Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to bring their campaign back on track after three defeats in a row when they face the inconstant Rajasthan Royals side in their IPL match in Mumbai on Saturday.
KKR, led by England’s World Cup winning skipper Eoin Morgan, have so far failed to act as a unit and slipped to sixth in the table after starting this IPL season on a high against Sunrisers Hyderabad. As for Rajasthan Royals, they have been the most inconsistent team so far in the season, and KKR won’t find a better opponent to turn things around for themselves.
Morgan can take some solace from Pat Cummins’ batting in the last match against Chennai Super Kings, but for any meaningful change in fortunes their star batsmen have to fire now. Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik and even Morgan will have to show their class. To Kolkata’s relief, Russell too seems to be back in some form as he hit 54 runs off 22 balls in the last match. Morgan and Gill will have to get back among runs.
Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, are coming into the match after a humiliating 10-wicket loss against RCB. Sanju Samson’s men have failed to inspire after posting their only win of the tournament, against Delhi Capitals in their second match.
Samson has been a disappointment after a blazing 119 against Punjab Kings in the very first match. Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra and David Miller to have to perfume consistently with the bat.
Bowling is also a big concern as Chris Morris and Mustafizur Rahman have failed to check runs. The side is already on the back foot after the injury of star players like Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, while Liam Livingstone had left citing bio-bubble fatigue. TEAM ANALYSIS
MUMBAI INDIANS
• Rajasthan Royals (1 win, 3 losses)
STRENGTHS
• All foreign players have potential
• Chetan Sakaria is the find of this league
• Shivam Dube and Rahul Tewatia did well in the last match
WEAKNESSES
• Regular batting collapse
• Despite a century, Sanju is not consistent
• Kolkata Knight Riders (1 win, 3 losses)
STRENGTHS
• Depth in the batting department
• Leg spinner Varun Chakravarthy is quite consistent
WEAKNESSES
• Top 5 batsmen were out cheaply in the last match
• Bowlers not doing up to their potential
• Captain Eoin Morgan’s flop-show