IPL 2022: Match 14 – Predicted Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI vs Mumbai Indians

A pumped-up Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns with Mumbai Indians at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on April 6. KKR started their campaign with an impressive six-wicket win against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings before going down to the Royal Challengers Bangalore by three wickets. They then pulled up their socks to register a six-wicket win against the Punjab Kings.

Except for the RCB game, KKR’s batting line-up has been really impressive, especially in the last game against PBKS. The top-order is the only concern but, they will be hoping to bring their A-game against the five-time winners. Kolkata’s bowling has been outstanding, to say the least. While they restricted CSK and PBKS to below-par totals, they almost got the job done defending a paltry 128 against Bangalore which went down to the final over.

While KKR have won two of their three matches by sticking to the same combination, the two-time champions will supposedly not make any chopping and changes for their fourth IPL 2022 games against the Mumbai Indians either.

Here’s a look at the Kolkata Knight Riders’ predicted Playing XI against the Mumbai Indians:

Openers: Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer

Kolkata Knight Riders will be relying on both their underfire openers to come good against Mumbai Indians, who are desperately searching for their first points. Barring 44 against CSK, Rahane has only managed nine and 12 in the next two games. Venkatesh Iyer on the other hand seems to be a pale shadow of his 2021 self. He has so far scored a dismal 29 runs in the last three outings this season.

The underwhelming performances from both openers have put the team under pressure early on and they would be eager to lay a solid foundation for the side in the next match.

Middle Order: Shreyas Iyer (c), Sam Billings (wk), and Nitish Rana

Kolkata have a strong middle-order and a lot will be expected from the trio of skipper Shreyas Iyer, Sam Billings and Nitish Rana should KKR lose their openers cheaply. The skipper has only scored 59 runs so far. Nitish Rana has 31 runs including a duck in the last game. Billings had 68 runs including two 20+ scores. All three of them will be eager to make amends from hereon.

The onus would be on the famed middle-order trio to get going against MI and deliver some great performances under pressure. Shreyas and Nitish in particular will be hopeful of showcasing some aggressive approach in the middle-order.

All-Rounders: Andre Russell and Sunil Narine

Andre Russell has so far turned out to be KKR’s savior in the last couple of games. If not for his 18-ball 25, Kolkata would have not got to a respectable total of 128 against RCB. The dashetr roared back to form with an unbeaten 31-ball 70 against PBKS and helped his team get past the finish line chasing 138 before the 15th over. The Caribbean power-hitter has also chipped in with two wickets so far.

Sunil Narine, on the other hand, has not got many chances to bat and scored 12 runs against Bangalore. He has been an economical bowler and has registered two scalps to his name. While Narine is known to bamboozle the best in the business with the ball in hand, he is also known for his power-hitting abilities and has played match-defining knocks on many occasions.

Bowlers: Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Shivam Mavi

KKR have got arguably the strongest bowling line-up in IPL 2022. While better performances will be expected from youngster Shivam Mavi and Varun Chakravarthy, Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee have been the most consistent of them all. Tim Southee has taken five wickets from two matches including a three-wicket haul against RCB.

Umesh, on the other hand, is the Purple Cap holder with eight wickets from three matches including a match-winning four-fer against the Punjab Kings. He would be looking forward to enhance his wickets tally.

KKR’s Predicted Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy