Mumbai Indians' domestic bowlers will look to step up as they take on a buoyant Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL today, looking to turn things around after back-to-back defeats. MI have so far looked like anything but IPL's five-time champions, losing both their opening games – first against Delhi Capitals by four wickets and then against a resurgent Rajasthan Royals by 23 runs. And skipper Rohit Sharma will seek improvements on multiple fronts to effect a turnaround when they face KKR, who come into the game after beating Punjab Kings by six wickets. For Kolkata, the biggest asset is star all-rounder Andre Russell coming back to form. His six-hitting prowess was on display against Punjab Kings and he would be keen to continue from where he left.

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06:47 PM

Ravi Shastri lauds MI's Tilak Varma

Former Indian captain and ex-head coach of the national side, Ravi Shastri, is highly impressed with the performance of young Mumbai Indians' batter Tilak Varma and the wide range of shots he possesses in his repertoire.
Tilak Verma smashed a quick 61 runs off 33 balls against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai.
While speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Ravi Shastri said, "He has shown a lot of potential in both the innings he has played for Mumbai Indians. I am impressed looking at his wide range of shots-front foot, back foot, sweep. There's a lot of variation in his shot selection. His composure, body language and temperament are very good for a young player. He's batted very confidently. This player has the potential to go ahead." Shastri also claimed that Tilak Varma, along with Suryakumar Yadav, will make the Mumbai Indians' middle-order strong.

06:22 PM

Team MI

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Ramandeep Singh, SuryakumarYadav, Tilak Verma, Tim David, Arjun Tendulkar, Basil Thampi, Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Tymal Mills, Arshad Khan, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Fabian Allen, Kieron Pollard, Sanjay Yadav, Aryan Juyal and Ishan Kishan.

06:21 PM

Team KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders: Aaron Finch, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Baba Indrajith, Nitish Rana, Pratham Singh, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ashok Sharma, Pat Cummins, Rasikh Dar, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Aman Khan, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohammed Nabi, Ramesh Kumar, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson.

06:10 PM

Head-to-head

Mumbai have won 22 times against KKR, while KKR has been victorious only seven times, and they would want to add a win to their tally.

06:10 PM

KKR's bowing

KKR pacer Umesh Yadav has been impressive and could pose a potential threat to MI batters but he would need support from Tim Southee and Shivam Mavi, while the eight overs from Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine can change the match situation.

06:09 PM

Long overdue

Skipper Shreyas Iyer has been getting starts, but a big score is due. Ditto for Sam Billings. Nitish Rana too has been far from his best and needs to go all guns blazing.

06:08 PM

MI's batting under pressure?

If Mumbai have to post score or chase a big total, which is likely at the MCA stadium in Gahunje, Rohit and Kishan would need to fire on all cylinders.

06:07 PM

Mumbai’s bowling woes

For MI, pacer Basil Thampi and spinner Murugan Ashwin have proved to be weak-links as they yielded 73 runs in 3 overs during RR's innings and the duo will need to produce a better show on Wednesday. In fact, Australian seamer Daniel Sams too went for runs and remained wicketless in the last two matches. The trio will have to quickly recover from their forgettable outing against RR and bowl in the right areas if they have to contain the KKR batters.

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