3 player battles to watch out for in KKR vs MI, Match 60 of IPL 2024 ft. Rohit Sharma vs Sunil Narine
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have a chance to beat the Mumbai Indians (MI) and seal their spot in the IPL 2024 playoffs when the two sides take each other on at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, May 11.
Kolkata also have the wood over Mumbai, having beaten them by 24 runs in a thrilling game at the Wankhede Stadium just over a week ago. However, MI still have a superior head-to-head record against KKR, winning 23 of the 33 games that the two teams have played against each other.
Hardik Pandya and company also have nothing to lose as they have been eliminated from the playoff race and such a team could be dangerous on their day, as found out by the SunRisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede. Mumbai have beaten Kolkata seven times out of 10 at the Eden Gardens.
On that note, let's take a look at the three match-ups that could decide whether Mumbai can avoid Kolkata doing the double on them this season:
#3 Sunil Narine vs Hardik Pandya
Sunil Narine the batter has taken IPL 2024 by storm with a staggering 461 runs in 11 matches at an average of 41.91 and a fantastic strike rate of 183.67. He has been the major thorn in the side for most oppositions and will pose a similar threat to MI.
However, Narine wasn't able to score big against Mumbai in the reverse fixture and was cleaned up by Hardik Pandya. The MI skipper has been in great bowling form of late and could back himself to get the KKR opener dismissed again if he reckons there's an opportunity.
#2 Andre Russell vs Jasprit Bumrah
The explosive Andre Russell has historically struggled against star speedster Jasprit Bumrah and like always, this could be a fascinating match-up to look forward to. MI have liked to use an over of Bumrah upfront and then hold one back for the middle overs whenever Russell has walked out to bat.
However, that changed in the last game where Bumrah bowled two overs in the powerplay. Conceding 66 runs in 51 balls in all T20 cricket to Russell, Bumrah has dismissed the KKR all-rounder as many as four times. It will be interesting to see how he is used this time around.
#1 Rohit Sharma vs Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine was instrumental in KKR's first win at the Wankhede Stadium in 12 years and one of the moments of the game was when he dismissed Rohit Sharma for a staggering 10th time in T20 cricket. It was an astonishing achievement as no other bowler has tasted that kind of success against Rohit in the shortest format.
The veteran MI opener has also seen a massive slump in form after a promising first half of the IPL 2024 season with just 33 runs in his last five innings. However, he has had incredible memories both with India and with Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens both as a batter and as captain. If there's any ground where Rohit may turn his form around, it is the Eden Gardens.