Pressure will be on both Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians: Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram

Mumbai, May 13 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders bowling coach Wasim Akram on Wednesday said pressure will be on both Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) when the two teams meet in the Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter here on Thursday.

Mumbai face KKR in a must-win game here to qualify for the playoffs.

"We are playing Mumbai Indians in their den. They are a good side and in a good form. They won five on the trot but lost the last match against RCB. Pressure will be equally on both the sides," Akram said at the pre-match press conference here.

"Good sides are participating and still we do not know who is going to qualify for the top four. So I think this is the most interesting IPL as far as the table is concerned," he said.

The legendary fast bowler said that although bowlers have been hit for runs, the current season has seen some special bowling spells, variations in bowling compared to the other IPL season.

"It's part and parcel of T20. If you are a bowler you know you are going to be hit and someday you are going to have good days.

"This IPL we have seen spinners getting wickets, fast bowlers getting wickets. We have witnessed lot of variation in this IPL compared to te last year. So it means they are also evolving as bowlers," he said.

Speaking on the bowling strength in KKR line-up he said, "KKR's bowling has been exceptional. My job is very easy. If you have bowlers like Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel, Andre Russell, Azhar Mahmood, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Brad Hogg, Shakib Al Hasan, my job is very easy. I don't go out to change their action. My job is to talk about the field set up plan against the top batsman of the opposition."

South African speedster Dale Steyn has been dropped by his team Sunrisers Hyderabad for a couple of matches this season. The 48-year-old said, if Steyn would have been in his team, he would have played Steyn in all the matches, no matter what form the pacer is in.

"If I had Dale Steyn in my team, I would have played him in all the games. It all depends on what combination his team is going on with," he said.

"But if you pick any side from anywhere in the world, the number one bowler will be Dale Steyn. If he was in our team he would have played every game," Akram said.