Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Can MI get their first win tonight?

Kolkata has won two of the three games and sits second on the points table. In contrast, five times Indian Premier League title winner Mumbai Indians haven't yet been able to make a mark in the tournament and,after losing both matches, sits at the 8th position of the table. 

Batting: Major concern for Mumbai Indians

After losing both the matches, batting looks to be a significant concern for the Mumbai Indians. Other than Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma, none of the power-hitters like Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard or Tim David have been able to step in those roles to help the team sail to victory. In these times, the team misses their consistent player like Suryakumar Yadav, who never fails to deliver. The team will be looking forward to his inclusion in the playing XI. Apart from batting, the bowling unit hasn't been the best of what we have seen over the years. 

Confident knights of Kolkata

On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders have had a good and competitive start in the tournament so far. In the previous game, fans saw the return of Andre Russell, who played a blistering knock to help his team win the match. Top-order of the team is yet to make an impact. Umesh Yadav has been in his best form with the ball in the powerplay to get an early breakthrough for his team. He has picked eight wickets in 3 matches so far and hopefully will continue to be a threat to the opposition in similar ways. Australian Test captain Pat Cummins, who joined the KKR camp last week, would be available for selection for this match.

Head-to-head

Kolkata Knight Riders have won only 7 out of the 29 clashes in the lopsided IPL rivalry with five-time champions Mumbai Indians. They would be looking to improve their record. Mumbai's win percentage of 75.8% is the highest win percentage for a team against an opponent in all IPL.

Pitch Report

The pitch at MCA stadium looks to assist batters initially, but spinners might be able to dig in and benefit with the game progressing. The team winning the toss will look to bowl first.

Predicted Probable XI

Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Anmolpreet Singh, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Daniel Sams, Murugan Ashwin, Tymal Mills, Jasprit Bumrah, Basil Thampi

Looking at the strengths and weaknesses, Kolkata Knight Riders are favorites to win unless Mumbai Indians' big guns get in their form. Fans can expect another tough competition with lots of momentum shifts tonight.