Avik Roy
Kolkata, April 7: All eyes will be on Sunil Narine when defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take on the formidable Mumbai Indians (MI) in the inaugural match of IPL-VIII here Wednesday.
Narine will be coming back into competitive cricket after the Champions League T20 in September 2014. The ‘mystery spinner’ was reported for suspect action then which prompted the West Indian to pull out of the World Cup also as he worked to erase the deficiencies. His effectiveness with a remodelled action will certainly be under the scanner as KKR’s fortunes depend to a large extent on this bowler.
In the three seasons that Narine has so far played for KKR, he has picked up 67 wickets and was largely instrumental in helping the Kolkata side bag the 2012 and 2014 titles.
With a slew of spinners in their armoury now including a ‘Narine-like’ KC Cariappa, a rookie from Karnataka who was bought for Rs 2.4 crore, and a couple of chinaman bowlers, KKR definitely will relish playing on the slow Eden pitch.
But with evening showers predicted in the city, the spinners may find it hard to grip the white ball and the fielders will also have to put forth their sliding act
carefully.
Both the sides match equally on paper but with baggage of the past and some hard-hitting players in Corey Anderson, Kieron Pollard and new signing Aaron Finch, the Mumbai side certainly start favourites.
Anderson, who smashed an unbeaten 95 from 44 balls to help MI qualify for the knockouts last year will once again play a crucial role along with this year’s star acquisition in Australian opener Finch. Add Rohit, the leader, to the chart and MI look a mighty batting line-up capable of terrorising any bowling side.
KKR batting is equally strong and tested with last year’s top run-getter (Orange Cap winner) Robin Uthappa (660 runs) leading the brigade.
Yusuf Pathan may not have seen the best of days in the recent past but given his credentials to win a match single-handedly in sub-continent conditions, the senior Baroda pro is worth a bet.
As far as the foreign recruits are concerned, Bangladeshi star Shakib Al Hasan will play a crucial role, while the likes of Johan Botha, Brad Hogg and Azhar Mahmood may come handy with their experience.
