Indian Premier League - IPL 
/ Tobias Gourlay / 28 April 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Delhi captain Virender Sehwag must keep one eye on the pitch and the other on his old friend Gautam Gambhir
"Erratic groundsmanship raises a difficulty for ante-post bettors, but in-play punters might still start on Delhi's side"
Kolkata captain Gautam Gambhir has something to prove against the Delhi Daredevils, warns Tobias Gourlay
Delhi Daredevils
Delhi's Irfan Pathan comes up against his brother, big-hitting Yusuf of Kolkata, at a time when both have lots to do to persuade India's national selectors of their merits again.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Gautam Gambhir gets an opportunity to show his old team what they are missing. Eoin Morgan probably won't get an opportunity to show anyone anything - he's been misfiring in the middle order and his overseas berth could go to Brett Lee, who would reinforce a bowling attack that was slayed by Chris Gayle last time out.
Match Odds
Kolkata are [1.87] favourites to win in Delhi, despite losing their last two matches.
The groundsman at the Feroz Shah Kotla has work to do. He turned out a green-top against King's XI Punjab that produced 430 runs in the match. Then he cut the grass short for the visit of Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Sehwag blamed the pitch in part for Tuesday's defeat to RCB. The visitors' match-winner, Delhi-born Virat Kohli, said it was the best he had ever played on at the ground.
Erratic groundsmanship raises a difficulty for ante-post bettors, but in-play punters might still start on Delhi's side. If the hosts bat first, Sehwag and his opening partner, David Warner, need only thrash a few boundaries and the market will panic, bringing the Daredevils in from [2.12]. If they bowl first, Morne Morkel will threaten KKR's top order.
Top Kolkata Batsman
The Knight Riders have not played for almost a week. The overseas batsmen were struggling - Morgan and, increasingly, Jacques Kallis - or unproven - Brad Haddin - but Kallis will go off as favourite to top-score for his team.
Gautam Gambhir, however, looks a much better bet at [5.0], if he comes in at No. 3 again. Kolkata's skipper has beaten his team-mates in two of their last three games and is in good enough form to justify the record-breaking price he fetched at this season's auction.
Best Bet: Back Gautam Gambhir @ [5.0] to be Top Kolkata Batsman
You can now follow Tobias on Twitter: @tobiasgourlay
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