KKR vs MI IPL 2026: Kolkata Knight Riders clash with Mumbai Indians in Kolkata on Wednesday. Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bowl first, while Hardik Pandya returns to captain Mumbai after a brief hiatus.
The Mumbai-based franchise has got a huge boost since both their regular captain Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav have returned to the playing XI after giving their last match a miss.
At the same time, everything is at stake for the Ajinkya Rahane-led side, and if they lose this match, then they will be knocked out of the race to the playoffs.
MI vs KKR: Toss Update
Both the skippers, Hardik Pandya and Ajinkya Rahane, came out for the coin toss. KKR won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Talking about the changes to their playing XIs, the hosts have made one change, with Rovman Powell replacing Matheesha Pathirana.
MI vs KKR: Captains' Thoughts
Hardik Pandya (Mumbai Indians Captain): "We would've bowled first as well. Looks like a track that has been under the covers. So, just wanted to see how the wicket plays out.
(Playing for pride) Absolutely. Whichever game you play for this franchise, you want to play your best cricket and put your best foot forward. At the same time, the Mumbai Indians have a long history of winning titles. So, just want to represent MI to the best of our ability by keeping our heads high.
Ajinkya Rahane (Kolkata Knight Riders captain): "We are looking to bowl first. (On the fact that they have to win two out of the remaining two matches) It is as simple as that. We want to focus on this game and play good cricket overall. It is about winning two in two, but also about staying in the moment.
MI vs KKR: Impact Subs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Vaibhav Arora, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Tejasvi Singh
Mumbai Indians: Allah Ghazanfar, Krish Bhagat, Shardul Thakur, Robin Minz, Mayank Rawat
Teams:
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Raghu Sharma
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Saurabh Dubey
