Ganguly stands in way of Kolkata

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly will get his chance to gain some measure of revenge against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who face Pune Warriors India in a crucial Indian Premier League tie at DY Patil Stadium in Nerul on Thursday.

Kings XI Punjab's massive win against table toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday night has doubled the stakes of Thursday's match.

KKR, who had all but sealed a berth in the final four with four wins from five games, are in a tight spot, having to win at least one of their last two games to qualify for next week's play-offs.

But Ganguly, who made a sensational return for Pune after being snubbed by Shah Rukh Khan's KKR, remains the focal point of this mouth-watering clash.

Pune coach Geoff Marsh said that Ganguly was keen to shine against his former team.

"He is very excited to do well against his former team. This year when players were sent to other sides at the auction, they made it a point to perform against their respective former sides. I think the same applies in Sourav's case. He is looking forward to the challenge. He's still got a huge passion for the sport, wants to compete. I am hoping we get a good crowd to watch Ganguly vs his former team," he told reporters on Wednesday.

The former Australian opener warned that Ganguly and Co were keen to spoil Kolkata's party. "It's unfortunate that we can't get to the play-offs, but we can stop teams from getting there. We have a lot to play for," said the coach of the most expensive Indian Premier League franchise.

The Warriors' batting has not lived up to expectations, depending a lot on Jesse  Ryder (291 runs from 12 games) at the top and Yuvraj Singh (319 from 12) down the order till Ganguly's arrival late in the tournament.

Dave Whatmore, who is tantalisingly close to taking Kolkata past the league stages for the first time in the franchise's history, asserted that it's not a must-win situation.

"It's not a do-or-die game, but important to win. We will approach it like just another game. We cannot control other results (of Punjab's). The only thing we can do is try to win and hope for the best," said the KKR coach.

For Kolkata, Manoj Tiwary (296), Jacques Kallis (358) and skipper Gautam Gambhir (312) have been in a rich vein of form, and Iqbal Abdulla along with Yusuf Pathan have combined for 25 wickets.

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