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Kolkata Knight Riders riding high

S. Sabanayakan

Deccan Chargers blend of youth and experience: Laxman

— Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury

TRUMP CARD: Deccan Chargers captain V.V.S. Laxman (left) will be looking to Andrew Symonds to provide the fireworks.

KOLKATA: Fresh from the marauding 140-run victory in the inaugural match of the DLF-Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, the home team, Kolkata Knight Riders, ought to be riding high on confidence against Deccan Chargers, arguably one of the best sides, when the two clash at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

Potent weapons

Led by V.V.S. Laxman, the Deccan Chargers have two very potent weapons in Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds. “Our team is a fine blend of youth and experience,” said Laxman during the pre-match interaction with the media.

After Brendon McCullum’s murderous attack on Royal Challengers Bangalore with a magnificent, match-winning 158, Knight Riders has surely emerged the team to beat in this championship. “I have always believed in having a healthy strike rate in any form of the game. Our aim on the morrow will also be the same,” the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers’ captain said.

Everybody likes to watch Symonds play. He is a very good player,” he said.

Laxman said the playing XI would be finalised only before the match.

“Chaminda Vaas and Chamara Silva are arriving only tonight. We will have to take them into account before deciding upon the side,” he said.

Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi will not be available.

Rudra Pratap Singh is sure to lead the Deccan Chargers’ bowling attack.

“Singh is bowling well. He will surely partner Nuwan Zoysa,” said Laxman. New Zealander Scott Styris, with his accurate mediumpacers, is likely to be the third seamer.

Knight Riders will be keen to see McCullum carry on with his form.

“It was an amazing innings from McCullum,” said Laxman. “His extraordinary innings changed the complexion of the inaugural game.

“In this kind of the game, plans keep changing. So we are ready with a set of plans for Knight Riders,” he said.

Three pitches

The Eden Gardens curator has prepared three pitches for this game and the choice will obviously be with the home team captain, Sourav Ganguly.

The Knight Riders squad, minus the injured Chris Gayle, which played the opening match is expected to be retained.

With Kolkata experiencing sweltering heat for the past week, the 4 p.m. start can be killing. More than cricketing skill, the test will be which team stands up to the conditions.

The teams (from):

Deccan Chargers: V.V.S. Laxman (Capt.), Scott Styris, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Andrew Symonds, Sanjay Bangar, Rohit Sharma, Chamara Silva, Y. Venugopala Rao, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Haladhar Das (wk), D. Kalyankrishna, Pragyan Ojha, D. Ravi Teja, P.M. Sarvesh Kumar, R.P. Singh, P. Vijaykumar and Arjun Yadav.

Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (Capt.), Ricky Ponting, Brendon McCullum (wk), David Hussey, Mohammed Hafeez, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik, Debabrata Das and Iqbal Abdullah.

Match starts at 4.00 p.m.

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