In match five of the Indian T20 League 2021, 2-time winners Kolkata take on defending champions Mumbai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday.

Kolkata played well in the last game to defeat Hyderabad by 10 runs while Mumbai lost against Bangalore by 2 wickets in a close game, continuing with their poor record in the season opener. This match provides an opportunity to continue the momentum or turn the tide depending upon which side you are on.

Morgan will be extremely pleased with the way his side battled and held their nerves toward the end of the last game. N Rana looks in tremendous form at the moment along with R Tripathi. The side will be expecting more from the likes of S Gill, Shakib, Russell, and the skipper himself. Cummins and P Krishna were impressive against Hyderabad and will have a very important role to play in this game against the strong batting line-up of Mumbai. V Chakravarthy will be a key player in the middle overs along with Shakib.

It was yet another opening loss for Mumbai, their seventh in a row. The biggest positives out of the last game was the form of C Lynn. The middle order is also strong with S Yadav and I Kishan scoring runs consistently. Pollard and the Pandya brothers missed out in the last game, which is a rare thing and is not expected to happen again. Bumrah looked good in the last game and M Jansen had a good debut game. R Chahar was very erratic with his lengths against Bangalore and has to improve a lot in this match. 

Given Kolkata’s poor head-to-head record against Mumbai, it will be interesting to see if they can register their second consecutive win of the season. Either way, expect a cracker of a game in Chennai on Tuesday.

Match Details

• Match: Kolkata vs. Mumbai, Match 5
• Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
• Date & Time: Apr. 13, 2021, at 7:30 PM IST

Statistics

• Head-to-Head Record: Kolkata (6) - Mumbai (21)
• Last 5 Games Record: Kolkata (1) - Mumbai (4)
• Average 1st Innings Score (Last 5 Games): 162 runs 
• Chasing Record (Last 5 Games): Won 2, Lost 3

Probable Playing XI

Kolkata

S Gill, N Rana, R Tripathi, Shakib al Hasan, E Morgan (C), A Russell, D Karthik (WK), P Cummins, K Nagarkoti, P Krishna, V Chakravarthy

Mumbai

Q de Kock (WK), R Sharma (C), S Yadav, I Kishan, K Pollard, H Pandya, K Pandya, T Boult, R Chahar, M Jansen, J Bumrah

Weather and Pitch Report

Chennai is expected to have clear weather during the match. The temperature will be around 29 degrees during the game. 

The pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium is a little two-paced. The new ball will come onto the bat nicely at the start and the batsmen will be happy to make the most of it. The speed variations will be key for the pacers and the spin bowlers will get more assistance as the match progresses. 

The captains that won the toss in the last two games chose to field first. Expect something similar in this game too. A first-innings score of around 175 runs should be a competitive one.

Top Fantasy Picks

• S Gill has been a constant at the top of the order for the last few seasons for Kolkata. He was their highest run scorer last year, with 440 runs in 14 matches at an average of 33.84. Since then, he has made his debut in the Indian team and will be confident of starting well here.
• A Russell did not have much of an impact with the bat in the last match, but he bowled well in the final overs and did not allow the Hyderabad batsmen to score freely. He has a good record at this venue, making scores of 50 and 80 in the previous editions.  
• P Krishna carried his good form in the recent ODI series against England into the first match for Kolkata, picking up the key wickets of Warner and Nabi. He was quick and accurate, troubling the batsmen. He will look to do more of the same here.
• R Sharma has a great record when he plays against Kolkata. He has scored a total of 939 runs from 27 innings at an impressive average of 46.95. He made 80 and 35 when the teams met last season. After a low score in the first game, this is the match-up he will relish. 
• S Yadav looked in good form in the last match, scoring a quick-fire 31 runs off 23 balls. He has been a rock for Mumbai in the No. 3 spot for the past few seasons and will be looking to play a much bigger innings in this match.
• J Bumrah was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers who kept them in the game till the very end in the last match. He picked up the key wickets of V Kohli and D Christian and gave away just 26 runs. He will look to pick up more wickets here.

Howzat Dream Team

• Wicketkeeper: Q de Kock
• Batsmen: S Yadav, R Sharma, R Tripathi, S Gill
• All-rounders: A Russell, K Pandya
• Bowlers: J Bumrah, M Jansen, P Krishna, V Chakravarthy

• Captain: A Russell/Q de Kock
• Vice Captain: R Sharma/S Gill

NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can select your own fantasy 11, and play all the fantasy cricket matches from the Indian T20 League in the coming days. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 11 is announced by each team (30 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the team suggested.

Get fantasy cricket tips on your favorite fantasy sports app and select your own team, Howzat!