IPL 9, Match 24 Preview: Kolkata Knight Riders seek revenge against Mumbai Indians

The Kolkata Knight Riders and the Mumbai Indians have faced each other on many occasions in the past. However, in the context of the ongoing season, this will be a revenge of sorts for the Knight Riders. The Gautam Gambhir led side has lost just the one match thus far and that came against Mumbai. If irony has any place in cricket, the Mumbai Indians’ only win in the first five matches was the win against KKR at their home. That said, it will be all to play for when these two familiar foes clash at the home of Indian cricket, the Wankhede Stadium for one last time in the season.

Team News-

Mumbai Indians:

The Mumbai Indians have seemingly just begun their season. With wins against the Kings XI Punjab and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Mumbai based franchise has had something to cheer about lately. Moreover, the fact that Kieron Pollard has come good with both bat and ball is definitely something MI have been longing.

Although Mumbai have had a mixed bag of results in the IPL this season, Rohit Sharma and his men can certainly take solace in the fact that they have beaten the Knight Riders and will have an edge when they take field in the second leg. This time around, they will be playing in front of their home crowd at the Wankhede, a place which the fans have made a fortress for the team, coming in big numbers to cheer for the Blue army. While Krunal and Hardik Pandya add the required balance to the Mumbai team, they will want the top order to fire and fire together to ensure the winning impact.

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Despite the fact that the KKR are at their peak, they will be wary of the threat the Mumbai Indians present. Having lost last time around courtesy of Rohit Sharma’s magnificent half-century, Gambhir and his band of merry men will be sure not to take the Mumbai Indians lightly.

The spotlight at the moment is on two players: Rajagopal Satish and Suryakumar Yadav. The latter had been promoted up the order courtesy Manish Pandey’s absence and he didn’t disappoint. The vice-captain slammed a well-compiled half-century as the Knight Riders cruised to an impressive win. Satish, on the other hand, is proving to one and all that age is just a number. At the age of 35, having made his way back into the fold after the conventional ICL, Satish played his part with the bat, ball and his electric ground fielding.

Probable XI-

Mumbai Indians:

Rohit Sharma (C), Parthiv Patel (wk), Jos Buttler, Ambati Rayudu, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan, Tim Southee, Jasprit Bumrah

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Gautam Gambhir (C), Robin Uthappa (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Rajagopal Satish, Morne Morkel, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav

StAttack:

1. In the head to head, the Mumbai Indians lead the Knight Riders with 11 wins in 16 matches.

2. Since 2011, the Mumbai Indians have made it to the playoffs on all occasions. The Knight Riders, however, are tied with the Indians with 2 IPL titles apiece.