IPL 2022 | KKR vs MI - Pre Match Analysis

We are into the 14th match of the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and we have already witnessed exhilarating finishes and performances by teams and players. 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are heading into this battle as a strong contender with two wins on their back. Still, the return of Andre Russell is something they would be pleased about, and the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer has been superb, be it his bowling changes or field set-up. 

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians (MI) have lost their matches, and their finishing touches are something they want to work on. 

Nevertheless, let us first get into the phase-wise analysis of both the teams since 2020.

So, here we can see that KKR's top order batters have contributed close to 40 per cent of the total runs scored at a slightly lesser strike rate of 123.58, but very high runs per wicket of 60.12 and the lesser strike rate could arise from the somewhat slow but strike rotated start from Shubhman Gill. 

Their upper middle order has contributed close to 37.1 per cent of runs, albeit at a lower strike rate of 119.7 (second lowest since 2020) and a high dot percentage of 40.1(highest among all teams since 2020), and KKR would want to work on this phase but consuming lesser dot balls. 

Their lower middle order contributed close to 21 per cent of their total runs(highest among all teams) at a decent strike rate of 133.07, which explains a lot about their batting depth and consistent scores of their lower middle-order batter.

On the other hand, Mumbai had a marginally more significant contribution from their top and upper middle-order batters and struck at 130.85 and 133.63, respectively (second highest among all teams). 

The issue that they have faced since 2020 has been the contribution of their lower middle-order batter, which mainly revolves around the trio of Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya, who provided quick starts (explained by their significantly large strike rate of 147.85, which is also the highest among all teams since 2020) but struggled to get a more significant score. They particularly struggled in the first leg of the 2021 IPL season.

Bowling Type in Pune

So, here we can see that right-arm pacers have taken over 56 per cent of the wickets. But a fascinating thing to note here is that leg spinners have taken close to 20 per cent of the wickets. This value increases to 32 per cent in the middle overs, indicating that the spinners have taken the most wickets in the middle overs in Pune. 

Another fact for spinners is that spinners have taken close to 52 per cent of the wickets in the middle overs, and this value increased to 57 per cent in the middle overs in the first innings of a match. 

Another fascinating analysis here is that when defending targets, around 23 per cent of the wickets have been taken by right-arm medium pacers who generally bowl within the range of 115 to 125 kmph.

Head to head stats

The rivalry between Mumbai and Kolkata has been intriguing for the last decade and a half. Thus, it's time to buckle up since we have a good number of head to head stats.

Rahane has never been dismissed to Bumrah in IPL

Ajinkya Rahane has been a very stylish player in the IPL and can even be hailed as one of the best IPL players ever. However, his record against Burmah may raise a few eyebrows, especially in the powerplay where he has faced him for 27 deliveries and has struck at close to 141, but an interesting point to note here is that even though he scored at a strike rate, he followed a pragmatic strike rotated approach against Burmah with a strike rotation percentage of 66.7. So it will be interesting to see how this rivalry unfolds this season.

Narine has got the better of Rohit Sharma 7 times in IPL

The rivalry between Sunil Narine and Rohit Sharma has been an underrated one, considering the number of balls they have played between themselves. Rohit has faced a whooping 118 deliveries against Narine and has scored 127 runs at a strike rate of 107.6 at balls per boundary value of 7. 

Though Narine has kept him quiet throughout all the play phases, he has gotten the better of him four times in the middle overs and thrice in the death overs. So this will be an intriguing rivalry to watch out for.

Russell has kept Pollard quiet in the IPL

Russell has got the better of Pollard only once in the IPL in the death overs phase. Still, out of the 30 balls he has delivered, he has given only 23 runs at balls per dot of 2.1, and he succeeds mainly due to his ability to execute wide yorkers and short balls, which Pollard generally struggles against.

Unadkat has dismissed Rahane twice in the powerplay

Jaydev Unadkat is definitely not the same bowler who executed his skills to perfection to deceive the batsman. Nevertheless, his variations come in handy against batters like Rahane, who might end up chipping a catch to a slower ball or cutter. 

Rahane has faced only 16 balls against Unadkat in the powerplay and has scored 15 runs, being dismissed twice. Though the sample size is small to judge the rivalry, it will definitely be interesting to see how Rahane overcomes Unadkat.

Bumrah versus Russell 

This has been quite an exciting rivalry in IPL since in the middle overs, Bumrah got the better of Russell twice within 15 balls at a strike rate of just 60. 

But in the death overs, Russell has taken on Bumrah, wherein the 26 balls he faced, he has a strike rate of 161.5 at a boundary every 3.7 balls and being dismissed only once. So it will be interesting to see how this rivalry progresses from here on.