Both the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders are coming off losses after both of them had pleasant starts to their campaigns. For the Knight Riders though, the loss to the Rajasthan Royals was more serious than the Indians trip up to the Royal Challengers. The Knight Riders will be remembering their painful experiences of the previous two IPLs and will not want that defeat to have been the start of a downward spiral back to the hells of the bottom of the barrel.
If Chris Gayle has recovered from the fever that kept him out of the clash with the Royals, he is a shoe-in for the starting eleven. It's likely that Brad Hodge will sit out and now the omission of either the Australian or Owais Shah is justifiable because of the way Kolkata batted in their chase against the Royals. Despite having wickets in hand, they failed to keep up with a run rate that wasn't too demanding and will need someone who is not afraid of the likes of Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga.
Zaheer Khan has a reputation for dismissing left-handed openers, so if Gayle plays, he will have to be careful not to fall victim to the stereotype. Malinga may have Gayle's number as well and given how he struggled against Zimbabwe's spinners, even Harbhajan Singh may be sniffing Gayle's blood. There's no doubt that if he plays, he will be the man Mumbai target, because a quick-fire innings from him could do a lot to boost KKR's morale.
With the possibility of the spotlight turned on Gayle, Saurav Ganguly could use this match to worm his way back into the hearts of his own team's fans. They booed him at Ahmedabad and he has come under criticism for his inability to bat quickly enough. This time, he'll be away from the die hard Kolkata crowd and could use the Brabourne as an opportunity to make up for what fans see as his error filled ways.
In the bowling department, Kolkata will present the biggest challenge of the match when Shane Bond and Ishant Sharma come up against Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar. The Sri Lankan has yet to fire in the tournament but very rarely do the words Jayasuriya and poor form appear in the same sentence. He has a tough task ahead, because the opening pair of the KKR attack are unlikely to offer him any sympathy, but if he does see them off and capitalize he could finally "arrive" in this year's IPL.
Charl Langeveldt is still battling with his fitness so the rest of the KKR bowling responsibility will lie with Ashok Dinda, Murali Kartik, Angelo Matthews and Rohan Gavaskar, who is likely to come back into the side for Cheteshwar Pujuara. That might prove too much for a brittle Mumbai middle order made up of Aditya Tare, Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu. The hosts will need their West Indian contingent of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard to really step up a gear if they hope to make a dent into KKR's bowling attack. The two will also have to improve their bowling for Mumbai. They were badly exposed by Jacques Kallis in their previous match and went for 11.05 and 12.00 runs per over respectively.
KKR pulled off a famous win in Mumbai when they beat the Deccan Chargers in the first match of this year's competition. That's the only bit of history they have on their side. Mumbai beat them all four times in the previous two IPLs, three of those times comprehensively. Seven, eight and nine wicket wins showed the sheer disparity in the two teams' quality in the previous IPLs, with the last win being a sneaky nine-run victory for Mumbai. Mumbai have lost only one match out of three, while KKR have lost two in four. They have to call on their giant killing ways from their victories over Deccan and Bangalore and remember that slaying the Mumbai might will go a long way to getting their campaign back on track.
This match will also pit Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly against each other. Often called India's best opening pair in ODI history, the veterans will have to adjust to the faster nature of Twenty20s. While Tendulkar has done it superbly, Ganguly's struggles have been painful to watch. While he may be an inspirational captain, it is that much more difficult to inspire your troops if your own form is in the doldrums.
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