IPL 2017 Player Battles: Top 4 player encounters to look for in the Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders match

Chris Lynn was in a spectacular form against Gujarat Lions

#3 Piyush Chawla vs Jos Buttler

Buttler gave MI a good start at the top of the order

Mumbai sprung a surprise in their opening game when they sent Jos Buttler to open the batting along with Parthiv Patel ahead to Rohit Sharma. The move almost proved to be a masterstroke as he smashed the bowlers in the initial six overs of field restrictions by scoring 38 runs in just 19 balls. He was unlucky to be given out lbw to Tahir as the ball had hit the inside part of the bat.

In the last match against the Gujarat Lions, Piyush Chawla bowled in the powerplay for the Knight Riders and even scalped the wicket of Jason Roy in his second over. This gives the skipper and the team management of the Knight Riders enough flexibility to use Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav in the middle overs to put the brakes on scoring rate.

The England batsman got out to the leg spinner in the last game and it will be interesting to see his tactics against Chawla. He likes the ball coming onto the bat in the power play and this change would surely make him think about his game plan. Chawla bowls a lot flatter in the initial overs and his variations will be the key to counter Buttler and his aggressive style of play.

About the author

Shweta Haranhalli is a cricket enthusiast who plays and writes about the sport. She was the captain of the Mumbai Under-19 team that clinched the All India Championship for the very first time.

She led the Mumbai Senior Women's Cricket Team to Championship in the Azam Shah Cup, their first international tour to Tanzania. She was also at the helm for the Mumbai Senior Women's team in the domestic circuit.

Being associated with cricket for over a decade helps her in writing a detailed analysis of the sport. The journey in the field of writing began in January 2013 as a Sports Writer for Mid-Day, followed by a brief stint with Hotstar for the Indian Premier League.

Shweta has been working as a journalist covering various sporting events across the nation and learning the finer points in the art of writing.

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Edited by Staff Editor