Royal Challengers would have been itching for revenge against the Chennai Super Kings after their first match-up, but rain robbed the fans of an exciting re-match. Now, Bangalore take on the Knight Riders in Saturday's night game, and it will be two of the more glamorous teams facing off.
Bangalore have some power-hitters but they will need to be careful. The track at the Eden Gardens has seen a score of 131 being chased down in the final over and another total of 134 being defended, which could make it difficult for stroke-makers. The slower bowlers will come into the picture and it will be interesting to see how the likes of Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers cope. Virat Kohli is due for a big one and he may look to this big-ticket game to stamp his authority.
I will be interested to see whether Kolkata bring in an extra spinner, probably Shakib Al Hasan getting in place of either Brendon McCullum or Brett Lee.
The other game will have CSK take on the Kings XI - one a side on the mend and showing positive movement on the points table and the other which has shown inconsistency.
The good news for Punjab though is the form of Shaun Marsh and David Hussey. Marsh showed what he can do in a couple of games, and Hussey came into his own against the Mumbai Indians. Unfortunately, it was stupendous batting in the 19th over from the Peterson-Rayudu pair that saw Mumbai through to a win against them.
{{/usCountry}}The good news for Punjab though is the form of Shaun Marsh and David Hussey. Marsh showed what he can do in a couple of games, and Hussey came into his own against the Mumbai Indians. Unfortunately, it was stupendous batting in the 19th over from the Peterson-Rayudu pair that saw Mumbai through to a win against them.
{{/usCountry}}(The writer is a former Australia batsman)