Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have made a brilliant start to their IPL 2016 campaign. They will want to continue with the winning momentum Wednesday when they host defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians were thumped by Rising Pune Supergiants in their first game. They definitely have a lot to worry about after that nine-wicket drubbing.
Rohit's strategy of sending Hardik Pandya ahead of Jos Buttler on a wicket that was helping seamers was not a great idea. He cannot afford to repeat such a mistake against KKR.
Rohit loves Eden Gardens and had once said it would have been great if he could carry this ground everywhere along with him. Mumbai Indians fans will want the captain to lead from the front and score some runs at the top of the order so MI can quickly forget their batting collapse against MS Dhoni's Supergiants during the opening match of IPL 2016.
Meanwhile, KKR got further boost to their confidence as their strike bowler Sunil Narine joined the squad. But Brad Hogg was absolutely brilliant against the Delhi Daredevils: The 45-year-old was economical and also added three scalps to his name. Will Gambhir replace the veteran straightaway with Narine or will he make Colin Munro sit out and play an extra spinner on a wicket that has always assisted spinners? We will have to wait and see.
KKR have a very settled line-up. They also sport one of the best bowling line-ups in the IPL as well. Their opening pair of Gambhir and Uthappa can create a lot of problems for bowlers. Both looked in good touch during KKR's first game of the IPL 2016 against the Daredevils.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma and coach Ricky Ponting might just make some changes in the Mumbai Indians' line-up to make things look better against the men in purple and gold.
However, it was just the first game of the tournament, so Mumbai Indians should not be judged on their solitary poor show. Rohit may stick with the same team and come out all guns blazing against the Knight Riders.
This is going to be a thrilling encounter for sure, unlike the first three matches of the tournament, which were one-sided.
IPL 2016 Match 5 schedule: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Mumbai Indians (MI)
Date: Wednesday, April 13.
Time: 8 p.m. IST (3:30 p.m. BST, 10:30 a.m. ET).
Venue: Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
TV listings: India: Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony ESPN, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN HD (Live coverage with Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali commentary). The U.K.: Sky Sports 3. The U.S.: ESPN3. Canada: Sportsnet. New Zealand: Sky Sport. Middle East and North Africa: OSN Sports Cricket. South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: SuperSport.