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KKR vs MI Preview, IPL 2021: Upbeat Knight Riders look to change script against Mumbai Indians
KKR are looking for a fresh start and a marker of that was seen in their first match of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad, when they decided to field an XI without Sunil Narine. Indian talents Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi came good at the top of the order and so did Dinesh Karthik.
A look at the record books and anyone can be excused for considering this match to be a foregone conclusion. Kolkata Knight Riders have managed to not turn up against IPL's most successful team a whopping 77 percentage of the times they have met.
KKR have lost 21 times to MI over the years, the most for any team against a single opposition in the league. It's not just the number of defeats but the margins that shows the dominance of the two-time defending champions over their rivals.
But KKR are looking for a fresh start and a marker of that was seen in their first match of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad, when they decided to field an XI without Sunil Narine. Indian talents Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi came good at the top of the order and so did Dinesh Karthik.
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Prasidh Krishna starred with the ball and KKR won by 10 runs without any significant contribution from the star power of Morgan, Russell, Cummins and Shubman Gill. That shows this team now has depth and can give the giants from Mumbai a run for their money on Tuesday.
Harbhajan Singh bowled just one over but he knows a thing or two about how to bowl on a slow and turning Chennai pitch and a lot about his former teammates at Mumbai Indians. The defending champions lost their first match, which now seems almost customary.
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MI don't like to play on a pitch like the one they got in Chennai against RCB and they will have to make changes soon. Their shotmakers don't like to bat on slow wickets and that is why the role of Rohit Sharma becomes crucial this season.
They will have the explosive Quinton de Kock back for this match but Rohit will have to play a big role this season if Mumbai are to go for the hat-trick of titles. The spin cupboard also looks barren and the team management will do well to turn to an old hand like Piyush Chawla because Rahul Chahar is struggling and it has been a while.
KKR fans would hope this is a keen battle because Mumbai tends to make short work of the Knights.
