Kolkata, Chennai
Both Kolkata and Chennai are in a do-or-die situation and hence both would be desperate to win when they clash with each other in the IPL match on Tuesday.


Chennai are paying the penalty for not doing well in the first phase of the tournament, while Kolkata also are in a must-win situation because of their inconsistent performance, so far.

With Mumbai having made the next grade and Delhi, Bangalore and Jaipur better placed on the points table, Chennai and Kolkata would not just look for a win but a comprehensively victory.

Going by the aggressive mood of Sourav Ganguly, who slammed his players for losing the last match despite getting a good start, Kolkata are not likely to spare an inch and upset Chennai.

However, cricket being a game of uncertainties, particularly in T20 format, the performance of both batsmen and bowlers in the rival ranks on a given day would result in either of them tasting success.

And while Chennai have better batting options, Kolkata have a better bowling attack.

Ahead of the Tuesday's match, Chennai captain MS Dhoni is a happy captain with the return of two South Africans - Albie Morkel and Justin Kemp, who have proved match fit.

The team would also be banking on Matthew Hayden, who has accumulated 315 runs from 11 matches, middle order batsman Michael Hussey, Morkel and Doug Bollinger. Dhoni, meanwhile, is yet to get in to his groove and has struggled for most part of the tournament.

On the other hand, Ganguly would be hoping for some quick fireworks from Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Manoj Tiwary. Of course, he himself, who is placed third in the order of top run-getters with 366 in IPL III, is also expected to chip in with some valuable runs.

And unlike Chennai, Ganguly has better options as far as the bowling department is concerned with Kiwi fast bowler Shane Bond expected to be a thorn in Chennai's scheme of things.

Chennai vs Kolkata

Played: 4
Won by Chennai: 3 (winning % 75.00)
Won by Kolkata: 1 (winning % 25.00)

Approaching milestones

- Suresh Raina (1177) requires just six runs to overtake Gilchrist's tally of 1182 in the IPL.

- Sourav Ganguly (366) needs 34 runs to complete his 400 runs in the IPL-3

- Murali Vijay (21) requires four sixes to overtake the tallies of Uthappa (24) and Yusuf Pathan (24).