Welcome to the coverage of the 41st match of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Hosts Kolkata Knight Riders run the risk of slipping away when they face resurgent defending champions and 'nemesis' Mumbai Indians.

KKR have an onerous task at hand as they need to defy history against Mumbai Indians, who have won 17 of the 21 matches against the hosts across 11 seasons -- the most wins for an IPL team against any opponent.

While KKR are fast running of time, the most successful IPL franchise, Mumbai Indians, are peaking at the right time, a revival that's quite akin to their triumphant campaign in 2015 when the Rohit Sharma-led side won seven of their last eight matches en route the title.

Both teams have four matches left in the round-robin league, but KKR have won five matches one more than Mumbai Indians as a loss for any of the two sides may complicate their play-off aspirations.

For KKR to overcome the past, Sunil Narine once again will have to play a crucial role both with the bat and ball.

A dehydrated Narine had to bat lower down the order in their previous clash and it did not help their 182-run chase. Narine will look to be back at the top and set them up with a fiery start.

Captain Rohit Sharma is a vital cog in MI's batting as Narine will be KKR's answer with his exploits against the opponent skipper who has been dismissed six times by the Trinidadian.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has 14 wickets from nine matches, will be a threat with both his smart bowling and aggressive batting, while KKR all-rounder Andre Russell seems to be underbowling to preserve his troubled hamstring.