The Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host Kolkata Knight Riders’ first home match in the fourth season of the Indian Premier League as they take on 2009 champions Deccan Chargers.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have narrowly lost their opening match against the Chennai Super Kings on Friday and will be looking to win this fixture on Monday. Kolkata Knight Riders’ Ryan ten Doeschate looks set to make his debut on Monday after Eoin Morgan had a day to forget on Friday as he dropped a catch and threw his wicket away cheaply.
The Deccan Chargers who are lead by Kumar Sangakkara have a good team on paper but have misfired in the first match after losing the services of star batsman Kevin Pietersen owing to a hernia injury sustained during the World Cup. Bowling is not much of a concern for the Chargers but it is the batting which has to click as a unit.
Pitch Report
The Eden Pitch that was used at the World Cup proved to be excellent for batting and that is set to continue with the IPL. With the Knight Riders having great batsmen in their ranks, it will not be a surprise to see a flat batting track at the Eden.
The captain who wins the toss should bat first.
Men to Watch
Kolkata Knight Riders – Jacques Kallis is the man to watch out for. In the last match, as long as he was present at the center, the Knight Riders were cruising to victory. Kallis plays the sheet anchor’s role brilliantly and accumulates some serious runs in the process. Lakshmipathy Balaji is our bowler to watch as the veteran Indian bowler has proved time and again that he is one of the best T20 bowlers on any given day.
Deccan Chargers – Kumar Sangakkara went out for a duck in the last match and will be itching to get going. The Sri Lankan is in good touch with the bat at the present time. Dale Steyn will send shivers down the spine of the batsmen with his blistering pace bowling.
