IPL 2018

MI look to crack present mission by drawing from the past

by Purnima Malhotra • Last updated on

The time is ripe for Hardik Pandya to have the kind of all-round impact that he is capable of having. © BCCI

Mumbai Indians have pulled off the Houdini act before, in 2015, and have the belief that they're on their way to doing it all over again. But their path to redemption still has a few tricky hurdles. If having to win all their remaining five games in order to keep the playoffs hopes alive wasn't a tough equation already, two of those five are against Kolkata Knight Riders - back to back. Three of them are in the comforts of the Wankhede Stadium, where ironically though they've haven't quite cracked the code yet, defeating only RCB in the four home games so far.

Mumbai have travelled and fared better in the last week though. Barring the chase against RCB which they flunked after a top-order collapse, they've won two games on either side of that defeat, and against superior opponents - CSK and KXIP. But Rohit Sharma's resurgent side has a few holes to plug - batting being of utmost priority. Their win against KXIP in Indore notwithstanding, Mumbai are running out of batsmen who can claim to hold the consistency calling card. Evin Lewis's form has spiraled, as has been the case with back-up opener Ishan Kishan. The Pandya brothers too, have blown hot and cold while Kieron Pollard never came to the party.

Only Suryakumar Yadav (340 runs at 37.78) has been a constant feature in all that's been good about Mumbai's batting. But the lack of explosive starts coupled with underwhelming contributions from its finishers has left Mumbai glued to the bottom half of the points table.

It's a department their opponents for Sunday are most satisfied with. KKR's batting isn't dependent on the starts they get, not that the opening pair has disappointed. Sunil Narine has only grown in stature as a T20 opener. KKR persisted with Chris Lynn and that's paying off well now. Skipper Dinesh Karthik has been in the form of his life; a promotion for Shubman Gill has reaped rewards too, and if vice-captain Robin Uthappa could make his starts count, the Knight Riders would be as threatening a side as any.

In the other department, the spin trio has established itself as an indispensable part of the KKR attack and more than compensates for the erratic form of the team's pacers.

Mumbai have a growing concern in the death bowling department, and they can ill afford leaking runs as generously against the likes of Andre Russell as Hardik and Mitchell McClenaghan have been guilty of doing recently. It's make or break time for the defending champions, and a win here will set the tone for the reverse fixture that follows in a couple of days' time. Any slip up could possibly spell the end of season prematurely, but that's the kind of pressure Mumbai thrive in.

When:Sunday, May 6 at 4PM IST

Where:Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

What to expect:A bright and sunny afternoon is in store for the the day game. The humidity levels in the city are on the rise, but there are no chances of rain interrupting the game on Sunday.

Team News

Mumbai Indians:Kieron Pollard would most likely be warming the bench again, having done zilch to warrant a spot in the first XI. The hosts, however, might look to strengthen their bowling by including Mustafizur Rahman back, in place of Ben Cutting.

Probable XI:Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, JP Duminy, Ben Cutting/Mustafizur Rahman, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah.

Kolkata Knight Riders:Nitish Rana spent some time tonking the balls over the ropes, and even rolled his arm for a brief moment which could be an indication of his return. But Robin Uthappa said a final call is likely to take taken only before the game. Should Rana miss out due to the lower back spasm that kept him out of the CSK fixture, the visitors would likely stick to the same team that won in Pune. Mitchell Johnson though has been more expensive than incisive, which could result in another swap with Tom Curran.

Probable XI:Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Rinku Singh/Nitish Rana, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik (c&wk), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Shivam Mavi, Piyush Chawla, Mitchell Johnson/Tom Curran, Kuldeep Yadav.

Head to Head of teams

MI 16 - 5 KKR

No other side has beaten an opposition as often as MI has beaten KKR.

MI have won all of the last six games against KKR.

Team Record at Wankhede

MI 6 - 1 KKR

KKR's only win at this venue came in 2012. They have lost their last four matches at this venue against MI since.

Interesting face-offs

Rohit v KKR: 21 inngs; 710 runs; Avg 47.33; SR 137.33; 1 X 100s; 4 X 50s; HS 109* - second most by any player against KKR in IPL. However, the two bowlers who have troubled him the most are in KKR - Vinay Kumar (six dismissals) and Narine (five dismissals).

Chawla vs MI: 20 wkts; Avg 21.65; SR 17.15; ER 7.57 - the most wickets he has taken against an opponent

IPL 2018 trends

- MI have taken the most wickets this IPL - 64 - and have the second-best average this season (23.09) after SRH's 19.84.

- Among those who have bowled at least four overs in the death phase (16-20), Piyush Chawla has the best ER - 6.00. He has also taken four wickets in this phase.

- Jasprit Bumrah has taken most wickets in the death - nine - while McClenaghan has conceded at 13.80 in his five overs at this stage.

What they said

"Sunil is someone who has always enjoyed batting, someone who's always been a batsman who can bowl [rather] than a bowler. But what he bowled and what he does with his bowling skill is that his batting got overshadowed. So he could always bat and when we saw that, open the batting at the top of the order, we saw that he can utilise the powerplay so well with the way he bats. And having someone like me at No. 3 also makes it easier for the team and the management also to make that decision that if a wicket falls quickly, then you have another opening batsmen going in. That makes it easier for us to make that decision. But he's come off so well, and it had also done a world of good to his confidence personally. From the outside when I look at it, he's got another opportunity to contribute to the team which had made him more successful as a player," - Robin Uthappa

© Cricbuzz

TAGS

RELATED STORIES