KOLKATA: Watching Kolkata Knight Riders, one cannot help but remember the saying ‘Cricket is the great leveller’. Mumbai Indians Meeting at the business end of a tournament they have dominated for years seems like an unnecessary match. While five-time winners MI are out of the playoff race, three-time IPL champions KKR are out of contention.Go beyond limits with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!The hosts are one of five teams – Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals being the other four – fighting for the only available playoff berth as all sorts of configurations and combinations come into play. However, a defeat on Wednesday is likely to officially end KKR’s playoff hopes for the second consecutive season. Also winning the last two games, which would take them to 15 points, might not be good enough.KKR should take heart from the way they have turned their campaign around, registering five wins in their last six matches after a disastrous start to the season.But a team with nothing to lose often proves dangerous and MI played the role of party poopers for Punjab Kings in their last match. The fact is that it was MI who hit KKR hard in their first match in this IPL, recording a six-wicket victory.The main architects of this victory – Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma – will once again hold the key. Captain Hardik Pandya, who is expected to return after missing three matches due to injury, will boost MI’s batting as well as bowling departments. MI may fail this time, but they will always be ahead of their rivals with the experience of several international players.KKR, on the other hand, seem to have finally got their house in order. With New Zealand opener Finn Allen going, Rinku Singh has shouldered the responsibility of a finisher.
