Kolkata take on Rajasthan in their IPL 2014 game on Tuesday.
While both the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals will both be reasonably satisfied with their efforts in IPL 7 during the UAE phase of the tournament, though no more than that, with records of two wins and two losses each, ahead of their clash at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, their supporters might not feel so smug.
Supporters of both sides will have had high hopes for their sides this season, and a 50% record is hardly sufficient to get overly excited about.
The outcome of Tuesday’s match will at least give some additional momentum to the winners, as they head to India for the second phase of IPL 7.
The Knight Riders batting has struggled during the matches in the UAE, and the team will be hoping that the bowling attack can continue its good form, as well as the batsmen finding some form of their own.
The mere fact they brought the runaway train that was the apparently unstoppable pairing of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller, to a shuddering halt in their last game, tells you something about the performance of the bowlers. It would be a surprise if the Royals found facing the Kolkata quickies a comfortable experience.
The Royals themselves, although only having a 50% record, have a more balanced team than most of the other sides in the tournament. The bowlers have managed to keep the opposition to just 70 on one occasion, while the batsmen have managed to post a score of 193 on one occasion.
If the management can find the right batting order, then the Royals will become a stronger side and more likely to be involved at the business end of the season.
They could start with promoting the Australian pair of Shane Watson and Smith Smith up the order, where they can carry the attack to the opposition, and start to dominate the game on their own terms.