What

The Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians will meet for the second time in four days when they clash in Match 41 of VIVO IPL 2018.

The two teams came up against each other at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 37. On that occasion, MI prevailed after they successfully defended the 181 runs they posted batting first. Courtesy that win and the win before that against KXIP, Mumbai Indians remain afloat in the tournament and still stand a chance of making the playoffs. The equation in front of them is simple: keep winning.

Kolkata Knight Riders meanwhile sit mid-table with five wins and as many losses. While they’ve posted convincing wins, KKR have never really managed to sustain the momentum over a period of time; they’ve not won more than two games in a row. With the race for the playoff spots becoming intense, the time is now for KKR to string together a series of wins.

At the moment KKR are in a comfortable position – relatively speaking. Mumbai Indians, who were in a hapless position at the bottom of the table not too long ago, have turned things with consecutive wins and have reduced the gap between them and the mid-table teams. The situation is pretty much the same as it was before the previous match; MI can ill afford a loss, and the equation could become the same for KKR if they don’t get the two points in this match. Will KKR be able to settle scores with their nemesis and avenge for the loss at the Wankhede?

When

9 May 2018, 1600Hrs (IST)

Where

Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Impact Batsmen

The one batsman who has set the pace early in the innings for Kolkata Knight Riders is Sunil Narine. Given his hit-or-miss style of batting, KKR see him as being wasted down the order. On days he gets going, he puts his put team in a position of strength. The left-hander did not open the innings in the previous match in Mumbai, but one expects he will be back at the top. Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik are KKR’s two other batsmen in-form. Uthappa has looked good right through the season; he smashed 54 off 35 balls at the Wankhede Stadium and will look to dominate the same opponent yet again. The KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik, despite batting in the middle order, is the team’s top run-getter – his 316 runs being scored at a strike-rate of 147.67.

MI’s best batsman of the season bats right at the top; Suryakumar Yadav, in his new role as opener, has already scored more runs this season than he had in the last two seasons combined. Barring two single-digit scores against RCB, Yadav has made a significant score in each one of his remaining eight innings. What has been impressive about Yadav is not just the 399 runs he has scored, but the fearless manner in which he has scored the runs and his domination of the bowlers from the world go.

Rohit Sharma returns to his favourite venue outside of home and will be desperate to get cracking with the bat. At the Eden Gardens, Rohit Sharma scored a hundred on Test debut, scored a double hundred in the Ranji Trophy, scored a world record 264 in an ODI against Sri Lanka, and his maiden IPL hundred. Not to forget, it was at the Eden Gardens he lifted the IPL Trophy for the first time – in 2013.

Impact Bowlers

While KKR will look towards its spin trio to do the bulk of the damage with the ball, MI will want their quick bowlers to do the majority of the damage. Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav have contributed 28 of the 51 wickets picked up by KKR’s bowlers this season. For Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya leads the pack as the top wicket-taker, while JaspritBumrah&Mitchell McClenaghan are not too far behind.

KKR need a much-improved performance from their quick bowlers; the overall economy of the KKR quicks this season is 10.55 – the poorest among all teams. At the other end, MI have the most productive pace attack; their quicks have picked up a total of 44 wickets and conceded runs at a respectable rate of 8.13.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches – 22, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 5, Mumbai Indians won – 17

At the Eden Gardens: Matches – 8, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 2, Mumbai Indians won – 6

The Mumbai Indians have now prevailed in their last 7 matches against Kolkata Knight Riders. The last time KKR defeated MI was in the 2015 season opener.

Trivia

This match will be Rohit Sharma’s 100^th match as captain in T20 cricket; he will become the 4^th Indian to be captain in 100 or more matches – the others being MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli.

Rohit Sharma has been dismissed by Sunil Narine on six occasions in the IPL.

Teams chasing have won 4 of the 5 VIVO IPL 2018 matches played at the Eden Gardens.

KKR have struggled finding the early breakthroughs; in their last six matches, their opponents have had opening partnerships of 54, 116, 59, 67, 48 & 91.

What Next

For Kolkata Knight Riders: Away fixture Vs. Kings XI Punjab in Indore, May 12.

For Mumbai Indians: Home fixture Vs. Rajasthan Royals, May 13.