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Sunday, April 15, 2012

C r i c H o t L i n e

C r i c H o t L i n e


Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Rajasthan Royals Post Match Presentation IPL 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 12:13 PM PDT


Ajinkya (MoM): I am playing along side my role model, Dravid, so I get to learn a lot of things from him. This is a long tournament so I need to keep my form going. It has been just 5 games until now.

Vettori: We were pretty satisfied with how we started but then Rahane and Shah really started striking the ball well. We know we can come back from this. Aravind has come back from a serious injury so we need to give him some time to settle in. We need to get back to winning ways otherwise questions will be asked of us

Dravid: It is always fantastic to play here in front of family and friends. I would like to thank the crowd for making it such a good experience and I would like to thank my team for their performance. Owais and Ajinkya batted beautifully. Some of their shots were incredible and they played against a side that boasts of quite a few international bowlers. We don’t have the big resources and big money like other teams but I’m proud of the way we have been playing until now.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Rajasthan Royals Highlights | IPL 5 | 15th April 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 11:25 AM PDT


Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Rajasthan Royals Highlights IPL 2012. Highlights Jaipur (RR) vs Bangalore (RCB) IPL 5, 15 April 2012. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR) Highlights, IPL T20, 15 April 2012, Bangalore. Indian Premier League 2012 Cricket Highlights. IPL 5 Highlights Bangalore vs Jaipur watch online!

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Australia Vs West Indies Day 1 Highlights 2nd Test 15 April 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 11:15 AM PDT


Australia Vs West Indies Day 1 Highlights 2nd Test 2012. Highlights Day 1 Australia Vs West Indies 2nd Test, Trinidad, 2012. Australia Vs West Indies 2nd Test Highlights, 15-19 April 2012, Trinidad. Australia tour West Indies 2012 Cricket Highlights. Watch Australia Vs West Indies 2nd Test Cricket Highlights Online!

Part 1


Highlights will be posted here after the match. Stay tuned!

Highlights from 1st Test Aus vs WI

Bangalore (RCB) Vs Rajasthan Royals (RR) Scorecard IPL 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 10:40 AM PDT


Indian Premier League 2012

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals – 18th Match

Played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, 15 Apr 2012

Toss - Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to Bat.

Innings Break

Rajasthan Royals Innings R B 4s 6s SR
Rahul Dravid (c) st de Villiers b D Vettori 25 32 2 0 78.12
Ajinkya Rahane Not Out 103 60 12 5 171.66
Owais Shah c V Kumar b Z Khan 60 26 5 5 230.77
Brad Hodge Not Out 1 2 0 0 50.00
Ashok Menaria            
Shreevats Goswami (wk)            
Johan Botha            
Brad Hogg            
Pankaj Singh            
Amit Singh            
Siddharth Trivedi            
Extras (b 4,lb 1,w 1, nb 0) 6
Total (2 wickets; 20 overs) 195 (9.75 runs per over)

Fall of wickets (Rajasthan Royals):

1-45 (Rahane, 6.1 ov), 2-48 (Menaria, 7.5 ov), 3-49 (Dravid, 8.2 ov), 4-108 (Goswami, 16.4 ov), 5-113 (Shah, 18.1 ov)

 Bowling O M R W Econ
Zaheer Khan 4 1 15 1 3.80  
Sreenath Aravind 3 0 48 0 16.00  
Vinay Kumar 4 0 51 0 12.80  
Daniel Vettori 4 0 20 1 5.00  
Muttiah Muralitharan 4 0 35 0 8.80  
Chris Gayle 1 0 21 0 21.00 (w 1)


Teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers(w), Saurabh Tiwary, Mohammad Kaif, Daniel Vettori(c), Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Sreenath Aravind, Muttiah Muralitharan

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Rahul Dravid(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Menaria, Shreevats Goswami(w), Owais Shah, Brad Hodge, Johan Botha, Brad Hogg, Pankaj Singh, Amit Singh, Siddharth Trivedi

Australia Vs West Indies Scorecard 2nd Test 15-19 April 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 10:38 AM PDT


Australia in West Indies 2012

Australia vs West Indies – 2nd Test

Played at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad, 15 – 19 Apr 2012

Toss - West Indies won the toss and elected to Bat.

