MUMBAI INDIANS

STRENGTHS CONSISTENCY

The twice former champions have lost thrice to Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 10, including twice in the league stage, but MI have just four defeats in 14 ties, which reflects their consistency. They lost just two out of seven away matches, which straightaway put them ahead at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium for Qualifier 2.

SHEER DEPTH

No team in IPL 10 boasts of the batting depth as MI does. They don’t depend on the top four alone to find scoring momentum. Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya are capable of stepping it up if Parthiv Patel, Kieron Pollard, Lendl Simmons or skipper Rohit Sharma slip up

CLEARLY AHEAD

Mumbai Indians seem to know how to dismantle KKR time and again. Rohit Sharma’s side boast of an overall 15-5 win-loss record in the Indian Premier League, a number which is hard to ignore despite how balanced the two teams look. This season, Mumbai have won both their matches against Gautam Gambhir’s side, including the win at the Eden Gardens.

WEAKNESSES ROHIT SHARMA

The skipper hasn’t really set IPL 10 on fire, aggregating only 283 runs at an average of 23.58 with three fifties. Batting at No 4 to lend balance to the team hasn’t helped India’s limited-overs opener either. Whether MI change the line-up and push skipper Rohit to open remains to be seen.

BATTING CONDITIONS

The weather in Bangalore could make batting at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium a challenge. On Wednesday, the batsman had it tough, and the rain made things even more challenging. Mumbai Indians middle-order batsmen thus will need to find a way to score if the top-order batsmen don’t click.

BOWLING UNIT

Mumbai bowlers failed to exert control in the defeat against Rising Pune Supergiant in Qualifier 1. The bowling unit looked a bit weak in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, who has kept things tight at one end. Leg-spinner Axar Patel didn’t exude the confidence of the senior pro.