A contest between two equals

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The scars of the last-ball six which resulted in a gut-wrenching defeat for Kolkata Knight Riders may take some time to heal but the Gautam Gambhir-led side will have to put the loss against Chennai Super Kings behind and start afresh in their away game against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday.

Like their counterparts, the Indians too were involved in a tight finish but came out on top against Royal Challengers Bangalore to register their ninth victory in the tournament from 14 games.

The match holds significance for both the teams, as a victory will ensure a berth in the play-offs stage. Mumbai Indians are currently placed second in the group with 18 points, just a point more than their counterparts KKR, who are third with 17 points from 14 games.

Riding on a four-match winning streak, the Knight Riders were on course to advance to the next round before suffering a humiliating 27-run defeat against Mumbai Indians at their home ground followed by a loss to CSK on Monday.

They will be keen to avenge defeat and level score against Mumbai, who incidentally will be playing their last home match.

Despite losing four of the seven home matches, Mumbai Indians — regardless of the varying nature of the Wankhede strip — continue to be the favourites.

The struggling batting order got its act together with first Rohit Sharma striking his maiden IPL ton against KKR and then Rayudu (81 off 54 balls) and Pollard (52 off 31 balls) sharing a 122-run unbroken stand to guide their side home in Bengaluru.

The record sixth wicket partnership has boosted Mumbai’s confidence and they look capable to pull off victories in the close games.

However, the bowling department will need to tighten its act in order to stop in-form Gambhir. Munaf Patel conceded a whopping 54 runs against RCB and has also been carted for 19 sixes, the most by a bowler this season.

The Knight Riders will be pinning their hopes on Sunil Narine to restrict Mumbai’s batsmen from scoring freely and will look to Kallis to chip in both with the bat and the ball.

Big-hitter Yusuf Pathan has had a quiet season, with a solitary wicket and 117 runs from 13 games.