IPL 2025: MI vs KKR Match Preview- Match 12

The five-time champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians, will face the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders, during the tournament's twelve encounters. The MI vs. KKR fixture will occur on March 31, 2025, at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Mumbai lost their opening game of the campaign against the Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. But the most significant boost for the side will be playing at home for the very first time in the 18th edition of the tournament. It was a spin test for the 2020 champions, who will look to end their drought of winning a title.

Even though Mumbai couldn’t do well in the opening game of the 2025 season, they found a young left-arm wrist spinner, Vinesh Puttur, for the new season. Tilak Verma started well against the Chennai spinners before their middle-order batting line-up struggled to get the runs and folded up like a pack of cards.

Also Read: IPL 2025: GT Playing XI vs MI- Match 9

Hardik Pandya’s return to the side means Mumbai can use an Indian player in the middle order who can bat in the lower order and also provide them with a few overs with the bat. That will help them in getting the balance right in the playing eleven for the MI vs KKR encounter.

Kolkata, on the other hand, didn’t start well with a defeat in the opening clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens. Apart from their aggressive southpaw opening batter Sunil Narine and captain Ajinkya Rahane, no one could stand apart in the innings.

All the batters in the middle order, consisting of Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Venkatesh Iyer, struggled to get the runs, and that cost them a few vital runs in the middle overs. The Jamaican all-rounder looked good with his fitness as he nailed a huge six down the ground, but going with the same intent was dismissed by the spin of Suyash Sharma.

In the bowling department, they couldn’t manage the flow of runs. Rajat Patidar, the RCB captain, nailed Narine for a few big shots early in his innings, and that didn’t allow them to contain pressure on the opposition side. They hope for a better result in the MI vs KKR fixture.

IPL 2025: MI vs KKR Preview Match 12

For Mumbai, they used Will Jacks at number three and opened with former captain Rohit Sharma and South African wicket-keeper batter Ryan Rickelton. They may think of tinkering with the batting line-up a little bit, with Jacks going to open the innings, while Rickelton may get dropped at number three.

The Kolkata Knight Riders had a perfect game during the victory against the Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Moeen Ali played in place of sick Sunil Narine, who undoubtedly will replace the England spin all-rounder for the MI vs KKR clash.

MI vs KKR Playing XI

Mumbai Indians

Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Vignesh Puttur.

Impact Sub: Satyanarayana Raju.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Moeen Ali/Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Oyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Spencer Johnson, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana.

Impact Sub: Varun Chakravarthy.

Also Read: IPL 2025: GT vs MI Free Live Streaming, Where To Watch IPL Live In India? Match 9

MI vs KKR Key Battles

• Ajinkya Rahane has nailed Hardik Pandya for 69 T20 runs in just 38 balls at a strike rate of 181.6, besides getting dismissed only once.
• Rohit Sharma has managed only 147 T20 runs in 142 balls against Sunil Narine, along with getting dismissed nine times at a strike rate of 103.50.
• Venkatesh Iyer has smacked 38 T20 runs in 25 balls against Deepak Chahar at a strike rate of 15,2 along with getting dismissed only once.