Table toppers Mumbai Indians will be keen to successfully utilise their second chance as they take on Kolkata Knight Riders for a spot in the final of the Indian Premier League in the second Qualifier on Friday in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, Kolkata, fresh from a win in the Eliminator, will be eager to avenge their twin defeats in the league stage.

Both teams are coming into the Eliminator with contrasting fortunes – Mumbai suffered a 20-run defeat against Rising Pune Supergiant in the first Qualifier, while KKR beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets via Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-truncated Eliminator.

Both Mumbai and Kolkata have won the IPL trophy twice in the nine years of the league and are looking for a chance to try for a third against Rising Pune Supergiant, who have already reached the final.

However, Kolkata have an abysmal 5-15 head-to-head record against Mumbai Indians in the IPL, a stat that might weigh them down. In fact, Kolkata have won only one match against Mumbai in the last three seasons.

Mumbai also hold the edge on account of their incredible form in the league stages, notching 10 victories and topping the table. Kolkata, on the other hand, finished fourth on the table, making it into the playofss on the virtue of their initial form after a series of losses in the second half of the season. However, KKR has the winning momentum, having beaten the defending champions on the same ground less than a day before, while Mumbai would have arrived in Bengaluru after a three-day break.

Time: 8 pm
Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

TV: Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony ESPN and their HD Channels
Head-to-head since 2015:
Played: 6
Kolkata Knight Riders: 1
Mumbai Indians: 5

Mumbai Indians

  • Mumabi captain Rohit Sharma has scored more runs against Kolkata than against any other team, amassing 684 runs at an average of 48.86.
  • The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru can be called a lucky ground for Mumbai as they’ve won seven of their nine matches at the venue.

“We got to believe in ourselves. We got another chance because we played well throughout the tournament. That’s the reason we got another chance of playing the Eliminator. It’s very important for us to forget what has happened today and treat the next game as the semi final.” – Parthiv Patel after the loss to Pune in the first Qualifier.

Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal, Lendl Simmons, Vinay Kumar, Parthiv Patel, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nitish Rana, Siddhesh Lad, Jagadeesha Suchith, Hardik Pandya, Jos Buttler, Tim Southee, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Punia, Saurabh Tiwary, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Johnson, Karn Sharma, Asela Gunaratne, Krishnappa Gowtham, Kulwant Khejroliya.

Kolkata Knight Riders

  • Kolkata Knight Riders’ scoring rate in the Powerplay this season is a whopping 9.69, which is the highest among all teams.
  • Captain Gambhir is second in the list of highest run-getters this season, with 486 runs and his contribution will be crucial if KKR are to overturn the Mumbai mental block. 

“A lot of credit to the bowlers. They set the game up for us... We should have been more sensible with the batting, though.” – Gautam Gambhir after the win against Sunrisers in the Eliminator.

Squad: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Darren Bravo, Yusuf Pathan, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa (wk), Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot, Trent Boult, Piyush Chawla, Nathan Coulter Nile, Colin De Grandhomme, Rishi Dhawan, Sayan Ghosh, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Ishank Jaggi, Kuldeep Yadav, Chris Woakes, Chris Lynn, Manish Pandey.