Abu Dhabi. Defending champions Mumbai Indians will face Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
When both these teams clashed in the first half of the league, Mumbai won. Mumbai’s form is also excellent and hence their weight is heavy on Kolkata. Another reason for this is the current balance in Mumbai’s form and his team.
At the same time, Kolkata has yet to find the right combination, especially his batting has many punches. The saluting pair did not find him strong yet. Kolkata, who went into the league’s opening matches with Sunil Narine and Shubman Gill, later tried Rahul Tripathi and Gill. The pair was also largely successful but Tom Benton had a chance in the last match but was unsuccessful.
The way Benton is a batsman, it would be wrong to judge him on the failure of a match. He has got his iron out in T20, there is just a shortage, so his batting in Kolkata jersey is full of ability. Gill is the only batsman who can be called in-form batsman in Kolkata team, no one else has done anything special.
Captain Dinesh Karthik had scored a half-century in a match but then he has got off the track, when Karthik himself might not be able to answer this.
The biggest disappointment for Kolkata has been the failure of its biggest hope and that expectation is Andre Russell. Russell has not shown his stormy form in a single match. It is important that Russell return to form early before it is too late.
Bowling is not a big problem for Kolkata. Kamlesh Nagerkoti, renowned Krishna and Shiva Mavi have done well with veteran Pat Cummins and Russell. Whether or not this bowling attack can stop Mumbai’s in-form batting attack will be seen in the match.
Every Mumbai batsman is in form, even though the opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock may not have made a big partnership, but one of these two runs. Now comes Suryakumar Yadav, Ishaan Kishan, who carries the middle order on his shoulders. In the end, Kieran Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya have managed to run fast.
In bowling too, the pair of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult will be dangerous for Kolkata batsmen. Pollard, Rahul Chahar and Krunal are also doing well with the ball.
Teams (Probable):
Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (Captain), Andre Russell, Sunil Naren, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubhaman Gill, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Famous Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Ali Khan, Kamlesh Nagerkoti, Shivam Mavi, Siddesh Lad, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Tom Benton, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakraborty, M. Siddharth, Nikhil Naik, Chris Green.
Mumbai Indians: Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Rohit Sharma (captain), Anmolpreet Singh, Suchit Roy, Chris Lynn, Dhawal Kulkarni, Digvijay Deshmukh, Hardik Pandya, Ishaan Kishan, James Pattinson, Jaspreet Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kiran Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Mitchell McLenghan, Mohsin Khan, Nathan Coulter Nile, Prince Balwant Rai, Aditya Tare (wicketkeeper), Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Tiwari, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult.
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