03 May,2024 11:14 PM IST | Wankhede | mid-day online correspondent
Tilak Varma celebrates the dismissal of Phil Salt (Pic: AFP)
Kolkata Knight Riders will look to iron out their flaws and get the better of a mis-firing Mumbai Indians when the two teams, placed on the opposite ends of IPL points table spectrum, clash on Friday.
With six wins in nine games giving them 12 points and the second position in the IPL points table, a berth in the playoffs looks within the grasp of two-time winners KKR.
But the Shreyas Iyer-led side will have to find consistency across departments and avoid any slip-ups in order to make it to the final four.
Each of their three losses have come in the last six games for KKR, who were at the receiving end of a record run chase by Punjab Kings but did well to bounce back with a seven-wicket thrashing of Delhi Capitals.
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With the bat, KKR's requisite firepower in the ranks entwined with an ultra-aggressive approach has delivered the goods more often than not but it is their bowling which needs improvement.
Mitchell Starc has given nearly 12 runs an over while managing a mere seven wickets in eight outings. On flat, batting-friendly pitches, the lanky Australian's lack of control has also been exploited well by zealous batters.
Harshit Rana is among those with most wickets (11) for KKR this season but the right-arm seamer will serve a one-match ban for his animated celebrations after dismissing DC's Abhishek Porel.
Vaibhav Arora's nine scalps in five games make him KKR's best bet with the ball. A small Wankhede Stadium with a batting-friendly wicket tends to encourage scores in excess of 200 and the team would be mindful of that.
Spotlight will also be on Rinku Singh, whose exclusion from India's main squad for the T20 World Cup, has triggered an outpouring of sympathy for the 26-year-old. The power-hitter has not got enough game time this season which probably tilted the scales against him.
For Mumbai Indians, the race to the IPL playoffs seems lost even though the five-time winners have five more games to play.
Even if Mumbai Indians win each of these, they can only get to 16 points and somewhere in the middle of the points table, not necessarily challenging those who have been consistently good.
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Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Jasprit Bumrah, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Tim David, Shreyas Gopal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Anshul Kamboj, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Mohammad Nabi, Shams Mulani, Naman Dhir, Shivalik Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Arjun Tendulkar, Nuwan Thushara, Tilak Varma, Harvik Desai (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Luke Wood.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Allah Ghazanfar, Phil Salt
Wicketkeepers: Phil Salt, Ishan Kishan
Batsmen: Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Shreyas Iyer, Tim David
All-rounders: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine (c)
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Gerald Coetzee, Varun Chakaravarthy
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders. MI made one change, bringing in Naman Dhir in place Mohammad Nabi, while KKR have decided to field the same playing XI. Interestingly, MI have kept Rohit Sharma as an Impact Sub for the match.
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Tim David, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah, Nuwan Thushara.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy
11: 14 PM: MI: 145/10 (18.5)
Lead pacer Mitchell Starc claims three wickets in the final over and completes his four-wicket haul. Mumbai Indians were bowled out for 145 runs.
11: 10 PM: MI: 138/7 (18)
All of Mumbai's hopes are on David and Coetzee. Mumbai need runs in 2 overs.
10: 58 PM: MI: 124/7 (16)
Russell strikes the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav. Mumbai is in huge trouble as they lost the wicket of their set batsman.
10: 46 PM: MI: 110/6 (14)
Suryakumar finds boundaries for Paltan despite losing wickets in a quick session. Tim David and Suryakumar eye a crucial partnership.
10: 36 PM: MI: 82/6 (12)
Andre Russell strikes the wicket of captain Hardik Pandya soon after Narine claims Wadhera's wicket. Mumbai is on the back foot.
10: 22 PM: MI: 67/4 (10)
Mumbai eye crucial partnership. Nehal Wadhera joins Suryakumar in the run chase at the Wankhede Stadium.
10: 08 PM: MI: 54/3 (8)
Mumbai is in huge trouble with Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma in the middle. KKR is in total control of the match.
10: 02 PM: MI: 46/3 (6)
No comeback for Mumbai as KKR spinner Varun Chakaravarthy dismisses Dhir. Sunil Narine on the other hand claims the wicket of Rohit Sharma.
9: 52 PM: MI: 38/1 (4)
Dhir and Rohit display an aggressive approach despite losing the early wicket of Kishan. Mumbai Indians are now 38 runs for the loss of one wicket after 4 overs.
9: 42 PM: MI: 16/1 (2)
Ishan Kishan departs after smashing two back-to-back boundaries to Starc. Naman Dhir joins Rohit Sharma in the run-chase of 170 runs.
9:15 PM: 169 (20 overs)
KKR finish on a high after couple of early setbacks, thanks to the dangerous Venkatesh Iyer who propelled the side to a fighting total with his calm demeanour and ability to thrive under pressure. Statistical matchups and pitch conditions suggest a competitive encounter, with chasing being the preferred choice in Mumbai's humid conditions. All eyes on hosts Mumbai from hereon.
8:54 PM: 153/7 (17 Overs)
Manish Pandey walks back to the pavilion, however, 20 runs came off that over by Hardik Pandya. A mixup in the middle and Andre Russell loses his wicket as well.
8:34 PM: 109/5 (13 Overs)
KKR eye an improved run-rate with five wickets in hand and seven overs left to play. Pandey and Iyer have settled well in the middle now.
8:21 PM: 99/5 (11.4 Overs)
KKR are building on a steady 50-run partnership with Manish Pandey and Venkatesh Iyer in the middle, as MI look for wickets.
8:12 PM: 72/5 (9 Overs)
Mumbai in control of the contest as KKR duo Pandey-Iyer step off to save some crucial wickets for them. 72 for the loss of five wickets with two set batsmen in the middle.
8:00 PM: 57/4 (6 Overs)
Powerplay is over and KKR have lost four big wickets with 57 runs in the first six overs. Piyush Chawla is being deployed by Pandya now.
7:50 PM: 33/3 (3.3 Overs)
KKR are in troubled waters at the moment as skipper Shreyas Iyer departs and Thushara claims his third wicket of the day. Sunil Narine is joined by Venkatesh Iyer now.
7:38 PM: 14/1 (1 over)
In-form Philip Salt gets caught by Tilak Varma off Nuwan Thushara's delivery. KKR lose their first wicket but Raghuvanshi comes in and smashes a six over leg side.
