IPL 2021 Preview: Haunted by injuries, Mumbai Indians search remedy to get back in the groove

Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians will be up against each other on Thursday (September 23, 2021) in Abu Dhabi in the second phase of the Indian Premier League 2021. The KKR side unleashed a brilliant performance with the ball in their last encounter against the Royal Challengers Bangalore after bundling them out for 92 in 19 overs and then chased down the target by 9 wickets. 

While Andre Russell whose didn't have a great run in the first leg of this edition of the IPL returned with figures of 3/9 in three overs that included an important scalp of AB de Villiers. Varun Chakravarthy deceived the batsmen with his line and length to pick up a three-for during the course at the cost of just 13 runs in 4 overs. 

Later, it was about the batting masterclass from opener Shubman Gill and debutant Venkatesh Iyer as the two batters anchored the side to a comprehensive win. 

Mumbai Indians on the other side, who were without their regular skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya have had a struggling start to the proceedings in the second phase after they suffered a defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs. 

The MI side did get a good start with the ball after they reduced CSK to 24/4 but Ruturaj Gaikwad held the fort for the Super Kings. Gaikwad’s unbeaten 88 and a late surge from Dwayne Bravo helped Chennai put 156/6 in 20 overs on the board. 

But it was MI’s batting unit that struggled against a disciplined CSK bowling. 

As far as the previous clash between KKR and MI is concerned, the Mumbai franchise etched a win by 10 runs after restricting the opposition to 142/7 in 20 overs while chasing 153. 

While KKR would be riding high on confidence with the kind of performance they unleashed against RCB, MI would be looking to get things back on track as they have already lost four out of the eight matches so far in the competition. MI do have the historical advantage against KKR and have dismantled the Kolkata based franchise on more occasions than not.

Match Details:

MI vs KKR: IPL 2021, Match 34

Date and Time: 23rd September 2021, 7:30 PM IST

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Telecast: Star Sports Network, Hotstar

Pitch Report

The previous game at the venue witnessed the bowlers taking an upper hand in the middle overs of the first innings. While the bowlers, especially spinners might have something on offer in the first half of the match, the batsmen will get the help in the second phase. So, if you win the toss, elect to bowl. 

KKR riding high on bowling

Some disciplined bowling from the KKR unit had totally turned the tables for them in the last match against RCB. While Chakravarthy kept bowling around that off-stump channel and never let the batsmen dominate, Andre Russell read the opponents well to keep the batters on the back foot. 

Adding to the strength, the Knight Riders have the services of Prasidh Krishna who can be lethal on his given day and Sunil Narine who wasn’t able to pick any wickets in the last clash but also didn’t leak any runs and kept on creating the pressure from one end. 

MI’s struggle with the bat

Mumbai Indians had a struggling time with the bat against CSK after the middle-order failed to fire. Barring Saurabh Tiwary, none of the batsmen got into the groove. The team management would be looking to make suitable changes in the line up and stabilise the batting unit.

Team News

MI: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma had missed the game against CSK due to a knee niggle he had during the England tour while Hardik Pandya who also didn’t play the fixture against the Super Kings had a minor injury during training.

But coach Mahela Jayawardene had said that both the players would be available for the next game. “Rohit should be fine and will be playing the next match. Hardik was training and had a little niggle so again as a precaution we gave him an extra day to see how things are but nothing serious."

KKR: Kolkata Knight Riders are looking pretty stable and in form. While the bowlers showed their class against Bangalore, the openers too were on song but the middle-order still needs to be tested.

Probable XI

MI: Rohit Sharma (C)/Anmolpreet Singh, Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Saurabh Tiwary, Rahul Chahar, Adam Milne, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult

KKR: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson and Varun Chakravarthy

Fantasy XI

Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Eoin Morgan, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell (VC), Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar (C) and Lockie Ferguson