Lunch – Day 1

Australia 1st Innings R B 4s 6s SR
David Warner c D Sammy b S Shillingford 29 42 4 0 69.05
Ed Cowan lbw b K Roach 28 74 5 0 37.84
Shane Watson Not Out 10 40 2 0 25.00
Ricky Ponting Not Out 5 6 0 0 83.33
Michael Clarke (c)            
Michael Hussey            
Matthew Wade (wk)            
James Pattinson            
Ben Hilfenhaus            
Michael Beer            
Nathan Lyon            
Extras (b 0,lb 2,w 0, nb 0) 2
Total (2 wickets; 27 overs) 74 (2.74 runs per over)

Fall of wickets (Australia):

1-53 (Warner, 15.5 ov), 2-65 (Cowan, 24.3 ov)

 Bowling O M R W Econ
Fidel Edwards 6 2 21 0 3.50  
Kemar Roach 7 2 35 1 5.00  
Darren Sammy 8 3 12 0 1.50  
Shane Shillingford 6 3 4 1 0.70  


Teams:
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (c), Michael Hussey, Matthew Wade (wk), James Pattinson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Michael Beer, Nathan Lyon.

West Indies (Playing XI): Adrian Barath, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Carlton Baugh (wk), Darren Sammy (c), Fidel Edwards, Kemar Roach, Shane Shillingford.

Highlights from 1st Test Aus vs WI

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab Post Match Presentation IPL 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 08:35 AM PDT


Narine (MoM): My dad actually named me after you. I am enjoying the IPL so far. When I bowl I just think of containing and bowling at the right areas. I have all my mates on bbm so I keep in touch with what’s happening in the West Indies and their matches.

Gambhir: If we keep losing such matches then we will put pressure on ourselves. I hope we learn from this game and don’t repeat the mistakes. Captaining the side is a job that involves a lot of pressure. I think we bowled really well to restrict Punjab to a score of 134 but we should have played better cricket to win this encounter

Gilchrist: Different conditions from Mohali. The guys did well though. Some terrific bowling from Kolkata but the guys fought hard and we did very well at the end. I think we bowled very well at the death. The fielding was really good too today. I tried the wrong option too early in my innings I think and that’s how I gave it away

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab Highlights | IPL 5 | 15th April 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 08:25 AM PDT


Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab Highlights IPL 2012. Highlights Kolkata (KKR) vs Punjab (KXIP) IPL 5, 15 April 2012. Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Highlights, IPL T20, 15 April 2012, Kolkata. Indian Premier League 2012 Cricket Highlights. IPL 5 Highlights Kolkata vs Mohali watch online!

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Bangalore (RCB) Vs Rajasthan Royals (RR) Live Scores IPL 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 08:24 AM PDT


Toss: Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and elected to bat

Teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers(w), Saurabh Tiwary, Mohammad Kaif, Daniel Vettori(c), Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Sreenath Aravind, Muttiah Muralitharan

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Rahul Dravid(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Menaria, Shreevats Goswami(w), Owais Shah, Brad Hodge, Johan Botha, Brad Hogg, Pankaj Singh, Amit Singh, Siddharth Trivedi

Dravid: It’s an away home match for me. It’s a great venue and I have great memories at this ground. We had couple of tough losses and we have done well at our home ground. We will bat, the pitch looks a bit dry and hopefully we’ll put some runs on the board. Unfortunately Cooper is not playing and Pankaj Singh comes in place of Chavan.

Vettori: When we lose close games it will affect us morally, but we are playing at our home ground and we are upbeat. The wicket looks dry and hopefully it will stay good. Gayle is playing tonight. Aravind and Kaif get their first game this season.

