Kolkata Knight Riders will be up against defending champions Mumbai Indians in match five of IPL 2021 at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday. Out of the the 27 encounters between the two teams across 13 IPL season, MI have emerged victorious a staggering 21 times.
Kolkata Knight Riders head into the game on the back of an impressive win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2021 opener. Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi both starred with the bat, scoring 80 and 53 respectively. Andre Russell and Pat Cummins then bowled brilliantly at the death, ensuring a 10-run victory for the Knights.
Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, continued their habit of losing their IPL openers. They suffered a bitter last-ball defeat at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of IPL 2021. Jasprit Bumrah was once again brilliant with the ball, returning with figures of 2/26.
In what promises to be a mouth-watering clash between MI and KKR, let's take a look at the five possible game-changers.
#1 Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma looked solid against the RCB before getting run out in a freakish manner. The right-handed batsman, who scored 19 off 15 balls in the IPL 2021 opener, will be eyeing a big score on Tuesday. Rohit is a brilliant player of spin bowling and will fancy his chances against the KKR tweakers in Chennai.
#2 Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins was brilliant in the previous game, troubling the SRH batsmen with his accurate line and length. The Australian pacer will have to be at his best against the Mumbai Indians' explosive batting line-up. His battle against MI skipper Rohit Sharma at the start of the innings will be an interesting one to watch.
#3 Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi was in top form against the SRH, scoring 53 runs off 29 balls. He will be looking to carry his momentum into the next game against MI. But facing the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult won't be easy for the 30-year-old.
#4 Rahul Chahar
Rahul Chahar is seen leading the Mumbai Indians' spin department for the second season running. He had a poor outing last match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, conceding 43 runs in four overs. Chahar will want to quickly adapt to the line and length and hope for a better outing against the Knights.
#5 Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill will be disappointed after getting out cheaply while attempting a slog sweep against Afghan spinner Rashid Khan. He erred in judging the length of the ball and missed it completely, as it went on to hit the middle of the stumps. A much better performance is expected from him against MI.
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