Old foes Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face off one more time at qualifier 2 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. MI have beaten the Knight Riders at both home and away matches at Indian Premier League (IPL) this year. Considering the importance of this match, KKR vs MI match is going to be a battle of behemoths.
IPL 2017 Qualifier 2 Live Score: Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders #IPL
Somehow, the game will be little tilted towards KKR’s favor especially after their thumping victory against the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 7 wickets at eliminator match on Wednesday through D/L method. The Friday’s pitch is also expected to remain similar to the one that hosted the eliminator match between SRH and KKR.
Also Read: IPL 2017: Complete fixtures, schedule and time in IST with venue details
Both KKR and MI have already won the IPL tournaments twice each in the history of the IPL. So, both teams will try to march ahead in tomorrow’s game with a win and face Smith-led Rising Pune Supergiant at a gala finale on Sunday.
Team News for Mumbai Indians (MI)
MI could bring back Harbhajan Singh back to the team. The veteran cricketer has humongous cricketing skills and ability to play under pressure at big matches. Bhajji is likely to replace Karn Sharma. Rest of the squad is likely to remain same that played Qualifier 1.
MI skipper Rohit Sharma is struggling with his form with just 283 runs so far at a strike rate of 124.66. He needs to lead from the front at Qualifier 2 to steer MI to the grand finale on Sunday against Pune. Mumbai batsmen are in good form, and they will try to beat KKR by a huge margin.
Left-handed Nitish Rana’s performance is likely to be a key in tomorrow’s game. He has already got 333 runs in 12 innings so far. Experienced Rayudu might be sniffing another chance, but it’s almost impossible since he got out for a duck against Pune in the important Qualifier 1.
Team News for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
KKR’s primary problem is its middle order. The injury of in-form right-handed Manish Pandey came at a crucial juncture when skipper Gautam Gambhir can’t do too many experiments with his team. KKR are likely to go ahead with the same team that played against SRH in a rain-curtailed match on Wednesday.
Once again, KKR’s batting will revolve around its explosive top order batsmen Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine – both have strike rate around 180 at this IPL. Ishan Jaggi is likely to play crucial role in the middle order in the absence of Pandey. Also, Gambhir’s own form will be a key as he has already got 486 runs in 15 innings until now.
KKR are also likely to open their bowling combination with Sunil Narine and Umesh Yadav to create some pressure on MI’s openers; Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel from the very start. Both batsmen have shown vulnerability to off-spin bowling that KKR are likely to exploit at tomorrow’s game.
Predicted Playing XI (Both Teams)
Mumbai Indians (MI): Lendl Simmons, Parthiv Patel (Wicket Keeper), Rohit Sharma (Captain), Krunal Pandya, Nitish Rana, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya,Mitchell McClenaghan, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Gautam Gambhir (Captain), Robin Uthappa (Wicket Keeper), Kuldeep Yadav, Ishank Jaggi, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Trent Boult and Umesh Yadav.
Match Result Prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will win.
Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. The match will telecast live on SONY ESPN at 8 PM.
Tags: #IPL, Bengaluru, Indian Premier League, IPL 10, IPL 2017, KKR, Kolkata Knight Riders, Live Score, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, MI, Mumbai Indians, Qualifier 2
