Having got off to a start so typical of themselves in the Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians will hope for a quick turnaround when they take on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai on Monday.
Starting an IPL season with a string of defeats isn't new for Mumbai Indians, who have lost two games so far -- to Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans.
The tournament's perennial slow-starters are known for getting their act together to win the trophy, but in order to get back on track they will need better execution from their bowlers and consistency from the batters, especially when they lack specialist finishers lower in the order.
Rohit Sharma is blowing hot and cold with the bat while the big-hitting Ryan Rickelton is yet to find his rhythm on Indian pitches in his first IPL tournament.
While the South African batter has provided glimpses of his talent, he hasn't been able to fire.
Rohit, on the other hand, has fallen for two single-digit scores which includes a duck.
Suryakumar Yadav looked to be getting back into form with a 48 against GT, but the knock wasn't the one in which the India’s T20I skipper flourished like he is known for.
Consistent chopping and changing to their squad has kept Mumbai Indians on a regular search for the right combination, but the present side lacks a specialist finisher who can use the long handle to good effect, like Tim David in the recent past.
Tilak Varma thus remains MI's best hope with the bat along with Suryakumar and the two T20I specialists' promising start to this IPL will be one of the positives that MI would want to build on.
Skipper Hardik Pandya will return to the Wankhede stadium reinvigorated after a string of success on the personal front, in front of the crowd which was completely riled up against him last year when he took over MI's charge from Rohit.
Jasprit Bumrah's absence will prevent Mumbai Indians from unleashing their desired new ball attack comprising left-armers Trent Boult and Reece Topley, as Deepak Chahar will have to share the responsibility of the pace attack with the veteran New Zealand bowler.
For Kolkata Knight Riders, it would be imperative to build on their big win over Rajasthan Royals after losing their season opener to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Led by Ajinkya Rahane, KKR have the requisite firepower in their ranks but Moeen Ali as an opener looked odd in the absence of Sunil Narine as Quinton de Kock's opening partner, with their batting line-up consisting of Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi.
In Rinku Singh and Andre Russell, KKR continue to have a solid attacking prowess at the death overs while their bowling is equally appealing.
Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora form a potent new ball attack with the Australian left-armer Spencer Johnson in the mix too, but KKR's real strength lies in their spin attack featuring Narine and Varun Chakravarthy who have the ability to stifle the opposition's batting even on good wickets.
Narine trained on Saturday signalling his recovery from illness and his potential comeback will keep KKR excited given the role he has played for the three-time winners in IPL.
KKR will also take a lot of heart from their 24-run win over Mumbai Indians last year — their first at Wankhede Stadium in 12 years — and the one that reminded that this venue hasn't been a fortress of late for the five-time winners.
Teams (from):
Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (captain), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz (wk), Ryan Rickelton (wk), Shrijith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Raj Angad Bawa, Vignesh Puthur, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, VS Penmetsa, Arjun Tendulkar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Spencer Johnson, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Chetan Sakariya.
Match starts: 19:30 IST.
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