The second half of the double header of Indian Premier League action on Sunday sees the Rising Pune Supergiants back in action 48hrs after their last game when they host the Kolkata Knight Riders in a match which puts MS Dhoni up against Gautam Gambhir.
Rising Pune Supergiants
Pune looked like they were going to make a big impact in their debut season of this tournament when they butchered the Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the competition but since then their bowling has failed them and their batting hasn’t had the fireworks they’ve needed and as such they’ve lost three on the bounce.
MS Dhoni said after the last match that his side need to add depth to their bowling. Whether that is by bringing in an overseas bowler or using more of the Indian bowlers in the squad remains to be seen. Either way he’s right, they need to improve there.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The Knight Riders are going along quite nicely in the tournament to date. Even in this condensed league table they already sit top of it despite playing fewer matches than two of the sides in the tournament.
Aside from running into a Jos Buttler cameo against the Mumbai Indians, Kolkata have looked full of class and quality so far and there is no reason why that won’t continue. If there is a weakness it could be that they’ve been so dominant they’ve not needed their middle order yet but there will be a time when that core of the side is needed.
Team news
MS Dhoni is forced into at least one change with Kevin Pietersen ruled out of the rest of the season with the injury he picked up in the last match on Friday. Mitch Marsh or Albie Morkel look most likely to replace him with Morkel potentially the better option given his variety.
Kolkata Knight Riders look set to be forced into a change too with Manish Pandey out with chicken pox. It hasn’t been disclosed who will replace him in the side nor who will bat at three although they are not short of options for the latter role.
Form
Rising Pune Supergiants: WLLL
Kolkata Knight Riders: WLWW
Head to head: First meeting
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium
This is the second match here in the space of 48hrs so you would imagine the same wicket will be used which could see the spinners get some more joy than usual. On a normal Pune wicket the ball tends to swing and seam a little bit but it usually flattens out and becomes good for batting and that is what we saw here on Friday.
The boundaries don’t necessarily flow here though. They are quite big in the key areas and if the wicket does slow up I wouldn’t want to be betting on big hits or anything especially with the quality of the bowling attacks on show.
Betting
I had this one down as quite an even match before the Pietersen injury. I say even, I still had the Knight Riders as the marginal favourites but they are heavy favourites for me now. Pietersen’s injury leaves a massive hole for Pune to plug and I’m not sure an all-rounder is going to be able to do it.
Kolkata are going along really nicely in this tournament. They have rotated their bowlers but now that Morne Morkel is back in the side they look really tough to get away consistently and they have so much batting power it is untrue.
All things being equal here I’m expecting the visitors to make it four wins from five. My money is on Kolkata Knight Riders in the second match of the day.
Tips
WON – Back Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Rising Pune Supergiants for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Ladbrokes
Back them here:
