Sourav Ganguly, known by many as “the Prince of Calcutta,” could prove to be more of a villain for his hometown Thursday as his new Indian Premier League team, Pune Warriors, hosts his old side, the Kolkata Knight Riders.
- Punit Paranjpe/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
- Ganguly could play a part in Kolkata’s downfall.
The Kolkata Knight Riders, fourth in the IPL4 table on 14 points, need one win from their last two matches to secure a place in the next phase of the tournament. But a loss at the D.Y. Patil Stadium tonight would pile on the pressure, leaving Kolkata needing to beat the high-flying Mumbai Indians in the final first round game on May 22, with Kings XI Punjab now breathing down their neck.
Pune Warriors are already out of contention with just eight points after a disappointing run of defeats mid-way through their campaign, before Ganguly came on board. Still, with players such as Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, the team is capable of an upset and Pune – one of the two new franchises to join the IPL this year – will be desperate for the scalp of a big team like Kolkata.
A win for captain Yuvraj would also mean he’d be boosting the chances of his old team, Kings XI Punjab, who need Kolkata to lose if they are to stand a chance of progressing. Yet all eyes will be on Ganguly, a man who is revered in Kolkata, but whose cricketing services were no longer required by the local franchise, co-owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.
Ganguly was ignored by Kolkata and every other franchise at the IPL auction this year, so the former India cricket captain will be eager to demonstrate that he still has the ability to perform at this level. Playing a devastating innings against his old team would be particularly sweet revenge, no matter if he diplomatically says otherwise.
Ganguly, who is also affectionately known as Dada, unsurprisingly isn’t in the best form of his life after spending much of the year in the commentary box instead of on the wicket. In his first innings for Pune (in a six wicket victory over the Deccan Chargers), he scored a solid but slow 32-ball 32, but in his next outing (this time a six wicket loss to the Deccan Chargers) he was out of for a duck.
Ganguly will be under pressure to perform, but it’s not do-or-die for him or his team – his career and Pune’s tournament are pretty much over – so he will have a bit more freedom to bat for fun and bow out with a bang.
The Kolkata Knight Riders, in contrast, are under major pressure. The franchise has always promised much in the IPL but it has never made it to the finals. This year, Kolkata has been consistently near the top of the table, so it would be a devastating blow for the team, now led by Gautam Gambhir, to fall short again, particularly if Ganguly plays a key part in its downfall.
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