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Confident MI aim to negate home advantage of defending champions KKR
What
The opening contest of Pepsi IPL 2015 – featuring defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and IPL 2013 champions Mumbai Indians.
KKR embark on the Pepsi IPL 2015 journey eyeing a third Indian Premier League title – following their success in 2012 and last season. The franchise has retained the bulk of the squad that won them the title last season and made additions to the squad during the Pepsi IPL 2015 Player Auction – more to give the captain and coach the flexibility of depth and variety.
Mumbai Indians, who clinched the title in 2013 and qualified for the Playoffs in the 2014 season, will be aiming to go the distance and lay their hands on silverware yet again. After a turbulent start – losing their first five matches, MI picked themselves up, rallied brilliantly and edged the Rajasthan Royals out in the race to the Playoffs, before losing to the Chennai Super Kings in the Eliminator. Though the team has retained the core of the players who sported the MI jersey last season heading into the 2015 season, there has been a change at the helm; the New Zealander John Wright, who was the head coach last season, has handed the baton to Ricky Ponting and it is expected that the Australian’s experience of doing well in high-stakes matches will hold MI in good stead in the pressure-cooker situations which is a regular feature of the league.
When
08 April 2015, 8p.m. IST
Where
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
The Protagonists
KKR have cracked the code to success in the IPL pretty well. They have relied heavily on their openers – skipper Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa – to set up a platform after which an experienced and explosive middle-order – comprising Manish Pandey, Shakib-al-Hasan, Yusuf Pathan and Suryakumar Yadav - can cut loose. On the bowling front, KKR will be boosted by the news that their premiere bowler Sunil Narine - who was reported for a suspect action last season – has been cleared and can reclaim his place in the XI.
The Mumbai Indians too have plenty of explosive batsmen in their line-up. Aaron Finch is expected to partner Unmukt Chand at the top of the innings; the Australian, together with skipper Rohit Sharma, Corey Anderson and Kieron Pollard will play key roles in MI’s batting scheme of things. On the bowling front, the eight overs combined of Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh will be critical to MI’s success.
Contest to look-forward to
The contest between Rohit Sharma and Sunil Narine promises to be mouthwatering. The Trinidadian mystery spinner has so far dismissed the MI skipper thrice in six matches.
Previous Meetings
A look back at historical contests between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians indicates the latter have generally dominated those contests. MI have won 10 of their 14 contests against KKR.
Most recently, when the two teams met last season, KKR got the better of MI on both occasions – firstly by 41 runs at Abu Dhabi and subsequently by 6 wickets in Cuttack.
Trivia
The KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir will be aware of his poor record against the Mumbai Indians; the left-hander has an aggregate of 79 runs (with a best of 27) and an average of 9.89 in eight outings for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
In 9 of their 14 matches against MI so far, KKR have had opening partnerships of less than 10 runs.
With 6 wins in 7 IPL matches at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Mumbai Indians have the best record among all the visiting teams.
KKR’s Chinaman bowler Brad Hogg will be 44 years and 61 days old on the day of the match. If he takes the field, he will be the oldest cricketer to play in the IPL.
What Next
The Kolkata Knight Riders stay put at home for their second fixture of the season; they play host to the Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 11. The Mumbai Indians’ second fixture of the season will be their first home game of the season; they will host Pepsi IPL 2014 runner-up Kings XI Punjab on April 12.
Source : IPLT20.com
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