IPL 2019, Match 56, Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders - MI Predicted Playing XI

Both these sides had contrasting starts to the season – Mumbai Indians lost two in their first three whilst Kolkata Knight Riders won four of their first five games. Here they are playing the group stage finale, with Kolkata struggling for a place in the final four whilst the Mumbai Indians are eyeing to enter the top two.

Rohit Sharma and his men were able to turn the table courtesy their bowlers and their exceptional middle order, who thus far have been tremendous. Hardik Pandya deserves a special mention in this regard, who just cannot stop striking big sixes. Kieron Pollard too has done his bit in some of the games and the big man always comes up big in the final stages.

This will be one humdinger of a contest considering how much both teams have at stake. The Knight Riders will be launching their best onslaught as they cannot just win, but also have to keep an eye on SRH’s net run rate given the Orange Army wins their final game. Whatever happens, the group stage is going to finish on a cracking note.

Openers – (Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (wk))

Skipper Rohit Sharma struggled for runs before he got a half-century against the Chennai Super Kings at the Chepauk. He got going with some boundaries and finally looked at his best. He started on a positive note against SRH as well, only to squander it with a tame shot. The captain has a lot of pressure on him right now to lead from the front with the bat.

Quinton de Kock remained unbeaten in his last innings against the Sunrisers, but he was a country mile away from his fluent best. He struggled a lot in the middle overs and some boundaries which he got towards the end helped him finish with a decent strike rate. Nevertheless, he has had a terrific season with over 400 runs to his name.

Middle order – (Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard)

Evin Lewis is not getting to bat at his favourite position, which isn’t helping his form. The Caribbean cricketer loves opening the innings and is not relishing the number four position currently. Suryakumar Yadav is currently taking the number three spot and the Mumbai cricketer thus far hasn’t been up to the mark.

Kieron Pollard will be playing a crucial role in the middle order and it will be interesting to see if he gets to bat at number five, a position he loves. The Windies giant loves taking some time before launching an assault and at the number six position, he isn’t getting that time to build a big one.

All-rounders – (Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya)

Two brothers who dreamt of playing for the Indian side together are currently the crux of one of the greatest T20 teams of all time. Krunal Pandya’s role in the team keeps fluctuating, but the 28-year-old is more often than not up to the task. His contribution with the ball has been phenomenal as well and is coming into this game on the back of a 2/22 performance.

One way or the other, the other Pandya ensures he has a significant impact on the match. Hardik Pandya right now is in the form of his life with the bat and has been decent with the cherry as well. He is, without doubt, Mumbai’s most important player and will be interesting to see if he can replicate his heroics against KKR.

Bowlers – (Rahul Chahar, Barinder Sran, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga)

Barinder Sran has had a poor season and most of the times, he is not getting to finish his quota of overs. Thanks to the extra options Rohit has, he is able to cope even if Sran doesn’t bowl all his overs. Rahul Chahar will consider this as his breakthrough season, having kept most batsmen quite with his leg-breaks.

Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga are like the past and present combination of death bowling. While one is at the peak of his powers, the other is struggling to pull something out of his hat on regular intervals. No matter what is said, this bowling duo is perhaps one of the best in the business when it comes to bowling in the slog overs.

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