Day 5 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 will feature another clash of titans as Mumbai Indians will welcome two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders to start their campaign.
The mighty Knight Riders are known for their aggressive mindset in batting, bowling and now even in their coaching. They have appointed one of their own, former NZ captain Brendan McCullum as their head coach. He along with mentor and T20 veteran David Hussey is expected to bring some changes to the side.
However, they will have the hungry lions Mumbai Indians against them. MI would be looking for redemption after their defeat against CSK.
Mumbai Indians
A disappointed Mumbai Indians are coming off a defeat against CSK in their first game. MI started well with Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma giving brisk starts. Saurabh Tiwary played a fast-paced 42 as well. However, they became too aggressive and threw away wickets at inappropriate intervals. They didn’t possess a binding innings as that of a Faf du Plessis.
Jasprit Burmrah had a bad day with the ball. However, MI would be more frustrated with silly tactical mistakes like extras and misfields. They’re always known for starting slow, so obviously they’ll iron out the mistakes as the tournament progresses.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The team has a perfect combination of extremely attacking options and players who can play the anchor role as well. KKR are looking forward to promoting hard-hitting Andre Russell at number 3. The middle-order will be under the safe hands of captain Dinesh Karthik and English captain Eoin Morgan. IPL tested Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, and Rinku Singh will add the finishing touches.
KKR has invested in many young pace bowling options like Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. They have to select either Pat Cummins or Lockie Ferguson to lead the attack. The other bowlers, however, will have to facilitate accordingly. Spin bowling has never been an issue for KKR. Sunil Narine will lead the attack and with changed bowling action, he is expected to be even more dangerous. He will be assisted by the experienced Kuldeep Yadav.
Fantasy XI team
ROHIT SHARMA (10.5) – Hitman looked in good touch.
QUINTON DE KOCK (9.5) – Just like Sharma, De Kock looked in good form.
ANDRE RUSSELL (10.5) (VC) – If promoted at 3, he’ll be even more dangerous. Also, he’s a very handy bowler. Thus the vice-captain.
EOIN MORGAN (9) – Morgan is coming off of really good form from his international series against Australia.
SHUBMAN GILL (8.5) – The explosive opener will make a place in our team.
SAURABH TIWARY (8) – Tiwari looked in great touch and justified his place in the side before Ishan Kishan.
SUNIL NARINE (10) (C) – Narine’s bowling will be lethal in UAE, also if he opens and scores few runs which he usually does, it’ll be a double bingo.
KULDEEP YADAV (8.5) – He’s a good T20 spinner and can pick up crucial wickets.
KRUNAL PANDYA (8.5) – Pandya can bat and pick up crucial wickets as well.
JASPRIT BUMRAH (9) – We can give Bumrah another chance keeping in mind his bowling prowess.
RAHUL CHAHAR (8) – Even though he went for runs in his last match, he does have the ability to take wickets.
PREDICTION
Mumbai Indians are expected to make some tactical changes from their first match. The Kolkata Knight Riders are a well-balanced side as well. But MI can just have the advantage of playing their second game, where they can rectify the mistakes and can probably edge out KKR. Although, if Russell or Narine gets going, they can turn the match at any moment.
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