 Engrossing battle on the cards between Mumbai and Kolkata
15th May 2008 21:02 IST
Agencies
From among the rest, Ajit Agarkar, who knows the conditions in Mumbai well, Umar Gul of Pakistan and Ashok Dinda, can provide adequate support to the pace spearheads of Knight Riders, owned by Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan.
Toss also would be crucial as the side that wins it would, in all probability, put the rival team in on what's expected to be another track offering copious bounce as was the case last night when there was a lot of pace and lift for the speedsters.
Mumbai Indians' pacers, led by the redoubtable Shaun Pollock who has bowled splendidly right through the competition, are also capable of exploiting the pitch conditions well as they displayed against Chennai Super Kings.
Both the teams go into the high-profile clash with a lot of momentum, with Knight Riders winning their last three ties and the hosts having won their last four matches.
Mumbai Indians are unlikely to make any change in their triumphant line-up, while Kolkata might be tempted to bring in Agarkar for another Mumbai Ranji player, Iqbal Abdulla, as horses for the courses strategy.
In batting, Knight Riders are depending a lot on Ganguly and Australian David Hussey to play big knocks while the rest of the batsmen have not fired big so far, another key element in the equation.
The home team will have the services of West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo for the last time this season before he returns to the Caribbean to get play the Test series against Australia. He has filled in very nicely for the injured Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka and would like to exit the arena with a bang. |
