Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns against Mumbai Indians on 23rd September. It will be the first match of the campaign for Kolkata Knight Riders. The franchise has added various new names in their squad who can bolster their side to winning ways from the very first match of the season. Kolkata Knight Riders have undoubtedly one of the most balanced sides of this season’s Indian Premier League and they will like to kickstart the campaign with a victory against Mumbai Indians.
On the other hand, it will be the second match of Mumbai Indians. After losing against Chennai Super Kings, Rohit Sharma’s side will like to get back on track as soon as possible. Mumbai Indians have shown a lot of promises in the first match. However, poor fielding and bowling at the death have caused them the defeat in the previous match. Mumbai Indians will be happy to see their past record against Kolkata Knight Riders as they have always dominated in this fixture.
Pitch Report:
There have been three matches played so far in this season’s Indian Premier League. 2 teams have won while chasing the total while one has won while batting first. So, the odds are in favour of batting second after winning the toss. The spinners will certainly make an impact in this pitch.
Head To Head Records :
Total Matches Played: 25
Kolkata Knight Riders Won: 6
Mumbai Indians Won: 19
Predicted Playing XI:
Mumbai Indians:
Quinton de Kock (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, James Pattinson.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Chris Green, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna.
Captain And Vice-Captain Options:
Captain Choices: Sunil Narine, Rohit Sharma.
Vice-Captain Choices: Andre Russell, Shubham Gill, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard.
Probable Winner: Kolkata Knight Riders.
KKR will miss three of their key players in this match as they are currently quarantined after coming from England. Eoin Morgan and Pat Cummins will surely be there in the starting XI of Kolkata Knight Riders from the next match. However, there is a doubt over their availability against Mumbai Indians along with Tom Banton. However, the management will be trying to play these two players at any cost in this vital match. Kolkata Knight Riders have also brought in the star bowler of Caribbean Premier League, Ali Khan who is known for the yorkers. The management might take a risk of playing him directly in this match because of the unpredictability. Sunil Narine and Andre Russell will have to play a key role in this franchise along with their captain Dinesh Karthik.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock have got a good start in the first match of the tournament. Both will be eyeing for a big score in this match. Hardik Pandya will probably not bowl in this season and this might be a key factor for Mumbai Indians as they will have one less option in hand while bowling.
