MI vs KKR

Two cities based at horizontal extremes of India share a rivalry which rather started off-the field in a way. Do you remember Shah Rukh Khan getting involved in a nasty verbal fight with MCA officials at Wankhede during an IPL game in 2012? Yes, exactly the time when this fierce MI vs KKR rivalry ignited. Over the years, this rivalry has only grown because of the quality of cricketers that both teams possess.

MI vs KKR Head to Head

Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders have locked horns a total of 25 times in the IPL with former dominating the proceedings significantly. Mumbai Indians have come out victorious on 19 occasions while KKR winning in 6 matches. In recent times, Mumbai won 4 out of last 5 encounters between both the sides. Kolkata have found it very hard to compete at Wankhede and have lost 9 of the 10 matches played there. Mumbai Indians will be looking to continue their domination while KKR will try and snatch some advantage back from their rivals.

Last meetings

In IPL 2019, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders were involved in a couple of entertaining encounters. First of them was a proper ‘run-fest’ if ever there was one at Eden Gardens. Mumbai Indians won the toss and asked the home team to have a bat first. Shubman Gill and Chris Lynn started off as if they had no respect for Mumbai Indians’ big-ticket bowling lineup. Both belted 96 runs from first 9 overs before Andre Russell took the matters in his own hands. He went berserk even by the Russell standards and blasted 80 from just 40 deliveries. KKR vs MI score read 232 on the board and put Mumbai under tremendous pressure in the chase. Mumbai Indians didn’t have best of the times and lost wickets on regular intervals until Hardik Pandya came into bat. Hardik went even one step further to Russell and slammed 91 runs from just 34 balls. But due to lack of supporting acts, tourists were always going to play catch-up. Kolkata Knight Riders won the match by 34 runs.

A week later, both sides went head to head at Wankhede stadium. Mumbai Indians again won the toss and elected to bowl first in what was supposed to be a ‘do or die’ game for Kolkata Knight Riders. Chris Lynn gave KKR a good start with his quick-fire 41 but Robin Uthappa had a very difficult outing as he struggled all the way through. He wasted 47 crucial balls and even after Nitish Rana’s cameo in the end, MI v KKR scoreboard read 133. Lasith Malinga took 3 scalps while others also chipped in. In reply, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav made light work of the chase and took Mumbai Indians home comfortably by 9 wickets. KKR were thrown out of the play-offs race after this loss against Mumbai.

Who are KKR top batsmen?

Kolkata Knight Riders’ batting lineup has not been as stable as their opponents over the years of IPL. From Saurav Ganguly era to the surprises of Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine to the hard-hitting master-class of Andre Russell, fans have witnessed almost everything from KKR. If we talk about numbers against Mumbai Indians, Robin Uthappa is at the top of the tree with 274 runs from 12 innings. Chris Lynn takes the following position with 205 runs from 8 innings. Andre Russell has scored 151 runs while young Shubman Gill has 92 runs from 3 innings.

Andre Russell has been destructive at home while Robin Uthappa leads the tables at away and neutral games. One fact is very clear from the tables, KKR will need new stars to emerge especially after the release of Robin Uthappa and Chris Lynn from the squad. Dinesh Karthik will have to set the records straight if KKR have any chances to do well against MI.

Who are KKR top bowlers?

Kolkata Knight Riders have struggled historically against Mumbai Indians and one of the main reasons for that is their bowling attack. KKR bowlers have underperformed massively against MI and it can be seen from the table of top-wicket takers. Sunil Narine is an exception with 21 wickets from 16 innings but there is a broad daylight after him. Piyush Chawla is at the second position with 9 scalps from 9 innings. Andre Russell and Kuldeep Yadav have taken 5 and 3 wickets respectively. Sunil Narine clearly stands out with an average of 20.67 and an economy of 6.87 from the list.

Sunil Narine leads every table for Kolkata Knight Riders against Mumbai Indians but team management would be hoping that others also take responsibility this time around. Clearly, KKR’s new million dollar baby Pat Cummins will have something to say against Rohit Sharma and Co.