KKR vs PWI: All eyes will be on Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly will stride into the Eden Gardens on Saturday, pause briefly at the ‘home’ dressing room and continue his march towards the other one that he will have to occupy, writes Harsha Bhogle in The Times Of India. “His team, Pune, take on Kolkata, for whom this home game might well resemble an away game. Kolkata won't mind much,” says Harsha adding that Ganguly will be aware that he is the person every eye in the crowd will seek out; it will be like playing before 65,000 cameras and, knowing him, he will revel in it.

“He will seem oblivious to it, will carry the air of someone just going about his job on another day, but he will know they are watching him.”

Meanwhile according to news reports, KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir has refused to label tomorrow's sell out IPL match against Pune Warriors as a contest between Kolkata Knight Riders and city's favourite sports icon Sourav Ganguly.

Loyalties have been divided for the much-anticipated clash with many seeing it as a revenge match for Ganguly who, was snubbed by the Knight Riders and remained unsold in the auction after a bitter three-season association, says a report in The Indian Express.

But the Pune Warriors gave Ganguly a fresh lease of life by appointing him the skipper and he is all set to lead the side from the visitors dressing room for the first time at his 'home ground' Eden Gardens.

"It's just the media that is creating the hype. For me, it's just another game of cricket. Sourav is an individual. We are playing against Pune Warriors and not against Sourav Ganguly," Gambhir said on the match eve.

"Whoever Kolkata wants to support they are free to support. I have always maintained KKR belongs to Kolkata. There is no other team that belongs to Kolkata," Gambhir said.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, KKR batssman Manoj Tiwary said that said their motto was to play without tension. “We don’t have any tension, to be honest. The motto in the camp is ‘tension mat le yaar’(do not think much),” said Tiwary.

He added that they were taking the match as any other fixture despite the presence of Ganguly in the opponents’ camp. “I know there are a lot of expectations. A lot of people will come and cheer for the Pune team as well as our team. But it’s just another match. Our job will be to play to the best of our potential. The way we are playing we can dominate.”