Kolkata looks to iron out flaws against off-colour Mumbai Indians

MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders will look to iron out its flaws and get the better of a mis-firing Mumbai Indians when the two teams, placed on the opposite ends of IPL points table spectrum, clash here on Friday.

With six wins in nine games giving it 12 points and the second position in the IPL points table, a berth in the playoffs looks within the grasp of two-time winner KKR.

But the Shreyas Iyer-led side will have to find consistency across departments and avoid any slip-ups in order to make it to the final four.

Each of its three losses has come in the last six games for KKR, which was at the receiving end of a record run chase by Punjab Kings but did well to bounce back with a seven-wicket thrashing of Delhi Capitals.

With the bat, KKR’s requisite firepower in the ranks entwined with an ultra-aggressive approach has delivered the goods more often than not but it is its bowling which needs improvement.

Mitchell Starc has given nearly 12 runs an over while managing a mere seven wickets in eight outings. On flat, batting-friendly pitches, the lanky Australian’s lack of control has also been exploited well by zealous batters.

Harshit Rana is among those with most wickets (11) for KKR this season but the right-arm seamer will serve a one-match ban for his animated celebrations after dismissing DC’s Abhishek Porel.

Vaibhav Arora’s nine scalps in five games make him KKR’s best bet with the ball. A small Wankhede Stadium with a batting-friendly wicket tends to encourage scores in excess of 200 and the team would be mindful of that.

Spotlight will also be on Rinku Singh, whose exclusion from India’s main squad for the T20 World Cup, has triggered an outpouring of sympathy for the 26-year-old. The power-hitter has not got enough game time this season which probably tilted the scales against him.

For Mumbai Indians, the race to the IPL playoffs seems lost even though the five-time winner has five more games to play.

Even if Mumbai Indians wins each of these, it can only get to 16 points and somewhere in the middle of the points table — not necessarily challenging those who have been consistently good.

Jasprit Bumrah (14 wickets) and Gerald Coetzee (13) have been MI’s best bets with the ball but despite their impressive showing, the batters’ collective failure has resulted in the team’s underwhelming season.