The Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Army’s turn has finally come in this tournament to play their first battle against the Defending Champions, the Mumbai Indians!
KKR has always been in the limelight due to injuries of several players, including their stars Narine and Russell, who were also not fully fit from CPL, but would be looking forward to a successful campaign with the Knight Riders. With the acquisition of Eoin Morgan and Pat Cummins, their middle order looks really strong to relieve any sort of pressure from Dre Russ, along with the added experience in them. All eyes would be on the youngster Shubhman Gill who’d love to impress the selectors with good performances this season. Players like Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti who were bought for their sheer pace were both out injured last season and would be looking forward to live to KKR’s expectations this time around. Kuldeep Yadav’s form was wayward last season and he needs to come back into rhythm to build pressure on the oppositions.
MI continue with their losing streak in UAE after losing against the Super Kings on the first day of IPL 2020. Their second battle is against a team which last won in 2014, the year in which half the season was played in UAE. A surprising element when Haardik Pandya wasn’t given the ball at all in the previous encounter but he won’t be out of action for a long time, and against a destructive batting lineup like KKR, he could be used. Pollard’s captaincy experience would also be of help tonight for Rohit, to tackle the two mighty West Indians, Narine and Russell. Bumrah didn’t look at his best in the last game and KKR loves to finish with a flourish in the death overs. This time around, Bumrah would have to show his class if they need to defend runs in the final five.
Probable XIs and why –
KKR – Sunil Narine, Shubhman Gill, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik(C)(Wk), Rinku Singh, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi/Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Sandeep Warrier
As said in an interview by David Hussey, Dre Russ is set to play at No.3, though ofc it would again depend on the situation as to when the opening wicket would fall. A choice between three domestic seamers would be there to fill the XIth spot in the lineup. Dre Russ, towards the end of CPL was injured and couldn’t bowl too well, and after watching Mitch Marsh and Ravi Ashwin in the last two games, risking him with the ball could be a thought and hence should go with 5 bowlers with Krishna, Narine, Cummins, Kuldeep and one domestic seamer. Chris Green would come in handy as the tournament progresses and once the pitches tend to slow down.
MI – Quinton De Kock (Wk), Rohit Sharma(C), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Haardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, James Pattinson, Jasprit Bumrah
MI aren’t likely to make any changes to their team from the previous game. Tiwary looked good in the middle order which means Kishan would’ve to wait for his chance. Their hard-hitting finishers all looked in great touch but some excellent piece of fielding by CSK kept them quiet. They would want to turn it around this time. KKR is an excellent team of spin, and probably Haardik could come in handy with the ball tonight.
Pitch Report –
Back in action to Abu Dhabi where MI played their first game. The pitch surely supported the bowlers as 14 wickets fell on that day. But, the batsmen also played a good part out there. So, should be a neutral wicket for the time being. MI has the advantage of having played on this wicket atleast once this season, and KKR are still to know how the pitch would react.
Fantasy Tips for safe players –
C/VC choices – Russell, Narine, Rohit, De Kock
Analysis of various cricket matches 