After losing the first game against Chennai Superkings, Mumbai Indians are in no mood to lose another one and jeopardise their play off chances. In last game, Mumbai certainly missed Hardik Pandya as the Baroda all-rounder could have double up as the fourth seamer and helped the defending champions finish off CSK who were reeling at 35/4. They eventually finished at 156/6, and in the end it was too much for Mumbai to chase down.
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Moreover, Rohit’s presence at the top is always assuring. His absence made sure that Mumbai field Anmolpreet Singh who didn’t click and was dismissed for 16. Presence of an inexperienced partner forced Quinton De Kock to do something different right from the start. He paid the price and was out for 17. Rohit’s presence will take the heat off the South African and his captaincy skills will only add to Mumbai’s might.
Probable XI
Mumbai Indians: Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan(C) , Dinesh Karthik, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson , Varun Chakaravarthy, Prasidh Krishna.
KKR, on the other hand, have registered a dominating nine-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opening game of the second leg of the league. Therefore, they would look to go in with same side. Too much chop and change is a recipe of disaster and skipper Morgan knows it.
The Eoin Morgan-led side, placed sixth in the points table, fired on all cylinders with mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and star all-rounder Andre Russell wreaking havoc with the ball before openers Shubman Gill and debutant Venkatesh Iyer chased down the 93-run target with 10 overs to spare.
Skipper Morgan had said that KKR would be dangerous opponents with nothing to lose in the second leg and the team certainly looked menacing against RCB. They will hope to continue playing in a similar aggressive fashion and win the title just like 2014 edition when they notched nine victories in a row.
They will also hold the edge over their rivals having already experienced the conditions at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium against RCB.
(With PTI Inputs)
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