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IPL 2021 | KKR vs MI - Can KKR turn their fortunes around against formidable MI

Aryasekhar Chakraborty

Mumbai Indians were head and shoulders above any other teams in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League. Over the years, they have been the most successful IPL team having won the titles 5 times. Their head to head record against all the IPL teams is quite staggering but more so against the Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR have never managed to get a hold of the five-time champions and have lost 21 of the 27 matches played against them. 


While Mumbai Indians started off their campaign on expected notes losing the curtain-raiser against Royal Challengers Bangalore, KKR had a perfect start to their campaign winning against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. KKR looked like a settled unit and with Eoin Morgan handling the reigns from the start, the gold and purple brigade will look to turn their fortunes this time around. 


Two of the most popular teams in the competition, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns against each other in the 5th match of the tournament at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday. While MI clearly looks a more balanced side than KKR, one cannot take KKR lightly especially with some of their value-addition in the team. 


MI skipper Rohit Sharma was handcuffed in the opening encounter and was forced to bowl only 5 overs Boult and Chahar going for runs. Hardik Pandya’s workload management has meant that he won’t bowl regularly during the course of the tournament. Quinton de Kock will be eligible to play tomorrow but it will be interesting to see whether Lynn is retained especially after his impressive knock of 49 in the opening encounter. 


KKR on the other hand looked a settled unit with the top order coming good. Shubman Gill didn’t score much but was involved in a half-century partnership with Nitish Rana. The southpaw was magnificent and his innings proved to be the difference in the end. Rahul Tripathi also smashed a quickfire half-century and his partnership with Rana proved to be crucial in the context of the game. Even in the bowling department, KKR bagged wickets when it mattered the most and they should look to take the confidence into the match against MI. 


Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Match Details 


Match Number- 05 

Date and Time- April 13, 07:30 pm IST, 02:00 PM GMT

Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Broadcast and Live stream: Star Sports Network and Hotstar


Strengths and Weaknesses 


Kolkata Knight Riders


The inclusion of players like Shakib Al Hasan and Ben Cutting has lent a perfect balance which KKR need to turn their fortunes around. The top order also looked very settled in the opening encounter but the likes of Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi should look to bring some sort of consistency to their game. Gill is a world-class player, no doubt about that but his strike rate has been a reason of concern for KKR and it will be interesting to see how Gill approaches the game especially if KKR loses some early wickets. 


The middle-order looks sorted with the likes of Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik looking to provide solidity. Given the game situation, the batting order will be shuffled and the dangerous Andre Russell’s form will be crucial to KKR’s chances in the tournament. Russell started off quite meekly giving his wicket away to Rashid Khan. He will look to create the same sort of magic which he did in the 2019 edition. 


The fast bowling cartel is a mix of youth and experience with Pat Cummins leading the way. Lockie Ferguson is also part of the squad and will be used in some phase of the tournament. Youngsters like Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi and Prasidh Krishna who recently made his ODI debut for India provides a good balance. The spin department oozes classes with likes of Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Pawan Negi and Harbhajan Singh. 


The evident weakness might be the lack of experience in certain areas of the game. Barring a Pat Cummins, the pace bowling department lacks experience. They had a tendency to goof up midway through the tournament and the individual contributions must come in a more consistent manner. 


Strongest XI 


Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins, Harbhajan Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna


Mumbai Indians 


The defending champions have no clear weakness and look like the team to beat even in this edition of the tournament. After winning the last two tournaments, MI will look to make a hat-trick of titles and the dream seems very realistic especially with the sort of team they have. 


Starting from the top order to the middle order to the all-rounders and to the bowlers, they have all their bases covered and will certainly look to continue their sensational run against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The pace bowling duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult is arguably the best in the tournament and their form will be crucial for the five-time champions. 


Strongest XI 


Chris Lynn/Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Marco Jansen, Jasprit Bumrah. 


Pitch Report


A slow wicket was on display in the first game between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The expected dew wasn’t there as Chennai isn’t as humid as it is in the later parts of the year. With dew neglected, the ball is gripping and coming slower to the bat, making it difficult to play through shots. A similar wicket is expected for the next game as well. 

Weather and Toss

With temperatures between 30-32 degree celsius and intermittent clouds hovering over the MA Chidambaram, dew would again be out of consideration. This makes the toss all the more relevant as choosing to chase becomes difficult. But T20 logic says that one must choose to chase no matter what.  It will be interesting to see the decision making on the part of the captains. 

Dream11/ Fantasy XI 


Ishan Kishan, Dinesh Karthik (Wicket-keepers) 


Nitish Rana, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (Batsmen)


Shakib Al Hasan, Hardik Pandya (All-rounders)


Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Varun Chakravarthy (Bowlers) 

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