After a short break, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be back in action as they square off in Match 32 of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

While MI have five wins against their name from seven games, KKR have thus far secured four victories from seven matches in the IPL 2020. In their last encounter, MI had come out on top against KKR on the back of their skipper Rohit Sharma's 45-ball 70.

All of MI's top-order has scored runs in IPL 2020 now. Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, and even Krunal Pandya. If anything, we just wish that MI becomes a bit more flexible and allows Pollard to come up before Kishan after the tenth over.

MI tends to like to keep its powerful middle-order exclusively for the last five overs and that is a dangerous ploy, especially as the pitches become slower. Starting fast is going to be more difficult and MI could find itself stuck in a hole.

The bowling attack has been doing well for MI. Trent Boult, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Krunal Pandya are the regular bowlers. They keep a tight lid on things when they bowl and more often than not, pick up early wickets as well.

KKR added Tom Banton to the side in place of Sunil Narine and it gives them a proper opener, something that Sunil Narine was not, and also takes away the pressure from Rahul Tripathi who looked troubled against genuine pace. Banton must find a way to adapt to the slower conditions quickly, though.

KKR's batting needs a bit of work. Shubman Gill seems to be scoring runs in most matches but is not carrying on to big scores. His strike-rate could also be better considering he bats at the top of the order. Nitish Rana and Eoin Morgan are struggling for runs even though they seemed to be in great touch at the start of IPL 2020. Dinesh Karthik played wonderfully against KXIP but has nothing else for quite a while and Andre Russell has yet to make a lasting impact in IPL 2020.

A strong batting lineup on paper is not being able to play to potential. This is where things start to spiral out as tactics change, players shift out of positions, and are forced to play out of character. KKR needs to arrest this slide in its batting very quickly.

The bowling attack is struggling too. Pat Cummins has not been the buy that everyone thought he may be. Now that Sunil Narine is absent and Andre Russell always close to an injury, the pace at which pressure on the Indian contingent in this lineup is immense. Prasidh Krishna, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, and Varun Chakravarthy are expected to lead an IPL attack. They are talented but frankly not yet world-class. It is also a striking sight to see Kuldeep Yadav being sat on the bench even when the bowling resources are stretched so thin.

Weather Forecast
The temperature in Abu Dhabi is expected to be around 33 degree Celsius. Wind speed will be about 23 kmph and humidity will be around 42 per cent. There is no forecast of rain. Dew factor may come into play in the second innings.

Pitch Report
Abu Dhabi has been the slowest-scoring ground out of all the three in IPL 2020. The pitch here has supported bowlers in almost all the games played so far in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League. Despite the presence of dew, bowlers have received regular assistance from the pitch.

Toss Prediction
The team that wins the toss is going to want to bat first. The advantage of batting first and setting a total is fast becoming clear now. The dew factor, which was the reason why teams were chasing in the first place, seems to be less important than the pitch slowing down.

Stats and Facts
Head to head: Matches Played: 26 Mumbai Indians: 20
Kolkata Knight Riders: 6

Approaching Milestones:
Rohit Sharma requires 56 runs to complete 4000 IPL runs for Mumbai Indians.
Trent Boult needs 1 wicket to complete 50 IPL wickets.
Andrew Russell needs 29 runs and 87 runs respectively to complete 1500 IPL runs and 1500 runs for KKR in IPL.
Eoin Morgan requires 5 sixes to complete 50 IPL sixes.

Likely XIs:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Trent Boult, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (capt), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy

Players to Watch Out For:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (capt), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav

Match Odds:
Mumbai Indians: 1.6br> Kolkata Knight Riders: 2.30

SantaBanta's Winner Prediction: Mumbai Indians

IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds
Mumbai Indians - 3.2
Delhi Capitals - 3.75
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 4.333
Kolkata Knight Riders - 9
Chennai Super Kings - 10
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 17
Rajasthan Royals - 29
Kings XI Punjab - 41

Match Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Time: 7.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP