Jump to content

Ganguly doubtful for Bangalore tie


Feed

Recommended Posts

Ankle is healed!:yay: Momentum with KKR - Sourav is fit for crucial tie vs Royal Challengers today LOKENDRA PRATAP SAHI Will Shane Bond return to the XI? 10spobond2.jpg Bangalore: If T20 is all about momentum, then that advantage is definitely with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). More reason, then, for the hosts to be wary of a side capable of big things on its day. Clearly, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) can’t bank only on playing at home. Both teams are equal on points, with RCB ahead on the run-rate, and both are desperate for the two points. “Tomorrow (Saturday), you will see a side which is determined to stay in the tournament,” pointed out RCB senior pro Rahul Dravid, highlighting the significance of the IPL III face-off at the Chinnaswamy. For the record, KKR won the home-leg match, last month, but Sourav Ganguly and his Knights aren’t putting their feet up. There’s work to be done. Also, nobody has forgotten Brendon McCullum’s unbeaten 158 in the first edition, which helped KKR rout RCB by 140 runs. But, then, that’s history. “No team starts as the favourite, nobody is the underdog... It’s the performance on the day that matters... I’m clear about what we need to do,” Sourav told The Telegraph. The good news is that Knight No.1 has recovered from a right ankle problem (he spent much of Friday afternoon applying an ice pack) and won’t be sitting out such a crucial game. That the entire KKR camp had been worried over Sourav’s ankle was reinforced in the morning when, on checking-in at the team hotel, teammates and support staff had just one question: “How is it?” With so many asking the same question, Sourav spent more time giving the answer (“much better”) than doing justice to the elaborate breakfast spread at The Cubbon Pavilion. There’s plenty riding on that ankle. Among the more concerned had been coach Dav Whatmore, for whom this is a ‘homecoming’ of sorts. After all, he’d spent a couple of years in Bangalore as director of the National Cricket Academy. No announcement has been made, but the KKR team management is looking at bringing back Shane Bond and omitting Ajantha Mendis, after only one match. The XI in any game can’t have more than four players from overseas and that restriction has been causing both headaches and heartburns. Meanwhile, two RCB players, Praveen Kumar and Ranganath Vinay Kumar, who’re in the Team India XV for the World T20, didn’t practice on Friday. Both were in Chennai to complete “visa formalities”. Match starts: 8 pm. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100410/jsp/sports/story_12324525.jsp#top

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...