Match Previews / Frank Gregan / 21 March 2010 /

Frank Gregan selects the best bets for Monday afternoon's match as the Knight Riders prepare to welcome their flamboyant West Indian batsman.

Venue and Conditions

This is the third game at the Brabourne Stadium and with short boundaries and an even bounce the track is thought to favour the batsmen. It looked like the 11th over of Mumbai's game on Saturday had dispelled that theory when Bangalore claimed three wickets for two runs but Bangalore proved that the Mumbai collapse was down to poor batting rather than gremlins in the pitch when they coasted to 155 with five balls to spare. The weather must be an IPL fan as the conditions were perfect for the game in Mumbai on Saturday, it rained on Sunday when there was no play but it is forecast to be perfect again for this game.

Team News

Both sides were defeated on Saturday and come into this match desperate to get back to winning ways. The Mumbai Indians look to have a settled side now that their West Indian duo of Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo have joined up with them after fulfilling international commitments. Both will be disappointed that they find themselves down the order behind the two young Indian batsmen Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary and the wicketkeeper Aditya Tare who is batting at number three. Essex's Graham Napier will miss out.

The Knight Riders produced a timid batting performance during Saturday's defeat at Rajasthan and will look to include Chris Gayle in their line-up for the first time. He is likely to replace Owais Shah, who, ironically, was probably the only Kolkata batsman to have a go during their muted effort on Saturday.

Match Odds

Mumbai will go into the game as [1.7] favourites courtesy of having home advantage, a strong batting line-up and (Saturday's defeat aside) having made a positive start to the tournament. Kolkata's defeat against an injury ravaged Rajasthan has revived fears that they may go on one of their trademark losing streaks and they will be available to back at around [2.44].

Top Runscorer

For Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar will once again head the market, his short price meaning that there is value to be had elsewhere. The batting line-up is critical and given that the experiment of playing wicket-keeper Tare at number three has not worked out it may be that they opt to put Dwayne Bravo into that slot. Kieron Pollard is a big hitter but he is coming in too far down the order to back with any real confidence.

Kolkata's run chase on Saturday was pathetic and they will need to be much more aggressive at the crease. Sourav Ganguly is not firing and Brad Hodge showed the acceleration of a 16 wheeler when his team needed him to find the boundaries. If Chris Gayle hits the ground running he could wreak havoc.

Featured Market

The Mumbai Indians usually start as favourites in the most sixes market due to the explosive fire-power in their side. There were 17 sixes during the first game at this stadium and the Indians lost the count 11-6. They were beaten yesterday in the most sixes market 5-2 against a Bangalore side that were priced at [2.8] to score more maximums at the start of play. They did score more sixes than their opponents in Delhi but they won that game by 98 runs.

Trivia

The Kolkata Knight Riders have never beaten the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. The last time the Knight Riders played in Mumbai they were all out for 67.

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