IPL 2020 is off to a flying start. The opening match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings clocked record viewership as 20 crore viewers tuned in to watch the match. Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to play their first match of this season.
Ahead of the match, Burj Khalifa gave them a 'Kings' welcome to UAE as it lit up in KKR colours. Even the anthem for the KKR team was played and all the players got a place on the majestic monument.
This is going to be a big match as it is the first match of the season for KKR. Mumbai Indians did not have the start that they would have wished for and would be looking at securing a win here.
The match will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Wednesday, September 23, 2020. Historically, Rohit Sharma-lead team has an upper hand against KKR in head-to-head clashes, having won 19 of the 25 matches but this will be an interesting match to look forward to.
Squads for Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma (captain), Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Quinton de Kock (w-k), Aditya Tare (w-k), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaspreet Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Digvijay Deshmukh, Jayant Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson
Squad for KKR
Dinesh Karthik (captain/wicket-keeper), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Ali Khan, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Siddhesh Lad, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton (wicket-keeper), Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, M Siddhartha, Nikhil Naik, and Chris Green
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, IPL 2020 could not start at its designated time in March 2020. However, the matches are now being played with virtual crowd and cheerleaders in UAE.