Thursday, May 19, 2011

Will Dada have the last laugh against KKR today?

Today will be one of the biggest days in Sourav Ganguly's accomplished career. He has the chance to extract revenge for the snub in this year’s IPL auction and Shah Rukh Khan’s Knight Riders led by Gautam Gambhir better watch out.

Ganguly, who now plays for the Pune Warriors, would do everything to ensure the Kolkata Knight Riders are out of contention for the IPL 4 playoffs when the two teams clash at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday.

Will the erstwhile Knight Rider be Kolkata’s nemesis?

While Pune are already out of the tournament, their performance on Thursday might turn the tide in favour or against KKR. KKR former skipper Ganguly has had an extremely debatable comeback in the tournament for a Pune Warriors. And Thursday’s clash will be crucial for Dada as he would like to avenge the humiliation at the hands of his previous franchise during the IPL auction.



Ganguly’s late recruitment hardly has had any impact on the IPL, but come Thursday all that might change. He has the chance to make sure that Kolkata Knight Riders don’t make it to the last four for the fourth straight time.

It would be the perfect revenge for Ganguly if he manages to stun Kolkata with his blade, and put them in a tight spot in the race for the last four.

Race to last four heats up

Adam Gilchrist’s hurricane-like show against table toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore has widened the scope of permutation and combination over who makes to playoff in the IPL 4.

While Royal Challengers Bangalore have assured their playoffs/semifinal berth, Chennai with a terrific run-rate need to win just one out of the two games to advance to the next stage.

Similar is the case for hot favorites Mumbai Indians whose victory in any of the remaining two matches will see them through. However, if they lose both the games then their low run-rate might work against them and deny a spot in the last four.

Though it is almost certain that Mumbai Indians and defending Champions Chennai Super Kings will advance to the next round, mystery over the fourth team for the playoffs has deepened further after KXIP’s stunning victory over RCB on Tuesday.

And the biggest tussle remains between KXIP and Kolkata Knight Riders. Gautam Gambhir’s KKR have 14 points, the same as Punjab but with two games in hand they need to win both to avoid a run-rate clash.

Punjab, on the other hand must win their next game against Deccan Chargers and hope that KKR lose at least one game or Mumbai lose both games to sail through.  

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