singh, Herschelle Gibbs, Kemar Roach, Laxman VVS, Mitchell Ross Marsh, Mohnish Dinesh Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Rahul Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ryan Harris, Tirumalasetti Suman, Venugopal Rao