New Delhi, April 16 (IANS) Mumbai Indians – who are often termed as the late bloomers in IPL – secured their first win of this season when they defeated Delhi Capitals in the latter’s backyard.
The Rohit Sharma-led side will now look to continue the winning momentum but they face a tough opponent in KKR.
Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar reckons it will be interesting to see how Mumbai Indians perform at home as they seemed to have cracked the winning code in this season.
“The upcoming match is going to be very interesting for Mumbai because after breaking the long streak of defeat, there must have been a change in the mindset of the Mumbai team and now it will be interesting to see what kind of game they show to maintain their winning streak,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh – who has been a part of the KKR side in the past – is impressed with the way Nitish Rana is performing with the bat and also the way he is leading them as a captain of the side.
“Nitish Rana has led KKR from the front in the last two games. His timing has been immaculate, he attacked spinners and pacers with equal ease. He is batting well and even making the captaincy moves brilliantly,” Harbhajan said.
In the matches on Super Saturday, Lucknow Super Giants lost to Punjab Kings at home but the biggest positive for the team was the way their captain KL Rahul batted. Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan believes the confidence of the first fifty in IPL 2023 will boost Rahul’s confidence and this is big news for LSG fans.
“KL Rahul coming into form is good news for Lucknow. This will give confidence to this team. If Rahul’s bat speaks, this team will post a good score. And he has some quality bowlers who can defend the total for Lucknow Super Giants.”
In the first doubleheader on Saturday, RCB’s batting mainstay Virat Kohli notched up his third fifty of the season and former India cricketer Mithali Raj believes Kohli’s knock will inspire other players in the side to do well.
Speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Live, Mithali Raj said, “An opener setting momentum for team is important in T20s and Virat did just that against Delhi Capitals. Virat charges against the bowlers who are bowling at a speed of 140/150 kmph. He’s never bogged down by the bowlers’. The strike rate with which he’s scoring runs in the middle will give the confidence to the other batters to do well when they step in.”
–IANS
cs
