IPL 2020 – Match 5 – KKR vs MI Betting Preview

Match Details
Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Wednesday, 23rd September
16:00 SA Time

Preview

The fifth match of the 13th edition of IPL will witness KKR being the last team to kickstart their campaign this season against a rather dejected Mumbai Indians but then again, Mumbai is known for their slow starts to the season.

KKR is considered one of the strongest IPL franchises of all times having made it to the playoffs on six occasions and winning twice. However, after observing closely, one may realise that KKR hasn’t been performing that well as a team and it is mostly strong individual performances that get them across the line which will be a major concern for the Knight Riders as they head into this season of IPL.

As they say, great players can only win you matches but it is only the great teams that win championships. KKR must look forward to click as a team and find a good team balance if they were to do well this season. Their over dependence on Andre Russell has cost them matches and, on some occasions, we have even witnessed KKR using Russell poorly by holding him back for far too long and not giving him enough balls to do his job.

Another concern for KKR will be Narine’s fitness as he missed out on a few matches in the recently concluded CPL but in the matches that he did play, he was destructive as ever. Shall Narine miss out on the playing XI, it will open doors for Tom Banton, a very exciting young prospect who has in his very short time at the top level has made it clear that he is here to stay.

On a good day, KKR’s batting is strong enough to get them over the line but it is their bowling that is of major concern but the addition of Pat Cummins to the side may sort out a lot of issues.

Mumbai Indians have had a night to forget at Abu Dhabi in the very first match of the season but there was a hint of predictability there as the last time Mumbai Indians won a season opener was in 2012. Almost all of their batsmen got off to good starts but couldn’t turn it into big scores.

Only de Kock and Saurabh Tiwary were a little impressive with the bat but lack of support from the other end resulted in them being 20-30 runs short. Even their bowling was sub-par and quite unexpectedly Bumrah was their worst bowler on the night which raised major concerns for the team.

Bumrah needs to find his touch again if Mumbai are to do well this season because he is their trump card and you need your star performers to step up on occasions and help you emerge victorious. All in all, Mumbai put up a very dismal performance in their previous game and they will be looking forward to getting their rhythm right to set the momentum for the rest of the tournament.

Injury and Availability News

There is no clarity on Sunil Narine’s condition and he may miss out the first game as a precautionary measure.

Probable Playing XI

Kolkata Knight Riders

Sunil Narine/ Tom Banton, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c&wk), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav, Sandip Warrier/ M Siddharth, Prasidh Krishna

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Key Players to Watch Out For

Quinton de Kock: Mumbai Indians’ highest run scorer in the last edition’s IPL and currently one of the best wicket-keeper batsman in the world, QDK amassed 529 runs in 16 matches and was also the third highest run-getter in the Orange cap race in 2019. With coach Mahela Jayawardene, confirming that de Kock will open with Rohit Sharma ahead of Chris Lynn, all eyes will be on him to give Mumbai Indians a solid start. He has also been phenomenal behind the wickets and is expected to play a key role in securing a win for MI. He seemed in good touch in Mumbai’s opener against CSK getting a good start for his team.

Shubman Gill: One of the stars of the world cup winning U-19 squad of 2018, Shubman has somewhat cemented his place in the KKR over the past two years that he has played for the franchise amassing 499 runs in 27 games at an impressive average of 33.26 and a strike rate of 132.36. He is most likely going to be KKR’s permanent opener throughout this season of IPL and stats clearly show he is capable of getting good quick runs early on in the innings thus KKR will build its innings around him making him a key player to watch out for. The way he goes about doing his business will shape KKR’s campaign in this edition of IPL.

Andre Russell: Andre Russell has been KKR’s star performer for quite some time now and with his ability to single-handedly win games for his side, he is an indispensable asset for the Knight Riders. In 2019, he made 510 runs in 14 games with a staggering strike rate of 204.81 and at an average of 56.66. In addition to his heroics with the bat, he also took 11 wickets in these 14 games. A top-notch power-hitter Russell has been consistently producing match winning performances for his side and it will be safe to say he will play a vital role in shaping KKR’s fortunes this time around.

Value Bets

Kolkata Knight Riders

Tom Banton to be Kolkata Knight Riders top batsman at 3.30

Pat Cummins to be Kolkata Knight Riders top bowler at 2.50

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma to be Mumbai Indians top batsman at 2.60

Jasprit Bumrah to be Mumbai Indians top bowler at 2.00

Prediction: Mumbai Indians to win at 0.74

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