The 22nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will take place between the five-time champions Mumbai Indians and the two-time IPL winners Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium. However, both teams are not playing like champion teams in the ongoing season. They have been stuck with injuries to key players. MI have lost their key player Jasprit Bumrah for the entire season, their overseas recruit Jofra Archer is also nursing an injury and is unlikely to play this game. As for KKR, they also lost their skipper Shreyas Iyer for IPL 2023 due to back injury.
As for their performance in this season so far, MI have won only one game in three outings and are at the ninth position in the points table. However, a win here will take them on par with four other teams who have won two matches so far. On the other hand, KKR have prevailed in thrilling matches so far with the likes of Shardul Thakur and Rinku Singh doing the unthinkable. But they have lacked to put up a performance as a unit. Moreover, their performance against MI historically hasn't been great. Having said that, a win in this game will take them into the top four.
Match Details
Match: IPL 2023, Match 22
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Broadcast and Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and JioCinema
Probable Playing XIs
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Cameron Green, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen/Kumar Karthikeya, Arshad Khan, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz/Jason Roy, N Jagadeesan, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (C), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy
Pitch and Weather Report
Wankhede Stadium has so far hosted only one game this season and it was between MI and CSK. The chasing side won the game comfortably while there was turn and bounce for the bowlers in the first innings. Hence, the team winning the toss will look to bowl first.
Weather forecast is set to be clear for this crucial encounter between MI and KKR. Humidity is likely to trouble players more with this being an afternoon game. There is no chance of rain whatsoever.
Predictions
Best Batter of the Match: Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma enjoys a terrific record against KKR in IPL. He has scored 1020 in 31 matches at an average of more than 40 with six fifties and a century to his name. Moreover, he is also coming off a brilliant half-century in the chase against DC in the previous outing.
Best Bowler of the Match: Piyush Chawla
Mumbai Indians' bowling might be inexperienced as a unit but they have a veteran in Piyush Chawla in their team. The leg-spinner is coming off a three-wicket haul in the previous game and will play a key role in this game too. There is a big match up for him against Andre Russell who has been dismissed by leg-spinners so far in this IPL season.
Who will win the Match: Mumbai Indians (MI)
