Kolkata Knight Riders are set to take Mumbai Indians in Match 5 of the Vivo IPL on 13th April in Chennai. The two had very contrasting starts to their IPL campaigns as KKR won their last game against SRH whereas MI suffered a narrow defeat in their game against RCB.
Mumbai Indians have always been known as slow starters as they haven’t won an opening game since the 2012 IPL edition. Though the MI team is not good at the start they eventually get back to their top form in no time. They have been one of the best sides of IPL for many years now. Mumbai this time has a great mixture of youth and experience with Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya always being X-factor for the team.
The Mumbai franchise is looking for a hat-trick of titles this time having won the previous two editions of the IPL. They have a solid team accompanied by experienced support staff and coaching staff. They are still as many say the team to beat in this year’s IPL.
ALSO READ: Deepak Hooda Smashed A No-look Six Off Chris Morris
Kolkata Knight Riders also are looking a formidable side this time with a great blend of some eye-catching overseas players. The addition of Shakib Al Hasan to their team has boosted the composition of the team very much. The availability of some power-packed hitters in Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell makes them the side to watch out for in this edition of IPL.
Dinesh Karthik looked in solid touch as he finished off the KKR’s inning well in the last game with a cameo of 22 runs of just nine deliveries. KKR would be hoping for a change in Russell’s form so as to get the continuous positive momentum throughout the season.
Here are the 3 players to watch out for from the game:
#3. Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik has been a mainstay of the KKR batting lineup since his addition to the team. He has always been a finisher KKR have look up to and at times has been given more weightage for his ability as compared to Andre Russell. Karthik was instrumental in Kolkata’s big total in the side’s last game where he played a blinder, in the end, to help the team post a total of over 180.
ALSO READ: Ravichandran Ashwin Denies Doing ‘Vaathi Coming’ Step
DK has also been a continuously guiding force for the young bowlers behind the wicket with his crucial tips at regular intervals. Karthik has carried his good domestic season form in the IPL and the franchise could hope for a title triumph riding on DK’s shoulders.
#2 Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya is arguably among the best all-rounders in world cricket presently. He has been the real find of the MI franchise and he has not looked back since his debut for the team. Hardik has now become a premier all-rounder for the Indian team also. Though Pandya couldn’t do much in the opening game for Mumbai, he would be very eager to set a good tone for himself and the team in coming games.
#1 Andre Russell
Andre Russell is always the X- factor of the KKR team and the franchise has always banked on him to deliver match-winning performances. Russell’s form however has taken a slight since last season as he has not performed with both bat and ball during the crucial junctures. He had looked a pale shadow of himself many times last season which was also evident in the last game.
Kolkata though has built huge trust in Russell and the time will not be far when the power hitter delivers for KKR to his full potential.
