Fresh from their clinical display against Sunrisers Hyderabad, two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to set the record straight against nemesis Mumbai Indians in their second match here on Tuesday.
They have won just once in their last 12 games against MI, and have an overall lopsided 6-21 head-to-head record.
Having missed the last two playoffs, KKR looked a completely different unit, in the manner in which they defeated SRH on Sunday.
Be it the aggression shown by the top-order or the explosive finish by Dinesh Karthik, KKR’s displayed a fearless approach under skipper Eoin Morgan.
The left-right opening combination of Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill started to attack right from the first ball, clearly indicating that the new approach had Morgan’s success mantra written all over it.
But on Tuesday it will all boil down to battle of wits between Morgan and Rohit Sharma, under whose captaincy MI has won a record fifth IPL title last season in UAE.
MI will pose real challenge for KKR as the title hoders would be desperate to secure their first win of the season after their two-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL opener.
KRR found it easy against SRH bowlers, which lacked firepower but in Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, MI attack will be a completely different proposition.
Gill’s struggle to bat at T20 pace has been a concern for KKR and it will be interesting to see the young opener’s approach against the finest in the business. In his debut match for MI, Chris Lynn was their top-scorer, albeit with some stroke of luck as he survived some edges and mishits.
But now with Quinton de Kock available for selection, MI may may go back to their preferred left-right opening combination of Rohit and de Kock.