IPL 2021 KKR vs MI Match Preview:
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who performed brilliantly against Sunrisers Hyderabad, will enter the IPL match against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians on Tuesday with the intention of maintaining this rhythm. KKR, who could not make it to the playoffs in the last two seasons, defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs in the first match on Sunday.
Captain Eoin Morgan hinted at the time of the toss, when he excluded his most trusted player, Sunil Narine. The opening pair of Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill showed their attitude by attacking with the first ball. KKR was expected to perform well in 2020 with batsmen like Andre Russell, Karthik and Morgan in the middle order, but it could not happen due to lack of strategy.
This time KKR has strengthened the middle order by including Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan. Rana's wrist use and aggression were fully visible on Sunday, when KKR kept the pressure on despite Rashid Khan's double wickets in the form of Shubman Gill and Andre Russell. After Rana's 56-ball 80, Karthik scored 22 off nine balls to take the team to 187 for six.
Morgan and Rohit's captaincy also compete
KKR's intent will be to settle the old account of the five-time champion Mumbai. KKR have won just one of the last 12 matches against Mumbai. He has won six matches against Mumbai in the IPL, while he has lost 21. Now it is also the captaincy of Morgan and Rohit Sharma. Mumbai, who lost by two wickets to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the first match, will be eyeing a return to victory. It will not be easy for the KKR batsmen to play openly in front of bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. Gill's poor form is a matter of concern for KKR and now they will face the best bowlers.
Expectations of mumbai
Mumbai, who have always started slow, suffered defeat in the first match due to the brilliant performances of RCB's Harshal Patel and AB de Villiers. Chris Lynn scored the most runs in his first match for Mumbai, but his innings was not flawless. If Quinton Dickock stays in the quarantine, Lynn will have to start the innings. In case of match play, Dickock can open the innings with Rohit, a left-and-right-handed Mumbai combination as the opening pair. Mumbai's explosive middle order of Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Pandya brothers also failed in the first match, due to which the Mumbai team could score only 159 runs. In such a situation, the team will expect better performance from them.
Teams:
KKR: Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagerkoti, Sandeep Warrior, Famous Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakraborty, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi.
