Mumbai Indians registered their 21st victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL history. They have the best track record against KKR who are now under the leadership of a new captain Eoin Morgan, after Dinesh Karthik decided to step down. However, that didn’t make any difference to the eventual result of the game as Mumbai maintained their domination against Kolkata. Here are the 5 Talking Points from the MI vs KKR contest played in Abu Dhabi.
Mumbai’s Domination Over Kolkata Continues in IPL
Kolkata Knight Riders have yet not found out the blueprint for beating Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Over the past 12 seasons, they have won just six games. Surprisingly enough, they have won just one game in the past six years against the side. In both the games this season, Mumbai have beaten Kolkata comprehensively and in the process, exposed KKR’s weakness to the core. KKR’s continuous loss against Mumbai in the IPL is the most important among the 5 Talking Points in our list.
New Skipper, Same Old KKR vs MI
Dinesh Karthik handed over the captaincy to Eoin Morgan ahead of the game against Mumbai. However, despite that Morgan was not able to break KKR’s jinx against Mumbai. Though he scored with the bat, he ran out of ideas to stop Mumbai’s winning streak against KKR. Morgan was not able to stop Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock from going great guns at the top as they added a 94-run opening stand and took the game away from Kolkata.
Pat Cummins & Andre Russell’s Dry Run
These two players were expected to fire all cylinders as KKR looked a formidable team on paper ahead of the start of the tournament. However, it has not turned out that way. Cummins has just picked up two wickets with the ball, while Russell has scored just scored 83 runs this season from 8 games for KKR. Russell’s problems against the short ball have been exposed time and again by different bowlers in the competition. Going forward Both Russell and Cummins have to find their form for Kolkata.
Mumbai Indians- A Well-Oiled Machine
It was another impressive performance from Mumbai Indians in this IPL campaign so far. They have looked the best overall side in the competition having a well-balanced attack in the competition so far. Alongside, Delhi Capitals, they have almost made it to the playoffs and looks good to win the IPL title.
KKR – A Rusty Side So Far
Kolkata Knight Riders have failed to produce a complete team performance so far in the IPL. Cummins spoke about it before their game against Mumbai, however, nothing changed since as they were totally outplayed by Mumbai. Going forward, With six more games to go in the league stage, KKR are getting into a must-win territory and needs to win virtually every game from here on to make it to the playoffs. Tough competition awaits for Morgan’s KKR.
