Guwahati, Mar 31: Having made a start so typical of them in the Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians will hope for a quick turnaround when they take on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at their home ground here on Monday.Starting an IPL season with a string of losses isn’t new for Mumbai Indians who have lost two games so far to Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans.
The tournament’s perennial slow-starters are known for getting their act together to win the trophy. But in order to get back on track, MI will need better execution from their bowlers and consistency from the batters, especially when they lack specialist finishers lower in the order.
Rohit Sharma has been blowing hot and cold with the bat while the big-hitting Ryan Rickelton is yet to find his rhythm on the Indian pitches in his first IPL tournament.
While the South African batter has provided glimpses of his talent he hasn’t been able to fire. Rohit, on the other hand, has fallen for two single-digit scores which includes a duck.
Suryakumar Yadav looked to be getting back into form with his 48 against GT, but the knock wasn’t the one in which the Indian T20I skipper flourished the way he is known for.
Consistent chopping and changing to their squad has kept Mumbai Indians on a regular search for the right combination, but the present side lacks a specialist finisher who can use the long handle to good effect, like Tim David in the recent past.
Tilak Varma thus remains MI’s best hope with the bat along with Suryakumar and the two T20I specialists’ promising start to this IPL will be one of the positives that MI would want to build on their campaign.
Skipper Hardik Pandya will return to the Wankhede Stadium reinvigorated after a string of success on the personal front, in front of the crowd which was completely riled up against him last year when he took over MI’s charge from Rohit.
Jasprit Bumrah’s absence will prevent Mumbai Indians from unleashing their desired new ball attack comprising left-armers Trent Boult and Reece Topley, as Deepak Chahar will have to share the responsibility of the pace attack with the veteran New Zealand bowler.
For Kolkata Knight Riders, it would be imperative to build on their big win over Rajasthan Royals after losing their season opener to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Led by Ajinkya Rahane, KKR have the requisite firepower in their ranks but Moeen Ali as an opener looked odd in the absence of Sunil Narine as Quinton de Kock’s opening partner, with their batting line-up consisting of Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi.