Two-time former Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to cement their play-offs berth for the first time in three seasons as they aim to sign off from the iconic Eden Gardens on a positive note when they take on a struggling Mumbai Indians on Saturday.

Sitting atop the 10-team standings with eight wins from 11 matches, another win will guarantee KKR the playoff berth while five-time champions MI are already eliminated from the race to the top four.

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The KKR management’s ploy to rope in former captain Gautam Gambhir as the team mentor for IPK 2024, has been a masterstroke as the World Cup-winning India opener has injected a competitive spirit in the team that somehow was lacking in the past few seasons.

Gambhir could be credited for the resurgence of the KKR unit that has found multiple ways to bounce back from tricky situations. They would be hoping that their top-heavy batting line-up continues to pile up the runs as the IPL runs into the business end.

The onus will once again be on the opening combo of Sunil Narine and Phil Salt to set the perfect platform in power-plays that could propel the side to another six 200-plus total. They already have got six massive totals in excess of 200 from eight matches batting first.

With one century and three fifties, Narine has also been KKR’s leading run-getter, amassing 461 runs at a strike-rate of 183.66. Englishman and world’s No.2 T20 batter Salt has scored 429 runs at a strike-rate of 183.33

While the over-dependence on the duo could be costly, it also means that the rest of the batting order hasn’t really been tested. The explosive form of the opening pair has left the likes of Andre Russell and Rinku Singh, their designated finishers, with very few opportunities. The young Angkrish Raghuvanshi at No.3 has also proved his worth, while Ramandeep Singh has been impressive at the death.

Narine has also led the bowling unit well alongside the other spinner Varun Chakravarthy. With their lead pacer Mitchell Starc still failing to be consistent, it means that the likes of Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora will have to shoulder the responsibility to counter Rohit Sharma and Co.

In contrast, Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians became the first team to be knocked out after Sunrisers Hyderabad demolished Lucknow Super Giants the other day, and as such MI will look to salvage some pride.

Fresh from scores of 56 and 102 not out, Suryakumar Yadav has hit red-hot form, something that augurs well for the Indian team before the ICC T20 World Cup, starting June 1. Team India fans will expect the same form from Rohit and Hardik as the India skipper has four single-digit scores and one 11 in last five games, while Pandya’s best this season has been 46. The struggling all-rounder has failed to cross 10 in his last six innings.

Pandya will also hope to regain his bowling form ahead of the T20 World Cup. Against an in-form KKR opening duo, it will be interesting to see how Narine and Salt counters the threat from Jasprit Bumrah and Gerald Coetzee.