Kolkata continue to enjoy slight edge

They might have lost the thriller in Eden Gardens to Mumbai Indians but it was Kolkata Knight Riders who were the better team until those dramatic few seconds.

"Nothing has happened for which we have to keep our heads down," Gautam Gambhir said at the end of that game. "I have a lot of faith in Bala, that's why I gave him the final over. Nine times out of 10, in such a situation when 21 are needed in the last over, he would do the job for us." Indeed, it was just one of those days and it would be a mistake to conclude that Kolkata have lost momentum or that Mumbai have gained it from that match. If anything, it's Kolkata who will start with a slight edge in the knock-out game tomorrow for they are a better all-round side.

Mumbai are a puzzling team. They seem to be filled with batsmen all the way down to the order but yet, they rarely dominate an attack. Andrew Symonds seemed too rusty when he was playing, Kieron Pollard has rarely converted his starts and they keep going back to Sachin Tendulkar, Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma with an odd contribution from the rest. Perhaps, Tendulkar's batting style best captures the situation: In five of the last six games, he has rarely gone over run-a-ball. Is it a worry that the middle and lower order won't survive his dismissal?

The best thing that has happened to Kolkata is the batting form of Manoj Tiwary and the bowling form of Iqbal Abdulla. The batting line-up looks so much assured because of it. Jacques Kallis, Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan come at 1, 3, and 5 and Tiwary's form at 4 has made it a really solid outfit. Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Rajat Bhatia and Abdulla are very good lower order batsmen and add more solidity to Kolkata. The bowling too has a nice mix of pace, seam and spin.

And there is a further incentive that awaits the two teams: The winner qualifies to play in the Champions League.