MI vs KKR: Match Preview- IPL 2021 Match 34

MI vs KKR: Match Preview- IPL 2021 Match 34. Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the 34^th match of IPL 2021 on Thursday. Both the teams met each other once this season before the tournament was put to hold in May.

Rohit Sharma (43 of 32) and Surykumar Yadav (56 off 36) made vital contributions in that game to help MI post 152 runs in the first innings. Kolkata Knight Riders, in reply, were restricted to 142 runs in the second innings. The two teams will once again be squaring up against each other on Thursday. Here’s a look at the previews of both sides.

MI vs KKR: Match Preview- IPL 2021 Match 34

Mumbai Indians: 

Mumbai Indians haven’t made a great start to the second leg of the IPL 2021, having suffered a 20-run defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. The defeat, however, didn’t have an effect with regards to their position on the points table. Though, they are now left with 6 matches this season. Rohit Sharma and Co. are currently sitting at fourth position with 4 wins in 8 matches. Another defeat from here could give them severe headaches.

Mumbai Indians bowled first against CSK on Monday and restricted them to 156 runs in 20 overs. In hindsight, MI know that that they conceded 30-40 runs more than they should have. New Zealand pacemen, Adam Milne and Trent Boult gave MI a brilliant start as the duo reduced CSK to 24 for 4 after first six overs.

However, a talented youngster in Ruturaj Gaikwad brought his team back into the contest with a blistering 88-run knock off 58 balls. Dwayne Bravo’s 8-ball 23-run cameo also shifted the momentum as MI conceded 39 runs in the final two overs.

Trent Boult, who was superb in the powerplay, giving away 24 runs in the 19^th over of the innings. Chennai Super Kings eventually finished their innings at 156 runs in the first innings.

The absence of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya hurt Mumbai as they fell 20 runs short of the target. Quinton de Kock looked dangerous for his 12-ball 17 before Deepak Chahar trapped his leg before. Suryakumar Yadav (3 off 7) and Ishan Kishan (11 off 10) didn’t stay too long.

After 10 overs, Mumbai Indians were left reeling at 58 for 4. In the absence of Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard was the only hope left for MI. However, Hazlewood got him leg before in the 14^th over to seal the game for CSK. Saurabh Tiwari fought hard and played an unbeaten 50-run knock off 40 balls, however, there was little support at the other end.

Full Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Adam Milne, Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Arjun Tendulkar, Chris Lynn, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, James Neesham, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Marco Jansen, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Quinton De Kock, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Tiwary, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult, Yudhvir Singh, Roosh Kalaria.

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Facing them are Kolkata Knight Riders, who are coming off a morale-boosting 9-wicket win over RCB on Monday. Prasidh Krishna and Lockie Ferguson were brilliant in the first six overs as the duo didn’t allow Virat and Padikkal to free their arms. Virat Kohli had hit a four before Krishna had him leg-before. Ferguson removed Padikkal in the seventh over and wickets kept falling at regular intervals after that.

Mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy had a great day at the office. He kept the batsmen guessing in the middle overs with his turn and guile. He accounted for the wickets of Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga and Sachin Baby to break the back of RCB. He finished with figures of 3 for 13 in 4 overs.

The second innings saw a heart-warming display of ball-striking from Shubman Gill and debutant Venkatesh Iyer. The duo stitched an 81-run partnership for the opening wicket to end all the hopes of RCB. Gill smashed 48 off just 34 balls, while Iyer stayed unbeaten on 41 off 27, including 7 fours and 1 six. KKR, as a result, chased down the total in just 10 overs.

With that win, Kolkata Knight Riders now find themselves at sixth position with 3 wins in 8 matches.

Full Squad: Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Pawan Negi, Tim Seifert, Shakib al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Tim Southee.