Chennai/Kolkata : Stung by the opening loss to last season's laggards Kolkata Knight Riders, defending champions Deccan Chargers have little time to dwell on the setback as they take on local favourites Chennai Super Kings in their second Indian Premier League match here today.
The Chargers have got off to the worst possible start as they succumbed to a shocking 11-run defeat to Knight Riders on Friday night. And it won't get any easier when they face off against Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Super Kings.
The Adam Gilchirst-led Chargers, however, would look to start afresh tomorrow. On the strengths of the teams, Chennai have better batting strength, bolstered by the inclusion of South African all-rounder Justin Kemp, but lack the required punch in their bowling attack.
To offset this weak link, Dhoni has been predicting that a sizeable total on board would help his team to come out winners.
Meanwhile, in the other contest of the day, the two builders of Indian cricket, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble — are all set to clash at the Eden Gardens.
Bangalore assets
Bangalore's two biggest assests are Kumble and Rahul Dravid. Together they make for a fine thinking pair.
The experience of Jacques Kallis and new recruit Eoin Morgan lend solidity to the batting, while the Karnataka trio of Manish Pandey, Abhimanyu Mithun and R. Vinay Kumar are coming off a very good domestic season.
The IPL is also just the opportunity that Robin Uthappa was looking for. If he grabs it with both the hands and comes to the party, he can be a difficult player to get rid of.
Kolkata will also be wary of a certain Dale Steyn. The top order was exposed by RP Singh and Chaminda Vaas and seeing the back of Steyn at the start of the innings will be the key for Kolkata's batting. They need their best player of pace to open the innings and that is none other than the skipper himself.
Fixtures
Today:
2.30pm: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (Kolkata)
6.30pm: Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings (Chennai)
