NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders, bidding to clinch a coveted IPL playoff berth for the first time in three years, are set to face off against the struggling Mumbai Indians in their final home match of the season on Saturday, riding on the wave of their red-hot form.
The return of their two-time title-winning skipper
Gautam Gambhir
in the role of team mentor has injected new life into the squad, which has displayed resilience and determination in clinching victories from challenging situations throughout the season.
Currently occupying the top spot in the 10-team standings with eight wins from 11 matches, KKR stand poised to secure a playoff berth with another win. The Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise aims to conclude its campaign at the iconic Eden Gardens on a high note.
Gambhir's strategic decision to utilize
Sunil Narine
as an opener alongside World No.2 T20I batter Phil Salt has proven to be a game-changer for KKR. The explosive duo has consistently provided the team with strong starts, laying the foundation for six 200-plus totals from eight matches batting first.
Narine's remarkable form, highlighted by his 32 sixes and leading run-scoring performances including a century and three fifties, has been instrumental in KKR's success. His partnership with Salt, who has amassed 429 runs at an impressive strike-rate of 183.33, has been a cornerstone of KKR's batting prowess.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians, the five-time champions led by
Hardik Pandya
, find themselves in a challenging position after being the first team to be knocked out of playoff contention. However, fresh from a morale-boosting victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians will aim to salvage some pride in their remaining matches.
Suryakumar Yadav's scintillating form, evidenced by his recent knocks of 56 and 102 not out, bodes well for Team India ahead of the upcoming
T20 World Cup
. Yet, the team's fans eagerly await the return to form of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, both of whom have faced recent struggles with the bat.
As Team India gears up for the T20 World Cup, Pandya's resurgence could be pivotal to the team's fortunes. With the tournament looming, both Mumbai Indians and their fans hope for a turnaround in fortunes for their struggling stars to bolster India's prospects on the global stage.
Teams (from):
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Allah Ghazanfar and Phil Salt.
Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Jasprit Bumrah, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Tim David, Shreyas Gopal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Anshul Kamboj, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Mohammad Nabi, Shams Mulani, Naman Dhir, Shivalik Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Arjun Tendulkar, Nuwan Thushara, Tilak Varma, Harvik Desai (wk), Nehal Wadhera and Luke Wood.
Match starts at 7.30 pm IST.
(With inputs from PTI)
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