Mumbai Indians will look to seal their playoffs berth when they meet the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 47th match of Vivo IPL 12 later today at 8 pm. It will be an opportunity for the Kolkata Knight Riders to keep their slim chances alive in the tournament. Mumbai Indians have played some excellent cricket in the tournament and has been on the rise in the last few matches.
The three-time IPL champions have raised their game to a different level and were quite brilliant against the Chennai Super Kings a few days ago. The Kolkata Knight Riders have lost 6 matches on a trot and are on the verge of getting eliminated from the tournament. They need to win the match badly to harbour any hopes of going through to the playoffs.
Mumbai Indians have played some sensational cricket and have been bolstered by the return of form by Rohit Sharma. Quinton de Kock has also played some good cricket and in the middle order, the likes of Suryakumar Yadav has also done a great job. It will be an interesting job in MI’s hands as they look to conquer the playoffs spot.
The likes of Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya has yet again been a great contributor for MI as they have bagged crucial wickets and has also scored some important runs. Hardik Pandya has struck the ball better than ever. Meanwhile, the bowling department has been led superbly by Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga.
The spin bowling department has also done a great job. Rahul Chahar has been a brilliant addition for MI this year and he has done a tremendous job in the opportunities he has been presented with. Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, don’t know how to come back into the tournament. After winning 4 out of their first 5 matches, they have lost 6 matches on a trot but are all but dashed of a playoffs berth.
The form of the pace bowling unit led by Prasidh Krishna has been quite disappointing. He has leaked runs at crucial junctures of the match while Kuldeep Yadav has been a disappointment in the tournament which has led to his ouster from the team. Mumbai Indians have a sensational win record against KKR and have won 18 of the 23 matches they have played.
Weather Conditions:
The temperature in Kolkata is expected to be on the higher side and it should be a difficult day at the office for the players. The humidity might go up soaring high which might make things difficult for the players. There is no rain expected for the clash and we can expect a 40 overs clash.
Pitch Conditions:
The surface at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata is expected to be a belter of a batting wicket. Teams batting first have scored more than 170 on most occasions. The spinners usually get assistance in the Ede track. All in all it should be a high scoring match. The Eden crowd will look to witness some power hitting from the big man from Jamaica Andre Russell.
Match Prediction
There is certainly no doubt about the fact that Mumbai Indians is the firm favourites in the match after a disastrous campaign from the Knight Riders. They need to win all their 3 matches and two of them are against Mumbai against whom they have a pretty poor record. I have a feeling that Mumbai Indians will win tomorrow and become the 2nd team after CSK to go through to the playoffs.