Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians: Preview, head-to-head and Fantasy-XI
What's the story
Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians will be meeting for the second time in four days in match number 41 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. The Knights lost the last encounter and will be eager to bring joy to the people of Kolkata. Mumbai Indians are in another must win scenario. Can they stage a third consecutive victory?
Dream run
Will MI continue with their strong run over KKR?
In terms of head-to-head records, MI have an advantage over KKR. The two sides have met 22 times in IPL and Mumbai have won 17 out of them with KKR winning a paltry 5. At the Eden Gardens too, MI have enjoyed a definite advantage winning 6 out of 8 matches. Will a resurgent MI once again come out on top?
Personal
Probable Playing XI - Kolkata Knight Riders
Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (captain and wicket-keeper), Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Mitchell Johnson, Prasidh Krishna, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav.
Personal
Probable Playing XI -Mumbai Indians
Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, JP Duminy, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande and Jasprit Bumrah.
Batting pitch
Batsman set to enjoy at the Eden
The pitch is set to offer pace and bounce and which, in turn, will make the task of batsmen simpler. One can expect plenty of runs to be scored here. However, spinners too will enjoy bowling. Reports state that rainfall is expected in the afternoon, but the weather is expected to be clear by evening. A full match is on the cards.
Numbers game
KKR vs MI - Stat box
This match is Rohit Sharma's 100th T20 game as the skipper. Sunil Narine has 46 wickets at Eden and needs four more to notch 50th at a stadium. He will be the second to achieve this feat after Lasith Malinga. KKR haven't been able to get early wickets in the last six matches. Narine has dismissed Rohit seven times in IPL.
Fantasy XI
Surya gets the nod as skipper, Narine his deputy
Suryakumar Yadav has been in supreme form atop for MI with the bat and gets the nod as the skipper. Lewis, Uthappa, Rohit Sharma come in as the premier batsmen. KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik is a must as wicket-keeper batsman. All-rounders in the form Pandya brothers and vice-captain Sunil Narine get a place in this XI. Kuldeep Yadav, Bumrah and Krishna are the bowlers.