×

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CLT20 2014 Match 1 — Key battles

In this year's IPL, both teams won a game each in their two encounters.

Related articles

Faf du Plessis has been a consistent performer for the Chennai Super Kings © IANS
Faf du Plessis has been a consistent performer for the Chennai Super Kings © IANS

By Sameer Jha

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the first match of Champions League Twenty 20 (CLT20) 2014. Both teams share an intense rivalry and know each other well. They had clashed in the final of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2012, where KKR clinched a sensational five-wicket victory. In this year’s IPL, both teams won a game each in their two encounters. The upcoming match promises to be a mouth-watering affair, and below are some of the key battles that fans may get to enjoy in the match:

Gautam Gambhir versus MS Dhoni (Captaincy battle): Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni were the two men who had combined excellently to help India win the ICC World Cup final in 2011. However, in IPL, both players have shared an intense rivalry. Both players are veterans in the game and have a lot of experience within their belt which will make the captaincy battle between them extremely interesting.

Robin Uthappa versus Mohit Sharma: The battle between IPL’s orange cap and purple cap holder will be an exciting contest.  Robin Uthappa struck form after KKR had lost a majority of its initial matches. However, when he started doing well with the bat, KKR went on a winning streak that saw them become victors of the tournament.

Before IPL 2014, not many were aware of Mohit Sharma’s potential. At the end of tournament, he was awarded the purple cap for taking 23 wickets. While Uthappa would look to give his team a good start by getting off to a flier, Mohit would look to give his team a good start by sending the Karnataka cricketer back to the pavilion as soon as he can.

Faf du Plessis versus Sunil Narine: Du Plessis’ form in the recently-concluded Zimbabwe Triangular Series 2014 was exceptional. He scored three centuries, and narrowly missed out on his fourth. He’ll look to continue his good form in CLT20 too, but will face stiff resistance from Sunil Narine — whose canny deliveries have outfoxed the best of batsman around the world.

Dwayne Bravo versus Jacques Kallis: Dwayne Bravo missed out IPL 2014 due to injury, and he was sorely missed by Dhoni. His return, Dhoni said that Bravo’s return improves the strength, stability and balance of the side. Bravo will look to do well both with the bat and ball, much like KKR’s Jacques Kallis, who recently retired from international cricket. Kallis, who’ll now only play T20 cricket, would look forward to the tournament as an opportunity to once again experience glory that performing well as a sportsman brings. The contest between him and Bravo will definitely be one to watch out for.

Complete coverage of Champions League T20 (CLT20) 2014 here

(Sameer Jha is a reporter at CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter at @SameerJha)

trending this week