Kolkata gets their Indian T20 League 2020 campaign underway with a clash against defending champions Mumbai.
Team Preview
Kolkata kicks off their 2020 Indian T20 League with an encounter against Mumbai on Wednesday. Kolkata are two-times champions and are the main contender to lift the title this year. Inclusion of Morgan in their batting-order, Kolkata now have the best finishing lineup in the tournament. They also bought Pat Cummins in last year’s auction and he will be part of the eleven. Tom Banton might be dropped as the coach assured their opening slot with Narine and Gill. Russell is also back in the training camp and he had a decent Caribbean T20 League with Jamaica. They have one weak point in their bowling unit and Kuldeep Yadav will have a big responsibility along with Cummins. Dinesh Karthik requires big support from their Indian pace attack to make a balance in the squad.
Meanwhile, Mumbai off to a losing start to their title defense as they lost against Chennai by 5 wickets on Saturday. Mumbai is the side who is known for the comeback and they would avoid one more defeat in the league. The next phase of the tournament would help spinners and it is the weakest part of Mumbai so victories in the first half propel their playoff chances. Rohit tried Tiwary over Kishan and he scored 42 against Chennai. Boult and Pattinson were excellent with the new ball but in middle-overs, they failed to get any breakthrough. Mumbai is likely to go ahead with the same XI.
Pitch Report
Sheikh Zayed Stadium is a batting-friendly track and it offers a lot of runs. The first half-an-hour is crucial against the new ball. When you get settled, you easily get runs like we saw in the first match of the season. Spinners have slight help in the middle but batsmen will have a final laugh.
Possible XI
Kolkata
Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (C & Wk), Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Kamlesh Nagarkoti
Mumbai
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
Key Players
Kolkata
Eoin Morgan
Top scorer in T20Is for England in last one year, blistering strike rate
Sunil Narine
Caribbean T20 League 2020 – Runs: 144, SR: 148.45, Wickets: 6
Mumbai
Quinton de Kock
Last season: 529 runs, Avg: 35, SR: 133
Previous Outing: 33 (20)
Kieron Pollard
Caribbean T20 League 2020 – Runs: 207, Avg: 51.75, SR: 204.95
Previous Outing: 18 (14)
