Chennai Super Kings will open the IPL 2011 campaign against the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 8 with a game at the M Chidambaram in Chennai.
The Super Kings are the defending champions, having beaten Mumbai Indians in the final of the previous edition of the IPL while Kolkata have never entered the last four stage in the competition so far. However, while the Super Kings have been able to retain most of their main players from the previous three editions, Kolkata have gone for a major revamp and that could assist them overcoming their poor record.
Chennai v Kolkata odds:
Given the way in which Super Kings have played in the previous tournaments, they go into the game into favourites, with an offer of 8/11 at SkyBet. They have entered the semi-final of all the three editions before this, and been finalists twice. However, the Knight Riders have a new team and a new leader to go with that, which will not make it as easy for the Super Kings as in the previous tournaments. Boylesports offer 5/4 for Kolkata to begin with a win.
Ground and Pitch:
The game will be played at Chepauk, which hosted three games during the World Cup. Thankfully, the stadium was not used for the knock-out stages, which would have given them nearly three weeks to get the ground ready for the game – a necessity given the way it made it difficult for the batsmen. Expect a slightly lower score than normal on this pitch.
The conditions in Chennai will be hot and humid, with the 8.00 pm start expected to sooth the climatic woes a tad.
Player News:
Chennai will be le again by MS Dhoni but it is their top-order that will look to fire. Murali Vijay (10/3 at Boylesports) will open the innings for the side, with Abhinav Mukund (6/1 at Stan James) having a decent chance of getting a go at the top of the innings. Michael Hussey will miss the game given his tour of Bangladesh, which should allow the side to bolster their middle-order with Scott Styris (8/1 at bet365) and Suresh Raina (7/2 at Boylesports).
For the Knight Riders and its new-look side, Gautam Gambhir (11/4 at Blue Square) will be the skipper while Yusuf Pathan (8/1 at Stan James) could well be the player to watch out for in the team. Pathan hasn’t had a great World Cup but T20 is a format he usually finds his bearings in and can turn games around with his hard-hitting batting. Eoin Morgan (11/2 at Boylesports) should walk into the middle-order as well, despite an ordinary World Cup, while the toss-up for the all-rounder’s spot could have been between Ryan ten Doeschate (7/1 at Stan James) and Shakib al Hasan, but Shakib is away playing for Bangladesh.
Jacques Kallis (11/4 at Blue Square) will bat in the top of the order as a batsman who could look to bowl a couple of overs if fitness permits.
Prediction:
Expect the Super Kings to begin with a win - SkyBet offers 8/11 - solely on the fact that they have played together in the tournaments before this. Pathan could be the key for the Knight Riders if they have to overcome the odds.
