Kolkata Favourites Against Pune

On a high after back-to-back wins, Kolkata Knight Riders will start favourites against the struggling Pune Warriors India when the two bottom-half teams clash on Wednesday.
Having achieved back-to-back wins, the Gautam Gambhir-led KKR may have to again depend on off-spinner Sunil Narine and experienced all-rounder Jacques Kallis against Pune, a team they beat only last week.
Both played pivotal roles in their win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in KKR's previous match.
Kallis, who had an excellent outing with both bat and ball against RCB, had said on Sunday that winning would motivate KKR to strive for what seems like an unlikely playoff berth.
Pune, on the other hand, would strive to sign off their campaign on a winning note to make up a bit for their 12 losses and a bottom finish.
PWI would have to largely depend on Yuvraj Singh, but he would have to adapt well to the pitch which did not encourage big hitting during the KKR-RCB tie.

Teams from:

Pune Warriors: Aaron Finch (captain), Angelo Mathews, Yuvraj Singh, Abhishek Nayar, Ajanta Mendis, Ali Murtaza, Anustup Mazumdar, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Harpreet Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Kane Richardson, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Luke Wright, Mahesh Rawat, Manish Pandey, Marlon Samuels, Mitchell Marsh, Mithun Manhas, Parveez Rasool, Rahul Sharma, R Gomez, Robin Uthappa (wk), Shrikant Wagh, T Suman, Tamim Iqbal, Udit Birla and Wayne Parnell.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Manvinder Bisla (wk), Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis, Rajat Bhatia, Laxmipathy Balaji, Sarabjit Ladda, Brad Haddin (wk), Debabrata Das (wk), Iqbal Abdulla, Brett Lee, Ryan McLaren, Eoin Morgan, Sunil Narine, Sumit Narwal, Suchitra Senanayake, Pradeep Sangwan, Shami Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ryan ten Doeschate, Manoj Tiwary and James Pattinson.

Match facts
Wednesday May 15, 2013 (day/night)
Start time 16:00 local (1030 GMT)

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Chennai Move Top After Dhoni Blast

As expected, Chennai Super Kings brushed aside Delhi Daredevils at home on Tuesday to move on top of the T20 league table on a day CSK, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals moved into the playoffs.
Captain MS Dhoni blasted 58 not out to lift CSK to a competitive 168-4. Delhi never looked like posing a threat and ultimately finished at 135/9 to lose by 33 runs. Skipper David Warner once again played a lone hand for the Daredevils but he had scant support from his teammates.
Earlier, CSK appeared to be losing their way after a positive start before Dhoni, yet again, took charge after promoting himself to No. 4. Already assured of a playoffs spot, CSK are eyeing a top-two finish that will allow them a second shot at the final, and it was to lift their net run rate that the hosts uncharacteristically opted to bat first.
Dhoni's fifty came off 30 deliveries with two fours and four sixes. Only, this time it wasn't brutal hitting that the Indian captain is so very capable of, but a calculated assault that took the wind out of Daredevils's attack.
Michael Hussey (26) and Murali Vijay (31) put on 61 for the opening wicket to set the platform, but Vijay's run out set off a mini collapse with the side also losing Hussey and Suresh Raina for the addition of just 12 runs.
Dhoni, however, had other plans. He quickly assessed the conditions, and smacked left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan for a six as CSK rolled to 100-3 in 14 overs. Thereafter, Dhoni was lord of all he surveyed. He lashed Ashish Nehra for a six and then slapped him for a boundary with impunity in the 16th over as he took his fourth-wicket stand with Ravindra Jadeja to 57. Jadeja fell, bowled by Umesh, after chipping in with 24.
Dhoni brought up his fifty with a six and a boundary off Nehra in the 19th over, and although Umesh bowled a tight last over, Dhoni had helped the team put on 59 in the last five overs. 
Earlier, Chennai Super Kings have won the toss and they bat first.
Chennai have made at least one change, Albie Morkel comes in for Chris Morris. 
Delhi have made three changes. Roelof van der Merwe and Nehra are in

Teams

Chennai Super Kings: Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni (captain & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Albie Morkel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Mohit Mahipal Sharma

Delhi Daredevils: David Warner (captain), Virender Sehwag, Unmukt Chand, Ben Rohrer, Johan Botha, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Irfan Pathan, Roelof van der Merwe, Siddarth Kaul, Umesh Yadav, Ashish Nehra

Brief scores
Chennai Super Kings 168 for 4 (Dhoni 58*) 
Delhi Daredevils 135 for 9 (Warner 44, Morkel 3-32)
Result Chennai Super Kings won by 33 runs
Points Chennai Super Kings 2, Delhi Daredevils 0
MOM MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings)

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