Their juggernaut having come to a halt against the batting might of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians face a virtual make or break situation when they take on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier league cricket here on Thursday.
The loss here last Sunday to RCB, after a superb five-game winning streak, has come at the wrong time. MI would have loved to go into the tough battle with their tails up instead of licking their wounds inflicted by the brutal assault on their bowling attack by A B de Villiers who smashed 133 not out off just 59 balls.
MI need to pull up their socks and put behind the humiliating 39-run loss to RCB in their home bastion when they take on the formidable Knight Riders who go into the game placed second on the table.
Knight Riders, on the other hand, know that a win over MI would guarantee them not only a play-off spot but also give a strong push to finish in the top two, which is what they would be aiming for.
The title holders have the ideal mix of attacking top order batsmen — Gambhir (288 runs from 11 games), Robin Uthappa (325 runs from 11) and Manish Pandey (203 from 11) —with Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell to follow. KKR would be much more relaxed, considering their standing , as compared to the hosts who will be under a lot of pressure to perform.