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The Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) play each other on Monday, March 31, in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The fixture is set to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
MI have won the IPL title five times, while KKR have won it three times, making this a battle between two successful teams in the history of the league. Kolkata are also the defending champions.
After beginning with a loss against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), they bounced back with a win over the Rajasthan Royals (RR). However, MI, who are traditional slow starters, have lost both their games so far and are at the bottom of the table.
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This is set to be a thrilling contest with one team looking to build on their momentum with the other searching for their first points. There are also several big names on either side, which makes it all the more interesting.
Having said that, here is a combined playing 11 with players from both teams ahead of the IPL 2025 clash between MI and KKR.
Combined MI-KKR playing 11 with impact sub ahead of IPL 2025 clash
Openers - Quinton de Kock (WK) & Rohit Sharma
After a failure against RCB in the opening game, KKR wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock bounced back with a brilliant knock against Rajasthan. The left-hander slammed an unbeaten 97 off just 61 balls, including eight fours and six maximums.
MI opener Rohit Sharma will partner De Kock at the top. Rohit has failed to get going in both the matches so far. However, for a batter like him, it is only time before he fires. Moreover, De Kock has played for Mumbai in the past and also opened the batting with Rohit, making them an ideal opening pair.
Middle Order - Venkatesh Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav & Tilak Varma
Venkatesh Iyer comes in at three. The left-handed KKR star has a fabulous record against Mumbai. He has scored 362 runs against them from just six matches at an average of 72.40 with a strike-rate of 165.29, along with a century and three fifties.
MI batters Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma come in next in the middle order. Suryakumar Yadav did not have a solid outing in the first game but impressed in the next game against the Gujarat Titans (GT), where he scored 48 runs off just 38 balls at a strike rate of 171.43.
Tilak Varma, who has been a consistent performer for the franchise, has had a couple of good knocks this season, including 39 runs against Gujarat. He will want to convert his start into a big knock in this game with Mumbai looking for their first win.
All-rounders - Hardik Pandya (C), Andre Russell, & Sunil Narine
This combined team has a solid set of all-rounders who add to the batting and are also key players with the ball. MI skipper Hardik Pandya will lead this side. While Hardik failed with the bat against Gujarat, he bowled well with figures of 2/29 from four overs.
Andre Russell has batted in only one game so far for KKR and failed to score, but he can take the game away from the opposition on his day. He can also contribute with the ball and is a dangerous all-rounder, without a doubt.
KKR all-rounder Sunil Narine further boosts this team. Narine can be used at the top as a pinch hitter and can even contribute down the order. He scored 44 runs off just 26 balls against RCB and also had figures of 1/27 with the ball from four overs.
Bowlers - Varun Chakavarthy, Deepak Chahar, & Trent Boult
After a rough start with the ball against RCB, KKR spinner Varun Chakavarthy was back to his best against Rajasthan. He bowled four overs and picked up two wickets, giving away just 17 runs at an economy rate of 4.2, continuing his brilliant form right from the 2025 Champions Trophy.
MI pacers Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult will be the frontline fast bowlers in this combined team. Both Deepak and Boult have the ability to swing the new ball and pick wickets in the powerplay, making their roles all the more crucial on a surface like the Wankhede, which is batting-friendly.
Deepak has picked up a wicket each in both their games so far, while Boult has not quite been at his best. Nonetheless, they can be a lethal duo on their given day.
Impact sub - Rinku Singh
KKR batter Rinku Singh will be the impact sub for this game. Rinku has batted only once in IPL 2025 so far against RCB and could not do a lot. However, his ability to score quickly under pressure at the backend still makes him a vital asset to have.
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