IPL 2012: Rajasthan Royals elects to bat against Bangalore, 15 April 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 08:22 AM PDT


Toss: Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and elected to bat

Dravid: It’s an away home match for me. It’s a great venue and I have great memories at this ground. We had couple of tough losses and we have done well at our home ground. We will bat, the pitch looks a bit dry and hopefully we’ll put some runs on the board. Unfortunately Cooper is not playing and Pankaj Singh comes in place of Chavan.

Vettori: When we lose close games it will affect us morally, but we are playing at our home ground and we are upbeat. The wicket looks dry and hopefully it will stay good. Gayle is playing tonight. Aravind and Kaif get their first game this season.

Kolkata (KKR) Vs Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) Scorecard IPL 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 08:19 AM PDT


Indian Premier League 2012

Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab – 17th Match

Played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, 15 Apr 2012

Toss - Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to Field.

Result – Kings XI Punjab beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 2 runs

Kings XI Punjab Innings Innings R B 4s 6s SR
Adam Gilchrist (c & wk) c Manoj Tiwary b S Narine 5 9 0 0 55.56
Mandeep Singh c R Doeschate b S Hasan 38 34 3 1 111.76
Shaun Marsh b S Narine 1 6 0 0 16.66
David Hussey run out (G Gambhir/R Bhatia) 32 31 1 1 103.23
Paras Dogra c D Das b R Bhatia 6 11 0 0 54.55
Bipul Sharma c M Bisla b S Narine 12 11 0 1 109.09
Dimitri Mascarenhas c M Bisla b R Bhatia 0 1 0 0 0.00
Piyush Chawla Not Out 13 8 0 1 162.50
Praveen Kumar b S Narine 0 1 0 0 0.00
Harmeet Singh c M Bisla b S Narine 14 6 3 0 233.33
Bhargav Bhatt Not Out 6 2 0 1 300.00
Extras (b 0,lb 6,w 1, nb 0) 7
Total (9 wickets; 20 overs) 134 (6.70 runs per over)

Fall of wickets (Kings XI Punjab Innings):

1-16 (Gilchrist, 2.5 ov), 2-21 (Marsh, 4.2 ov), 3-73 (Mandeep Singh, 11.6 ov), 4-85 (Hussey, 14.1 ov), 5-99 (Dogra, 16.3 ov), 6-100 (Mascarenhas, 16.5 ov), 7-104 (Bipul Sharma, 17.5 ov), 8-104 (Kumar, 17.6 ov), 9-128 (Harmeet Singh, 19.4 ov)

 Bowling O M R W Econ
Yusuf Pathan 1 0 7 0 7.00  
Jacques Kallis 4 0 30 0 7.50  
Sunil Narine 4 0 19 5 4.80 (w 1)
Shakib Al Hasan 4 0 26 1 6.50  
Jaidev Unadkat 3 0 32 0 10.70  
Rajat Bhatia 4 0 14 2 3.50  

Kolkata Knight Riders Innings R B 4s 6s SR
Jacques Kallis c P Dogra b B Bhatt 1 5 0 0 20.00
Gautam Gambhir (c) c & b D Mascarenhas 22 13 4 0 169.23
Manvinder Bisla (wk) b P Chawla 27 25 1 1 108.00
Manoj Tiwary lbw b B Bhatt 20 27 1 0 74.07
Shakib Al Hasan c & b P Chawla 4 8 0 0 50.00
Yusuf Pathan b P Chawla 0 3 0 0 0.00
Debabrata Das Not Out 35 23 3 1 152.17
Ryan ten Doeschate b H Singh 11 14 1 0 78.57
Rajat Bhatia Not Out 3 2 0 0 150.00
Sunil Narine            
Jaidev Unadkat            
Extras (b 4,lb 3,w 2, nb 0) 9
Total (57 wickets; 20 overs) 132 (6.60 runs per over)

Fall of wickets (Kolkata Knight Riders):

