Mumbai Indians will look to seal a playoff berth when they face an out-of-sorts Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens Kolkata on Sunday.

Skipper Rohit Sharma roared back to form with his first half-century of the IPL as Mumbai Indians crushed MS Dhoni-less Chennai Super Kings by 46 runs, their biggest defeat at home Saturday.

One win away from assuring their last-four berth, Mumbai Indians will look forward to take on their ‘bunny’ Kolkata Knight Riders -- against whom they have an eight-match winning streak in a 18-5 head-to-head record. The last time KKR had won against MI was four years ago. With three matches left in the league stage, the two teams clash for the first time this season on Sunday, with the return leg slated for May 5.

Ideally there is no need for a change in the MI playing XI but the conditions in Kolkata might force Rohit Sharma to play an extra pacer in place of either Rahul Chahar or Anukul Roy. Considering Chahar’s consistency, the axe may fall on Roy, who made his debut against CSK a couple nights ago. Roy bowled 2 over for only 11 runs.

Australian fast bowler Jason Behrendorff might get his place back in the side to make use of the carry available in the Kolkata deck. Though Mumbai’s latest recruit Beuran Hendricks has arrived in India but is unlikely that he would feature in Sunday’s encounter against KKR.

The batting line-up is expected to remain the same with MI once again eyeing a good start from openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock. All eyes, however, will once again be on the middle-order. Evin Lewis has to put up a good show to justify his selection in the side.

Mumbai Indians Predicted XI against KKR: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Evin Lewis, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Krunal Pandya, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Jason Behrendorff, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

(With agency inputs)

First Published: Apr 28, 2019 14:45 IST