The 56th match of this year’s IPL between the former champions is a last chance for KKR to stay alive in the tournament.
Mumbai, on the flip side, have had a horrid season considering the fact that they have been crowned champions for 5 times.
So this overall dismal performance will certainly lead to some introspection in the Mumbai camp.
Mumbai Indians team scenario
8 losses on the trot and they were knocked out of the tournament before even the speculations began.
They have won their last 2 consecutive games by beating in form Rajasthan and Gujarat so Kolkata will be wary against a resurgent Mumbai.
Mumbai took long enough to get their playing 11 right.
Tim David was not played for the most matches in the initial season and once he was given his chance, he did prove his worth.
Captain Rohit is getting back his touch only when his team is about to pack its bags from the tournament.
Mumbai does have a Top 4 Power Play run rate of 7.91 but they could not manage to capitalize on it in the middle overs.
Their bowling attack is taking shape now with 3 paces and 2 spinners with Pollard on the side.
They might be leaving the tournament soon but they look good enough to dent Kolkata’s chance of qualifying for the play-offs.
KKR team scenario
Last year’s runners up KKR has so far managed 4 wins out of 11 matches and from this match onwards, every match will be a do or die situation if they are to make to the play-offs.
Not only that, they will also need other results to go their way.
Last time KKR faced Mumbai Indians, Pat Cummins smashed an unbeaten 56 of 15 balls to take his team home.
However, a month later Cummins has been dropped owing to his repeated below-par performances.
Kolkata have tried and tested 5 opening pairs this season, a testimony to their flawed campaign so far.
This match against Mumbai will be a test for nerves for Knight Riders as they hope to move ahead in the tournament in a crunch match.
Match details
Venue: DY Patil Stadium Navi Mumbai
Date: 9th May 2022
Time: 7:30 pm IST
Head to head past record:
Mumbai Indians heavily dominate in the head to head record with 22 wins out of total 30 encounters with KKR.
Knight Riders have only won 8 games.
Probable Playing 11 – Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma (capt), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Daniel Sams, M Ashwin/Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Riley Meredith
Probable Playing 11 – Kolkata Knight Riders
B Indrajith (wk), Aaron Finch/Sam Billings, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Shivam Mavi/Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana/Umesh Yadav
Star bowler of the match:
Umesh Yadav
Star batsman of the match:
Ishan Kishan
Who will win?
The rivalry between these two teams might be quite one sided so far but KKR will fancy its chances against a disgruntled Mumbai in match 56.
KKR’s success will be heavily dependent on Umesh Yadav only if he is available for this match.
Stay tuned for more exciting IPL match predictions coming your way!