In the 51st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Mumbai Indians will lock horns against Kolkata Knight Riders. Mumbai Indians won the toss and Hardik Pandya had no hesitation in bowling first. The Wankhede surface tends to get better under lights and as a result the decision to bowl first comes in.

MI vs KKR: Toss Controversy

Another coin-toss controversy happened in the IPL. KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer called heads, but it was tails. But again, the toss representative, Danny Morrison, confirmed to the referee that it was tails or not. 

What Shreyas Iyer said at toss?

Shreyas Iyer: 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.

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But as far as KKR is concerned, they are going in with the same team that features against DC, barring one change. Harshit Rana has been banned from this game, and he has to sit out. Skipper has forgotten about it at the toss, and in place of him, Angkrish Raghuvanshi comes in. 

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

Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Subs: Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Srikar Bharat, Sherfane Rutherford, Chetan Sakariya

Hardik Pandya: 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, feels good to be back home. 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.

Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Rohit Sharma, Shams Mulani, Shivalik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Romario Shepherd. (Seems like Rohit will be the Impact Sub for MI when they chase)

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

Play-offs Scenario

KKR is second in the table with 12 points from nine games, they are looking to solidify their playoff position with a couple more wins. With a confident squad, KKR aims to maintain their momentum and extend their winning streak.

While the Mumbai Indians are struggling in the 9th position in the IPL points table, Even if they win their last four league games, they will reach 14 points, and that will probably not be enough to take them to the playoffs. The fact that they have nothing to lose and are also returning home will provide them with some solace.

In the 32 games contested between the two, Mumbai Indians dominate the contest with 23 wins while Kolkata have won nine games.