Last Updated on 6 years by Charbel Coorey
Playoff before the playoffs! So much to play for at Eden Gardens, as IPL 2018 nears its business end.
Kolkata Knight Riders have been unable to string a big run together so far in the tournament. KKR have not won more than two games in a row, stringing quite a few win-loss-win-loss sequences. They’ll be hoping it continues against a MI side hot on their heels, who beat them on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians have what it takes to win the tournament. It might be crazy to say something like that when a team sits outside the top four with four to play, but with three wins in their last four, MI are looking in good form. When you add the fact that they have not conceded 180+ since April 14, you see a side that is gelling pretty nicely. With six wins in eight games at Eden Gardens, MI deserve to start as favourites in my opinion.
Key to a Kolkata Knight Riders win
On Sunday, MI stormed out of the blocks, flying at 10 an over after 10 overs. KKR pulled things back pretty well to restrict MI under 200, but the key here is to have a more polished start with the ball.
MI’s top order has been their key in recent games, so KKR need to nullify that threat. Only two of their seven bowlers took wickets against the same opponents on Sunday – the likes of Piyush Chawla, Mitchell Johnson, Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine need to have good outings.
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| Sunil Narine has a good record in T20s v Rohit Sharma |
Key to a Mumbai Indians win
MI look really well drilled at the moment, restricting their opponents with the ball, and getting good returns from their top order players in victories.
The template set on Sunday was big contributions from the top order, but this time they’d like to the middle order to finish the job a little better. Krunal Pandya, unlucky to miss the India T20I squad, remains a key with bat and ball, in conjunction with MI’s top order and frontline bowlers, including Hardik Pandya, who is second in the wicket taking charts in IPL 2018.
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| MI: looking good |
Possible teams
KKR have some concerns – what do they do with Mitchell Johnson, who simply isn’t firing? With Shivam Mavi unlikely to play due to injury, KKR might be forced to stick with the same XI, considering their squad is already the smallest of all teams. Chris Lynn threatened on Sunday, and so did Robin Uthappa. KKR need to lift their intensity that little bit more.
Kolkata Knight Riders XI: 1. Chris Lynn, 2. Sunil Narine, 3. Robin Uthappa, 4. Nitish Rana, 5. Dinesh Karthik (c & wk), 6. Andre Russell, 7. Shubman Gill, 8. Mitchell Johnson, 9. Prasidh Krishna, 10. Piyush Chawla, 11. Kuldeep Yadav
MI have a bowling attack in full swing, in conjunction with a top order that is in pretty solid form. They’ll stick with the same combination, surely.
Mumbai Indians XI: 1. Suryakumar Yadav, 2. Evin Lewis, 3. Ishan Kishan (wk), 4. Rohit Sharma (c), 5. JP Duminy, 6. Hardik Pandya, 7. Krunal Pandya, 8. Ben Cutting, 9. Mitchell McClenaghan, 10. Mayank Markande, 11. Jasprit Bumrah
Stats and Facts:
- Head-to-Head: Matches: 22, KKR 5, MI 17. MI won the most recent match on Sunday by 13 runs.
- MI have won six of eight matches at Eden Gardens.
- Rohit Sharma at Eden Gardens: 11 innings, 418 runs, Avg, 52.25, SR 146.67. However, Sunil Narine could stop him. In all T20s, Narine has dismissed Rohit seven times, conceding just 93 runs in 94 balls.
- It has been 1,127 days since KKR last beat MI (seven games).
- MI’s pacers targeted KKR with short pitched bowling on Sunday. 69% of deliveries bowled were short.
- Chris Lynn needs to overcome Bumrah and H Pandya. He has been dismissed three times in five games vs Bumrah and twice in seven balls against H Pandya.
Prediction:
I love what I’m seeing from MI in recent times. They look a side that will not only make the playoffs, but challenge strongly too. However, they can’t get carried away, and with a good leadership group and experienced set of players, I expect them to win and possibly move into fourth spot.
