As soon as both the captains walked out for the toss in Match 65 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI), fans wondered whether it was hardik pandya Which had to be called on the coin toss at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday, May 20, as the MI chief captain had missed the last three matches due to back spasms.
KKR vs MI: Toss update
The toss went in favor of the KKR captain. Ajinkya RahaneWho revealed his team's decision to field first at a venue where the pitch better supports batting in the second innings. Once the cracks on the pitch open up, the Kolkata surface is expected to become easier for the run chase. As a result, the host team asked Mumbai to set a target for them in this night's match.
KKR vs MI: Hardik returns to captaincy, MI made two changes
In a sweet development, Hardik is finally back to lead Mumbai once again, having missed the previous fixtures due to injury. This also means that MI's medical team has given him full fitness clearance. As soon as Hardik came, the all-rounder Corbin Bosch Had to sit out, while AM Ghazanfar also came into the line-up to provide his leg spinners. Meanwhile, KKR maintained their winning combination.
KKR vs MI: What did the captains say?
Ajinkya Rahane, KKR captain,
“We are looking to bowl first. (They need two wins out of two) Yes, absolutely. It's that simple. We just want to focus on this game. We played really good cricket in the last game against GT. As you mentioned, we need to win two out of two, but staying in the moment, playing good cricket over the course of 40 overs, that's really important.
“(See-saw season) Yes, I think in the first half of the tournament, there were moments that we could have taken advantage of and things could have been different, but again, no complaints, no regrets. The way we came back, the way we handled things and the confidence among the group was amazing. The atmosphere in the dressing room was really good. It's always about comebacks. It's always about living in the moment and how you can come back, how you can do well for the team. And people have had a blast.
“(Regarding the pitch) obviously the wicket is difficult to understand, but as I said, we need to play good cricket for the full 40 overs, and then see what happens. We are going in with the same team.”
Hardik Pandya, MI Captain,
“We would have bowled earlier too. It feels like the track has been put under cover. Just wanted to see how it actually plays. (Playing for glory) Absolutely. Whatever game you play, you want to win. You want to play your best cricket, give your best performance. Also, Mumbai Indians have a long history of winning titles.
“So just want to make sure we keep our heads high and make sure we represent Mumbai Indians in the best capacity. (Good record here) Yes, but that's in the past. We still need to come, play some good cricket and enjoy. (Changes?) I'm back. Gaza is back and I think, yes, just two changes.”
KKR vs MI: Playing XI
Kolkata Knight Riders
Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wicketkeeper), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Karthik Tyagi, Varun Chakraborty, Saurabh Dubey.
Effect Options: Finn Allen, Vaibhav Arora, Ramandeep Singh, Tejaswi Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi
Mumbai Indians
Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma (wk), Naman Dheer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya (c), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Raghu Sharma.
Effect Options: Shardul Thakur, Mayank Rawat, Robin Minz, Krish Bhagat, AM Ghazanfar
Get every cricket update! Follow us: :
Leave a Reply