Having lost to Deccan Chargers at home last week, Pune Warriors will look to exact revenge when the two teams square off in an Indian Premier League match at the Barabati Stadium on Tuesday.
The Sourav Ganguly- led Warriors are currently seventh in the points table, with just four wins from nine matches, and would like to put their campaign back on track against bottom- placed Chargers.
They have received a boost with Australia captain Michael Clarke joining the team on his first- ever IPL assignment. If he plays, Clarke would prove crucial to the Warriors, since their batting has been inconsistent.
Jesse Ryder has totalled 224 runs, starring with 86 against Delhi Daredevils and 73 against Chennai Super Kings, but in the rest of the matches he has struggled to get going.
Ganguly also hasn’t wielded his bat to much effect with 41 being his highest.
The only consistent performers for the Warriors have been Robin Uthappa and Australian recruit Steven Smith.
The bowling troika of Samuels, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rahul Sharma looked ordinary against Chargers at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium.
However, Pune can take some heart from the performances of Ashish Nehra and South African import Alfonso Thomas.
Thomas has particularly been impressive with the ball, conceding just over six runs an over in his three games.
Chargers, on the other hand, have not succeeded in giving their campaign the right direction and their dismal performance against Mumbai Indians will not have done any good to their morale.
Even the decision of skipper Kumar Sangakkara to drop himself for the Mumbai tie did not have any bearing on the team’s results.
Led by Dale Steyn in the bowling department, they tried their best to take the fight to Mumbai after scoring just 100, but their overall ability has come under question.
The team has no realistic chance of making it to the last four after losing six matches out of eight, but it can definitely be a ‘ party pooper’ for the rest.
PTI