1-13 (Kallis, 1.6 ov), 2-30 (Gambhir, 3.4 ov), 3-73 (Tiwary, 11.2 ov), 4-79 (Bisla, 12.1 ov), 5-79 (Pathan, 12.4 ov), 6-88 (Shakib Al Hasan, 14.4 ov), 7-128 (ten Doeschate, 19.3 ov)

Bowling O M R W Econ
Praveen Kumar 4 0 22 0 5.50 (w 2)
Bhargav Bhatt 4 0 24 2 6.00  
Dimitri Mascarenhas 4 0 34 1 8.50  
Harmeet Singh 4 0 27 1 6.80  
Piyush Chawla 4 0 18 3 4.50  


Teams:
Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Adam Gilchrist(w/c), Paras Dogra, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Mandeep Singh, Piyush Chawla, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Bipul Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Bhargav Bhatt, Harmeet Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Gautam Gambhir(c), Jacques Kallis, Manvinder Bisla(w), Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Debabrata Das, Rajat Bhatia, Sunil Narine, Jaidev Unadkat

Kolkata (KKR) Vs Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) Live Scores IPL 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 04:23 AM PDT


Toss: Kolkata Knight Riders have won the toss and elected to field

Teams:
Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Adam Gilchrist(w/c), Paras Dogra, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Mandeep Singh, Piyush Chawla, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Bipul Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Bhargav Bhatt, Harmeet Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Gautam Gambhir(c), Jacques Kallis, Manvinder Bisla(w), Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Debabrata Das, Rajat Bhatia, Sunil Narine, Jaidev Unadkat

Gambhir: It is hot but we are used to it. We are all geared up for this game. The pitch will not change much. We have to put our best foot forward and get some points. We are going to bowl first. We hope to restrict Punjab to a low score. We have done well chasing. Balaji misses out due to a groin injury and Unadkat comes in

Gilchrist: The wicket does have some spin. We had a training session and hopefully we have adjusted to the conditions. We have to bowl and bat well. We missed out in the first couple of games but we are pleased with the win. Paul Valthaty and Parvinder Awana are out. Paras Dogra and Bhargav Bhatt come into the team.

IPL 2012: Kolkata opts to field against Kings XI Punjab, 15 April 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 04:22 AM PDT


Toss: Kolkata Knight Riders have won the toss and elected to field

Gambhir: It is hot but we are used to it. We are all geared up for this game. The pitch will not change much. We have to put our best foot forward and get some points. We are going to bowl first. We hope to restrict Punjab to a low score. We have done well chasing. Balaji misses out due to a groin injury and Unadkat comes in

Gilchrist: The wicket does have some spin. We had a training session and hopefully we have adjusted to the conditions. We have to bowl and bat well. We missed out in the first couple of games but we are pleased with the win. Paul Valthaty and Parvinder Awana are out. Paras Dogra and Bhargav Bhatt come into the team.

Australia vs West Indies 2nd Test Live Streams Trinidad 2012

Posted: 15 Apr 2012 01:53 AM PDT


Watch Australia Vs West Indies, 2nd Test 2012, Cricket Live Streams Online. Watch West Indies Vs Australia 2nd Test Online Live Streams played at Port of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies.

Live Cricket streaming: Australia Vs West Indies (Aus vs WI), 2nd Test, Australia In West Indies 2012 live streaming played at Trinidad, Apr 15-19, 2012. Watch live streaming of Australia Vs West Indies 2nd Test telecast Cricket live on Ten Cricket and Sky Sports HD. West Indies Vs Australia 2nd Test 2012 Live Stream. live streaming: West Indies Vs Australia live streaming Aus tour WI 2012 free online @ Click Here to Watch Catch the action of Australia in West Indies 2012 LIVE and ONLINE at THECRICKET-TV

Match Timings: Apr 15-19, 2012 (10:00 local | 14:00 GMT | 19:30 IST)


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Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Rajasthan Royals Live Streams IPL 2012

Posted: 14 Apr 2012 04:00 PM PDT


Watch Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Rajasthan Royals IPL 2012 Cricket Live Streams. Watch Rajasthan Royals Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Match 18, IPL 2012 Live Streams played at Bangalore.

