Match Preview of Chennai Superkings & Kolkata Knight Riders

Preview by Gokul Gopal
After a scintillating double header on Thursday in which Delhi and Rajasthan emerged victorious, the losing sides Chennai and Kolkata would battle it out in a day-nighter at Newlands, Cape Town.
The Newlands pich seemed to have eased out after the intial assistance for the bowlers during the earlier matches. With both the teams packed with powerful batsmen, a run feast may be in store for the day.
Team Updates:
Chennai Superkings: Despite their losses, the Chennai team seem to be in good form. While their batters have been amongst the runs, their bowlers seem to have lost the edge. MS Dhoni would look at the bowlers to hit form and be amongst the wickets. After Flintoff's return home, Chennai team would bank on the bulky Matthew Hayden to fire again with the batting and hope for the Sri Lankan Maestro Muralitharan to unleash his bag of tricks with the ball.
Kolkata Knight Riders: "So close yet so far." After coming very close to a victory, the Kolkata team blew it away, by taking the game to a 'Super Over'. However, they would look to put that aside when they take on Chennai. Throughout the tournament the bowlers and batters of the Kolkata team have been good, but only in patches. With Ganguly coming to the party and Gayle looking in good form, the Kolkata team would hope for both the bowling and their batting to fire in the match against the Superkings.
Contests to watch:
Hayden vs. Ishant: Both have seen and played against each other on numerous occasions. While the fast bowler has broken through the defences of Hayden in the recent past, he also has given away runs to the explosive batsman. An interesting contest is in store when the mighty Hayden faces the tall and furious Ishant Sharma.
Gayle vs. Ntini: While Gayle seems to be in good form, he has his work cut-out when he faces the South African 'Storm' called Makhaya Ntini. Though he has not played a game in this season of IPL, Ntini is expected to feature in the match against Kolkata due to Flintoff's exit. Gayle's lightning blade against Ntini's lethal pace would be a treat for the spectators.
Numbers game:
34 - The number of runs required by Hayden to bring up his 200 in the IPL 2009.
4 - The number of catches taken by Flintoff during the second season of IPL.
9 - The number of sixers hit by Chris Gayle in the IPL 2009.
Trivia:
Suresh Raina holds the record for the most catches in IPL 2008 with 10 catches.
Albie Morkel holds the record for hitting the biggest six in the DLF Indian Premier League - 128 metres.
Laxmi Ratan Shukla was the bowler with the best strike rate in IPL 2008 when he picked 3 wickets off just 5 balls against Delhi.