IPL 2018: 41st Match: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians – Match Preview
Kolkata Knight Riders will face the reigning champions Mumbai Indians in the 41st match of IPL 2018. Both these teams had met recently in which Mumbai Indians was able to win by 13 runs. Thus, the defending champions were able to stay afloat in the tournament. KKR IPL 2017 Schedule
Kolkata has won five matches out of the ten they have played. Thus, Dinesh Karthik led team has had a see-saw season so far. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have kept themselves breathing in the tournament after winning their last two matches. Rohit Sharma led team has won four games out of the ten they have played.
Mumbai Indians find themselves at sea after their bad start to the season. Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders will like to keep themselves away from such situations.
Robin Uthappa is once again timing the ball to perfection, but the talismanic batsman has failed to convert his starts into daddy scores. Though, he scored a fifty in the last match still he could not take his team over the line.
Quick Read: IPL 2018: Can Mumbai Indians continue their winning ways at Eden Gardens?
For the Mumbai Indians, Suryakumar Yadav has done an excellent job. The Mumbai opener has scored 399 runs in the ten matches and has looked at the top of his game. However, the defending champions have had their issues with the middle order.
Mumbai Indians needs to win everything from here on as it is a do or die situation for them while Kolkata Knight Riders can afford to have a poor match. However, after losing their last game against Mumbai, Kolkata will like to get back to winning track.
Also Read: Dinesh Karthik credits management for picking a lot of U19 players
Kolkata will like to take home advantage whereas Mumbai will like to build on the momentum they have achieved in the last couple of matches. It is going to be bumpy playoffs ride for the Rohit Sharma led-team, but they can take confidence from their previous performance. Men in Blue have bailed themselves out of the tricky situation in the past. This will definitely give Mumbai a shot in the arm.
Weather Forecast
It is expected to rain in the afternoon time, but the rain gods will make way for the match later in the day. The forecast for the evening time is clear. The temperature is going to hover around 35 Degree Celsius with humidity of 64%.
Pitch Report
Eden Gardens pitch is providing good assistance to the fast bowlers. However, the ball is expected to come nicely on the bat which will make an even contest between bat and ball.
Head to Head
Mumbai Indians clearly have their wood on Kolkata Knight Riders as tourists have won 17 matches and lost only five against Kolkata. Mumbai continues its domination at Kolkata’s home den having won six games out of the eight they have played at Eden Gardens.
Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted XI: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c, wk), Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Tom Curran, Prasidh Krishna, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav.
Mumbai Indians Predicted XI: Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, JP Duminy, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah.
Quick Read: IPL 2018: Rohit Sharma is Like an Elder Brother to Siddhesh Lad, says Father