Mumbai Indians' bowling unit will look to step up as they take on a buoyant Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2022 match at the MCA stadium in Pune on Wednesday.
Mumbai Indians have so far looked like anything but IPL's five-time champions, losing both their opening games – against Delhi Capitals by four wickets, followed by a 23-run defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals.
Skipper Rohit Sharma will seek improvements on multiple fronts as they aim for a turnaround in their fortunes against a confident KKR, who come into the game on a high after beating Punjab Kings by six wickets.
For Mumbai Indians, pacer Basil Thampi and spinner Murugan Ashwin have struggled with the ball, as they gave away combined 58 runs in four overs against Royals. Australia's left-arm seamer Daniel Sams has also failed to pick up a wicket in the first two games, while going for a lot of runs.
The trio will have to quickly recover from their forgettable outing against Royals and bowl in the right areas if they have to contain the KKR batters.
Jasprit Bumrah, showed why he is the best in the business with superb figures of 3/17 against Royals. He was particularly impressive in the death overs and Mumbai Indians would be hoping for another stellar show from the experienced pacer.
Captain Rohit himself will have to be at his brutal best and hammer his favourite opposition, against whom he has a formidable record.
Opener Ishan Kishan has lived up to the top billing in the first two games, smashing a brilliant 81 against Delhi Capitals followed by a gusty 54 against Royals.
If Mumbai Indians have to post score or chase a big total, which is likely at the MCA stadium in Gahunje, openers Rohit and Kishan would need to fire on all cylinders.
Mumbai Indians have badly missed the services of Suryakumar Yadav, who has been a dependable batter in the middle overs in the last few seasons.
Yadav has recovered from his finger injury but it remains to be seen whether he plays or not with Rohit remaining non-committal about his availability.
While the emergence of unheralded Tilak Varma, who smashed 61 off 33 balls to rally Mumbai Indians after a difficult start against Royals, was a big positive they still couldn't chase down a total of 193 against Royals.
The likes of Anmolpreet Singh, Tim David and West Indian Kieron Pollard will need to shoulder responsibility in the middle order.
While Singh scored in single digits, David too didn't look comfortable on Indian tracks and it needs to be seen if Mumbai Indians bring in South Africa's Under-19 star Dewald Brevis, known as 'Baby AB'.
For Kolkata, star all-rounder Andre Russell coming back to form has been a big confidence-booster as he blasted his way to a sensational match-winning knock of 70 from 31 balls against Punjab Kings, smashing eight sixes and two fours. His six-hitting prowess was on full display against Punjab Kings and he would be keen to continue from where he left against Mumbai Indians.
But their top-order, comprising Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer, faltered against Punjab and the duo would be keen to get back among the runs.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer has been getting starts but unable to carry on, while senior pro Nitish Rana too has been far from his best and needs to go all guns blazing.
KKR pacer Umesh Yadav has been the best bowler in IPL 2022, with eight wickets in three games at an impressive economy rate of 4.9. He will be a big threat for the experienced Mumbai Indians line-up, but he would need support from Tim Southee and Shivam Mavi, while the eight overs from spin duo Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine could be crucial in the middle overs
Mumbai have an impressive record against KKR, winning 22 matches, while losing only seven, but this time around they face an uphill task against a confident KKR, who are sitting second in the points table with two wins from four games.
Teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Aaron Finch, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Baba Indrajith, Nitish Rana, Pratham Singh, Rinku Singh, Ashok Sharma, Pat Cummins, Rasikh Dar, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Aman Khan, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohammed Nabi, Ramesh Kumar, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Ramandeep Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Arjun Tendulkar, Basil Thampi, Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Tymal Mills, Arshad Khan, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Fabian Allen, Kieron Pollard, Sanjay Yadav, Aryan Juyal and Ishan Kishan.
Match starts at 7.30pm IST.
