KKR will look to bounce back by Asher Wilson

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Scorecard:	Auckland v Kolkata Knight Riders
Event:	Champions League 2012/13

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DateLine: 15th October 2012

 

Auckland Aces vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Champions League T20
Match Preview

 

Their morale low after a 52-run drubbing at the hands of Delhi Daredevils, IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to bounce back when they take on rampaging qualifiers Auckland in a Group A match of the Champions League Twenty20 here today at Newlands, Cape Town.

 

KKR will reflect back on the tactical blunder made by skipper Gautam Gambhir in the opening game, where he inserted a pace-driven Delhi Daredevils into bat. With history of that ground offering little hope, with only 27 out 168 day/night matches (International) won by the chasing team, the Knights were undone by the sheer pace of Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav.

 

They will not be making the same decision of batting second if they are lucky enough to win the toss, but the change of venue offers them respite. Their top-order will look to bounce back, but question mark hangs over Jacques Kallis' involvement in the game after he went out retired hurt following a blow to the head from compatriot Morne Morkel.

 

The combination could further be tinkered with, however, the team lacks pace which suggests that Lakshmipathy Balaji might retain his position despite conceding a whopping 61 from his full quota of overs. The top order will also be given a second chance and therefore, responsibility certainly rests on the shoulders of Gambhir and Brendan McCullum to deliver the goods but an even support from the other batsmen would be highly appreciated by the team.

 

Auckland, on the other hand, had a dream start in the tournament. This team from New Zealander notched up two convincing victories during their qualifying matches.

 

They opened their campaign with a six-wicket win over Sialkot Stallions, before taming Hampshire by eight wickets. Kyle Mills and Andre Adams have so far led the pace attack well, while left-arm spinner Ronnie Hira has troubled the batsmen and picked up four wickets so far during the qualifiers.

 

The batting workload will be shared by Martin Guptill and Lou Vincent at the top, both of whom looked in good nick with the bat. They do not have the star power of their opponents but expected to offer more as a combined XI. Having already played on the tracks, and prepared well in advance for the tour, confidence in the camp will be high.

 

However, it is former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood who has been their most valuable player so far. He picked up a five-for against Hampshire in their last match and also scored a match-winning unbeaten 55 and would surely look to continue in the same vein today.

 

This will be the first match on the Newlands track so both sides will have little know-how regarding the nature of the deck. Having said that, teams might tend to choose the safer route of putting the opposition into bat and see how the pitch behaves. However, that notion could backfire as KKR found out on Saturday.

 

Both sides met in the qualifying round last season, with the Knight Riders emerging victorious in a tight match. Neither team however, managed to make the main draw with Somerset going ahead from the three-team group.

 

Auckland Aces: Gareth Hopkins, Andre Adams, Azhar Mahmood, Michael Bates, Bradley Cachopa, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Anaru Kitchen, Mitchell McClenaghan, Bruce Martin, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Lou Vincent.

 

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Rajat Bhatia, Manvinder Bisla, Debabrata Das, Iqbal Abdulla, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, Brendon McCullum, Sunil Narine, Yusuf Pathan, Pradeep Sangwan, Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Manoj Tiwary.

(Article: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only.
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