Kolkata Knight Riders have some tough questions to answer as they host Mumbai Indians in the IPL on Wednesday.
While it is Mumbai Indians who have had their backs to the wall, the tide seems to be turning for Rohit Sharma’s team. They have moved up the table with four wins from 10 matches and are beginning to click together in the batting and bowling departments.
The Knight Riders, however, have a few issues to tackle. While the current Mumbai Indians team is pretty much the best unit they can field, the same can’t be said about Kolkata.
Team combination, especially in the bowling department, is the biggest issue facing Dinesh Karthik.
Knight Riders’ Mitchell Johnson is still bowling quick but is proving to be cannon fodder on Indian wickets. Young Indian pacer Shivam Mavi has provided a lot of energy but he was replaced by tall quick Prasidh Krishna in the last game against Mumbai after injuring his finger.
The second half of the season is where Mumbai generally come into their own. This season has been no different. After winning three out of their last four matches, Mumbai will be feeling buoyant as they are in familiar territory during the business end of the IPL.
Players in focus
Chris Lynn has batted more cautiously than usual this IPL as he doesn’t want to push his injury ravaged body –especially his shoulder – past its limit. However, the Knight Riders could do with a bit more grunt at the top of the order. They moved Sunil Narine down the order, which puts the onus on Lynn to be as adventurous as he possibly can.
Hardik Pandya is the cog that holds the Mumbai team together. He is a match-winner with the bat and ball and proved his credentials in the previous match against Kolkata – scoring 35 and picking up 2-19. Another such effort and Kolkata will find it next to impossible to find a way out.
Likely line-ups
Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill, Robin Uthappa, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c & wk), Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Tom Curran
Mumbai Indians: Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, JP Duminy, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah
