The defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders have had the ideal start to the tournament with a convincing win over the Mumbai Indians. They go head to head against the Royal Challengers Bangalore who look like one of the strongest units of the competition. Today we look at 5 things to look forward to in this match.
1. AB de Villiers: After the disappointment of a semi final exit in the World Cup, the South African Superman will be looking to prove a point in his opening match. The Eden Gardens wicket is a new one and it has offered consistent pace and bounce as one saw in the last match. De Villiers will be trying to make the most out of the wicket (even though most of the time he does not require help, he is Superman and he helps others!). Get set for a 360 degree show!
2. The War of the Delhiites: The captains of both the teams are from Delhi and they have their aggressive reputation walking ahead of them. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir have had their own share of face offs in the previous seasons of the IPL and they will be raring to have a go at each other once again. Both very competitive by nature they will not be willing to give an inch. But at the end there can be only one winner, and he will surely be from Delhi!
3. Carribean Calypso: One can ignore the West Indies but simply cannot keep them out of the show. The key players from either of the teams are from the Carribean, Chris Gayle and Sunil Narine to be precise. Both the individuals are blessed with the ability to take the game away from the other team and the Gayle vs Narine encounter will be a closely contested one. Not to forget the presence of Darren Sammy in the RCB ranks.
4. Rise of Indian Talent: The Kolkata Knight Riders have a new hero in the form of Surya Kumar Yadav who scored a 20 ball 47 to take his team to the finishing line. The success behind the Kolkata Kinght Riders success in the previous years has been the presence of strong domestic players in their squad. RCB has gone the same way in the auctions this year with the addition of Indian players like Subramaniam Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik. Their contribution will not only be critical but may prove to be decisive in the outcome of the match.
5. RCB Pace Attack: The Royal Challengers have one of the fiercest pace batteries in this season’s IPL with the likes of Mitchell Starc, James Milne and Sean Abbott playing for them. The will surely make their presence felt with their pace and with the Kolkata strip offering assistance to the pacers, it would not be surprising if they manage to run through the Knight Riders’ batting order.
A blockbuster in the making.
