Mumbai Indians (MI) are known as the slow starters of Indian Premier League (IPL). Despite losing a few matches in the initial stages, the Rohit Sharma-led MI have lifted the trophy for record five times. However, the game has changed with the introduction of two new teams make it too unpredictable to leave for later stages of the league. On April 6 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, MI face an uphill task when they face an in-form Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their third clash of the tournament.
The big positives for MI ahead of the games are opener Ishan Kishan firing on all cylinders and bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah coming into his own in the previous game with three scalps against Rajasthan Royals (RR).
One major setback for them has been the unavailability of their star batter Suryakumar Yadav. The hard-hitting batter is yet to recover from his finger injury. In his absence, young batter Tilak Varma stood up to the task and scored a quickfire half-century in the losing cause. Their middle order needs more teeth. So far, their expensive Singaporean-recruit has not paid off. Also, their domestic pacers have gone for plenty as well.
KKR, on the other hand, have won two out of their three games. Their major concern has been their top order. The hero of last season, Venkatesh Iyer has not fired. Veteran Ajinkya Rahane has not made the most of three opportunities either.
A big positive for KKR in the previous game was Andre Russell’s return to form. The Caribbean all-rounder led KKR to victory after a major batting collapse. He was well-supported by Sam Billings. KKR’s English wicketkeeper-batter has fit well in the middle order.
Till the time Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins arrive, KKR will have to manage with the talent they have at their disposal. So far, Shreyas has done a good job with two wins in the bag. Their bowling department looks solid with Umesh Yadav spitting fire with the new ball.
Head-to-head
MI will be happy with their record against KKR. The Mumbai-based franchise has won 22 games out of 29 against the two-time IPL champions.
Full squads:
KKR: Aaron Finch, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Baba Indrajith, Nitish Rana, Pratham Singh, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ashok Sharma, Pat Cummins, Rasikh Dar, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Aman Khan, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohammed Nabi, Ramesh Kumar, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson.
MI: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Ramandeep Singh, SuryakumarYadav, Tilak Verma, Tim David, Arjun Tendulkar, Basil Thampi, Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Tymal Mills, Arshad Khan, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Fabian Allen, Kieron Pollard, Sanjay Yadav, Aryan Juyal and Ishan Kishan.
