Daijiworld Media Network

Jaipur, Apr 8: A warm welcome to one and all for the match between Rajasthan and Kolkata from Rajasthan. Both the teams have started off their campaign on a winning note. The key for both sides will be whether they can sustain their winning start.

Kolkata have won the toss and elected to field.

Dravid: 'It looks like a good wicket. We do not have any isse in batting first. Watto comes back, Perera misses out. We've got Tait in for Badree and Dishant Yagnik replaces Ashok Menaria. I had a severe case of cramps in the previous game. It's much better now. Cooper's over was one of the best last overs in T20 cricket that I've ever seen.'

Gambhir: 'We're going to bowl. We are comfortable in chasing. We've got the same 4 overseas players. It's not pressure that we feel. We have got a good start and we want to continue that. Whenever you walk onto the cricket field you'ver got to do well. That's what I believe in. Bowlers win you games. Batsmen can only set it up.'

Match Preview

Both Rajasthan and Kolkata, having beaten Delhi in their opening matches, will be looking to extend their winning momentum when they face each other at the Sawai Mansingh stadium. In what will be the Rajasthan's first home match of the season, the Dravid led side will be hoping to use the home advantage to the fullest. For Kolkata, who started the season in an impressive fashion, this match gives them another opportunity to show that they are a champion side.

Rajasthan:

Team News: Skipper Rahul Dravid, who suffered a calf injury during the course of his knock against Delhi, has been declared fit which is positive news for the side. To boost Rajasthan further, Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has joined the team and is likely to be included in the eleven straight away although Siddharth Trivedi mentioned that the call would be taken by the captain and the coach just before the match. Kusal Perera in all likelihood will make way for Watson at the top of the order. What remains to be seen is whether Watson will start bowling from his first game itself or as hinted by Dravid earlier, bowl at a later stage of the tournament.

In-form player: While he did get a couple of lucky breaks, Dravid made good use of the reprieves to carve a fine 65 in Rajasthan's match against Delhi and staying true to his natural game, remained a wall that the opposition could not penetrate for a major portion of the innings. Dravid's firm presence enabled players like Ajinkya Rahane and Stuart Binny to bat around the skipper and come up with useful cameos. Consistency is what Dravid was known for during his Test playing days and Rajasthan will be hoping that he can do the same in the shortest format of the game.

Hits: Roger Binny could wield the long handle pretty well during his playing days and his son Stuart showed that he was a chip off the old block in the match against Delhi as he blasted a rapid 40, which came at a strike-rate of 200. His knock, which included 2 fours and 3 maximums helped Rajasthan post a sizeable total. A similar feat by this 28-year-old is what Rajasthan will be hoping for, going up against a formidable Kolkata line-up.

Kevon Cooper was a revelation in Rajasthan's initial games in the 2012 edition before an injury cut short his stay in the tournament. The Trinidadian would have been eagerly waiting for the 2013 edition to make an impact and he did so straight away by picking up a three wicket haul - two crucial strikes coming in the final over when Delhi required nine runs to win - to help Rajasthan clinch a thriller. An exciting young all-rounder, with match winning abilities, Rajasthan will be hoping he delivers against Kolkata just like he did last year when he picked up 3/28 to help his side prevail.

Misses: While Rajasthan's top order did a commendable job in their opening match, the performance of the middle order was a let-down with the likes of Brad Hodge, Cooper and Ashok Menaria failing to come good with the bat. Dravid would have been disappointed with their showing, as a good knock or two could from the ones batting down the order could have helped Rajasthan put up an even bigger total. The Rajasthan skipper though would consider it as an one-off incident, hoping that the middle order comes good in the future games.

Cooper was good with the ball as was Sreesanth but Rajasthan will be slightly concerned with the form of of Samuel Badree and Trivedi, who gave away 69 runs between them in the four overs that they bowled.

Kolkata:

Team News: Brendon McCullum was unavailable for Kolkata's opening game, suffering from a hamstring problem and the Gambhir led side will miss the services of the Kiwi captain in their second match too as he is yet to recover from his injury. According to reports, Jacques Kallis, L Balaji and Brett Lee suffered a stomach bug but are said to be making good strides in terms of recovery and will be fully fit for the match against Rajasthan.

In-form player: His axing from the West Indian Test squad in their recently concluded series against Zimbabwe seems to have fired up Sunil Narine, who show-cased his match-winning abilities with the ball with a terrific spell of 4/13 that helped Kolkata bowl out Delhi for 128. The mystery spinner, who finished as the second highest wicket-taker in the previous edition of the tournament, has mentioned that becoming the Purple Cap holder is not as important as Kolkata winning games. However, by picking up wickets, he certainly can turn the tide in favour of his team and the defending champions will be hoping that he can extend his wicket-taking form for as long as possible.

Hits: Chasing a total of 129 can be tricky on occasions but Gambhir ensured that his side did not suffer from any hiccups as he came up with an aggressive 41 which helped side side overcome Delhi with ease. The skipper being in good touch is an added advantage to any side and Kolkata will be hoping that he can continue in the same vein going forward.

Kallis and Manoj Tiwary too were amongst the runs, coming up with useful knocks which is a positive sign for the champions of 2012, who will be looking to add more to their wins tally.

Misses: While most of the bowlers did a tidy job, Kolkata will be slightly concerned with Brett Lee's form as the former Australian quick finished with expensive returns despite picking up a couple of wickets.

The defending champs will also be hoping that Manvinder Bisla comes good with the bat as the wicket keeper batsman, who played a key role in Kolkata winning the title last year, failed in the opening match in this edition, managing just 4 runs.

Head to head: Rajasthan have a win percentage of 45 against Kolkata. In 10 matches, Rajasthan emerged victorious in 4 games while ending up on the losing side 5 times. One game was a tie which Rajasthan won in the Super Over.

Quotes:

We know he is a world class spinner. But we prefer on playing to our own strengths instead of worrying about such things. But I am sure that the team coach and skipper Dravid must be working on some kind of strategy to counter him: Siddharth Trivedi says Sunil Narine's presence is not a worry for Rajasthan.

We probably know our home conditions better but he is a world class bowler who can bowl on any surface and will trouble most batters. He can sum conditions pretty quickly: Jacques Kallis expected Sunil Narine to come good with the ball again despite Kolkata playing in an away match.

CB's pick:

Although both sides are filled with quality players and both teams enter this game on back of wins against Delhi, Kolkata hold a slight upper hand, having displayed better fielding skills and an urge to win clinically.

Teams:

Rajasthan (From): Rahul Dravid(c), Kushal Janith Perera(w), Ajinkya Rahane, Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan, Ashok Menaria, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Kevon Cooper, S Sreesanth, Shane Watson, Shaun Tait, Shreevats Goswami, Siddharth Trivedi, Stuart Binny, Dishant Yagnik, Harmeet Singh, Owais Shah, Samuel Badree, James Faulkner, Fidel Edwards, Pravin Tambe, Amit Singh, Sanju Samson, Sachin Baby, Rahul Shukla, Kumar Boresa, Vikramjeet Malik

Kolkata (From): Gautam Gambhir(c), Manvinder Bisla(w), Brad Haddin, Brendon McCullum, Brett Lee, Debabrata Das, Eoin Morgan, Iqbal Abdulla, Jacques Kallis, James Pattinson, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Laxmi Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat Bhatia, Ryan ten Doeschate, Sarabjit Ladda, Shakib Al Hasan, Shami Ahmed, Sunil Narine, Yusuf Pathan, Ryan McLaren, Sachithra Senanayake