Desperately seeking win, Mumbai Indians take on KKR in last match to be played at Wankhede this season
With Shahrukh Khan being the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, it's always a blockbuster clash whenever his team plays in Mumbai. With there being no further matches to be played in the city due to the ongoing water crisis in the country, the best has surely been saved for the last as the Kolkata side take on defending champions Mumbai Indians on their home turf, Wankhede, on Thursday.
What raises the stakes is that the Kolkata side will be itching for revenge having lost their only game so far this season to the Mumbai outfit. The last time the two sides met, it was Mumbai skipper who took the game out of KKR's reach by smashing an unbeaten 54-ball 84 at the Eden Gardens.
Mumbai might come into this game on the back of a win against the Kings XI Punjab, but in KKR, they face a side sitting at the top of the table having won each of their last four games.
While momentum being heavily with the away team, Mumbai's main worry so far in the tournament has been their victories coming in between losses. Hoping for a fresh start, Mumbai will look to make home advantage count and go up in the table with a win on Thursday using the most in-form team as a springboard.
Both sides have their fair share of superstars as far as batting and bowling departments are concerned. In batting, MI have relied mostly on Sharma and Ambati Rayudu, with the occasional blasts from Kieron Pollard and Jos Buttler.
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Sharma after that match-winning innings at Eden hasn't been consistent with the bat and will aim to get back to runs and end things on a high in front of his home fans.
On the other hand, Kolkata skipper Gautam Gambhir has led from the front in style. The left hander has been the go-to batsman for his side aggregating 237 runs from five games. Suryakumar Yadav was promoted to no. 3 in their last game against the Rising Pune Supergiants and repaid the faith with a match winning knock of 60. With Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan and Andre Russell completing the lower middle order, the two-time champions do boast of a competitive batting unit.
It is Mumbai's bowling that has impressed the most. One would expect them to have problems due to the absence of pacer Lasith Malinga but New Zealand's Mitchell McClenaghan (11 wickets), who is the current purple cap holder and Jasprit Bumrah (8) have been among the pick of the bowlers.
While it's been a two-man show with Mumbai, Kolkata's bowling has been more of a team effort with their bowlers picking up wickets at regular intervals. They have Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav to bank on in the pace department and the return of Sunil Narine has given them a much needed improvement to their bowling department.
The Wankhede pitch is likely to be a balanced one, supporting both batsmen and bowlers which shall enhance the high-octane clash.
The Mumbai Indians are in desperate need of winning momentum and what better occasion to do it in their last game of the tournament at the Wankhede. Mumbai do have the edge with 17 wins compared to KKR's five but they couldn't have asked for a tougher opposition who are flying high at the top of the table and will be looking for a payback.
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