IPL 7: Mumbai Indians vs. Kolkata Knight Riders: Match Preview

The seventh edition of the Indian Premier League tournament kicks off today evening at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. In what promises to be a thriller, defending champions Mumbai Indians face off against 2012 winners Kolkata Knight Riders.

Both of these teams have large and highly demanding fanbases, who will be expecting nothing short of a win. While both teams have traditionally boasted strong line ups, their performances have generally not lived up to the billing. Except for their one win each, both teams have fared poorly in the other versions of the IPL.

After this years’ player auctions, both teams boast fresh faces in their line ups along with a core of performing players from the previous editions. Mumbai probably has the stronger team on paper, but Kolkata has no shortage of big names of their own.

The Mumbai team will be looking to its formidable bowling lineup to perform according to expectation and strangle the opposition. Consisting of Lasith Malinga, the most successful bowler in the history of the IPL, and Pragyan Ojha, who is fourth on the list of highest wicket takers, the Mumbai bowling unit also boasts veteran bowlers Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. Also capable of chipping in with the ball are the likes of Corey Anderson and Kieron Pollard, thus ensuring that the defending champions should have no problems in the bowling department.

Batting wise, Mumbai have the immensely experienced and talented Michael Hussey to open their batting. Michael Hussey has proved time and time again that age is no barrier to excellence and his many destructive innings at the top of the order with Chennai have made him rightly feared amongst the bowlers of the opposition. Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma is someone who has really matured as a player over the past couple of years. He is in a fine vein of form with his batting, as demonstrated in numerous games for India, and we may also see him opening the batting for his team. He has also grown into his role as team captain after having it thrust upon him so suddenly in the previous season. For Mumbai to have any success in the tournament, one or both of these batsmen must fire on a regular basis. Lower down the order, they have the destructive potential of Corey Anderson and Kieron Pollard. Given the platform, these two can take apart any bowling attack with ease.

However, the lack of any established middle order batsman except Rohit Sharma is a potential weakness in the Mumbai side, since if Hussey and Sharma fail, they have no truly dependable batsman to fall back on to anchor the innings. This is a weakness that could be exploited by the other teams as the tournament progresses.

As for Kolkata, they spent their money well in this years’ auction, and have a well-balanced and experienced squad to pick from. In the batting department, Captain Gautam Gambhir is ably supported by the massively experienced Jacques Kallis, while much will also be expected from wicketkeeper batsman Robin Uthappa. Lower order fireworks will come in the form of the vitriolic Yusuf Pathan and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan. Manvinder Bisla and Piyush Chawla are also players who have the potential to be among the runs.

The Kolkata bowling department has good seam and spin options to choose from. Indian seamers Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar will be expected to put in good performances, while Morne Morkel and Jacques Kallis will also chip in. The spin department will obviously be spearheaded by the West Indian Sunil Narine, with Piyush Chawla and Shakib al Hasan as their other frontline spinners.

Kolkata have a major weakness in the fact that they have no true match winners in their squad. While Yusuf Pathan is too inconsistent to be relied upon, Jacques Kallis is not getting any younger and that was clearly shown in last years IPL. This lack of true finishers could prove to be a deciding factor in whether the Knight Riders progress to the knockout stages of the tournament.
Mumbai are the team many people consider favorites to win this years’ IPL, and they will surely back themselves to beat Kolkata today. History also favors the Mumbai team, with Mumbai having beaten Kolkata in 10 of their previous 12 encounters. Only time will tell whether Mumbai will yet again triumph, but the match promises to be a cracker.

Mumbai Probable XI: Michael Hussey, Aditya Tare (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Ambati Rayudu, Jalaj Saxena, Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga, Pragyan Ojha

Kolkata Probable XI: Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa (wk), Jacques Kallis, Manvinder Bisla, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib al Hasan, Piyush Chawla, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Sunil Narine