Crunch Time In Kolkata
By Gaurang
May 13 2008
The Knight Riders have momentum going for them, having won back-to-back matches on the back of their “Captain Marvel”, Sourav Ganguly, who contributed with two Player of the Match performances highlighting his bowling, batting and fielding skills to silence the critics who questioned his leadership abilities and doubted his technical skills in this the newest format of the game.
May 13 2008
The Knight Riders have momentum going for them, having won back-to-back matches on the back of their “Captain Marvel”, Sourav Ganguly, who contributed with two Player of the Match performances highlighting his bowling, batting and fielding skills to silence the critics who questioned his leadership abilities and doubted his technical skills in this the newest format of the game.
Sourav Ganguly will be tempted to bring in his newest player, Shoaib Akhtar, provided the mercurial Pakistani is fully fit. He could be a handful in tandem with young Indian speedster Ishant Sharma and fellow Pakistani pacer Umar Gul. The worry for Ganguly will be his batting. His only consistent batsman has been the Australian David Hussey. His other foreign bats have been very, very cold, except for one incandescent innings by Brendon McCullum. And now Brad Hodge, who Kolkata recruited as a stop gap measure has been called away on Australia duty. The batting cupboard for the Knight Riders looks quite bare..
Taking him on, will be his one time protégé, once dubbed “Sort of” Ganguly, and quite a canny captain himself, Virender Sehwag. The Daredevils come into the match having lost their last three in row, and desperate to halt the slide to the bottom half of the table. The Daredevils have a superbly balanced team, with the opening duo of Gautam Gambhir and the Captain himself, backed up by a competent middle order and a pair of miserly and mentronomic bowlers in Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif.
For both teams this match is do or die. Each has a 4-4 record and both are situated just below the table leaders Rajasthan, Punjab and Chennai. Even their net run rates are almost identical, so that too is not much of a differential. The winner of this match will be relatively well placed to shoot for a semifinal spot, the loser will be clinging on to dear life to stay alive in the tournament.
Another contest within the contest that has not received much publicity, but which will be watched closely by those in the know, is the battle between the two coaches, both Australians of limited personal cricket ability but excellent teachers, John Buchanan for Kolkata and Greg Shipperd for Delhi. Of course for the fans of Bollywood it will also be Shah Rukh Khan versus Akshay Kumar. So any way you look at it, it will be a keen contest.
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Re: Crunch Time In Kolkata
Seems Delhi Coach Shipperd put his foot in the mouth
Kolkata: Delhi Daredevils Coach Greg Shipperd does not think the inclusion of Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar would give any cutting edge to the Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.
"Any one in any team could be a match winner in this (Twenty20) format. A fiery spell or a few big hits in an over could well change the complexion of a game. And as far as Shoaib is concerned, I am not sure about his form," Shipperd told newspersons at the match-eve media meet here on Monday.
The Rawalpindi Express, who arrived in the city last week, would undergo a fitness assessment on Tuesday morning before the team management takes a final call on fielding him. However, the Aussie conceded that the Knight Riders would gain from Shoaib's vast experience in the international arena.
The coach identified losing close games and the team's sub-standard fielding as the main causes for the Delhi Daredevils being placed fifth in the eight-team league.
Disappointed at the narrow three-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur on Sunday, Shipperd said, "We lost yet another close game which is really unfortunate. In most of the games, we have bowled quite well. But fielding has not been up to the mark. We let go a few easy catches as well in our previous game. So, this is an area we urgently need to work on."
He felt the early dismissal of the crack opening combination of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had put pressure on the side in the last two matches.
"The Sehwag-Gambhir opening combination is always a strong one. But their early exit in the last couple of matches did make out middle order batsmen feel the pressure," he said.
However, Shipperd exuded confidence over the performance of his bowlers. "(Glenn) McGrath and Farvez Maharoof have done good job for us so far. We also have some young bowlers in our side and the experience they gather from the likes of McGrath and others will be invaluable," Shipperd said, adding: "We got six medium pacers in our squad who are capable of using the new ball to perfection, especially on the Eden track that is known to help new ball bowlers."
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.
_____
ICL Ko Support Karo Yaro...
BCCI Ko Joote Chappal Maro....
Kolkata: Delhi Daredevils Coach Greg Shipperd does not think the inclusion of Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar would give any cutting edge to the Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.
"Any one in any team could be a match winner in this (Twenty20) format. A fiery spell or a few big hits in an over could well change the complexion of a game. And as far as Shoaib is concerned, I am not sure about his form," Shipperd told newspersons at the match-eve media meet here on Monday.
The Rawalpindi Express, who arrived in the city last week, would undergo a fitness assessment on Tuesday morning before the team management takes a final call on fielding him. However, the Aussie conceded that the Knight Riders would gain from Shoaib's vast experience in the international arena.
The coach identified losing close games and the team's sub-standard fielding as the main causes for the Delhi Daredevils being placed fifth in the eight-team league.
Disappointed at the narrow three-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur on Sunday, Shipperd said, "We lost yet another close game which is really unfortunate. In most of the games, we have bowled quite well. But fielding has not been up to the mark. We let go a few easy catches as well in our previous game. So, this is an area we urgently need to work on."
He felt the early dismissal of the crack opening combination of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had put pressure on the side in the last two matches.
"The Sehwag-Gambhir opening combination is always a strong one. But their early exit in the last couple of matches did make out middle order batsmen feel the pressure," he said.
However, Shipperd exuded confidence over the performance of his bowlers. "(Glenn) McGrath and Farvez Maharoof have done good job for us so far. We also have some young bowlers in our side and the experience they gather from the likes of McGrath and others will be invaluable," Shipperd said, adding: "We got six medium pacers in our squad who are capable of using the new ball to perfection, especially on the Eden track that is known to help new ball bowlers."
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.
_____
ICL Ko Support Karo Yaro...
BCCI Ko Joote Chappal Maro....
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Re: Crunch Time In Kolkata
Buchanan has been the ANTITHESIS of Greggy...
Never seen or heard much...but seems to be doing a fine job behind the scene...
Greggy was a bloody media who.re...in guise of a coach...
_____
ICL Ko Support Karo Yaro...
BCCI Ko Joote Chappal Maro....
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008:05:13:18:27:16 by Birbal.
Never seen or heard much...but seems to be doing a fine job behind the scene...
Greggy was a bloody media who.re...in guise of a coach...
_____
ICL Ko Support Karo Yaro...
BCCI Ko Joote Chappal Maro....
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008:05:13:18:27:16 by Birbal.
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