IPL / Edward Hammond-Kenny / 05 April 2010 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

After a disastrous campaign so far, things can't get any worse for Punjab but opponents Kolkata blow hot and cold and this may present their best chance of achieving some respectability, says Edward Hammond-Kenny.

Venue and Conditions

The troubled Kings XI Punjab will visit the cricketing Mecca of Eden Gardens to take on Sourav Ganguly's Kolkata Knight Riders in match 34 of the IPL. Punjab are in disarray after losing a game they should have won to Bangalore last time out and they are now four points adrift at the bottom of the table. Kolkata are in fifth and need to win to maintain their challenge for the semis.

The pitches at Eden Gardens tend to get slower as the game progresses so batting first tends to be the preferred choice for the captain that wins the toss. Any score over 160 here is a potentially defendable total.


Team News

Kolkata will have been delighted with their last performance against Deccan and may field virtually the same team. There will be pressure on Angelo Mathews and more importantly Chris Gayle to start delivering with the bat, but they have compensated somewhat by producing handy performances with the ball, so should be safe.

In contrast, Punjab will have to make some changes, but most of the culls will probably come in the bowling department. IPL 3 has been nothing less than a mini personal disaster so far for Aussie paceman Brett Lee; he bowled the crucial over that went for 25 which effectively handed the game to Bangalore. Not what your expensive strike bowler is meant to do. He may be the most high profile casualty for this match.


Match Odds

Kolkata are favourites at odds of [1.74], while Punjab can be backed at [2.28]. Kolkata tend to run hot then cold, a good performance followed by a bad one. This lack of consistency needs to be addressed especially in their batting where they need more than one player to contribute a decent score each innings. So Chris Gayle needs to step up to the plate and perform for his team, to compliment the efforts of Ganguly and David Hussey.

Punjab's loss to Bangalore was the result of a terrible effort in the field, three emminently catchable chances put down, shambolic ground fielding and lacklustre death bowling. Bad fielding is a malaise that can spread through a team. If their bowlers can find self belief and the fielders motivate themselves to back them up then Punjab can certainly compete in this game.

Top Batsman

Despite his poor form, Gayle will head the Kolkata market. Against all odds, old man Ganguly appears to be in good touch after his match winning innings of 88 against Deccan, while David Hussey has played a secondary role so far but there is always the belligerently destructive side to his batting, once he is in.

Shaun Marsh made a very rare failure last time out but he will still be the favourite for Punjab Top Bat, as you would expect for someone who averages over 60 in his IPL career. Its not all doom and gloom for Punjab as Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh looked to have finally found some decent form against Bangalore. Ravi Bopara continues to accumulate runs efficiently, if not particularly spectacularly and lies fifth on the top tournament runscorers list.

Featured Market

The Ganguly v Gayle head-to-head market will probably see Gayle a slight favourite once it is priced up. It may well pay to stick with the form player and back Ganguly to outscore his opening partner.

Trivia

Brett Lee cost $900,000, but in ten and a half overs of bowling so far in IPL 3 he has yet to take a wicket. To rub further salt into the wounds, he has been smacked around at a rate of 10.5 runs per over, the worst economy rate of any Punjab bowler.

Best Bet

Ed Hammond-Kenny says: David Hussey bats slightly down the order, but his key is consistency. Back him to be Top Kolkata Bat at [6.0] or better.