It was quite bizarre how the Mumbai Indians, even after their 10 games in this season, going into the MI vs KKR clash, are still trying to find their best playing combination. Kolkata Knight Riders have been hit by a few issues of the injuries or the form of a few certain players.
In their ten games, Mumbai have used 20 players so far, which is the second most in this season, just before 22 players, used by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The Knight Riders, on the other hand, have used only 16 players in this season, which is the lowest among all the franchises.
The issue for Mumbai is because they are not getting the results they would like, the management is trying different formations, and players to see if they could bring any change in the fortune. In this process, a few players are not getting chances to showcase their skills.
A defeat in the MI vs KKR clash would take the hosts out of competition. Even if they win, they have to get the victory by a decent margin.
IPL 2024: MI vs KKR Playing 11- Match 51
One of the struggles for Mumbai Indians have been their bowling. Except for the world premier bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, no bowler has looked threatening so far in this IPL 2024 for them, going into the MI vs KKR clash.
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MI Playing 11:
Before the MI vs KKR clash, Bumrah has managed 14 wickets in 10 games at an average of 18.28 and an economy of 6.40. Even though Gerald Coetzee is the fourth-highest wicket-taker of the season with 13 scalps in nine innings, his economy of 10.06 has hardly put pressure on the opposite side.
Their most experienced spinner Piyush Chawla has grabbed just four wickets in seven innings at an economy of close to 10. This has led them to struggle in the middle overs with the ball in hand, before the MI vs KKR battle.
Mumbai’s batting too has looked thin. Except for Tilak Verma, with 343 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 153.81, none of the Mumbai batters are in the top 15 of the most run-scorers. Rohit Sharma is at number 16 with 315 runs in 10 innings, out of which 105* is his highest score. His opening partner Ishan Kishan has cracked only 244 runs in 10 innings, which has been a problem for them at the top.
MI’s line-up vs KKR: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk.), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Tim David, Hardik Pandya (c), Nehal Wadhera, Mohammad Nabi, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah (Impact Sub: Nuwan Thushara).
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Kolkata Playing 11:
Kolkata Knight Riders have been hit by the news of Harshit Rana missing the next game because of breaching the IPL code of conduct. It was the second instance of something happening like that, as Rana was also fined 100% of his match fees against the Delhi Capitals.
The fast-bowler has been in excellent touch for the KKR side, with 11 wickets in seven innings at an economy of just under 10. Mitchell Starc has struggled in every duration of the bowling, as he has nailed just seven wickets at an economy of close to 12 in this IPL 2024 before the MI vs KKR clash.
Sunil Narine has been in fabulous touch for the Knight Riders, with both bat and ball in hand. The left-handed batter has smashed 372 runs so far in this IPL 2024 before the MI vs KKR encounter at a strike rate of 182.35 with a couple of fifties and a best of 109. The off-spinner has taken 11 scalps at an impressive economy of 6.86.
KKR line-up vs MI: Sunil Narine, Phil Salt (wk.), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora. (Impact Sub: Ramandeep Singh).
