Two teams with huge fan bases, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), will lock horns against each other in Match 22 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The game will be played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 16.
After facing two consecutive defeats, Mumbai opened their account with a tight win over the Delhi Capitals (DC) in their last game. The Rohit Sharma-led unit are currently placed ninth in the IPL 2023 points table with one win from three matches.
With two victories and as many losses from four games, KKR are currently ranked fifth. Before losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last outing, they pulled off an amazing chase against Gujarat Titans (GT) in a nail-biting encounter.
As MI and KKR gear up to face each other in IPL 2023, it is important to consider the top bowlers who could make a significant impact in the upcoming match. On that note, let's take a shot at predicting three bowlers who could pick up the most wickets in today's match between MI and KKR.
#3 Jason Behrendorff - MI
With no Jasprit Bumrah, Jhye Richardson and Jofra Archer also missing out in last two fixtures, Jason Behrendorff has done significantly well so far.
The tall, lanky left-arm pacer from Australia is known to generate some swing with the new ball and has added some trickery for the death overs as well.
So far, Behrendorff has picked up four scalps across three matches. He will be fresh off his recent three-wicket haul against Delhi, where he dismissed the likes of David Warner, Axar Patel and Abhishek Porel.
MI fans will hope that Behrendorff continues to inflict blows against KKR.
#2 Varun Chakravarthy - KKR
Varun Chakravarthy started IPL 2023 on a brilliant note, currently being KKR's joint-highest wicket-taker with six scalps in four games.
He is a versatile bowler who possesses several variations and has been an aggressive weapon for the Knight Riders, particularly during the middle and death overs.
Alongside Sunil Narine, his role will be vital against MI given that the hosts will have at least two overseas batters in their middle-order.
Chakravarthy will be aiming to replicate the heroics he showed against Bangalore against MI as well.
#1 Piyush Chawla - MI
During the last season, MI lacked an experienced spinner as both Murugan Ashwin and Mayank Markande didn't take their chances. So the team released them and decided to acquire the services of veteran Indian leg-spinner Piyush Chawla for the IPL 2023 season.
The acquisition has been fruitful for the five-time champions so far as Chawla is among the top wicket-takers for MI this season. He has picked up four wickets at an average of 20.25 at a frugal economy of 6.75 across three innings.
Overall, Chawla has played 264 T20 matches and picked up 280 wickets at an average of 24.28 and an economy rate of 7.40.
The 34-year old ripped through the DC middle-order in the last outing, claiming his 13th three-wicket haul in the IPL.
MI will be banking on Chawla's experience to come good against KKR on Sunday.
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