Kolkata Knight Riders will look to make it four successive wins against the Mumbai Indians when they square off against Mark Boucher’s side at the Wankhede.
MI have traditionally loved playing against KKR- there was a period between 2015 and 2021 where the two sides faced each other around a dozen times and Mumbai emerged victorious on all but one occasion. KKR have however managed to turn the tables in recent years- they’ve won the last three clashes between the two sides, played in Abu Dhabi, Pune (that incredible Pat Cummins half century game) and Mumbai respectively.
MI lost their first two games this season and needed a big dive from Tim David to beat fellow strugglers Delhi Capitals in their last game. The match seemed done and dusted when Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma were at the crease during the chase, but some fine overs at the death from Mustafizur Rahman and Anrich Nortje made it a tight affair. MI eventually needed 2 off the final ball, which they achieved by David diving for a second as Davey Warner’s throw from the deep was off target.
KKR have had mixed fortunes so far- they’ve won two and lost two. Their two wins came against Gujarat and RCB and while they crossed 200 in their last game against the Sunrisers, they eventually fell short by 20 odd runs at Eden Gardens. Their batting hasn’t been the best, but fine individual efforts- primarily from Rinku Singh and Shardul Thakur, have seen them over the line.
Everything Rinku has touched has pretty much turned to gold so far, including that stunning run chase against the defending champions where he scored five sixes off the last five balls. We reckon he would also be successful this season if he tried his luck at slots games on the net. His last three innings have been 58* (31), 48* (21) and 46 (33)- excellent numbers for a middle order player.
The Knight Riders might consider bringing in Jason Roy at the top of the order, potentially at the expense of Gurbaz. Injury prone Andre Russell hobbled off against the Sunrisers after a fine bowling effort, and should he not be ready, David Wiese could be his replacement in the XI. They will also be hoping for a better performance from Lockie Ferguson- the Kiwi pacer struggled at the Eden against Harry Brook, and figures of 2-0-37-0 are not what the franchise will expect from their overseas spearhead.
Nitish Rana showed glimpses of his old form against the Sunrisers- taking 28 off one Umran Malik over, and KKR fans will be hoping for a similar knock against MI. With regular skipper Shreyas Iyer injured, and with Russell and the top order struggling for consistency, a lot depends on Nitish in the middle order.
The game is at 3.30, which means dew shouldn’t be a factor, although the heat could very well be, with temperatures expected to hit the mid 30’s in Mumbai.