Kolkata and Delhi look to avoid free fall (Preview)

Delhi will be playing their fourth successive home game when they host Kolkata on Thursday for a crucial clash of the IPL 2011. So far they have failed to drive home the advantage wining only one of the three games.

The visitors have their share of headaches too losing previous two games and nearly falling out of the top four in the league table. Only a win here will prevent Kolkata from sliding into the bottom half.

The Feroz Shah Kotla surface, after Virender Sehwag's “green-top” diktat seems to have spiced a little bit offering both pace and movement with a nice carry to the pacers. The Delhi pace battery however, may not be very excited after the smacking they got from the Punjab batsman few days ago.

Looking at performance of Delhi this year, one can safely say the high-cost buys haven't justified their price tags so far. Irfan Pathan and Mathew wade in particular haven't impressed at all. Irfan's sting-less bowling cost Delhi the match against Bangalore when Virat Kohli disdainfully hit him for four boundaries in one over.

In the same outing, Delhi skipper Sehwag looked in good touch with the bat before being run out but his captaincy came under fire for persisting with Pathan when he had been taken to the cleaners. So out-of-the box thinking is needed if the likes of Gambhir and Kallis are to be tamed.

The Kolkata captain on the contrary has received accolades for giving the team self-belief and leading by example. Gambhir would feel at home like any Delhi player having played all his cricket here. His knowledge of the playing conditions may prove to be vital.

Kolkata bowling attack was decimated by Chris Gayle last time they played, so that thing has to be flushed out of the system as each game has a new beginning. If the surface has some grass, swing bowler Laxmipathy Balaji will be handy. Bangladesh international Saqibul Hassan with his variations is more than a handful on any wicket.

Since both the teams are coming into this match on the back of losses, a win would be more than welcome. Delhi boys- Gambhir and Sehwag will try to outwit each other in the captaincy department but Kolkata have the edge with a better set of players.

DELHI

Players who can make impact…

James Hopes…He may no longer be on the radar of his national selectors but he still retains that trademark Aussie doggedness and has done the rescue act for Delhi on many occasions. His contribution in all departments lifts morale of the whole team and his presence in the middle during tough situations gives Delhi fans a lot of hope.

Morne Morkel….With each game the tall pace bowler is growing in stature and Delhi heavily rely on him for the early breakthroughs. He can be equally good at the death with his bouncer and fast yorker that comes down at the batsman's feet from an odd height.

SQUAD

Aaron Finch, Aavishkar Salvi , Ajit Agarkar , Ajit Chandila , Andrew McDonald , Ashok Dinda , Colin Ingram, David Warner, Irfan Pathan, James Hopes, Matthew Wade (wk), Morne Morkel, Naman Ojha (wk), Prashant Naik, Rajesh Pawar, Robert Frylinck,Robin Bist, Roelof van der Merwe, Shahbaz Nadeem , Sridharan Sriram , Tejashwi Yadav, Travis Birt, Umesh Yadav, Unmukt Chand, Varun Aaron, Venugopal Rao, Vikas Mishra, Virender Sehwag(c), Vivek Yadav, Yogesh Nagar.

KOLKATA

Players who can make impact…

Gautam Gambhir….His batting exploits have kept Kolkata afloat and the skipper would like to win the game with his own bat. That would be an icing on the cake as the match is being played at his home ground.

Eoin Morgan.....The Irishman and England international has had a quite IPL so far and it is very hard for a talented guy like him to remain silent for long. This may be his day and the whole of Kolkata will be praying for that.

SQUAD

Brad Haddin (wk), Brett Lee, Eoin Morgan, Gautam Gambhir(c), Iqbal Abdulla, Jacques Kallis, Jaidev Unadkat, James Pattinson, Laxmipathy Balaji, Laxmi Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, Manvinder Bisla, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat Bhatia, Ryan ten Doeschate, Saqibul Hassan, Sarabjit Ladda, Shami Ahmed, Shreevats Goswami (wk),Yusuf Pathan