Port Elizabeth, April 26 (Inditop) Kolkata Knight Riders will be hoping for some luck when they face Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the St. George’s Park here Monday.
In their last two matches, Knight Riders have been unlucky. Against Rajasthan Royals, they came close to winning but the brilliance of Yusuf Pathan and Kamran Khan stole the match in the Super Over. And Saturday, rain washed out their game against Chennai Super Kings and both the teams ended up splitting points.
Fifth-placed Knight Riders will be eager to bounce back against Mumbai Indians, who have slipped to the fourth spot after their 12-run loss against Deccan Chargers.
Knight Riders will be desperately looking for a win, which can shift the focus back to cricket from the other unwanted things that are happening around the team. Reports of an alleged rift between coach John Buchanan and team’s iconic player Sourav Ganguly and the Fake IPL Player blog haven’t done any good to the team.
Ganguly, who was stripped from captaincy at the start of the league, has shown that at 36 he can still give other young players a run for money in the shortest version of the game. He has been performing with both bat and bowl and will be looking to carry the momentum against Mumbai Indians.
Knight Riders’s opener Chris Gayle has also been in superb touch but the focus will be on skipper Brendon McCullum, who is yet to shine with the bat. McCullum has to play a good knock with Gayle against Mumbai Indians’ good bowling attack.
Knight Riders’ bowling seem to be the weak link. Ishant Sharma, who has been spearheading the attack, hasn’t been impressive while veteran Ajit Agarkar has cut a sorry figure. But young medium pacer Anureet Singh and Sri Lanka’s mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis have been impressive along with Gayle.
For Knight Riders’ bowlers it will be a tough task to stop Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar from giving a good start to Mumbai Indians. While Jayasuriya will be eager to come out with a big score, Tendulkar has looked in fine touch. Mumbai Indians also have a good bowling attack with Zaheer Khan and slinger Lasith Malinga in the ranks.
So the task will be cut out for the Knight Riders when they take the field against the formidable Mumbai Indians.
rounak