Mumbai Indians have won nine of the last ten matches against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. KKR will look to better these numbers in their favour when they meet MI in Abu Dhabi tonight.
MUMBAI’S STRUGGLE TO START
Inexperienced Spinners
MI start low, they always have and things haven’t changed this year too. They lost their opening match yet again, owing to some poor display in the field. Their inexperience in the spin attack showed as Krunal and Rahul conceded 73 runs in their combined 8 overs which one wicket each.
Bumrah’s Missing Yorkers
Bumrah looked very rusty in the first match. He bowled hardly any slower balls or yorkers and as a result went for 43 in his 4 overs. If Bumrah doesn’t deliver in the death, players like Russell, Morgan and Karthik can wreck havoc on Mumbai Indians.
6th Bowler Troubles
Hardik Pandya is coming back from a back injury. This might be the reason he didn’t bowl in the first match, maybe trying to not take on much load on his body early on in his comeback. If he doesn’t bowl, Mumbai will be left with just 5 bowling options and a 6th one in Pollard who doesn’t bowl much. Hardik is also the highest wicket taker (11) for MI against KKR.
KKR – BEAST BATTERS’ CLUB
Never Ending Carnage
Morgan, Russell and Karthik at 4,5 and 6 respectively are sure to instill fear in any bowling line-up. The devastation brought by these 3 and Narine at top will be perfectly aided by the calm of Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana who could play the anchor’s role very well.
Death in Death?
Yes they have the most lethal finishers in the game. Yes they can easily score 200. But can they defend it is the question. Pat Cummins will be key for KKR, given his huge price tag. The Australian pacer is one of the best when it comes to Test cricket. But he is not a very seasoned IPL campaigner having played only 16 games in the league with 17 wickets to his name. Can he concede less than 9 or 10 in the death?
Young and Fast
In Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier and Prasidh Krishna, KKR have a fairly young Indian fast bowling unit. Whether or not they will be able to compliment bowlers like Russell and Cummins will be important for KKR in their quest for glory.
PREDICTED XI
KKR – Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik(c,wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti
MI – Rohit Sharma(c), Quinton De Kock(wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, James Pattinson, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
DATE : 23rd September, 2020
PLACE: Sheik Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
TIME: 7:30 pm (IST)
Also read: https://cricdart.com/match-report-deadly-delhi-steals-the-match-from-kxips-throat/
