IPL 2021, MI VS KKR Predicted XI : Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya's fitness main headache for Mumbai against Knight Riders
PREVIEW
Defending champions Mumbai Indians were not off to the ideal start in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 as they were defeated by three-time winners and one of their most fierce rivals Chennai Super Kings. MI would be hoping to get their campaign back on track when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in match no 34 of this Indian Premier League at Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
 |
| Rohit Sharma |
Although MI have a distinct upper hand over KKR if we take their head-to-head record into consideration but even the players in the Mumbai camp would agree beating KKR won't be an easy task especially after the resounding victory they achieved over RCB a couple of nights at the same venue. Regular Captain Rohit Sharma and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya's availability will be one of the major talking points in their clash against KKR.
Abu Dhabi Pitch Report and Weather
RCB were rolled for 92 vs KKR, but that doesn’t indicate that this surface is a poor one for batting. KKR then chased the target in just over 10 overs on a true batting pitch.
The average first innings score at Abu Dhabi in IPL 2020 was 162.5 in 22 matches. The chasing team won 14 of the 22 games, as did KKR in the first match on this ground this season. So, the captain who wins the toss may look to chase.
Mumbai Indians:
1. Rohit Sharma... was rested as a precaution against CSK, and should be all good to go here. He simply loves playing against KKR, with 866 runs in 22 innings at a magnificent average of 50.94 and strike rate of 133.64, including 43 (32) against them earlier this season. No player even comes close to Rohit’s 866 runs in MI-KKR matchups.
Also, Rohit enjoys batting at Abu Dhabi in the IPL. In seven innings, Rohit has struck 264 runs at an average of 37.71 and strike rate of 132.
2. Suryakumar Yadav.... also enjoys playing KKR. The classy right-hander is having an under-par season, so his chance to return to form is here against a team he averages 46.67 against in seven innings (280 runs, strike rate 150.54). This includes three half-centuries.
Dhabi, with 413 runs in 11 innings at an average of 51.63 and strike rate of 165.20.
3. Quinton de Kock...... averages just 19.11 in 10 innings vs KKR in his IPL career. However, he scored 78 against them last season on this ground, and MI will be hoping he can produce something similar here. He averages 30.29 in eight innings at Abu Dhabi (212 runs).
de Kock prefers to bat second in IPL. Batting first, de Kock averages 27 (39 innings) compared to 37.2 batting second (33 innings).
4. Hardik Pandya..... if he is fit, he will return against one of his favourite IPL opponents. In 10 innings vs KKR, Hardik has slammed 299 runs at an average of 59.80 and ridiculous strike rate of 184.57. Also, at Abu Dhabi, Hardik strikes at 186.27 with 190 runs at an average of 47.50.
5. Rahul Chahar........ He will be key. The leg-spinner has nine wickets in five matches vs KKR (avg. 15.22), and enjoys bowling at Abu Dhabi (8 inns, 9 wickets, avg. 26.22, SR 20).
Chahar much prefers to bowl in the second innings of IPL matches, with 29 wickets in 24 such matches at an average of 21.80 and strike rate of 17.8. This is in contrast to his first innings record where he averages 32.5 and strikes every 26.5 deliveries across 14 innings.
6. Jasprit Bumrah....... influence this match in a way fans know he can? He averages 31.75 in 13 matches vs KKR, but enjoys bowling on this ground (8 inns, 13 wickets, avg. 16.38, SR 14.77). Also, he loves bowling second in IPL (avg. 20.2) compared to bowling first (avg. 29.6)
Probable XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Kolkata Knight Riders
1. Venkatesh Iyer..... against RCB. The classy left-hander scored 41* off 27 balls, part of a T20 career that makes for impressive reading to date: 23 inns, 765 runs, avg. 38.25, SR 138.33. Also, Iyer is having a superb year overall in T20 cricket, with 268 runs in six innings at an average of 89.33 and strike rate of 149.72.
Iyer is superb in the second innings of T20 matches. In 17 such outings, Iyer has struck 325 runs at an average of 46.43 and strike rate of 130.52. Batting first, he averages 33.85 with a strike rate of 144.74 (440 runs).
2. Shubman Gill....... loves batting in the second innings of IPL matches. The immensely talented Gill has scored 487 runs in 19 such outings at an average of 40.6 and strike rate of 131.3, including a fluent 34-ball 48 vs RCB.
Gill averages 25.50 in six innings vs MI (153 runs), and 30.29 in eight innings in Abu Dhabi (212 runs). He is a key player in a key game, so KKR will be hoping he can build on these numbers.
3. Andre Russell....... was outstanding with the ball against RCB (3/9). However, can he influence this game with the bat too? He has scored 183 runs in 10 innings vs MI at an average of 20.33 and strike rate of 144.9. He does have one score of 80, which suggests that he usually struggles against MI. But, a player like Russell can never be discounted.
4. Sunil Narine.......... He has taken 22 wickets in 17 matches against MI (avg. 20.73, econ. 6.79). Also, he often bowls well on this ground, with 11 wickets in nine matches at an average of 21.91 and strike rate of 19.64.
Also, Narine averages 21.7 bowling second in IPL compared to 28 bowling first.
5. Varun Chakravarthy....... . The spinner was player of the match with 3/13 in his four overs on a ground he enjoys bowling at. At Abu Dhabi, Chakravarthy has taken 12 wickets in nine matches at an average of 16 and strike rate of 16.33. Also, he has two wickets in as many matches for KKR vs MI.
6. Lockie Ferguson.......... he is yet to play against MI in KKR colours. The pace bowler adds another dimension to this KKR attack, and loves bowling on this ground (seven wickets in four matches at an average of 12.29 and strike rate of 13.71). He took 2/24 vs RCB.
Probable XI
Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna
Stats and Facts
Head-to-head: Matches 28, MI 22, KKR 6.
MI have won 12 of their past 13 clashes with KKR, including two dominant wins against them at Abu Dhabi in IPL 2020 (49 runs and 8 wickets).
Earlier this season, MI sealed a victory from the jaws of defeat vs KKR, defending 152 to win by 10 runs.
KKR isn’t Kieron Pollard’s favourite opponent. In 17 innings, Pollard has struck 251 runs at a lower strike rate of 117.84 (avg. 25.1). His 105 runs at Abu Dhabi come at a strike rate of 154.41, however.
MI will look to use Jasprit Bumrah against Andre Russell. In 40 balls bowled to Russell in IPL, Bumrah has conceded just 51 runs and dismissed him three times.
Adam Milne will have a key role to play against KKR’s talented openers in the powerplay. Milne took 2/21 vs CSK, and was untouchable at times in the powerplay overs.
Final team here
No comments:
Post a Comment