There has never been a dull moment in IPL 2017, and in fact, there is a sense of excitement as one approaches the Playoff stages. Mumbai Indians are the only team to have qualified for the Playoffs so far, and will finish in the top two if they manage to beat Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
For Kolkata, this is a huge game. They will also seal their Playoffs berth, but if they lose, they need other results to go their way in order to stay alive in IPL 2017. With so much at stake for both KKR and MI, one can expect some wonderful IPL action in Kolkata.
KKR and MI have been two quality units, playing some wonderful cricket, and have been regulars in the top two of the IPL 2017 standings. Both the teams come into this fixture with losses to Kings XI Punjab, and they will be eager to get back to their winning ways.
Kolkata Knight Riders have a balanced side, with a good mix of bowlers and batsmen. With Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine firing at the top, they are a team, which banks on Powerplay, but there is a serious need for the Indian batsmen like Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhhir and Manish Pandey to shine. They cannot just rely on their foreign imports.
However, their bowlers including Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav have to be tight with their bowling when they come against a strong batting line-up of Mumbai Indians. The visitors are in decent form, and came close to clinching victory against KXIP, while chasing 231 runs to win.
Mumbai Indians bat very deep, which makes them a powerful unit in the competition. Lendl Simmons will be their key player at the top of the order, and with Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard coming in the middle, they have a team that can destroy any bowling attack in the world.
And in Mitchell McClenaghan, Harbhajan Singh and Jasprit Bumrah, they have wicket-taking bowlers, who know what it takes to steer their team to victory.
Overall, the team, which plays consistent cricket for 40 overs, should emerge victorious on Saturday.
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians schedule
Date: Saturday, 13 May
Time: 8 pm IST
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
TV listings: India:Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony Max, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN.USA: Willow TV. UK: Sky Sports 2/HD. Middle East: OSN Sports Cricket HD. South Africa: SuperSport.
