IPL 2021: 3 Player battles to watch out for in the KKR vs MI match

All of the IPL's eight teams have finished their first match of the 2021 season and come Tuesday (April 13), the Mumbai Indians (MI) take on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

Rohit Sharma's men will be keen to get some points on the board to get their victory ball rolling, while Eoin Morgan's side, buoyed by their win against SRH, will look to keep their momentum going.

Both sides are filled with bonafide superstars, and while the match makes for an intriguing contest in itself, the player battles will see the world's best go toe-to-toe against each other. Ahead of the tussle, here's a quick look at our player battles to keep an eye out for during the KKR vs MI match

IPL 2021 Match 5, KKR vs MI: 3 Player battles that could decide the game

1) Rohit Sharma vs Shivam Mavi

Mavi dismissed the MI skipper twice in as many games last season and that's something to keep an eye out for. Rohit has been troubled by sheer pace in the past and Mavi's searing speed proved a handful for the star batsman to deal with in IPL 2020. There could be a contest on the cards as Mavi looks to get the better of the world-class Team India opener again.

The UP all-rounder has had decent success in the previous edition, picking up nine wickets from his eight games. His economy of 8.15 was a stark improvement after his 9.64 in 2018.

For his part, Rohit Sharma will look to make amends after he was run out in the first match against RCB.

2) MI's experienced Jasprit Bumrah vs KKR's star all-rounder Andre Russell

Jasprit Bumrah spearheads MI's pace attack for a reason. The toe-crushing yorkers and the nagging line gives less room for batsmen to try and take him head on. One of his victims in both of Kolkata's games against Mumbai last year was Andre Russell.

Both of the IPL 2020 encounters between the two teams saw MI come away with a win and KKR will be looking to change that record. With Russell not in prime form in the previous edition of the IPL, he will be looking to get a few runs under his belt while also trying to avoid falling to Bumrah for the third time in a row.

3) West Indian big man Kieron Pollard vs Aussie speedster Pat Cummins

Another classic case of extreme pace against blunt power. Pat Cummins had a fruitful IPL 2020 for Kolkata as he picked up 12 wickets from 14 games. He will be up against one of Mumbai's seasoned campaigners in Kieron Pollard, who had a poor start to IPL 2021.

The big-hitting Mumbai all-rounder will also be looking to hit two sixes in the game against KKR as that would take his tally to 200 sixes in the IPL.