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Match Timings: Apr 15, 2012 (20:00 local/IST | 14:30 GMT)


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Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 18, IPL 2012: Preview

Posted: 14 Apr 2012 03:30 PM PDT


Reeling after successive defeats, both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals will look to bring their campaign back on track when they lock horns in an Indian Premier League match.

After a win over Delhi Daredevils in their opening tie, the defeats against two-time champions Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in the last two matches must have been an eye-opener for the Royal Challengers and it should spur them to produce an improved show tomorrow.

Rajasthan, on the other hand, were off to a good start winning first two matches against Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on their home turf, but the loss in next two against Mumbai Indians and the Knight Riders have put them on the back foot and they would be keen to turn the tables.

RCB skipper Daniel Vettori, in the last two games, has come under attack from cricket experts for poorly marshalling his bowlers in crunch situation, especially for the penultimate over that he gave to Virat Kohli against Chennai, and Albie Morkel hit three sixes and two fours to snatch the game away from the Bangalorians.

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar said that the RCB should think hard about changing their captain and bring in Chris Gayle or Kohli to lead the side as they were in supreme form.

Hence, much is at stake for Vettori and he would want to silence his critics when his team takes on Rajasthan, whose performance on away turfs have been dismal so far.

The former New Zealand captain is also yet to contribute to the team with his bowling and it would be important for him to spin magic and inspire the rest. The Kiwi has taken just two wickets in the first three matches.

Vettori would be relying on Gayle, who scored a quickfire 68 off 35 balls against CSK at M Chidambaram stadium and would hope that the Gayle magic continues against Rajasthan.

However, RCB’s other batsmen haven’t fired so far and it is high time that the likes of Saurabh Tiwary and Cheteshwar Pujara get into the groove.

Kohli, who made paltry scores of eight and six in first two matches, came back strongly to smash 57 off 46 balls against CSK to help post 205. And the Delhi dasher would hope to continue the good work.

South African wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers, who began his campaign with a strokeful unbeaten 64 against Delhi but failed to make contribution in the last two matches, would be eager to get back among runs.

The RCB have a strong bowling lineup, which can compliment with their strong batting. Veteran spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has kept up his scintillating form this season, providing RCB with crucial breakthroughs at crunch situations.

Pacer Zaheer Khan and R Vinay Kumar have also put in impressive performances and would look to continue with it.

Meanwhile, after two successive defeats outside home, Rajasthan would also aim to turn things around against the hosts and skipper Rahul Dravid would be making good use of his rich experience of playing on his hometown wicket.

However, bowling is still a concern for Rajasthan who would play their third encounter away from home.

Against Mumbai Indians, the bowlers were at the receiving end of Kieron Pollard.

Their bowling lacks experience and they could only hope that the bowlers stick to the task the way they did against the Knight Riders in the first-leg while defending 164. (PTI)

Teams:

RR (Probable): Rahul Dravid (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Menaria, Johan Botha, Brad Hogg, Brad Hodge, Ankeet Chavan, Owais Shah, Shreevats Goswami (wk), Kevon Cooper, Amit Singh, Siddharth Trivedi.

RCB (Probable): Cheteshwar Pujara, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers(wk), Saurabh Tiwary, Mayank Agarwal, Daniel Vettori (c), Raju Bhatkal, Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Time: 20:00 local (14:30 GMT)

Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Kings XI Punjab Live Streams IPL 2012

Posted: 14 Apr 2012 03:00 PM PDT


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Match Timings: Apr 15, 2012 (16:00 local/IST | 10:30 GMT)


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Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab, Match 17, IPL 2012: Preview

Posted: 14 Apr 2012 02:30 PM PDT


On a roll after two successive victories, Kolkata Knight Riders would be cautious not to slip at home when they face a resurgent Kings XI Punjab in their IPL V fixture on Sunday.

