KOL vs MI, 5th Match IPL 2021, Probable Playing XI: Will Quinton de Kock Open?

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In the 5th Match of IPL 2021, Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) will take on Mumbai Indians(MI) on Tuesday. While KKR won their first game this season, MI once again started their campaign with a loss. 

Kolkata Knight Riders were off to a flyer in their first game courtesy of some brutal hitting by Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi. The two took the team to a competitive total on a tricky Chennai pitch. 

Dinesh Karthik once again showed his finishing skills as he smashed 22 off just 9 balls. Eoin Morgan hasn't been amongst the runs lately; he would be hoping to make an impact early in the tournament to get his rhythm going. 

Though Harbhajan Singh bowled just one over in the previous game, he will be a player to watch out for on the Chennai pitch, where he has been successful in the past. Prasidh Krishna looked in good rhythm in the previous game and good by a game-changer. KKR is unlikely to change their winning combination for this game. 

Mumbai Indians have to take a hard decision of either resting Chris Lynn after a good first game or bench Quinton de Kock - their most consistent opener. Ishan Kishan is a player to watch out for while Suryakumar Yadav will be the key player in the middle order. 

MI might stick to the same bowling lineup which almost defended a 160 run total. However, there is a chance that they could replace Marco Jenson with either Adam Milne or Nathan Coulter-Nile for this game. Rahul Chahar could be the X-factor for Mumbai. 

Mumbai Indians enjoy a dominating record against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. However, both the teams are looking well balanced for this contest and the match could go down to the wire. 

Kolkata Knight Riders - Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins, Harbhajan Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy

Mumbai Indians - Rohit Sharma (c), Chris Lynn/ Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Marco Jansen, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah