Today Mumbai Indians will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the second game of the day on Sunday in Mumbai.
The two-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians did not get off to the most auspicious start as they lost their first match of the season against Rising Pune Supergiant by seven wickets.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Strengths
In-form openers – The Knights had a fantastic start to their IPL 2017 campaign after Chris Lynn and Gautam Gambhir absolutely punished Lions in their own den on Friday night. Their dominating opening partnership might have created a sense of fear in oppositions going further in the tournament.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Weakness
Fielding – There were plenty of dropped catches and misfields by KKR players against the Lions that resulted in a few extra runs towards the end of the innings. But they can’t afford to drop their chances against MI, because there are some dangerous players in that team which can make you suffer if you let off those chances.
Captain Rohit Sharma will also be hoping for a good start from the top order and will be looking for a rise in his personal form. Their top order, including Rohit Sharma, floundered against RPS hence that is an area of improvement.
The bowlers leaked plenty of runs and the fielding wasn’t up to the mark as Steve Smith led Pune to a huge victory. Mumbai, now take on two-time IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders at the historic Eden Gardens later today.
At least two changes are expected in the MI XI from their last match as their batsman, Ambati Rayudu, is ruled out of the match with a grade 1 groin tear and the team is set to bring back two of their seasoned campaigners, Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga. Here is the possible playing XI for Mumbai Indians:
In-form openers – The Knights had a fantastic start to their IPL 2017 campaign after Chris Lynn and Gautam Gambhir absolutely punished Lions in their own den on Friday night
Prediction – Mumbai Indians did not have a good start to their campaign this year, while KKR had a terrific start, courtesy the fireworks by GG and Lynn. The momentum is with KKR but the home advantage and support of crowd in Mumbai makes MI the favorites to win this contest! Also, if Malinga gets a game – he might win it for the home team.
Possible winner – Mumbai Indians
Kolkata Knight Riders (Probable XI) –
Gautam Gambhir(c), Chris Lynn , Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Woakes , Trent Boult , Sunil Narine , Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav.
Mumbai Indians (Probable XI) – Rohit Sharma(c), Parthiv Patel, Saurabh Tiwary, Jos Buttler , Kieron Pollard , Nitish Rana, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan , Lasith Malinga , Jasprit Bumrah.
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