IPL: Ousted MI want to win for their fans; KKR need it to stay in the race

The phrase playing for pride is one of the well worn cliches – but that’s what the star-studded Mumbai Indians will be aiming to do as they take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday. It’s been a while since the five-time champions have been out of contention, but they will be certainly looking to go out on a high in the two remaining league matches.

The Knights, sitting in eighth position in the table, are still in with a mathematical chance to be the fourth team in the play-offs – but a prime requisite for that will be to win both their remaining games (MI and Delhi Capitals on Sunday) and keep an eye on other results. Interestingly, there is a common theme in the chequered campaigns of both teams this year – that of a tryst with injuries to their key players.

 Acknowledging the issue, MI finisher Naman Dhir said: ‘’Yes, injury problems have really hampered our campaign. Rohit bhai was out with a hamstring injury for quite sometime, Hardik had a back problem while Surya went out on parternity leave.’’ If that was not enough, South African opener Quinton de Kock and young allrounder Raj Angad Bawa have been ruled out of the rest of the tournament.

Add to this, the Mumbai Paltan had to play under three different captains – Hardik, Surya and Jasprit Bumrah with the later managing to lead the team to a moraleboosting win in their previous game. Hardik, who has joined the team in Kolkata, bowled full tilt at the nets on Monday and spent some time batting – raising hopes of him making a comeback on Wednesday.

Asked whether playing under three different captains in a choppy campaign can be a ‘distraction,’ Dhir denied such a suggestion. ‘’We are looking to win the remaining two games for our fans,’’ said Dhir, one of their few consistent performers this season.

The hosts, who got their act right too late in the campaign with five wins from last six games, are meanwhile sweating on the fitness of their mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. With just 10 wickets against his name, Varun had hit the groove alongwith senior partner Sunil Narine in past few weeks, but has been bothered by a troublesome toe and did not fully fit while bowling at the optional nets on Tuesday.

 Matheesha Pathirana, the megabucks slingshot pacer from Sri Lanka, proved another non-starter for KKR when he pulled a hamstring after bowling just 1.2 overs in their previous home game against Gujarat Titans. ‘’Pathirana is still being assessed,’’ said the KKR spokesperson – which makes him a doubtful starter against a powerful batting line-up.