Qualifiers Kolkata, Mumbai eye second spot (Preview)

More than Kolkata, Mumbai would have heaved a sigh of relief as Punjab were got a pasting by lowly Hyderabad at Dharamshala. The Punjab loss meant both Mumbai and Kolkata were assured of a play-off berth.

This, however, doesn’t make Sunday’s encounter between the two sides at Eden Gardens inconsequential by any stretch of imagination. A win can zoom up them to second spot in the standing that would give them two dashes in their pursuit to make it to the finals.

Save for odd hiccups, home team Kolkata have been one of the few consistent teams in the tournament boasting of a well balanced unit. Not only have they got the ‘cool as cucumber’ skipper in Gautam Gambhir who has lead from the front, the Shahrukh Khan owned franchise is the only team not to have made it to the top four in previous three seasons, has players with the ability to change the course of the game at any given moment. What has helped Kolkata to progress deep into the tournament is the performance of local recruits, none as bigger than left arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla and middle order batsmen Manoj Tiwary. Overseas players have also been contributing big time that was missing in first three editions and a good mix of local and foreign players is coming to the fore giving an impression that the team is gelling together as a unit.

For Mumbai, last two weeks or so have been something they would like to forget; they have gone down to their opponents without much of a fight. The four losses on a trot nearly cost them a play-off spot and would be thanking their stars for Punjab’s shoddy show against Hyderabad. What has handicapped Mumbai’s progress, of late, is the fact that likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Kieran Pollard, Andrew Symonds and Ambati Rayudu have misfired with the bat. Bowlers haven’t helped the matters either, their last game against Rajasthan just emphasizing that. After dawdling to a low score, the Mumbai bowlers were blown away by Shane Watson’s batting heroics.

The Sachin Tendulkar led side, though, would be hoping that worst has passed by and their big guns fire in what is the business end of the season. If that is the case tomorrow, Kolkata will be in for some trouble at their home ground.

KOLKATA

Players who can make impact

Gautam Gambhir…Captaining the side, this left hander is relishing the challenge. The former Delhi skipper has decided to take it upon himself to anchor the Kolkata innings while others around him go for big shots. He would like to play a pivotal role in his side’s last group match.

Yusuf Pathan….Boundaries in this year’s IPL have been not very big but no boundary is long enough for this man. When Yusuf hits a ball, it stays hit. The big hitter, however, hasn’t put IPL this season on fire despite playing some useful cameos. He would love to get this season’s numbers better by launching an attack against Mumbai’s strong bowling unit.

SQUAD

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

MUMBAI

Players who can make impact

Sachin Tendulkar…A champion batter is always a good batsman irrespective of format he is playing. Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar is proving that. Format doesn’t matter to him as he plays all of them with same intensity hitting bowlers off target. Despite having some poor scores recently, he could have a dash at Orange cap as Shaun Marsh currently holding it will not be seen in action after his team’s ouster.

Andrew Symonds….He is a destructive batsman in any format of the game. Although, he has been batting too low for most of cricket pundits’ liking, his clean hitting can change the course of match in a span of few overs.

SQUAD

Abu Nechim , Aditya Tare (wk), Aiden Blizzard, Ali Murtaza, Ambati Rayudu, Andrew Symonds, Davy Jacobs, Dhawal Kulkarni, Harbhajan Singh, James Franklin, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Moises Henriques, Munaf Patel, Pawan Suyal, Rajagopal Sathish, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar (c), Santosh Yadav, Sarul Kanwar, Tirumalsetti Suman, Yuzvendra Chahal