Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma
Image Credit: Twitter

MI vs KKR: Weather Forecast And Pitch Report of Sheikh Zayed Stadium- IPL 2021 Match 34. Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders will square up against each other in the 34th match of IPL 2021 on Thursday at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. Mumbai Indians lost their last game against Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs on Sunday.

Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya were rested as a precautionary measure and it had a severe effect on their performance. The bowling unit, however, was brilliant from the start until the 18th over of the innings. Trent Boult and Adam Milne had reduced CSK to 24 for 4 after 6 overs.

Rohit Sharma Jasprit Bumrah Hardik Pandya
Rohit Sharma Jasprit Bumrah Hardik Pandya. Image-Mumbai Indians/Facebook

However, Ruturaj Gaekwad and Ravindra Jadeja didn’t allow MI to bundle CSK out early. The duo stitched a valuable 81-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Bravo and Rituraj wreaked havoc in the final two overs. Chennai Super Kings, as a result of it, managed to score 156 runs in the first innings. Boult bowled brilliantly in his first three overs, giving away just 11 runs for 2 wickets. However, his last over went for as many as 24 runs. Bumrah and Milne also claimed two wickets each, while Chahar went wicketless.

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Mumbai Indians lost both their openers inside the first six overs in pursuit of the chase. De Kock smashed three beautiful boundaries before getting out on 17 in 12 deliveries. Suryakumar Yadav (3 off 7) and Ishan Kishan’s (11 off 10) wickets put further pressure on MI as they had only scored 58 runs in the first 10 overs for the loss of 4 wickets.

Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders. Credits: KKR/Twitter

Kieron Pollard was the only hope left for MI, however, he too got out in the 14th wicket to leave CSK on top. Saurabh Tiwari played till the end and gave a glimmer of hope to MI but there was little support at the other end. Tiwari remained unbeaten on 50 off 40 balls but Mumbai Indians finished at 20 runs short of the target. Ahead of their next game against KKR, they would be desperate to earn two points on Thursday.

Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, would be brimming with confidence after registering a nine-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday. Kolkata Knight Riders came with a fearless approach and it was evident right from the start.

Prasidh Krishna and Lockie Ferguson bowled at the right areas and didn’t give any room to the opposition. The duo sent both the openers back in the hut inside the powerplay. Narine, Russell and Chakravarthy kept it tight in the middle overs and picked wickets at regular intervals. Russell bowled a toe-crushing yorker to AB de Villiers on his very first delivery to send him packing.

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Chakravarthy then claimed the wickets of Maxwell, Hasaranga and Sachin Baby to leave RCB in all sorts of trouble. Both Chakravarthy and Russell picked three wickets each and as a result, RCB were bundled out for only 92 runs.

Mumbai Indians, MI
Mumbai Indians (Image Credit: Twitter)

Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer came into the middle with an aggressive approach. The duo didn’t hold back and played their shots freely. The duo didn’t care about the bowlers’ reputation and played some attractive shots. Gill got out in the 10th over of the innings after scoring 48 off 34 balls, including 6 fours and 1 six.

However, KKR had almost won the game by then. Debutant Venkatesh Iyer remained unbeaten at 41 off 27 balls. Kolkata Knight Riders now have 3 wins in 8 matches and would be keen to add another one on Thursday.

MI vs KKR: Weather Forecast And Pitch Report of Sheikh Zayed Stadium- IPL 2021 Match 34

The 34th match of IPL 2021 will be played between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. Kolkata Knight Riders played their last game at this very ground, while Mumbai Indians will be playing their first game in Abu Dhabi this season.

There is little swing on offer. The fast bowlers need to use their variations regularly to fetch wickets. Spinners, however, are likely to get assistance from the surface. Anything between 160 and 180 should be a winning score.

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RCB played the last game here and were bowled out for a paltry 92. Kolkata Knight Riders, however, scored 94 runs in just 10 overs. The team winning the toss is likely to bowl first.

Average 1st Inns scores 140
Average 2nd Inns scores 129

Abu Dhabi is expected to be hot and humid. The conditions here should suggest that there is no possibility of rain. One could expect a good game of cricket. The average temperature will hover around 42-degree Celsius.