IPL 2024: Predicting 3 players who could pick up the most wickets in today's MI vs LSG match
After two wash-outs, the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Supergiants (LSG) on Friday is perhaps the first game with negligible consequences on the final top-four in IPL 2024. MI have already been eliminated and LSG are just about in contention, but only theoretically.
While MI would play to avoid their second last-placed finish in three seasons, LSG would want to finish as close to the fourth spot as possible, even if they'll miss the playoffs for the first time since their introduction to the league. When there's only pride to play for, one can expect a big high-intensity final push from both teams.
Below, we have predicted three bowlers who could push the hardest with wickets:
#3 Ravi Bishnoi
It's been a timid IPL 2024 for LSG leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, one that he'll look back for a lot of learnings in the future. He has also gone through the heartbreak of missing out on India's 2024 T20 World Cup squad (and reserves).
However, since that announcement was made, his numbers have improved. That's partly because pitches have gotten better for spin and partly because Bishnoi has consistently hit the right lengths. He's coming to this game after one of his best spells of 1/26 (on one of the flattest wickets) against the Delhi Capitals.
Bishnoi should now enjoy the Wankhede, where spinners' success in the middle overs has been quite high in IPL 2024. He has a pretty good record against MI too - 10 wickets in nine matches at an average of 24.10.
The extra bounce in the surface and a struggling MI batting line-up which is not the best against spin could be the right conditions for him to put up his best performance of the season on Friday.
#2 Naveen-ul-Haq
LSG's Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq is the perfect example of 'not pretty but effective'. When LSG suffered multiple injuries in the pace department, the right-arm quick carried their wicket-taking needs even if it was in losing causes.
In the last match against DC, he trapped Rishabh Pant and Abhishek Porel like he has done with 10 other batters this season - by keeping them guessing and making them hit the fielders using his assortment of variations. His economy rate has been around 10 this season but the strike rate tells the real story - 16.25.
Naveen is yet to play an IPL match at the Wankhede but the pitch is ideal for him this season. The more MI will try to attack and go after him, the more his sticky variations will work, as they did in 2023 when he picked up four wickets for 38 runs against them or earlier this year when he went for just 15 runs in 3.5 overs.
#1 Jasprit Bumrah
It's not certain whether Jasprit Bumrah will play this game because MI have nothing on the line. However, playing one final game would perhaps not do a lot of harm to him. If he plays, he'd by far be the biggest threat to LSG's batters, not least because he's the most successful bowler ever at the Wankhede Stadium.
After a bit of a mid-season slump, Bumrah has looked back at his best recently. In the reverse fixture of the two teams at the Ekana Stadium, Bumrah bowled a four-over spell of 0/17 because the home side was happy to play him out.
They are unlikely to do that given their position in the tournament, which will give a ton of opportunities for Bumrah to capitalize on in middle and death overs.