Port Elizabeth, April 26: It will be a battle of attrition between the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders, with both teams looking to get their Indian Premier League-2 campaign back on track.

Sachin Tendulkar’s boys had a perfect start with a 19-run win over last year’s finalists Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener in Cape Town. But after a wash-out against the Rajasthan Royals and a hammering at the hands of Deccan Chargers on Saturday, the Mumbai outift are struggling at the bottom half of the points table.

KKR produced a thriller against Rajasthan Royals but a rain-ruined tie against the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday night didn’t help their cause in any way.

On paper, Mumbai have a slight edge over their Kolkata counterparts.

Tendulkar has been consistently among the runs even though the same cannot be said of his opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya. J.P. Duminy showed his class with a fine 47 against the Chargers while Abhishek Nayar’s big hitting will always be a threat for any opponent.

Shikhar Dhawan and Dwayne Bravo have not set the stage alight yet though.

The Knight Riders, on the other hand, are troubled with batting worries. Apart from Chris Gayle and Sourav Ganguly to some extent, the KKR battling line-up has been largely ineffective with skipper Brendon McCullum failing to lead from the front.

Brad Hodge’s reputation as a Twenty20 specialist lies in tatters, while the likes of Moises Henriques or Yashpal Singh have not been able to make the most of the opportunity.

In the bowling department too, Mumbai enjoy a clear edge with Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga doing a decent job and Harbhajan Singh spearheading the spin department with aplomb. For KKR, Ishant Sharma has been average even though rookie Anureet Singh’s enthusiasm has won hearts. Ganguly has been largely parsimonious and occasionally successful with his military medium pace. — PTI