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KKR need to break MI hoodoo | IPL 2021 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians: SWOT Analysis

Last Updated 13 April 2021, 03:24 IST

Reigning champions the Mumbai Indians will aim for their first win of the season when they face the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021's match 5 at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. Here's our analysis:

The SWOT for KKR:

Strengths: KKR’s fast bowling resources look good. Prasidh Krishna and Pat Cummins combined to get three wickets against Hyderabad. Andre Russell filled the third pacer role perfectly and used his medium pace to good effect. KKR still have Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi waiting in the wings.

Weaknesses: The form of Shubman Gill is a concern. Gill's last six IPL scores read 15, 36, 26, 57, 9 and 1. He crossed fifty just once and averages just 24 across these innings. He has fallen to spinners and pace bowlers an equal number of times and seems to find it difficult to be aggressive in the powerplay.

Opportunities: Nitish Rana may have finally sealed his place as a KKR opener with a match-winning knock of 80 from 56 balls against Hyderabad. Rana provided what was missing from KKR’s campaign last season - aggressive intent while batting. Rana’s bravado up top meant that the middle-order was relieved of pressure. This could be the season that Rana finally delivers on his potential.

Threats: The KKR-MI rivalry is one of the most lopsided ones in the league. The Kolkata team has managed to beat Mumbai only six times in IPL history. Such has been MI's dominance that KKR got only two wins in the last six years. KKR need to find a way to crack the MI puzzle and Bangalore showed that it can be done.

The SWOT for MI:

Strengths: They have again put together a formidable pace trio. The experienced duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult now have a young companion in Marco Jansen. The 20-year-old bowls fast and was impressive while picking up the wickets of Glenn Maxwell and Shahbaz Ahmed. It is still early days for Jansen but he will get better as he gets used to bowling on Indian decks. The trio of Bumrah-Boult-Jansen could soon wreak havoc in opposition batting line-ups.

Weaknesses: Rohit Sharma’s IPL form doesn’t inspire much confidence. He has not averaged more than 30 in the last four seasons and has hit only 10 fifties in that span. Against RCB, Rohit played a slow knock of 19 before being dismissed in the fourth over. With Rohit’s slump, MI will have to count on Quinton de Kock's return to make the difference at the top. Chris Lynn, in his first opportunity, also showed that he could steer the innings and accelerate when needed.

Opportunities: Marco Jansen impressed on his MI debut. If this continues, he could be the find of IPL 2021.

Threats: The slow and spin-friendly Chepauk deck could again lead to MI’s undoing. The likes of Surya Kumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard prefer pace on the ball and can get tied down on slow decks. MI are also a bit lean in the spin department in their first XI. Rahul Chahar can be inconsistent and Krunal Pandya is not a genuine wicket-taking spinner. Including backup Piyush Chawla could upset the balance of a settled XI.

Team news

For MI, Quinton de Kock is expected to return in this fixture. KKR have no injury worries as of this writing.

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 27

MI wins: 21

KKR wins: 6

Recent form (last five matches):

MI: L-W-W-L-W

KKR: W-W-L-L-W

Deccan Herald's dream XI:

Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Nitish Rana, Rohit Sharma, Surya Kumar Yadav, Eoin Morgan (captain), Kieron Pollard, Shakib Al Hasan, Krunal Pandya, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy

Impact player for KKR

Prasidh Krishna: Sending David Warner back to the dugout in the second over of an innings is no mean feat but this pacer was able to do just that against Hyderabad. The lanky fast bowler can bowl at a good pace and from a height. After a pretty good series against England, his confidence is up. This could be his breakthrough IPL season.

Impact player for MI

Jasprit Bumrah: He started his season well with two wickets and is expected to deliver again against KKR. Last season, Bumrah got three wickets in MI’s two matches against Kolkata. He twice made big-hitting Andre Russell his victim in those matches. He will again be used to nullify the West Indian.

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(Published 13 April 2021, 02:43 IST)

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