IPL 8 MI vs KKR: Mumbai Indians face Kolkata Knight Riders in a do-or-die match

Mumbai: Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders faced Mumbai Indians in  the opening game of the Indian Premier League this season. A full 50 games later, they meet here again with the hosts, winners if the 2013 season under pressure to keep their campaign alive.

Rohit Sharma’s side were handed a 39-run defeat by Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous match and AB de Villiers’ unbeaten 133 off just 59 balls ended to their five-match winning streak. The mammoth 215-run stand with Virat Kohli for the second wicket also meant that Mumbai lost by a big margin resulting in their net run-rate taking a severe hit.

With six wins from 12 games, Mumbai now need to ensure that they win their remaining two matches to qualify for the play-offs. It however, still won’t guarantee a place as others may also finish on equal points.

Mumbai will therefore need to play positive cricket and up the ante to riase their net run-rate. Fortunately for them, they play the final league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad and in the case of teams with similar points, they will know the exact scenario.

The Knight Riders will be in Mumbai to play their last two league matches, the last one being at Brabourne Stadium against Rajasthan Royals on Friday. While Kolkata are not exactly battling for a berth, they are not through either thanks to a topsy-turvy table.

It is therefore necessary, they take two full points and take back the top position. Doing that will also mean they get to play Qualifier 1 which will be held at Wankhede Stadium.

The Gautam Gambhir-led side have done well in the tournament, but a closer look reveals that five of the seven wins so far have come at the Eden Gardens, their home. The sluggish track has helped their three-spinner strategy.

The Wankhede pitch offers turn and bounce and it will be interesting to see if Kolkata can adjust to this vastly different nature of the surface. The game will also give them an idea on what their lineup and strategy should be for the big Qualifier game should they finish in the top two.

KKR game crucial, says Mumbai Indians coach Ponting:

Facing a must-win situation against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting termed the game as most crucial. “Tomorrow’s game becomes the most important one in the tournament. We are not looking at the mathematics. We have no control over that. We obviously have control over the outcome.”

The head coach added that he told his bowlers to quickly move on after Royal Challengers Bangalore’s posted a massive 235/1, the season’s top score in their last home game. “I made it very clear to our guys and that we need to move on quickly and leave that game in our changing rooms. AB’s innings was probably one of the best I’ve seen in this format.” Ponting added.