The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) know that anything less than a victory will end their late push for the play-offs as they face in Match 65 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season a Mumbai Indians (MI) side who have absolutely nothing to fear.
For the game, here we present our preview and predictions.
The Knight Riders will definitely be feeling pretty confident about their chances of qualifying for the play-offs after the Chennai Super Kings’ defeat at the hands of SunRisers Hyderabad, which ended their campaign. With the Rajasthan Royals and the Punjab Kings floundering as well, KKR should take the chance that has presented itself with both hands.
It helps that most of their players have hit form at the right time with both bat and ball. Finn Allen followed his swashbuckling century with another belligerent 93 against the Gujarat Titans, Angkrish Raghuvanshi also showcased his class and skill, while Cameron Green has also slowly begun to show signs of life and resemble the player KKR spent the big bucks for.
Their bowling has been performing exceptionally well in the recent games too. The wily Sunil Narine, as well as the likes of Saurabh Dubey, Cameron Green, and Kartik Tyagi, have found momentum and form at the right time. Although the injury to Matheesha Pathirana on his first game back will be a cause for concern, the Knights will hope that the return of Varun Chakravarthy from his injury tilts things back in their favour.
For the Mumbai Indians, this is another game to play without any burdens or trepidation, knowing fully well that with another victory here they can derail the play-off aspirations of another side.
MI played with a sense of freedom and adventure against the Punjab Kings, and showed rare efficiency with both bat and ball. Shardul Thakur came up trumps with a four-wicket haul, while Tilak Varma and Will Jacks provided the fireworks with the bat, along with Ryan Rickelton continuing his rich vein of form with the bat.
MI will look to finish the season on a high to mask what has otherwise been another hugely underwhelming campaign.
The last time these two sides met, MI emerged comfortable victors, chasing 219 on the back of Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton’s sparkling opening partnership to kick off their campaign with a win.
This time around, it will be a little tough to call, with both sides coming into this game on the back of confident victories. However, based on their recent victory, we believe the Mumbai Indians are the favourites to win this match.
Fantasy XI: Rohit Sharma, Finn Allen (c), Ryan Rickelton (wk), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Naman Dhir, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Kartik Tyagi
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Winners Prediction: Mumbai Indians
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