Kolkata, Chennai come face to face for first time in IPL V

A cracker of a contest is on the cards when in-form Kolkata Knight Riders take on faltering defending champions Chennai Super Kings in their 10th preliminary league match of the IPL in Chennai on Monday.

Both the teams are meeting this season for the first time and the Gautam Gambhir-led KKR hold the advantage after having won five of their nine matches so far.

Comparatively, Chennai are faltering because of their batting woes and lost by seven runs to tournament laggards Kings XI Punjab on Saturday.

Gambhir has been leading from the front and his batting this season in particular has been spectacular. The manner in which he tamed the Royal Challengers Bangalore at home on Saturday with a 51-ball 93 was intimidating sight for any opposition bowler.

Same cannot be said about CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been under the mat for months now. His personal contribution with the bat for both the national side and now for the Super Kings has been below par.

Dhoni has failed miserably so far aggregating 132 in eight innings with a high of 40 as compared to Gambhir's 302 from eight innings with a highest of 93.

Saturday's loss to Kings XI Punjab was a classic example of the hosts failure to overcome pressure despite openers Faf Du Plessies and S Badrinath setting the base scoring at over nine in the first six overs.

With the wicket being slow and low, it is not possible for KKR to repeat their feat of posting high totals but the in-form batsmen under Gambhir have proven records to their credit to stitch good partnerships.