Kolkata Knight Riders, one of the five teams vying for the remaining solitary playoff berth, will try to exact revenge on Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday and stay alive in IPL 2026.

KKR must have regained some self-belief after defeating Gujarat Titans in its previous outing.

The host, which has struggled through the season due to injuries to its key players, will be keeping a close eye on spinner Varun Chakaravarthy and pacer Matheesha Pathirana. Varun bowled against GT despite nursing a foot injury while Pathirana pulled his hamstring midway through an over in the same match.

Sunil Narine, who not only dries up runs but also provides crucial breakthroughs, has been KKR’s trump card. All-rounder Cameron Green is a decent back-up seamer, while left-arm pacer Saurabh Dubey provides variety.

With opener Finn Allen rediscovering his touch, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Green making healthy contributions, and Rinku Singh performing well in the middle-order, KKR would be secure about its batting. However, skipper Ajinkya Rahane will be expected to raise his game.

The already eliminated MI will be without any pressure as its sole motive will be to win the remaining two games and finish on a high.

A side, which has logged several impressive totals and consists of destructive batters such as Ryan Rickelton, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma and Sherfane Rutherford, should make life difficult for the KKR bowlers. Regular skipper Hardik Pandya could return to the side.

With an attack comprising Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Corbin Bosch, and A.M. Ghazanfar in addition to Hardik, MI can dent KKR’s remote chances. The home team needs to produce something special to check MI and keep its loyal fan base happy.