The Kolkata Knight Riders and the Hobart Hurricanes are new to this stage at the Champions League T20 (CLT20) 2014. Kolkata have featured in two previous CLT20s, and this is the first time they have qualified for the semi-final. On the other hand, Hobart have been impressive in the group stage and have marked their first CLT20 with a good performance. The stage is set at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderbad for two sides eager to go all the way.
Kolkata have been stationed at Hyderabad and have a good measure of the conditions. They have built their side according to the conditions, which has meant that they have relied on spin to do the job for them in this game. Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine have formed a great partnership. They form a grave threat to the opposition. Also, they have been backed by Yusuf Pathan, who has done a decent job with his off-spinners. As a result, Kolkata are going light on the pace bowling department, and have put in their energies in the spin bowling.
The batting looks in good shape with Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey in great touch. Kolkata have a great middle-order in Ryan ten Doeschate and Andre Russell adding punch. Of course, there is Pathan as well who can smash the ball around to produce the results. Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis add strength at the top with their solidity.
Hobart have a good batting side with Tim Paine and Ben Dunk opening the batting. Their key batsman in this tournament has been Aiden Blizzard, who has held the golden bat for some time. Shoaib Malik and Travis Birt add the punch to the middle order. In this game, Malik’s batting would be crucial as he would have to deal with the overdose of spin.
Hobart’s bowling is strong with the three pronged pace-attack, all of whom have represented the Chennai Super Kings in the past. Ben Laughlin, Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus form a significant threat to the batsmen. Backing them up with Xavier Doherty, who has also shown that he can have an effect in this format.
One would say that Kolkata have the upper hand, given the fact that they have a measure of the conditions. At the same time, Hobart are a good opposition on their day and cannot be written off.
Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey, Ryan ten Doeschate, Suryakumar Yadav, Andre Russell, Manvinder Bisla (wk), Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav.
Hobart Hurricanes: Tim Paine (c&wk), Jonathan Wells, Evan Gulbis, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hifenhaus, Dom Michael, Sam Rainbird, Travis Birt, Doug Bollinger, Aiden Blizzard, Cameron Boyce, Joe Mennie, Ben Laughlin, Ben Dunk, Shoaib Malik
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