Vision d’ensemble – The Kolkata Knight Riders seek quick solutions
After playing at home against Sunrisers Hyderabad for forty-eight hours, the Kolkata Knight Riders play an afternoon match on the road. In contrast, their opponents, the Mumbai Indians, will begin the home match after a five-day hiatus. Knight Riders, along with Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings, are one of three IPL teams that will play back-to-back matches within 48 hours, i.e. a night game followed by a midday game two days later.
Knight Riders, who arrived in Mumbai late Saturday afternoon, are unlikely to publicly express their displeasure with the schedule, but the lack of downtime could be a crucial factor as they attempt to penetrate Mumbai’s fortress. Incredibly, Knight Riders have only defeated Mumbai at Wankhede once, in 2012 (they have only won there four times altogether). However, Nitish Rana’s squad would also point out that the Knight Riders have won the last three meetings.
Will Harmanpreet Kaur leave with Rohit?
On Sunday afternoon, two Mumbai Indians captains will be present at the toss. Harmanpreet Kaur is expected to accompany Rohit Sharma to the facility as part of the franchise’s initiative to support young women.
The initiative, named Education and Sports for All and run by the franchise in collaboration with the Reliance Foundation, will also fill the Wankhede Stadium with over 19,000 young boys. In a press release issued by Mumbai, the franchise stated that these females represent 36 non-governmental organizations. Otherwise, no permits have been made available to the public.
Both teams must resolve significant open questions. It is the pounding their fast bowlers have been taking for Knight Riders. Overall, their seamers have posted the worst average, strike rate, and economy figures this season. Despite having experienced players such as Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, and Lockie Ferguson, they have taken the fewest number of wickets (7).
Andre Russell’s fitness concerns have compounded their suffering. On Friday, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Russell bowled for the first time this season before departing the field after delivering 2.1 overs. Shardul Thakur, the India all-rounder who bowled just five deliveries against Sunrisers to end Russell’s third over, has predominantly batted in the middle order.
In their first three encounters, Mumbai’s quick bowlers have collected only eight wickets. Due to a forearm injury, their primary strike bowler, Jofra Archer, has missed the last two matches. Archer, who had a brief bowling session on Saturday afternoon before team practice began, is also in questionable physical condition.
IPL 2023 form guidance
WLL for Mumbai Indians (most recent match first)
Kolkata Knight Riders: LWWL
David Wiese could replace Andre Russell, per team rumors.
In the event of Archer’s absence, Riley Meredith will continue.
Knight Riders will cross their palms for Russell’s health, as he reportedly experienced cramps. David Wiese could be a plausible replacement if he is benched.
Toss and Impact playing technique
At the Wankhede Stadium, it has been advantageous to bat second. Knight Riders should continue to utilize Suyash Sharma (along with Venkatesh Iyer) as their Impact Player, while Mumbai will seek to swap Tim David and Jason Behrendorff after beginning with three overseas players.
Mumbai Indians
Possible bowl-first XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Arshad Khan, Piyush Chawla, Riley Meredith, and Jason Behrendoff
Possible batting-first eleven: Rohit Sharma (captain), 2 Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Cameron Green, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Tim David, 7 Nehal Wadhera, 8 Hrithik Shokeen, 9 Arshad Khan, 10 Piyush Chawla, 11 Riley Meredith
Kolkata Knight Riders
Possible bowl-first XI: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk) 2 N Jagadeesan, 3 Nitish Rana (capt), 4 Andre Russell/David Wiese, Fifth Rinku Singh, sixth Shardul Thakur, seventh Sunil Narine, eighth Lockie Ferguson, ninth Umesh Yadav, tenth Varun Chakravarthy, and eleventh Suyash Sharma.
Possible batting-first XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaaz (wicketkeeper). 2 N. Jagadeesan, 3 V. Iyer, 4 N. Rana (captain), 5 André Russell/David Wiese Six is Rinku Singh, seven is Shardul Thakur, eight is Sunil Narine, nine is Lockie Ferguson, ten is Umesh Yadav, and eleven is Varun Chakravarthy.
The pitch and weather
With temperatures hovering in the low 30s Celsius in the afternoon, a dry pitch is anticipated.
Relevant figures
This season, Sunil Narine has bowled one over in powerplay in every match. In the Indian Premier League, he has dismissed Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma seven times, the most of any bowler.
Rohit needs 44 runs to become the fourth Indian batsman to score 6000 runs in the IPL. Additionally, he must smash five more sixes to become the first Indian batter and the third player overall to record 250 sixes in the tournament.
Quotes
“We receive tremendous support here, and we intend to make this our stronghold. We want to achieve consistent success here and become confident in the manner of cricket we will play and our ability to compete with every team.
Tim David hopes that Mumbai can transform the Wankhede into a fortification.
India