Knight Riders and Kings XI started their season five campaign in a similar fashion with both the teams suffering two losses in the first two matches before tasting their first success in their respective third game.

While Gautam Gambhir’s boys started the turnaround in Bangalore, Adam Gilchrist-led Kings XI did it at home against Pune Warriors India in their last outing.

With both teams having found the winning mantra after the jittery start, tomorrow’s outcome would be crucial as they will look to outdo each other and avoid another hiccup.

Knight Riders slow bowlers led by Bangladesh’s left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan will once again look to get the most out of the tailor-made condition.

It is the visitors’ ability to adapt against Knight Riders slow bowlers Shakib and Sunil Narine on the difficult Eden surface that would determine the outcome of the match.

Against Rajasthan Royals, Shakib was brilliant with his guile as his three wickets in a crucial stage of the match ensured it a low-scoring affair. The Bangladeshi will once again look to sizzle.

“I love playing here. It’s like my home ground as I’ve been playing here since u-15 days. Hope there would be many more (such performances),” Shakib said after their win last night.

The Shakib-Narine duo not only picked four wickets but conceded a miserly 39 runs from eight overs, something that set the tone in favour of the Knight Riders.

Gambhir would once again look to use the duo with the best advantage as it would be a battle of spin against the likes of an inform Shaun Marsh, Gilchrist and David Hussey.

Laxmipathy Balaji, who earned the man of the match for taking four for 17 in Bangalore, returned wicketless yesterday but the Tamil Nadu pacer led the seam attack beautifully to maintain the pressure at the other end.

Despite two consecutive wins, it would be over-ambitious to say that all is well in the Knight Riders camp as there remains some areas of concern.

Their batting, especially the middle-order, is yet to fire. Even against a small chase of 132 last night, the Knight Riders lost five wickets and there was no match-winning partnership.

Gambhir would hope that the star-studded line-up boasting of Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary and Ryan ten Doeschate put up a power-packed performance tomorrow.

Punjab, on the other hand, tasted their first success in IPL V when they beat Pune at home and skipper Gilchrist would expect his boys to keep doing the good work.

Among their batters, it would be a homecoming of sorts for David Hussey who represented the Knight Riders earlier and the Aussie would look to sizzle in the Punjab camp this time.

It’s the Aussie trio of Gilchrist, Marsh and Hussey who would form the crux of Kings XI batting as the performance of the domestic talents has been rather lacklustre so far.

Marsh was in sublime form with an unbeaten 64 in their low-scoring chase against Pune as they clinched the match by seven wickets.

“It is wonderful to see him (Marsh) back in action. He missed the last game because of back strain and now he is back with full fitness. He is such a beautiful player, most successful batsman in the IPL history, if you take whole lot of things into account,” Gilchrist said.

But last year’s hero Paul Valthaty’s poor form is a worrying factor. Since his blistering century last season which launched him in the IPL, the opener is under pressure to keep his place with scores of 13, 1 and O.

He also had a quiet Ranji season for Himachal Pradesh, scoring 120 runs in five first-class games and it would be interesting to see whether Gilchrist gives him another chance at the top.

English bowler Dimitri Mascarenhas after his five-for against Pune would look forward to another rich haul along with fellow seamers in Praveen Kumar and Parvinder Awana even though it would be the seemingly inexperienced slow bowling attack that would be the key factor tomorrow.

Coach and captain Gilchrist would hope that leggie Piyush Chawla adapt himself quickly to the Eden conditions as his four overs would be crucial especially against the inconsistent Knight Riders batting. (PTI)

Teams:

KXIP (Probable): Adam Gilchrist (c&wk), Paul Valthaty, David Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Mandeep Singh, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Parvinder Awana, Bipul Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Harmeet Singh, Praveen Kumar.

KKR (Probable): Jacques Kallis, Manvinder Bisla (wk), Gautam Gambhir (c), Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Shakib Al Hasan, Laxmi Shukla, Rajat Bhatia, Sunil Narine, Laxmipathy Balaji.

Time: 16:00 local (10:30 GMT)

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