IPL 2018, MI vs KKR: Mumbai threat looms large as Kolkata up against odds

In the 41st match of Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) led by Dinesh Karthik at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Back in the mix riding consecutive victories, a buoyant Mumbai Indians will cross swords with an erratic Kolkata Knight Riders for a second time in a space of three days in IPL today’s match. Recovering from a slow start, defending champions MI recorded back-to-back wins against Kings XI Punjab and KKR to jump to fifth spot (8 points from 10 games) in the Vivo IPL points table. KKR, meanwhile, have blown hot and cold, winning five and losing an equal number of matches.

KKR have an onerous task at hand as they need to defy history against Mumbai Indians, who have won 17 of the 21 matches against the Kolkata Knight Riders across 11 seasons -- the most wins for an IPL team against any opponent. Their 13-run defeat at the Wankhede on May 6 stretched their losing streak to seven matches and 1125 days -- KKR's last win over Mumbai Indians was way back on April 8, 2015. While the Dinesh Karthik-led KKR have not managed to string together consistent performances, MI led by India's limited-over Vice Captain Rohit Sharma have looked like a team on a mission to turn the tide in their favour at the end of the IPL 2018.

IPL 2018, MI vs KXIP: Mumbai look to salvage pride against in-form Punjab

In the 34th match of Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI) and Ravichandran Ashwin-led Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will take on each other at Holkar Stadium in Indore. Three-time champions Mumbai Indians will look to salvage pride when they face a spirited Kings XI Punjab in today’s match. The star-studded Mumbai Indians side is languishing at the bottom of the Vivo IPL points table with just two wins from eight games. While Kings XI Punjab will be flying high on confidence after being placed third with five wins from seven games and 10 points in their kitty.

The dismal performance of Mumbai Indians has been largely attributed to the failure of their batsmen including skipper Rohit Sharma who failed to uplift team’s morale in crucial matches. For MI, except Suryakumar Yadav, who has 283 runs under his belt in eight matches as an opener, all others have been inconsistent. The Mumbai skipper also needs to rediscover his own form as he has struggled to get past 20 in six games. Big-hitting West Indian all-rounder Keiron Pollard, in his twilight years, has also been out of touch with just 76 runs from six innings. South African Jean-Paul Duminy has featured in just a couple of games and played a single innings hitting 23 runs. Coming to the Pandya brothers Hardik and Krunal, both showed glimpses of their batting prowess in the previous match Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and will aim to bolster the lower order with some lusty blows. In the bowling department, Mumbai will once again bank on young spinner Mayank Markande, who has so far bagged 11 wickets from eight games with his leg-spin. The pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan have kept things tight while the Pandya brothers have also been amongst the wickets.

IPL 2018: Struggling Mumbai eye self-rediscovery in MI vs SRH match today

In the 23rd match of Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) on Tuesday, efending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. MI skipper Rohit Sharma would be under extreme pressure, after his team's dismal show in the tournamet so far -- they have lost four of the five matches they have played so far and are placed at the 7th spot in the Vivo IPL points table.

Mumbai Indians had started their IPL 2018 campaign with three losses on the trot before a victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore, but the three-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, their fourth last-over setback, put them under tremendous pressure. With nine games left before the play-off stage, Mumbai Indians find themselves in a difficult situation, as they need to win at least seven of them to improve their chances. As such, a win over SRH in today’s match will be imperative for them to be able to stay in the hunt. MI's campaign has so far seen few bright spots, such as local player and opener Suryakumar Yadav, the team's most consisten batsman who is only four runs short of the 200 mark in IPL 2018.

IPL final 2017: Mumbai Indians beat Rising Pune Supergiant; Dhoni defeated

Magnificent death bowling saw Mumbai Indians snatch an incredible one-run victory from the jaws of defeat against Rising Pune Supergiant in a thrilling grand finale of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday.

This was Mumbai Indians' third IPL trophy in 10 editions and more special for their skipper Rohit Sharma, who is the only captain to win a hat-trick of titles. Rohit has in fact ow won four IPL titles (one for Deccan Chargers in 2009).

For Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it was yet another final that ended in a defeat -- fifth in seven summit clashes.

In one of the closest finals during the 10 editions, the trio of Jasprit Bumrah (2/26 in 4 overs), Mitchell Johnson (3/26 in 4 overs) and Lasith Malinga (0/21 in 4 overs) were brilliant at the death defending a lowly total of 129/8 as Supergiant were restricted to 128 for 6 at the end.

It was Johnson, who kept his nerve during the final over where 11 runs were needed. Manoj Tiwary smacked the first one to mid-wicket boundary bringing the eqaution down to 7 from 5 balls.

However the next two deliveries turned out to be disaster with both Tiwary and skipper Steve Smith (51, 50 balls) were caught in the deep.

With four required off final ball and 3 for a Super Over, Dan Christian went for an impossible 3rd run only to be run out as Mumbai players celebrated like never before.

Credit should also be given to Bumrah and Malinga for giving away only 10 runs between them in the 17th and 18th over which suddenly increased the pressure.

While the target was an easy one, it turned out to be tricky with 47 needed off the last five overs.

With Mahendra Singh Dhoni (10) at the crease in company of Smith, the Krunal Pandya over yielded 14 runs. Dhoni square cut Krunal and then Smith played a reverse pull for a six to get 14 runs off the over.
READ MORE