On a high after back-to-back wins, Kolkata will start favourites
against the struggling Pune when the two bottom-half teams clash in
Ranchi on Wednesday. Having achieved back-to-back wins, the Gautam
Gambhir-led Kolkata may have to again depend on off-spinner Sunil Narine
and experienced all-rounder Jacques Kallis against Pune, a team they
beat only last week.
Both played pivotal roles in their win against Bangalore in their
previous match. Kallis, who had an excellent outing with both the bat
and ball against Bangalore, had said on Sunday that winning would
motivate KKR to strive for what seems like an unlikely playoff berth.
Pune, on the other hand, would strive to sign off their campaign on a
winning note to make up a bit for their 12 losses and a bottom finish.
Pune would have to largely depend on Yuvraj Singh, but he would have to
adapt well to the pitch which did not encourage big hitting during the
KKR-RCB tie.
This had prompted Kallis to observe that the track at the Jharkhand
State Cricket Association International Stadium was not ideal for
Twenty20 cricket.
Supporting Kallis` observation, former Bihar Ranji Captain Adil
Hussain said toss would be vital once again as the pitch appears not to
"suit" limited overs cricket.
The Warriors, meanwhile, have been woefully out of sorts in all
departments of the game. Only opener Robin Uthappa and all-rounder
Angelo Matthews have shown some spark of late.
The batting is yet to fire in unison and only the openers have scored
some runs at the top. Barring skipper Aaron Finch`s three
half-centuries and Uthappa`s couple of half-centuries this season, no
other Pune batsman has scored a fifty so far.
Yuvraj has managed just 205 runs from his 11 games, while dangerous
batsman Steve Smith has returned to Australia due to a back injury.
Bowling also remains a big concern for Pune, especially at death as
most of their bowlers have leaked runs. Pace spearhead Ashoke Dinda has
been expensive in most of the games he has played.
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