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IPL
- Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians
COULD anything else go wrong for Mumbai? They have lost
all of their opening four matches (including their most
recent by 10 wickets). They are dead last on the ladder
and the only team not to register a win. Their potential
savour, Indian batting god Sachin Tendulkar, hasn't played
a game with a groin injury and is no certainty to play
here even though there are some indications he could return.
Now Harbhajan Singh, their fill-in skipper and matchwinning
spinner, has been suspended for the rest of the IPL for
slapping rival Sreesanth. Incredibly, not one of Mumbai's
batsmen has yet recorded a half-century in the tournament
and their opening batting pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and
Luke Ronchi have failed consistently and their highest
opening stand is only 15. Without Tendulkar - and now Harbahajan
- Mumbai have not been dynamic enough to mix things up.
If they continue to be so inflexible, not showing any nous
to change their batting order or switch-change their bowlers,
then they will keep on getting flogged. If there is a manual
on how to do everything wrong and watch everything go pear-shaped,
Mumbai have followed it to the letter.
By contrast, Kolkata
have been rolling along nicely and are third on the ladder.
Kolkata's lone hiccup came in a recent loss to Chennai
but that is no disgrace because Chennai have been the form
team of the IPL. Kolkata - boasting a super strong batting
lineup containing Brendon McCullum, Ricky Ponting, David
Hussey and Sourav Ganguly - look to be too strong here
for the ramshackle Mumbai outfit. It is Ponting's last
game in the IPL and with just 20 runs in the tournament,
Ponting will be desperate for a big farewell score here.
Kolkata also have lovely balance in their bowling with
gangly quick Ishant Sharma and under-rated spinner Murali
Kartik.
Everything points to a Kolkata win here but we
are very wary about a straight-out bet at the short
odds of $1.50 (or even less), especially as it is possible
Tendulkar could make his return. But our main concern is
the nature of the Eden Gardens pitch which was diabolical
to say the least in the only match it has hosted so far
in the IPL. The puffs of dust we saw when some deliveries
exploded off the Eden Gardens pitch, while some balls almost
rolled along the ground, remain a major worry. In that
game it was so bad that Kolkata only just managed to chase
down 110 and did it with only six balls remaining.
If the
pitch is terrible again, you would still think Kolkata
would be in a better situation to handle it as they have
already played on it. But there are just too many question
marks for us to have much of a bet with any confidence
in this match - with the pitch our primary worry. For the
first time this tournament, we would prefer to hold our
bullets and not have a bet because there are too many x-factors
and unknowns.
If you absolutely have to have a bet, we
note with interest that Lasseters has posted a Brendon
McCullum v Sanath Jaysuriya head-to-head batting market.
Jayasuriya has just 68 runs this tournament with a topscore
of 29 while McCullum has 187 (from one less game) including
a dazzling century in the opening game. We think Jayasuriya
is well past his best while McCullum is just nearing his.
So McCullum looks an OK bet at $1.80 in the head-to-head
with Jayasuriya. But if you have to bet, we advise
only a tiny one on McCullum due to pitch concerns.
Reports out of India say the pitch has been watered and
some grass has been left on it for the soil to bind - but
we would prefer to watch and learn this game. Our best
betting advice here is not to bet at all.
© 2008 Punting Ace.com
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