Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to get their stuttering season back on track when the Mumbai Indians come to town for their IPL fixture which is to be played at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday, April 24.
The Kolkata Knight Riders will be extremely low at this moment in time after suffering bad defeats.
The feeling within the team will be one of anger at the non-performance of some players who cost an awful lot of money in the auctions. Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary have done nothing in this tournament so far to help the Knight Riders when they have been called upon.
These are a couple of five star casualties that the Kolkata Knight Riders are carrying thanks to an under-strength bench. There is only so much that the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Jacques Kallis, and Eoin Morgan can do by themselves and it is high time that the rest of the batsmen bat properly.
There have been calls to get Brendon McCullum back in the lineup but it does not look like happening because that will require the home team to drop either of their two excellent spinners – a scenario that one does not foresee at the Eden.
The Mumbai Indians come into this match after a defeat to the Delhi Daredevils. The team will be hungry for a victory and with the players that they have got on their line-up, one would not be surprised to see them win.
The opening pairing has not worked for the Mumbai Indians this season and that remains a problem although Sachin Tendulkar is showing good signs.
The likes of Dinesh Karthik, Kieron Pollard and Rohit Sharma are in tremendous form and their bowling is extremely well balanced with the right mix of spin and pace.
Expect a feisty encounter at the Eden Gardens with a lot of drama.