IPL 2020 Match 5: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians Prediction and Preview

It’s always a daunting task to face off against the reigning champions, but even more so when they’re fresh off of a stinging defeat. Yet, that is the position the Kolkata Knight Riders find themselves in right now. It’s been 6 years since they won their last title, and despite having qualified for the playoffs three times since, they have nothing to show for their efforts other than two third place finishes. Mumbai on the other hand have had success every alternate year since 2013 - but by those statistics, they are supposed to fail this year. Of course, cricket doesn’t work that way, and this match will either give Kolkata a flying start and send Mumbai into a pit they didn’t think they would be in, or see the Indians shrugging off their loss and being business as usual. Before the clash begins, let’s take a look at how the teams fare on paper. 

Kolkata Knight Riders Preview & Form

Given its huge, enthusiastic fan base, it’s hard to be KKR and not proceed to the second round. A fun statistic is that KKR and MI are the only two of the five IPL teams who have played all 12 seasons of the IPL and actually won the competition at some point. In that regard, however, the Knight Riders are two titles behind MI, and after recent disappointing seasons, they would no doubt love to be back on top. Stars like Andre Russell, Lockie Ferguson, Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, and Pat Cummins obviously stand out. With such a well-rounded team, they can easily fancy their chances if they are able to work as a unified force. One thing that they’ll be wary about is that of their last 5 encounters, Mumbai took four.

Mumbai Indians Preview & Form

After a thoroughly regrettable start, Mumbai Indians will be disappointed and itching to prove themselves. With a super strong squad, there’s no reason for them not to be able to, but a sudden faltering has been known to do crazy things to a team. In their last game, they seemed to put up a good score before Chennai bowlers caused a near-collapse of their lower order. Overall, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Hardik and Krunal Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav all failed to go big with the bat, and when it was their turn to bowl, Only James Pattinson and Trent Boult put the opposition batsmen under any discomfort, although all 5 bowlers who bowled got a wicket each. If they are to do better, their immensely powerful batting lineup must do better.

KKR vs MI Predicted Playing XIs

KKR Lineup	MI Lineup
Dinesh Karthik	Rohit Sharma
Rahul Tripathi	Quinton De Kock
Sunil Narine	Surya Kumar Yadav
Eoin Morgan	Saurabh Tiwari
Shubhaman Gill	Hardik Pandya
Nitesh Rana	Keiron Pollard
Andre Russell	Krunal Pandya
Varun Chakravarthy	Rahul Chahar
Prasidh Krishna	Trent Boult
Kuldeep Yadav	Pattinson
Pat Cummins	Jaspreet Bumrah

KKR vs MI Match Prediction

Starting afresh against a slightly pressured Mumbai side, KKR should exploit the chinks in the champion’s armour. Expect Shubman Gill and Andre Russell to get the runs, while Sunil Narine and Pat Cummins strike with the ball.

Mumbai will be hell bent on picking up a W from this match, and their players should play accordingly. Expect Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav to make the ball cross the ropes, while Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult make the ball squeeze out mistakes from the batsmen.

Who will win the 5th match?

Match Prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders Win (2.08 @ 1XBET)

Other Betting Tips:

• Toss - MI

• KKR top batsman - S Gill

• MI top batsman – Q de Kock

• Players with most boundaries - S Gill (KKR), Q de Kock (MI)

• Players to score a fifty – S Gill/A Russell (KKR) S Yadav/Q de Kock (MI)

• Players to take most wickets -  S Narine (KKR), T Boult (MI)

• Most fours - MI

• Most sixes - KKR

Can the Knight Riders make a solid start to their campaign? Or will Mumbai prove to be too resilient? Find out on Wednesday!