2 days Ago
MI vs KKR IPL Live Score: 'Rohit is at a stage in his career where he has to push himself every morning' Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar has painted a grim picture of Rohit Sharma's current form, saying "things are slipping away" from the senior batter who has reached a point in his career where he has to "push himself every morning". The Mumbai Indians star has flopped in the first two matches of the Indian Premier League, getting out for eight in the team's latest game against Gujarat Titans on Saturday. "Rohit Sharma is clearly going through a phase.
He's not the Rohit Sharma of, say, three to four years ago. He's at a stage in his career where he has to push himself every morning - train hard and be at his best - because things are slipping away for him. He's still relying on his natural talent and instincts," Manjrekar said on JioStar.
MI lost the game to GT by 36 runs. Analysing Mumbai Indians' performance with the bat in the last two matches, Manjrekar said, "Ryan Rickelton, being a South African, will take time to adjust to Indian pitches. Very few South African batters, barring AB de Villiers and Heinrich Klaasen, have truly flourished on Indian pitches.
So, we'll have to give him time. "Apart from that, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav, along with Robin Minz and some of the other players, form the batting line-up. However, to me, it still looks a little unconvincing.
And a lot of them rely on pitches where the ball comes onto the bat nicely. "There's pace and bounce, and even in that chase where they needed 12 or 13 runs, if it had been at Wankhede Stadium, they would have likely come very close to the target." Manjrekar, however, remained optimistic about Mumbai Indians' campaign despite their early losses.
Set a challenging target of 197, MI were stopped at 160 for six on Saturday. "Mumbai Indians didn't look in the race when they lost two wickets for 35. In comparison, Gujarat Titans had around 129 runs for their first two wickets.
After that, it seemed like Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav were trying to build a partnership. "The challenge with building a partnership in a chase of over 190 is that the required run rate starts to suffer, and that's exactly what happened. In the end, you have to say that Gujarat Titans batted better - I thought they got maybe 15 to 20 runs over par.
"The dew never came in, which made Mumbai's job even more difficult. But despite all that, two losses are quite typical for Mumbai Indians. They still seem to be on the right track to go on and win the title," Manjrekar concluded.
MI vs KKR IPL Live Score: 'Narine is fit, available for MI game' KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit confirmed that veteran all-rounder Sunil Narine has recovered from illness and is available for clash against Mumbai Indians. "Sunil is 100 per cent fit. He has definitely recovered well and he has been practicing since yesterday.
Today, he is practicing as well. So, he is absolutely fine at the moment," he said. With Mumbai Indians losing both their contests so far in the IPL, Pandit said his side would want to put further pressure on the hosts.
"More than anything else, I would definitely think about the way our team has played the last game. Mumbai Indians have not been doing that (winning) so that is another advantage that we can put a pressure on them. "But the game is being played in Mumbai and we have to adapt immediately to the conditions here and that is what we have been planning, (hopefully) we would be able to do that," he said.
MI vs KKR IPL Live Score: 'Who will not want home advantage' Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit on Sunday supported the idea of teams having greater control over the nature of pitches at their home venues, saying they too "expect something to be provided" at Eden Gardens. The nature of the pitch at KKR's home venue has been in discussion ever since captain Ajinkya Rahane wished getting more support for his spinners at the Eden Gardens. "As a coach, as a team management, we always.
.. whatever the surface has been provided to us, we play.
The control, of course, that will be under curator," Pandit told the media here on Sunday. Pandit, who refrained from making any definite comments on the topic, said any team including KKR would like to play on pitches that support their skills. "At this moment, my focus is definitely going to be in the next game tomorrow which we are playing," he said ahead of the clash against Mumbai Indians here.
"At the moment, I am definitely not thinking on what has to be done, what is in whose control. But, let us focus on tomorrow's game which is very crucial for us. "I don't know what is the system in different states or different grounds where the control is over the franchise.
But, at the moment, what I understand is the surface which is given to us, probably, of course, as a team management, as a coach, as a captain, we expect something to be provided. That's all," he said. When asked if IPL teams in general should receive more favorable pitches at their home venues for seven out of 14 league matches, Pandit replied, "Who will not be happy about that? I mean, this is a simple answer.
" MI vs KKR IPL Live Score: KKR Eyeing Back-to-Back Wins After bouncing back from an opening loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru with a convincing win over Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders will aim to build on that momentum. Led by Ajinkya Rahane, KKR boasts a formidable batting lineup featuring Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. However, the decision to open with Moeen Ali in the absence of Sunil Narine looked unconvincing, with Quinton de Kock still searching for a solid partner at the top.
KKR’s finishing power remains a strong suit, thanks to the presence of Rinku Singh and Andre Russell in the death overs. Their bowling attack is equally threatening, with Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora leading the pace unit alongside Australian left-armer Spencer Johnson. However, KKR’s biggest strength lies in their spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, who have the ability to choke opposition batters even on good surfaces.
Narine, recovering from illness, trained on Saturday, signaling a potential comeback—an exciting prospect for KKR given his importance in their past IPL triumphs. Head-to-Head and Previous Meeting KKR will take confidence from their 24-run victory over Mumbai Indians at Wankhede last season—their first win at the venue in 12 years. With MI struggling at home in recent seasons, KKR will look to capitalize on their opponent’s vulnerabilities.
MI vs KKR IPL Live Score: Hello and welcome! Hello and welcome to the Live coverage of IPL 2025 match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. Mumbai Indians, known for their slow starts in the Indian Premier League, will look for a quick turnaround when they face defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at home on Monday. After suffering back-to-back defeats against Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, MI will be eager to open their account in IPL 2025.
Despite their reputation for bouncing back to claim titles, Mumbai Indians will need better execution from their bowlers and greater consistency from their batters—especially given their lack of specialist finishers in the lower order. Key Concerns for MI Rohit Sharma has had an inconsistent start, registering two single-digit scores, including a duck. Meanwhile, Ryan Rickelton, playing his first IPL season, has yet to find his rhythm despite flashes of promise.
Suryakumar Yadav showed signs of form with a 48-run knock against GT, but he has yet to deliver a trademark match-winning performance. Tilak Varma remains Mumbai’s most dependable batter so far, and his partnership with Suryakumar could be crucial for MI's revival. Squad rotations have left MI searching for the right balance, but the absence of a proven finisher—like Tim David in previous seasons—has made their lower order vulnerable.
Hardik Pandya, leading MI at Wankhede for the first time since taking over from Rohit Sharma, will be keen to impress, especially after facing a hostile reception from fans last year. Meanwhile, MI’s bowling attack continues to miss Jasprit Bumrah, with Deepak Chahar now sharing pace responsibilities alongside Trent Boult and Reece Topley. Top Stories Right Now.
