Two teams with contrary results in their 2021 Indian T20 League opener, Kolkata and Mumbai square off against each other in the fifth match at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium on April 13.
Kolkata taking on Mumbai has always been a rather one-sided affair, with the latter carrying supreme dominance not only in their recent outings but even in the head-to-head record. In their last five meetings in the Indian T20 League, Mumbai have beaten Kolkata on four occasions. The Eoin Morgan-led side’s only victory during this tenure dates back to 2019.
As far as Kolkata vs Mumbai overall head-to-head record is concerned, Mumbai have won 21 of their 27 meetings, while Kolkata have won just six. Team Kolkata’s fortunes at MA Chidambaram haven’t been good either. The team has played a total of 10 games at the venue, winning a measly three. Mumbai, on the other hand, have played nine games in Chennai and have won five.
| Kolkata vs Mumbai head-to-head | ||
| Kolkata | Metrics | Mumbai |
| 27 | Matches | 27 |
| 6 | Wins | 21 |
| 22.22% | Win% | 77.78% |
This will be the eighth meeting between the two teams at a neutral venue in the competition, and as one can expect, Mumbai holds the advantage with five wins and just two defeats. Note that both of Kolkata’s wins at neutral venues came in 2014; the year when they won their second Indian T20 League title.
None of Kolkata’s batsmen apart from Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell have enjoyed much success against Mumbai. The former, in particular, have been more impressive with 330 runs under his belt against the record champions. As far as their bowlers are concerned, Sunil Narine has been an outright thorn, picking 22 wickets in 17 matches at an economy of 6.78.
| Best Kolkata bowlers vs Mumbai | |||||||
| Player | Innings | Overs | Maiden | Wickets | Average | Economy | Strike rate |
| Sunil Narine | 17 | 67.1 | 0 | 22 | 20.72 | 6.78 | 18.3 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 11 | 42.2 | 0 | 12 | 25.16 | 7.13 | 21.1 |
Unlike the two-time champions, Mumbai have plenty of players who love playing against Kolkata. Their captain, Rohit Sharma has scored 939 runs against Kolkata and this includes one century and six half-centuries. A certain Hardik Pandya averages 71 against Kolkata. The all-rounder has starred with the ball too, scalping 11 wickets in nine games against Kolkata.
| Best Mumbai batsmen vs Kolkata | |||||||
| Player | Matches | Runs | Highest score | Average | Strike rate | 100s | 50s |
| Rohit Sharma | 27 | 939 | 109* | 46.95 | 133 | 1 | 6 |
| Hardik Pandya | 12 | 284 | 91 | 71 | 195.86 | 0 | 2 |
Despite the previous record though, Kolkata have been a better side at least in their last five Indian T20 League outings. They have averaged 18 fours and 7.8 sixes in the last five games compared to Mumbai’s 13 fours and 7.2 sixes. This puts Kolkata in a driving position against Mumbai.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Punit Paranjpe
