Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the 2014 Champions League T20 at Hyderabad. Here are five key contests that could decide the fate of the match.
Dwayne Smith vs Morne Morkel: The West Indian batsman may not have fired at the international level, apart from his debut, but he certainly has been a revelation in T20 cricket. Smith has been consistency-personified at the top of the order, first for Mumbai Indians, and now for Chennai Super Kings. He has the ability to bat through the first ten overs of the innings, and mostly gives his team quick starts. Morkel has ability to pick early wickets, and with his pace he will be expected to deliver the early blows for Kolkata. If he can get rid of Smith early, things would get a lot easier for Kolkata.
Suresh Raina vs Sunil Narine: The left-hander is widely regarded as one of the greatest T20 players across the globe. He may still struggle against the faster men even in the shortest format of the sport, but against the slow bowlers he is next to unstoppable. If he gets his act right against KKR, they would be in for some serious trouble. But, Narine is one man who can trouble the best of batsmen. The West Indies spinner has the ability to bamboozle Raina as well. Considering how highly gifted the two are, their contest would be an enticing one.
Ravichandran Ashwin vs Gautam Gambhir: TheChennai spinner usually opens the attack for his franchise. Most of the times, he gets the early breakthroughs and also keeps the opposition under check. His role will be the same this season as well. His tussle with Gautam Gambhir will be key. The KKR skipper has been in excellent form in the T20 format, but it remains to be seen whether he can overcome the Test struggles he faced in England. The change of format may just help Gambhir rediscover his touch.
Samuel Badree vs Robin Uthappa: Like Ashwin, Badree also mostly opens the attack for Chennai. Slowly, but surely he has gone on to become a highly rated T20 bowler. Badree does a dual job very well. He usually gets key wickets early in the innings, and also keeps the runs down. MS Dhoni would be looking forward to the same from him. KKR opener Uthappa will have a key role to play in keeping Badree’s threat at bay. He can play the big strokes with ease. Kolkata would want him to take on Badree, and win the contest.
MS Dhoni vs Piyush Chawla: The CSK skipper, as always would be the man, who would deliver the killer punch towards the end of the innings. Irrespective of pacers or spinners, Dhoni can smash the ball out of the ground. Chawla is someone who was handpicked by Dhoni for the 2011 World Cup. Although he was not successful in the event, he has tasted success in T20 before. Chawla would have the stern task of containing captain Dhoni.
--By A Cricket Analyst
