Big picture: KKR hope to continue winning run
After going winless in their first six games in IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders bounced back with five wins in their next six matches. This late resurgence has kept their campaign alive, although winning both of their remaining matches might still not be enough to qualify for the playoffs.
Two players who had been dropped on form earlier in the season are leading KKR’s comeback now. Finn Allen (240 runs at a strike rate of 233) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (213 runs at an average of 71) will once again have to be at their best as they welcome Mumbai Indians to Eden Gardens.
MI have beaten KKR in 25 out of 36 outings including successfully hunting down 221 earlier this year. They’ve won two out of their last three games, although the results have come a bit too late. Having been eliminated from the playoffs race, MI are essentially playing to avoid their third last-place finish since 2022. In a positive for MI, they will have Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav back against KKR.
Kolkata Knight Riders: WLWWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Mumbai Indians: WLWLL
In the spotlight: Green and Rickelton
Apart from Allen and Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green’s upturn in form has also been a reason for KKR finding their feet. After starting with just 56 runs in five innings, he has hit back with 260 runs at a strike rate of 152.05 in his next seven innings. KKR have locked Green in at No. 4 – he has batted there six times out of his last seven innings after batting at three different positions when he was short of runs. KKR will hope that form continues for two more games, and arrives much earlier next season.
Ryan Rickelton has been one of the stars for MI despite their having a forgettable campaign. He’s one of only three batters this season to have scored at least 400 runs at an average of 40-plus and a strike rate of 180-plus. Rickelton has repeatedly provided attacking starts with Rohit Sharma at the top, and could be one of their longer-term bets as they look to rebuild ahead of next season.
Team news: Hardik and Suryakumar set to return
Three days ago, Matheesha Pathirana walked off feeling his hamstring just eight balls into his first game for KKR. Allrounder Anukul Roy said on the eve of the match against MI that Pathirana is still being assessed. Should Pathirana miss out against MI, KKR might replace him with Blessing Muzarabani, who hasn’t played since KKR’s second game this season, on April 2.
Kolkata Knight Riders (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 2 Finn Allen, 3 Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), 4 Cameron Green, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Anukul Roy, 9 Varun Chakravarthy, 10 Saurabh Dubey, 11 Kartik Tyagi, 12 Blessing Muzarabani
Hardik has missed MI’s last three games due to back spasms, while Suryakumar didn’t play against Punjab Kings due to personal reasons. They’re both available for selection on Wednesday. AM Ghazanfar could also be back as MI’s second spin option on what is a helpful ground for spinners. Raj Bawa, who replaced Hardik in his absence, has been ruled out of the rest of the season due to injury.
Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Naman Dhir, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Will Jacks, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Raghu Sharma, 12 AM Ghazanfar
Pitch and conditions: Relatively fresh pitch on the cards
The match at Eden Gardens will be played on pitch No. 4. It has hosted only one game this season, the day game against Rajasthan Royals, when KKR successfully chased down 156. Overall, out of four completed matches in Kolkata this season, two wins have come batting first and two wins from chasing. The weather is expected to be cloudy on Wednesday evening.
Stats and trivia: Bumrah’s lean season
