Two of IPL’s heavyweights, at least on paper, will collide when Mumbai Indians take on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Despite winning two of their last three matches, defending champions Mumbai Indians know they are still just one defeat away from being knocked out of the tournament.
Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, have overcome their early troubles and come into the game on the back of two consecutive wins.
CHASE MASTERS KOLKATA
In a tournament which has favoured the side batting second so far, the Knight Riders have been the best when it comes to chasing down a total. Dinesh Karthik’s men have so far won four out of five times while batting second, which is the best by any side.
The ease with which they chased down a target of 178 against the formidable Chennai Super Kings in their last outing is a testament to their chasing prowess. MS Dhoni had no answer as the Knight Riders romped to victory with more than two overs to spare. On a Wankhede ground with short boundaries, they will be hoping to bat second once again.
ROHIT AND LEWIS KEY FOR MUMBAI
Evin Lewis started well for the defending champions but has gone off the boil, especially since his wrist injury. Skipper Rohit Sharma himself has been up and down with the bat with couple of stellar knocks thrown in amidst a string of failures.
Together, the two have been dismissed for zero four times so far and their failures with the bat have cost the side dearly at crucial moments. Rohit showed some form in the win over Kings XI Punjab while Lewis was below par. If the two can fire together, there could be trouble for Kolkata.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Mumbai Indians: Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, JP Duminy, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Kieron Pollard, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah
Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Dinesh Karthik (c, wk), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Shivam Mavi, Piyush Chawla, Tom Curran, Kuldeep Yadav
