After losing the first game against Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians are in no mood to lose another one and may jeopardize their chances of playing. In the previous game, Mumbai certainly missed out on Hardik Pandya as the Baroda all-rounder could have doubled as a fourth seamer and helped the defending champions eliminate CSK who were reeling in at 35/4. They eventually finished on 156/6, and in the end the chase was too much for Mumbai.
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Also, Rohit’s presence at the top is always reassuring. His absence ensured that Mumbai fielded Anmolpreet Singh, who did not click and was dismissed for 16. The presence of an inexperienced partner forced Quinton de Kock to do something different from the start. He paid the price and was dismissed for 17. Rohit’s presence will take away South Africa’s heat and his captaincy skills will add to Mumbai’s strength.
Probable XI
Mumbai Indians: Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan(C), Dinesh Karthik, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy, Prasidh Krishna.
KKR, on the other hand, registered an impressive nine-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opening game of the second leg of the league. So, they would like to go with the same side. Too much chop and change is a recipe for disaster and Captain Morgan knows it.
The Eoin Morgan-led side, ranked sixth in the points table, fired on all cylinders with mystery spinner Varun Chakraborty and star all-rounder Andre Russell, opener Shubman Gill and debutant Venkatesh Iyer hitting the ball before chasing down a target of 93. wreaked havoc. With 10 overs remaining.
Captain Morgan had said that KKR would be a dangerous opponent with nothing to lose in the second leg and the team was certainly looking dangerous against RCB. They will continue to play in a similar aggressive fashion and go on to win the same title as in the 2014 edition when they registered nine consecutive victories.
They will also maintain an edge over their rivals who have already experienced the conditions at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium against RCB.
(with PTI inputs)
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