IPL 2021 | Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders - BONS Preview, head to head, where to watch, and betting tips
Rohit Sharma has scored 982 runs at 46.76 against KKR
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Mumbai Indians will face Kolkata Knight Riders in match no. 34 of the IPL 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, September 23. While MI lost their last game to Chennai Super Kings, KKR outplayed Royal Challengers Bangalore to keep themselves in race to the play-offs.
The Mumbai Indians clearly missed Rohit Sharma – both as a captain and as an opener – in their last game against the Chennai Super Kings. The defending champions had CSK reduced to 24/4 at one stage, with Ambati Rayudu retired hurt, but couldn’t quite seize the advantage as Ruturaj Gaikwad powered his team to a challenging total of 156/6.
As for the batting, Saurabh Tiwary scored a fighting half-century, but lacked support at the back end. Should Rohit and Hardik return on Thursday, the MI line-up would once again, make a
The fast-bowling department delivered the goods against CSK, and Rohit would expect his spinners to come good as well in Abu Dhabi, where Varun Chakravarthy had cast his spell of magic over the RCB on Monday.
As for KKR, their collective bowling performance might’ve been heartening for skipper Eoin Morgan, especially after the side had lost five of its first seven games in the India leg. While each of their frontline bowlers delivered the goods against RCB, Andre Russell’s exploits with the ball must’ve been the greatest positive, which only adds to the all-round depth.
Venkatesh Iyer oozed class on his IPL debut with some exquisite stroke-play, and formed a fine pairing with Shubman Gill who showcased his range. With Nitish Rana being slotted in the middle-order, KKR possess a daunting line-up with Morgan, Dinesh Karthik and Russell to follow.
Form Guide
Mumbai Indians - L, W, W, L, L
Mumbai Indians lost two of their last four games during the India leg, before going down to CSK on Sunday. They’ll seek confidence from their history of peaking in the tournament’s second half, and with that taken into account.
Kolkata Knight Riders - W L W L L
The Knight Riders marked their return to the second half with a new found intensity, having stormed past the RCB with a dominant show. Skipper Eoin Morgan has already stated that his team will stick to their positive and aggressive brand of cricket, which makes them a tough team to beat on any given day.
Head to head
Mumbai Indians have squared off against Kolkata Knight Riders on 28 occasions. Mumbai Indians have won 22 fixtures against Kolkata while Kolkata emerged victorious six times.
Rohit Sharma has scored 982 runs at 46.76 against KKR, while Andre Russell has amassed 183 runs against Mumbai Indians. In bowling, Sunil Narine and Jasprit Bumrah have bagged 22 and 12 wickets respectively in head-to-head contests.
BONS Mumbai Indians Predicted XI
Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard (C), Krunal Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult.
BONS Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted XI
Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna.
Press conference Quote
Trent Boult, Mumbai Indians: "They (Rohit and Hardik) are both recovering very well. In terms of their selection for the next game, I'm not too sure what's going on. Day by day, they are improving. It was probably out of precaution that they had that extra bit of rest the other night against Chennai. They are two vital players in the XI for Mumbai. We're desperate to have them back. So, fingers crossed that they'll be pretty good to go over the next couple of games."
BONS Match Prediction
With Mumbai Indians’ rusty start to the season’s second half and a slight uncertainty Hardik Pandya’s return in their starting XI, Kolkata Knight Riders stand favourites ahead of the contest.
Pitch Report
The match between KKR and RCB showed that there was enough assistance for both pace and spin, with batting being relatively easier in the second half. Both teams enjoyed decent success at the venue last season, with MI winning six of their eight games, while KKR won five from as many. MI had won both the head-to-head wins with convincing margins of 49 runs and eight wickets respectively.
Match info
Match -Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2021 Match 34
Date - 23 September 2021
Time - 7:30 PM IST
Venue - Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
