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Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 34th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
For MI, the availability of captain Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya remains uncertain. A day ahead of the match, fast bowler Trent Boult stated that they were rested for the game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and are recovering well from their respective injuries.
On the other hand, the Knight Riders, who have won just one out of 12 matches against MI in the last five years, will be eyeing a win to keep their playoffs hopes alive as they are placed at the sixth position in the points table with three wins from 8 matches. An emphatic 9-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) brought them back on the winning ways in the 14th season of the T20 extravaganza.
Head-to-Head record
Played: 28 | Mumbai Indians: 22 | Kolkata Knight Riders: 06 | No Result: 0
Pitch report:
In the early stages of the game, fast bowlers will be able to swing the ball while the spinners could get some help from the pitch in the middle-overs. The surface at Sheikh Zayed Stadium is batting friendly; therefore, this game could be a high scoring one.
Probable XIs:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna
Match Prediction:
Case 1:
- MI wins the toss and bowls first
- Powerplay score: 35-40
- KKR total: 155-170
Case 2:
- KKR wins the toss and bowls first
- Powerplay score: 40-45
- MI total: 160-175Team batting second to win the contest.
