The defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will cross swords with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi tonight at 7:30 PM (IST).
While the five time champions MI had a disappointing start to their title defense campaign on day one of phase two, suffering a loss against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, KKR, on the other hand, will walk in the game, riding on the back of their comprehensive 9-wicket victory over RCB at the same venue.
While Rohit Sharma's return to the side will boost the spirits in the Mumbai dugout, the team will still have to put their A game forward against KKR without taking the past records with them for granted. The MI will still be deprived of Hardik Pandya's all round services as he is still unfit. KKR, on the other hand have decided to field an unchanged XI after their clinical performance in the last game.
Free Press Journal conducted a poll on Twitter ahead of the match which will commence at 7:30 pm today. The poll was conducted to find out which of the two teams will win the battle on field today.
Poll results show that there are possibilities of MI chances of winning more than KKR. 60% of cricket fans have voted for MI while 40% have voted in favour of the KKR.
Speaking about the pitch report, the track will offer a little swing. The pacers will have to use their variations regularly to claim wickets. However, spinners are expected to get assistance from the Abu Dhabi strip. Anything between the total of 160 and 180 should be a winning score.
RCB contested their last game here and were all out for a meager 92. However, KKR, on the other hand scored 94 runs in just 10 overs.
