Top five player battles to watch out for in MI vs KKR match No. 51 in IPL 2024

Match No. 51 of the IPL 2024 will be a MI vs KKR clash, which will be played on Friday in Mumbai.

Every group match from here will clear up the picture of the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Some teams are virtually out of the competition with their poor performances this season. The five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) are one of them. They are placed ninth in the points table and have been more or less knocked out of playoffs race.

MI have nothing much to lose now, and they will look to spoil the parties of other teams. They will be facing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their next game, which will be played on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium. It is a home game for MI, and they will be looking to win here.

MI vs KKR: Head-to-Head

The head-to-head is largely in favour of MI. They have beaten KKR in 23 out of 32 matches played between the two teams. On the other hand, KKR have only nine wins.

MI vs KKR: Top five player battles to watch out for

1. Sunil Narine vs Nuwan Thusara

Sunil Narine has been the most impactful player this season because he is contributing heavily in both departments. If he gets set while batting, Wankhede Stadium isn’t a big enough ground to stop him. Hence, MI would want him to get out early. Nuwan Thusara is someone who can knock him over early. The Sri Lankan pacer bowls quick yorkers, and Narine has a weakness when the ball is around yorker length near the toe area. So we might see a big battle between these two.

2. Phil Salt vs Jasprit Bumrah

Not just Narine, Phil Salt has been even more destructive batter for KKR, who has very little weakness. He is a complete batter who has switched onto beast mode for KKR in the IPL 2024. He will be another big player who can push his team to another massive score. Well, MI will be targeting him with Jasprit Bumrah, who has been exceptional this season. This will be a great battle to watch out for and neither of these two will shy away from going after each other.

3. Rohit Sharma vs Mitchell Starc

Rohit Sharma hasn’t scored many runs in the last three innings and is looking short of confidence. But he will look to break this streak with a good performance. However, he has to face Mitchell Starc, who is also looking to get back on track. Rohit has a weakness against left-arm pacers, and Starc can certainly exploit that. Starc has dismissed Rohit four times in international cricket.

4. Suryakumar Yadav vs Varun Chakravarthy

Suryakumar Yadav is another MI batter who will look to get back to his best. He has managed to score only 46 runs in last three innings, which has affected his team’s performance. Suryakumar will be back at Wankhede and look to do well for his team to take them to a win. However, Varun Chakravarthy will be a big hurdle for him to cross. The KKR spinner is coming off a MOTM spell against DC. Suryakumar has scored 26 runs off 25 balls from Varun and has gotten out once.

5. Shreyas Iyer vs Piyush Chawla

Shreyas Iyer will be a key player in case the openers fail for KKR. He is from Mumbai and knows more about the conditions at Wankhede than some MI players. He is also in decent form and has played some important innings for his team. Iyer is very aggressive against spinners. However, Piyush Chawla has bowled well against him. He has dismissed him once in the IPL in 30 balls and given away only 42 runs.

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