DD vs KKR: It's Sehwag vs Gambhir at Kotla

Good pitch, mate, good carry. Nice work." Brett Lee of the Kolkata Knight Riders was all praise for the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch while having a bat at an adjacent strip a day ahead of the clash against Delhi Daredevils. He was promptly reminded by groundstaff that the track had slowed down a bit. "You should have been here the day the first match was played," someone quipped, and Lee winked. "That's all right, this'll do."

It's almost uncanny, this deluge of praise pouring in for a grassy side strip at a venue notorious for producing low, slow pitches that don't facilitate strokeplay. That said, three matches within a span of six days might be too much of a burden for even the side strip to bear.

It was apparent the track had slowed down a bit on Tuesday night in the game against Royal Challengers, and even though DD skipper Sehwag said after that game "the ball is not coming on to the bat as well as it did earlier (against KXIP)", Virat Kohli of the RCB felt it was the best Kotla track he had ever played on. The DD team management has decided to stick to the same strip for the match against KKR, though, and the grass has been brushed a bit and the watering kept to a minimum. This is the closest thing DD have to a Kotla belter and they're reluctant to let go.

That sets the stage up nicely for a match-up between teams led by India's Test openers, another clash between Delhi boys who finds themselves on the opposite side of the IPL fence. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are extremely familiar with each others' thought processes, and KKR coach Dav Whatmore implied that could only lead to "some good cricket on a good pitch".

Funnily enough, the Daredevils seem to be running into one disgruntled Delhi cricketer after another. If it was Kohli on Tuesday, it might well be Gambhir - who is still smarting after being ignored by the owners at the auctions - on Thursday night. "They (Sehwag and Gambhir) know each others' game very well, they will share the secrets with their respective teams. There is a good contest on the cards."

Both teams are hoping to get their campaigns back on track. DD's lack of foresight at the auctions, their problems with team combination and their reliance on the top order has been discussed ad infinitum. They are second from bottom after yet another defeat but KKR only have two points more after having lost their last two games. Whatmore, though, was right on the money when he suggested that in the IPL, it was all about what transpired on the day.

Key Clashes

Mornel Morkel vs Jacques Kallis

This is a nice South African subplot to the Gambhir-Sehwag clash. Extremely familiar with facing each other at nets, can Morkel surprise the usually rock-solid Kallis into nicking or misreading a delivery? Or will Kallis pre-empt Morkel's every move? Whoever emerges winner will set the tone for his team.

Gautam Gambhir vs Virender Sehwag

Make no mistake, Gambhir is incensed at having been ignored by the Delhi team owners at the auctions. He will be coming out all guns blazing, itching to take his team across. Sehwag, thrust with a team short on experience and lacking match-winning potential, better watch out.

Who should lead Team India in Dhoni’s absence?

 

Seniors have asked BCCI for rest from the upcoming West Indies tour, opening up the debate on who will be in charge of the Indian team.

From the young brigade names like Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and even Suresh Raina have emerged for this position.

Gautam Gambhir, presently in charge of Kolkata Knight Riders, has proved his credentials as captain against New Zealand, romping home with a 5-0 whitewash.

Yuvraj Singh is enjoying the time of his life, after an amazing World cup campaign where he was adjudged the player of the tournament. He is also in command of Pune Warriors in IPL 4 and has expressed his desire to lead Team India.

Suresh Raina also led India when Dhoni was not there and has pretty much cemented his position in the limited over version after his exploits in the World cup.

We at Zeecric.com would like to ask your opinion who among the three should lead if Dhoni decides to skip the WI tour.

Gambhir out to make a statement against old team

 

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir would be keen to prove a point by putting up a solid performance against his old franchise Delhi Daredevils when the two teams square off in an Indian Premier League match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.

Gambhir, who got a cold shoulder from Daredevils during the Players Retention and auctions, will definitely want to make a statement and a captain`s knock against his best buddy Virender Sehwag`s side will be just perfect to do that.

The Delhi Daredevils management, which by now must have realised that they botched up big time during the Players` Auction, would certainly be regretting not retaining Gambhir.

On paper, the fourth-placed KKR can be termed as favourites against the Daredevils who are now second from last in the league table.

But even after the third week of the tourney set to get over, there hasn`t been any clear indication about which way the tournament is veering towards.
A couple of victories can change the position of a team overnight as Royal Challengers Bangalore realised after their back-to-back wins.

With only two points separating the teams (KKR now have 6 points to DD`s 4), a win for KKR will help them consolidate their position after back-to-back defeats at home against Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

For Sehwag and Company, this will be a make-or-break match as they can`t afford to lose too many having already ended second best on four occasions.

However, both teams especially KKR need to look at their team composition which might be a reason for their inconsistent performance.

If one looks at KKR, Eoin Morgan has been the weak link among the four foreign recruits. With Jacques Kallis, Brad Haddin and Shakib Al Hasan automatically selecting themselves, one would expect Brett Lee to make it to the playing XI at the expense of Morgan as the Kotla track now is offering some help to the pacers.

Morgan hasn`t really lived upto expectations as he has failed to provide the necessary momentum in the middle order.

Skipper Gambhir would expect that Yusuf Pathan, who showed glimpses of what he is capable of during the RCB match, to fire once again.

In the bowling department, Lakshmipathy Balaji will definitely not try too many variations as he did against RCB and that too with disastrous results. Shakib, who is jointly KKR`s leading wicket-taker with seven scalps, will also like to get his rhythm back after getting a thrashing from Gayle in the previous match.