IPL 2021 | Blitzpools Prediction, Fantasy XI Tips & Probable XI for Mumbai's clash against Kolkata

ByBlitz, SportsCafe Editor

04/13/2021

The fifth match of the IPL has thrown up a match up between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in Chennai. While the team from Bengal sealed the win in their first game of the season, the team from Maharashtra maintained their record of horror starts losing to Banglaore at the same venue.

Last season, it was this fixture which was the opener to the UAE IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders. They got off to the worst possible start as MI sealed a 49 run win against the two time Champions. Kolkata had a very start-stop season and eventually ended up missing the playoffs on NRR. This time around they look like a franchise ready to reassert their dominance and what would be a better way of doing it than taking down the reigning champions at a venue where they are exceptional.

MI, on the other hand, got off to their usual terrible start with a loss in the opener. However, this is a team they enjoy playing against in the IPL. So much so that they have lost just once to them since the start of the 2016 season. The main reason for MI’s loss in the first game can be attributed to their atrocious performance in the death - something that they have excelled at in previous seasons. For them, a matchup against their bunny team might be the thing that could get their season started.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians Form Guide

Kolkata Knight Riders - W

KKR started off their campaign for the 2021 IPL with a win against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs. With Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi running riot in the first innings, KKR posted a massive 188 run target in Chennai. Their bowlers then completed the task in the second innings as KKR got their first two points of the campaign on the board.

Mumbai Indians - L

Mumbai, on the other hand, keeping up with their normal trend lost their first game of the season to Royal Challengers Bangalore. MI got off to a decent start but some slow batting at the death meant that RCB had just 160 runs to chase. MI made a game out of it though before a belter of an innings by AB de Villiers sealed the deal for Bangalore.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians Head-to-Head

Total – 27

Kolkata Knight Riders - 6

Mumbai Indians - 21

No Result - 0

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians Last Meeting

After restricting KKR to just 61/5 in just over ten overs, MI ran into a Eoin Morgan-Pat Cummins partnership. With the Aussie scoring 53 off just 36 balls, KKR were able to post a sub par total of 148 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Mumbai, on the other hand, got off to a blistering start thanks to Quinton de Kock who scored an unbeaten 78 leading his side to victory in just 16.5 overs.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians, Match 5 - Probable Playing XI

Kolkata Knight Riders - Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins, Harbhajan Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy

Mumbai Indians - Rohit Sharma(c), Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Marco Jansen, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah