As Mumbai Indians take on Kolkata Knight Riders for the second qualifier with place in final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
As the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League 2017 comes around, we take a look at the matchup at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium with Mumbai Indians playing Kolkata Knight Riders. Mumbai Indians are here after losing by 20 runs to Rising Pune Supergiant and Kolkata Knight Riders have made their place here due to a win over defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 wickets.
The KKR side managed to get past the rain, the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the confusing Duckworth-Lewis calculations to fight another day. Mumbai is expected to come back stronger, backed by their 15-5 win-loss ratio against the Knight Riders in all games. Two of only three sides to win the title twice, MI and KKR will have to raise their game to the next level, giving fans a cracker of a contest to look forward.
For Mumbai, Rohit Sharma will finally have to step up and be counted, for his numbers ever since returning from injury haven’t been promising. The rest of the team looks settled, with Ambati Rayudu edging Nitish Rana out on account of experience.experience.
For the KKR side, their biggest strength has been Gautam Gambhir, the man who has led the side from the front with an aggressive, unyielding persona. With the bat, he has delivered the goods, rubbing off the calmness on the others whenever he is on the field. Players like Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine and Nathan Coulter-Nile have thrived under him, and his pep-talks before the game will motivate them further.
The absence of Manish Pandey could be one of the biggest concerns for KKR at the moment, as will be the lack of rest between the Hyderabad and Mumbai. The right-hander was replaced by Ishank Jaggi in the playing XI in the last game, and is expected to retain his place in the side.
Batting Performances:
Both captains have a different style of approaching a game, behaving in a game and reacting to tough situations. While Rohit behaves rather calm and composed in tough and pressure situations, Gambhir has over a period of time developed an aggressive side to himself that sets him apart from the rest and possibly augurs well for the side and their push for a final spot. With the bat, Gambhir has been a boost for the side and sits second in the Orange Cap standings with 486 runs in 15 matches. Rohit, on the other hand, has 283 runs in as many matches.
Bowling Performances:
Seam bowling is what defines both teams with variety of options – Indian and foreign – at the disposal of both team managements and captains. Where KKR have the likes of Umesh Yadav and Trent Boult, they were further reinvigorated with the services of Nathan Coulter-Nile who picked up 3 wickets against SRH.
For Mumbai, Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah are top, top options for Rohit to use and they’ve both made the mark this season with 19 and 15 wickets respectively. If that’s not enough, Bumrah produced the goods for MI in the Super Over this season to highlight his supremacy to bowl in crunch situations such as a qualifier.
Predicted Winner: Mumbai Indians
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