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Navi Mumbai: Kochi Tuskers lost out on a golden opportunity to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in their IPL opener at home. Pune Warriors bowlers capitalized on some over-adventurous top-order batting from Kings XI Punjab to start their campaign on a winning note.
As Pune and Kochi cross swords in their second match at DY Patil stadium here on Wednesday, neutral fans would hope to find the true strengths of these teams.
Are medium pacers Shrikant Wagh and Alfonso Thomas that good? Can Kochi openers Brendon McCullum and VVS Laxman hit a purple patch against them, like they did against RCB the other day?
With Pune winning while chasing and Kochi losing out while batting first, there will be a temptation to put the opposition in after winning the toss. The experts keep saying that the wicket at this venue is not one of those belters and pacemen can expect help from it.
India paceman Sreesanth could be someone who will enjoy that help, but he needs to restrain himself. But if he gets things in order, he can be an asset on this track. Graeme Smith, who recently got engaged, will do well to tie the knot with restraint himself while facing the Kerala bowler. The duo clashed in the second Test of the Test series in South Africa in Durban and Sreesanth managed to get under the skin of Smith and the South African perished soon, resulting in a collapse.
The South African captain has been guilty of needless aggression in the limited-overs format of the game frequently. Being the captain of the team, he got away with it. If he continues to flirt with danger, his place in the team could come under scrutiny what with only four foreigners allowed in the playing XI.
It's not that every side is struggling to pick the best four foreigners. KKR picked only two in the opener against Chennai. And almost pulled it off against the defending champions.
Pune vs Kochi in some way will also be a battle between captains Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jaywardene. They are contrasting characters in vastly different stages of their careers. The Sri Lankan must strive to use the legendary offie and compatriot Muttiah Muralithan effectively. Even if it means giving him a bowl during powerplay. Mahela's decision to give the ball to Gomez proved too costly against RCB. He doesn't need any more errors of judgment.
Teams from
Pune Warriors Yuvraj Singh (capt), Imtiyaz Ahmed, ER Dwivedi, CJ Ferguson, GB Gaikwad, Harpreet Singh, DS Jadhav, AA Jhunjhunwala, Kamran Khan, M Kartik, HH Khadiwale, B Kumar, NL McCullum, M Manhas, MR Marsh, AD Mathews, MD Mishra, SS Mundhe, A Nehra, TD Paine (wk), MK Pandey, WD Parnell, S Rana, JD Ryder, R Sharma, GC Smith, JE Taylor, AC Thomas, RV Uthappa (wk), SB Wagh
Kochi Tuskers Kerala DPMD Jayawardene (capt), B Akhil, DA Chougule, Y Gnaneswara Rao, RV Gomez, JW Hastings, BJ Hodge, RA Jadeja, KM Jadhav, M Klinger, VVS Laxman, BB McCullum, C Madan, SH Marathe, M Muralitharan, SNJ O'Keefe, P Padmanabhan, PA Patel (wk), NLTC Perera, RR Powar, OA Shah, RP Singh, SPD Smith, S Sreesanth, TM Srivastava, R Vinay Kumar, Yashpal Singh
Match facts
Wednesday April 13, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 20:00 local (1430 GMT)
