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Kolkata Knight Riders
Mumbai Indians
Kolkata Knight Riders will face Mumbai Indians in the 65th match of IPL 2026 at Eden Gardens. Both teams will enter this game after winning their previous matches, but their overall campaigns have been inconsistent. KKR will start this match in 8th place with 5 wins from 11 matches, while MI are 9th with 4 wins in 12 games.
KKR look slightly more confident after winning 4 of their last 5 matches. Their batting unit has improved in the second half of the tournament, and the bowling attack has also delivered better results at crucial stages. MI, however, will take confidence from their win over KKR earlier this season.
The recent head-to-head record has been competitive. MI have won 3 of the last 5 meetings, while KKR have won twice. Chasing teams have won 3 of those 5 matches, which will keep the toss important for this contest.
KKR have a strong chance to post a bigger opening stand because Finn Allen has been in good form recently, while MI have struggled to take early wickets consistently this season.
The betting tip is...
Highest Opening Partnership - KKR
52 %
48 %
Kolkata Knight RidersMumbai IndiansKKR have had contributions from their batting unit in recent matches. Finn Allen has 321 runs at a strike rate of 221.37 and registered back-to-back fifties. Angkrish Raghuvanshi remains their best batter with 422 runs at a strike rate of 146.52 and also scored consecutive fifties.
Rinku Singh added 286 runs at 148.95 SR in 9 innings. Raghuvanshi and Rinku have 5 and 2 fifties, respectively, this season. Cameron Green has 316 runs at 150.47 SR, while Ajinkya Rahane chipped in with 251 runs.
The bowling attack produced wickets regularly, though it leaked runs at times. Kartik Tyagi leads with 16 wickets, while Vaibhav Arora picked up 11 wickets.
Sunil Narine has claimed 13 wickets and remains the most economical bowler for the side. Varun Chakaravarthy has taken 10 wickets in 9 matches at around 8 economy, while Anukul Roy has 8 wickets in 12 games.
Allen, Raghuvanshi and Green are the key batters.
Predicted Lineup: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi
Ryan Rickelton has 430 runs at a strike rate of 190.26 and has been their most aggressive batter at the top. Rohit Sharma also has mixed returns and managed 268 runs at a strike rate of 164.41 in 7 matches.
Naman Dhir has 312 runs at 150.00 SR, while Tilak Varma has 336 runs at 162.31 SR in the middle order. Suryakumar Yadav has just 195 runs.
AM Ghazanfar leads the attack with 13 wickets in 9 matches. Corbin Bosch has impressed with 8 wickets in just 4 games. Jasprit Bumrah has only 3 wickets in 12 matches with an economy of 8.5, while Hardik Pandya managed 4 wickets in 8 games. MI also kept changing combinations regularly this season.
Rickelton, Tilak and Bosch are the key players.
Predicted Lineup: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Raghu Sharma, Corbin Bosch, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar.
Kolkata Knight Riders will start slightly ahead in this contest because their top order has looked more settled in recent matches. Finn Allen has been in strong form with back-to-back fifties, and his aggressive approach in the powerplay could put MI under pressure early. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has also scored consistently this season.
MI will depend heavily on their top order as well, but their bowling unit has lacked consistency throughout the tournament.
KKR also have more reliable wicket-taking options in the middle overs through Sunil Narine and Kartik Tyagi. Prince has averaged close to two wickets per match this season, the best return among bowlers in this matchup.
