IPL 2021: [Watch] Mumbai Indians sweat it out ahead of the game against KKR
The Mumbai Indians' (MI) cricketers put in the hard yards ahead of today's game against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The players looked determined to return to winning ways in a short video shared by the franchise on their official Instagram profile.
Opener Chris Lynn and captain Rohit Sharma worked on their range-hitting skills during the session, while other players took part in fielding and fitness drills.
Last week, the Mumbai Indians lost their opening game of the IPL 2021 season. The five-time champions have now failed to win their first game of the season since 2013.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) got the better of Rohit Sharma and his men and won the season opener by two wickets.
MI lacked an explosive finish with the bat, which was a significant reason behind their undoing. In the last five overs of their innings, the team only managed to put up 31 runs on the board and failed to accelerate after a strong start.
Even though their bowlers put up a great effort to make the game extremely close, a few more runs on the board might have worked in the Mumbai Indians' favour.
Mumbai Indians' fabulous record against the Kolkata Knight Riders
Going into their second game of the season, the Mumbai Indians will look to be positive, given their remarkable record against Tuesday's opponent, KKR.
MI and KKR have faced each other 27 times in the IPL. The Mumbai-based franchise has dominated KKR like no other, winning 21 of their matches. Last year, the team defeated the Kolkata-based side in both league matches.
The Knight Riders, meanwhile, will be hopeful of turning the tables this time around. They started the season well with a win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their opening encounter.
In their season opener, the KKR batsmen came up with a comprehensive performance which helped them post a massive total of 187/6 against a strong SRH bowling line-up. Nitish Rana was brilliant with the bat, scoring 80 runs, and the team will be hoping that he continues the good work.