Mumbai Indians bowlers, led by Hardik Pandya, gave a great account of themselves as they restricted Kolkata Knight Riders to just 169 in 19.5 overs. MI are in a dire situation, needing to win all matches and hope for other results to got their way to have a shot at the IPL 2024 playoffs. Against KKR, Jasprit Bumrah and Nuwan Thussara picked three wickets each as MI bowlers kept a tight leash on KKR batters. The result was that KKR could not even last 20 overs.
Surprisingly, Rohit Sharma was named an impact substitute in the match. Sachin Tendulkar's daughter Sara was present at the stadium as she cheered for MI.
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl first against Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium.
MI are on the brink of facing an early exit from the playoffs. In order to keep their hopes of making their place in the final four alive they need to win their remaining matches which includes their clash against KKR.
KKR have enjoyed a prolific season, sitting on the second spot with 12 points in nine games. The Shreyas Iyer-led side will back themselves to walk away with two points and take a step closer towards the playoffs.
After winning the toss, MI skipper Hardik Pandya said, "We will bowl. It's always about playing for pride, it looks quite tough for us but at the same time, we want to play good cricket. Looks like a good track, it's a fresh wicket so thought that bowling first will be good. Only one change, Naman Dhir comes in place of Nabi."
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer said during the time of the toss, "It's always about doing the small things well, obviously the dew is a factor but we have to keep that out of mind. The message is clear, each one of them knows their role and responsibility. Batting first we are going with the same team."
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Tim David, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah, Nuwan Thushara
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy
Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Rohit Sharma, Shams Mulani, Shivalik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Romario Shepherd
Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Subs: Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Srikar Bharat, Sherfane Rutherford, Chetan Sakariya.
With ANI inputs