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CricBattle Daily Fantasy Cricket League Tips

Mumbai vs Kolkata on May 3

Mumbai Indians will be in a must-win situation when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the 51st match of the IPL 2024. The good thing for them is that the match is set to take place at Wankehede Stadium in Mumbai. There is another positive for the home side - their head-to-head record. The five-time champions have dominated the two-time champions in the faceoffs. Despite that, MI would not fancy their chances to beat KKR in the upcoming match. MI had a lot of contributors with the bat in the first few matches in the league. However, in the last five games, none of their batters have been consistent, barring Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera to a certain extent. If that is not enough, their bowling is highly dependent on Jasprit Bumrah. The opponents realize he is the threat, play him out, and target other bowlers to score runs. At Wankhede Stadium, the home side needs to give their best performance to stay alive in the tournament. On the other hand, the only better aspect of KKR has been their batting. At the top, they have a reliant pair like Sunil Narine and Phil Salt. Lower down the order, they have great finishers like Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, and Rinku Singh. In the bowling department, Narine has been the decisive factor in their success. Given the strength and performances of both sides, KKR would start as favorites. But the head-to-head record nearly evens out the advantage. 

Best economical pick – Philip Salt has been one of the best players in the league so far. More often than not, he has given fiery starts to the side. The England batter has been good even as a wicketkeeper. When on song, he can singlehandedly win matches for KKR.

Top captains & vice captains – Sunil Narine has been in phenomenal form as a player. He has won matches for KKR both as a batter and as a bowler. The West Indian has improved his fielding as well. It wouldn't be wrong to regard Narine to be at the peak of his career in the league. Suryakumar Yadav has had a mixed bag in the league so far. The pattern has been such that for every good match, he has had a bad match. Considering that he did not have a good game against LSG, Yadav can score big against KKR at home.

Smart pick – Jasprit Bumrah has been the best bowler of the season by some margin. The str pacer is feared by the batters in a season where the bowlers have been hammered for fun. Given the context of the match, he will be the key for MI to stay alive in the league.

Cautious Pick – Harshit Rana will be unavailable for the game against MI due to the breach of the code of conduct. After giving a sendoff to a batter for the second time in the league, Rana was handed a fine of 100 per cent of match fees and a ban of a game.

My XI – Sunil Narine (Captain), Suryakumar Yadav (Vice-Captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Phil Salt, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Andre Russell, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Tim David