Preview: Nawabs look to topple Cavaliers

Disclaimer at the top:

This is experimentation. Take this article seriously at your own risk. The facts and figures might be true as they stand on their own, but may or may not be apt in the context. This is only a foolish attempt to copy the style of most famous website of the world, http://www.cricinfo.com

Nawabs look to topple Cavaliers

Match facts

Saturday, April 16, 2009
Start time 9.00 local (12.00 EST)

The Big Picture

Only one game to go and Kings to play Oceans on Sunday having a much higher run rate already, Cavaliers have no other ways than to win this game against Nawabs, if they have to claim the championship. Margin of error is too little for Cavaliers to relax and this is where Nawabs would look to capitalize. Having beaten Cavs once in the past, Nawabs should go into this game with a bolstered self confidence.

At times, Cavaliers have been such a good team that they have won games from nowhere. However, they have failed a few times when it mattered most and they felt the pressure. Last year, the game between Tavs and Cavs was of the same proportion for Cavs when they collapsed to 80 odd chasing 200 odd.

While Cavaliers have every reason to perform their best to reclaim the championship after 06-2007, Nawabs have all the motivation the help Kings claim the A division championship for the first time.

League form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
Kings - WWWWW
Cavaliers - LWWWW

Watch out for ...

Gopi Boinepally & Chirag Vyas: In five games for Nawabs so far, Gopi has scored a massive 410 runs with an average even Bradman would be jealous of (136.67) and a strike rate which will keep Sehwags and Afridis wondering (211.00). And mind you, we are not talking about a Twenty20 affair.

Chirag has been a revelation with the ball for KINGs with an economy of just over 3. For Nawabs and Kings combined, his figures are 72-11-241-18 and his consistency in the last 5 games probably makes him the most dangerous for Cavaliers.

Ketan Panchal & Rehan Kazmi: Having missed on the last game against Kings, the Leagues best batsmen by runs would probably take this as a challenge and would pose a big threat before Kings. Rehan Kazmi would pose threat both ways, with bat and ball as he has been consistent with both over the season.

Team news

Nawabs would give their best to win this game and the championship for their clubs, however there would be no surprise in seeing players from Kings playing for them, given the occasion and the importance of this game.

Nawabs (likely) 1 Gopi Boinepally, 2 Vinod Swarna, 3 Venkat Jayaraman, 4 Mitul Patel, 5 Hanumanth Bollineni, 6 Krishna Perna (wk & capt), 7 Karan Wittke, 8 Maheshwar Sadashivam , 9 Chirag Vyas, 10 Arun Shankar, 11 Neelkanthan.

Going by a few happenings ever since Cavaliers lost to Kings in their last game, Cavaliers is going to be most prepared for this game with their best possible XI. They might just have made a mistake by not picking Makesh in their last game against Kings. They might take Chandrakant ahead of Mitesh.

Cavaliers: 1 Ketan Panchal, 2 Dhananjay Vidwans (wk), 3 Anup Menghal (Capt), 4 Naren Samak, 5 Chandrakant Barllinge, 6 Amar Dhamdhere, 7 Sunny Desai, 8 Rehan Kazmi, 9 Anil Sankar, 10 Makesh, 11 Sharat Kanka.

Pitch & conditions

The pitch has changed considerably thanks to the flooding a week ago. The outfield has become greener with thick grass cover and the pitch has got a bit of grass patches here and there. The team winning the toss will have a dilemma in deciding what to do even though Batting first might be very hard to resist.

Stats and trivia

• Although, by season record, Cavaliers are ahead, they have slightly been falling for the last 3-4 games. 96/6 against Metros chasing 95, 164 all out against TAVs batting first, 239/8 against Oceans chasing 238 and 169 all out against Kings chasing 185. Slow decline?
• Nawabs is the only team after Kings to beat Cavs this season.
• JV played for Lagaan XI in Texas, Kings in Summers and in ISA tournament and every time his respective teams emerged as champions.

Quotes

"My bowlers would be targeting six dot balls every over."
KP indicates a simple plan for Nawabs.

"We are expecting the same team as we complained before the jokers of ACA for no rewards."
One of the Cavaliers shows frustration ahead of the game thinking what it might look like