The Kochi Tuskers Kerala will play the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the third game of the Indian Premier League’s fourth season. The match will be played on April 9 and will start at 8.00 pm, following the Deccan-Rajasthan game at Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
Kochi is one of the two new teams in the competition this season. They have undergone much internal strife and at one stage were on the verge of being expelled from the league before they had even played a game. All’s well for now and they will look to make a winning start against a side, Bangalore, which has had a final and a semi-final to their name after a dismal first season. What is surprising is that they will have their fourth captain in as many seasons, leading the team this year.
Kochi v Bangalore odds:
Kochi (1/1 at Coral) is the inexperienced team. But they are led by the more experienced captains, in these conditions, Mahela Jayawardene. Bangalore (10/11 at Blue Square) named Daniel Vettori to skipper the side, which was on expected lines after the auction had seen them get in no experienced Indian player. The only reason why Royal Challengers Bangalore go into the game as slight favourites according to the bookies is the kind of line-up that they have.
Whether that converts into a win is different matter altogether as the IPL rules stipulate that only four foreign players can be played in each game.
Ground and Pitch:
The game will be played in the hot and muggy conditions at Kochi, where the humidity levels can sap the fittest of the players. That it is only a 20 over game and will be played at night should help the two sides.
Player News:
Jayawardene (11/4 at Blue Square) had had an up and down World Cup, sandwiching a string of poor scores between a century in each of his first and the last game of the tournament. He will have Brad Hodge (4/1 at Blue Square) for company, a player who many Australians feel has been let down by the lack of international opportunities. Where the plot thickens is that Brendon McCullum (7/2 at Coral) should make it to the playing eleven and if Muthiah Muralitharan is fit, so he should.
That means that the likes of Michael Klinger (4/1 at Paddy Power), who has had an amazing run of form in this format of the game, could miss out. One senses that the toss-up could be between Klinger and Hodge.
For the Bangalore team, Virat Kohli (4/1 at Stan James) could be the one that looks to make the moves with the bat in his hand. He has been tipped to be the batsman for the future and looked in form till he was pedalled down the order in the World Cup and lost some of his high-scoring sheen. Interestingly, two of the best batsmen in the World Cup, Tillakaratne Dilshan (5/2 at Coral) and AB de Villiers (10/3 at Coral) will be a part of the squad here. If both are selected, and given the form there cannot be too much doubt about that, together with Vettori, they form three of the four foreigners allowed. One of Charl Langeveldt or Dirk Nannes will catapult into the side as a pace bowler.
Prediction:
Bangalore should win this game but a lot will depend on how the foreign players will adjust to the conditions in Kochi. Blue Square offers 10/11 for their win.
