Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kolkata Knight Riders

Find Me A 100 Winner / Ed Hawkins / 11 May 2009 / Leave a Comment

It may be the battle for the wooden spoon but Ed Hawkins expects the IPL's basement teams to serve up a thriller...

Bangalore v Kolkata

Who would have thought that two sides with so many superstars would be battling it out to avoid the ignominy of collecting the wooden spoon? Bangalore are the second most expensive franchise and Kolkata's glitterati were supposed to take the tournament by storm.

The sides propping up the rest should provide a fascinating contest, however. Bangalore, who have shown flashes of improvement, could recall batsman Shreevats Goswami if they remember that he top-scored against Kolkata earlier in the tournament. Virat Kohli, which sounds like the sort of bug you pick up at municipal swimming pool, could make way. There may be no place for Jesse Ryder, however, who has been involved in a drinking incident.

Kolkata remain in disarray. They still couldn't find a place for spin genius Ajantha Mendis to halt a their run of six consecutive defeats. It is time Moises Henriques' overseas spot was sacrificed.

Conditions

SuperSport Park in Centurion is not a happy hunting ground for Bangalore. They were bowled out for 105 there against Rajasthan. The sun should shine for them today, though.

Match odds

Despite these sides languishing at the bottom of the table, five points separates Bangalore from Kolkata. Anil Kumble's unit had a three-game winning streak which opened such a gap. It began with a five-wicket victory over Kolkata. They have, however, lost their last two and if they suffer defeat their hopes of a semi-final spot will be slim indeed.

Unsurprisingly the market is nervous about the bottom feeders. Bangalore are as big as [1.80] while Kolkata trade at the [2.20] mark. In terms of ability, there is little to choose between the sides but Bangalore have a huge edge when it comes to application and spirit.

Kolkata are an embarrassment and it is telling that that their gregarious owner, Bollywood star Sharukh Khan, has left South Africa vowing not to return until his side win a game. He may never go back.

Top batsman

Kolkata's ever changing batting line up consistently confuses. Sourav Ganguly, now opening, top scored last time out against Delhi. Indeed, he, Brad Hodge and More van Wyk are the only men in black to be trusted. For Bangalore, Mark Boucher is in crunching form. He hit 48 from 33 balls against Mumbai.

Featured market

Backing under seven runs for the first over market would have proved profitable. The average for the tournament is 5.4