Before the Mumbai Indians (MI) IPL 2024 clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Kolkata on Saturday (May 11) Aakash Chopra notes that Rohit Sharma has seen great success at the Eden Gardens. The MI opener will seek to end his recent dry spell at his happy hunting ground.
MI is eliminated from the playoffs after scoring eight points in 12 games. They will play for pride, hoping to revenge their 24-run setback at home on May 3.
In a video posted to his YouTube account, Aakash Chopra observed that the Kolkata Knight Riders have had a successful run on a stadium named after Rohit.
“Earlier, with great love, Eden Gardens used to be called Rohit Gardens because he has incredible numbers and plays extremely well here. However, the way Kolkata have been playing, they have been very strong. It’s not that they have won all games at home, but have won many.”
Aakash Chopra
The former India opener has named Rohit as the first Mumbai Indians player to watch out for in Saturday’s encounter.
“I am thinking Rohit Sharma will finally score runs because it’s been four or five consecutive games now, runs haven’t been scored on the bounce at all. He likes this ground and the opposing team as well. He didn’t get out to a good shot in the last match but you expect him to eventually score runs. So Rohit Sharma is my first player to watch out for.”
Aakash Chopra
Rohit Sharma has impressively amassed 330 runs at an average of 30.00 in the course of 12 innings during IPL 2024. However the former MI skipper has struggled accumulating a mere 33 runs in his last five innings. It is crucial for him to rediscover his form in scoring runs as he approaches the T20 World Cup next month.
Aakash Chopra Discusses Suryakumar Yadav’s Importance Alongside Mumbai Indians’ Players in IPL 2024 Battle
Aakash Chopra mentioned that Suryakumar Yadav will be an important player for the Mumbai Indians.
“Suryakumar Yadav is my second player because he is in that kind of form. He comes from KKR in any case. He is a Mumbai boy but started playing for KKR and now plays for Mumbai. A Player of the Match performance in the last match. So could this be his night one more time? To beat the Knights and neutralize their spin, Suryakumar Yadav will have a massive role.”
Aakash Chopra
The exKolkata Knight Riders player chose Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya from the Mumbai Indians lineup as standout players to focus on in Saturdays upcoming match.
“Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are the two other key players. Bumrah with the ball, you need to stop (Andre) Russell, (Sunil) Narine, Phil Salt, Rinku Singh and many more. There is a lot of depth in batting. You need to stop Ramandeep (Singh) as well. He also hits a lot.”
“Along with him, Hardik Pandya, because he is bowling well. He didn’t get to bat in the last match and was dismissed in the game before that. He was trying to play on the leg side and it went straight up in the air.”
Aakash Chopra
In IPL 2024 Bumrah has claimed 18 wickets in 12 matches positioning him as the Mumbai Indians leading wickettaker. On the other hand despite securing 11 dismissals Hardik Pandya the MI skipper has only accumulated 198 runs with a modest average of 19.80 from 11 innings this season.