Nokia CLT20: KKR look to revenge against Somerset

Tags: Champions League Twenty20 2011-12, Somerset v Kolkata Knight Riders 5th T20 at Kolkata - Sep 25, 2011, Somerset, Kolkata Knight Riders, CL T20 2011, KKR vs SOM

Published on: Sep 25, 2011

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Having gone down to Somerset in the qualifying stage of the Champions League Twenty20 2011, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to turn things around when the two teams clash in the group stage of the tournament on Sunday.

Having gone down to Somerset in the qualifying stage of the Champions League Twenty20 2011, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to turn things around when the two teams clash in the group stage of the tournament on Sunday.

During their encounter in the qualifiers, the high-profile KKR were beaten by Somerset by 11 runs but managed to sneak through to the main tournament on better run rate due to their victory over Auckland earlier.

Kolkata may get the much-needed fillip if regular skipper Gautam Gambhir returns from injury, the chances of which are 50:50 at this early stage of the tournament.

Led by South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis in Gambhir's absence, the big guns in the batting lineup - Yusuf Pathan and Kallis himself - failed to leave a mark in the two qualifying matches. But Ryan ten Doeschate and Manvinder Bisla showed some spark, which eventually helped KKR qualify.

Aussie pacer Brett Lee will spearhead an otherwise spin-heavy attack, which relies heavily on Iqbal Abdulla and part-time tweakers Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan.

Somerset, on the other hand, have a 100 per cent record in the competition so far having got the better of Auckland and Kolkata in the two qualifying matches they played.

They have played as a team and crafted their way into the main tournament with performances which improved with each match.

Batsman Peter Trego has looked the best bet to set or chase totals for Somerset, alongside South African all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe.

Besides skipper Alfonso Thomas, Somerset will look up to Indian left-armer Murali Kartik to take wickets. Kartik's experience on the Indian tracks can help restrict runs as well as take important scalps.

And with assistance from spinner Arul Suppiah and medium-pacer Trego, Thomas will expect another brilliant performance for his boys to keep the winning momentum going. However, KKR will hope for an all-round show to end Somerset's winning run.

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