Moreover, they will also be hoping to seal their place in the playoffs as this will be the last game of their group stage. The loss of Krunal Pandya to injury has been a big blow for MI as it has robbed them of the flexibility in the middle-order. Hopefully, he will bring back luck in our last game as well.
As far as KKR are concerned, they face the outside possibility of not making it to the playoffs on the back of their poor recent run of form, where they just haven't managed to get over the line.
The Eden Gardens, which has been the amphitheatre to many a cricketing battle over the years, will see another compelling duel on Saturday when two former champions seeking to prop up their flagging forms meet in what will be their concluding league match of IPL-10.
"We are in a very good space of positivity".
That means the likes of Robin Uthappa and Chris Lynn, who have been hampered by injuries in IPL 2017, playing, with the former coming back from a slight problem in the last game, while the latter has looked good on return after missing almost a month of action with a shoulder injury. Sunil Narina continues to provide fast starts and although he might not open in the next game, the West Indian has repaid the faith shown in him.
Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir may no longer be opening the innings but they have continued to be among the runs for KKR.
MI are the only side that have qualified for the playoffs in IPL 2017.
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KKR, on the other hand, failed to chase down a modest 168 despite Chris Lynn's fireworks with the bat (52-ball 84) against Punjab in their previous outing.
In the bowling department, although Narine hasn't been amongst the wickets, they haven't had much to worry as the pacers have stepped up their game. Coach Mahela Jayawardene did come to the Eden to check out the wicket. It is a big opportunity for the skipper to get back among runs before the play-offs.
The Eden Gardens is one of Rohit Sharma's happy hunting grounds where he has led Mumbai Indians to two IPL titles - winning the final in 2013 and 2015. With Jos Buttler expected to return for worldwide duty, Simmons will be opening the innings for MI in the knockout rounds.
KKR have lost 14 times to Mumbai in 19 IPL games.
In order to do that, KKR will forget about resting any of their big-name players and go with the strongest possible XI.
Mumbai Indians: Lendl Simmons, Parthiv Patel (w/k), Nitish Rana, Rohit Sharma (captain), Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Karn Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah.
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