Kolkata will take on the defending champions tonight in Indian T20 League 2021. Kolkata are coming off a 10-run victory against Hyderabad, while Mumbai suffered a loss against Bangalore in the season-opener.
Team Preview
Kolkata and Mumbai will be in action for a cracking contest in Indian T20 League tonight. Both sides share seven titles in 13 years and they have a great rivalry among all fans. Mumbai always had an edge over Kolkata in past years and they have a great winning percentage against Purple and Gold.
Kolkata started the campaign on a high note by defending a total that looks tough on Indian pitches. Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi set the base, followed by Karthik’s finish. Hyderabad fought hard but fall short of 10 runs. Top-order success is a great sign and Kolkata would allow Gill and Rana to bat in the opening slot throughout the season. Kolkata didn’t showcase any confusion in their batting order and their Indian players impressed. Morgan went with three spinners in the first game considering the extra help to spin in Chennai. Russell bowled two overs in death and Kolkata has to fix this issue as Russell is not their prime death-bowler. It may backfire defending a small total. Kolkata won all key moments and starting the game with spin worked out too. Any change is unlikely to happen and Kolkata will go ahead with the same playing XI.
Meanwhile, Mumbai lost their 9th consecutive opening game in Indian T20 League but it won’t trouble this champion side. Mumbai won five titles after losing the season-opener. They almost got the game in the pocket but ABD-show took the game away from them. Mumbai batted badly in death-overs and it cost them a game. Chris Lynn justified his selection after a slow start. Management can pick him for this game as well to offer more rest top De Kock or Rohit can call De Kock as an opener. Marco Jansen was impressive on his debut and he might be used in death with Bumrah. Rohit missed out one spin-option in the last game and if they bowl first, they can add one good spin option in this fixture. Chawla has good experience of playing in Chennai so he would be effective in this role. Mumbai are favourites as they have the best record against Kolkata in Indian T20 League history.
Pitch Report
Chennai’s surface will behave the same. Batsmen have to play sensibly and they can score big like Kolkata did in the previous game. Batting first would be an ideal call after winning the toss. Any total above 160 would be a competitive task while chasing.
Possible XI
Kolkata
Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (capt), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins, Harbhajan Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy
Previous Match: 10-run victory against Hyderabad
Mumbai
Rohit Sharma, Chris Lynn/De Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Marco Jansen, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar
Previous Match: 2-wicket loss to Bangalore
Key Players
Kolkata
Shubman Gill
A technical-sound player for conditions like Chennai
Shakib Al Hasan
Handy with bat and ball on slow-tracks
Mumbai
Rohit Sharma
Hard-hitting ability and good average against Kolkata
Suryakumar Yadav
Construct the innings and play sheet-anchor in middle-order
