KKR look all set to face the defending champions, who in all likelihood will behave like a wounded tiger after encountering an opening game loss.
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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to maintain their winning run in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on Tuesday. The Kolkata-based franchise emerged victorious by a margin of 10 runs against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their opening encounter. MI, on the other hand, were defeated by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the edition’s opening match by two wickets. The two teams will be eager to register a win for different reasons, but what is set to be common is the enjoyment that fans will experience on witnessing some of the best in the business battle it out.
Bearing this in mind, let’s take a look at five player battles to watch out for:
Windies all-rounder Andre Russell will face off against Jasprit Bumrah, marking the clash of two players considered two of the best in the business. Russell can smash the ball to all corners of the ground on his day, with Bumrah capable of dismissing anyone on the back of inch-perfect yorkers.
Shubman Gill is a very elegant player with his sublime footwork and strokeplay earning a lot of fans. Shubman is well capable of turning the tide in important games, with his excellent performances. South African pacer Marco Jansen on the other hand, was quite impressive in his IPL debut against RCB. He will be looking to deliver more of the same when facing off against Shubman.
Pat Cummins was exceptional in KKR’s opening win against SRH. Cummins will however face a strong challenge from MI skipper Rohit Sharma, who is known to be quite harsh on deliveries that are short. The two players will be eager to get the better of each other, well aware that the face-off will have a major impact on the final result.
Sunil Narine is a very crafty spinner and can deceive the best in the business with his guile. Narine will face a worthy foe in Suryakumar Yadav who can play spin really well.
Harbhajan Singh is one of the most experienced spinners in the ongoing edition of the IPL. He will be facing off against his old team MI and former teammate Hardik Pandya, who is certainly a formidable opponent on his day. The battle between these players will be one to watch out for.
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