IPL 2024, KKR vs MI: Kolkata Knight Riders looks to continue successful run against struggling Mumbai Indians

KKR hosts Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday. The face-off against Mumbai Indians assumes more significance as a win will ensure a playoffs spot for KKR.

Narine, who has scored 461 runs at a strike rate of 183.67, is in exceptional form that has propelled him as the team’s most successful all-rounder.  | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI/The Hindu

Kolkata Knight Riders will look to extend its recent run of success when it returns home after securing two emphatic away wins.

KKR hosts Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday. The face-off against Mumbai Indians assumes more significance as a win will ensure a playoffs spot for KKR.

The spate of success, highlighted by the fact that the team has won four of its last five outings, puts KKR on top of the league table with 16 points from 11 matches. This also makes it the favourite against the struggling Mumbai Indians, currently lying in the ninth spot (with eight points from 12 matches). Mumbai Indians is out of the race for a spot in the playoffs.

The opening partnership of Sunil Narine and Phil Salt has been the crucial factor in KKR’s consistent performance. Narine’s unheralded belligerence with the bat has been a key element in KKR posting 200-plus runs in six of the eight innings where it has batted first.

Narine, who has scored 461 runs at a strike rate of 183.67, is in exceptional form that has propelled him as the team’s most successful all-rounder. As a bowler, which is his primary vocation, Narine has been outstanding with an economy rate of 6.61 runs per over.

Salt, having scored 429 runs with a strike rate of 183.33, has proved to be the right companion for Narine. KKR, which beat Mumbai Indians by 24 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, will bank on the form of its key performers as it hopes to repeat the showing at home.