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MI take on KKR, look to open an account of wins for IPL 2021

By Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians will face Kolkata Knight Riders in their second IPL 2021 encounter. While the Men in Blue and Gold have dominated the proceedings against KKR, it is the latter that comes into this match with a win tomorrow.

Both teams possess a batting line-up that goes deep and power hitters that go big. It would be an interesting battle between the teams when they take the field on Tuesday.

Ahead of the game, here are a few noteworthy pointers:

The return of Quinton

South African wicketkeeper-batsman, Quinton de Kock, who joined the Mumbai Indians camp late owing to national duties, will be available for the upcoming game. Chris Lynn, who opened the innings with Rohit in de Kock’s absence, top scored for the team in that game with a 35-ball-49. Selectors will have a tough time choosing between the two for the next game.

The find of Marco Jansen

Making his debut, the lanky pacer from South Africa showed a lot of promise in his very first game. Getting the crucial wicket of Glenn Maxwell and later claiming Shahbaz Ahmed, he showed potential.

After going for 14 runs in the last over, he made an excellent comeback, giving only 14 off his other 3 overs, and even shouldering the responsibility of bowling the last over.

Contrasting starts for the two teams

In MI’s first game and the season opener against RCB, the latter won by a small margin of two wickets in the last ball of the game. While KKR’s outing against SRH too was a closely fought one, they came out on the winning side that day.

The two teams will be looking to win - KKR to keep up momentum and MI to kickstart their league stage victory count.

Rohit’s excellent numbers against KKR

Numbers tell a story of captain Ro having particularly taken a liking for KKR. He has scored a humungous 823 runs for the Men in Blue and Gold against the next opponents, a whopping 457 runs ahead of second-placed Surya in the current team.

Rohit also scored his only IPL century against KKR. He will be looking to get back to scoring and winning ways with this game.

Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi find their mojo

Opener Nitish Rana scored a sublime 80 (56) and was joined by Rahul Tripathi coming in after Shubhman Gill’s early departure. Tripathi scored 53 (29) and the two were the main catalysts in KKR’s 10-run win over SRH. The two were involved in a 93-run partnership.

Head-to-head records

MI and KKR have played 27 matches against each other. The former has been dominatingly triumphant, having won 21 of those encounters. This head-to-head record is something no team has against any other team in the IPL.

Narine or Shakib?

Sunil Narine has the most wickets against MI for KKR. However, Shakib al Hasan played the first game against SRH instead of him and had an impressive outing. It would be interesting to see which of them feature in the playing XI for the all-important clash.

The match between KKR and MI is scheduled for 13th April, 2021 at 7.30 PM in Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium.