"It cannot happen that he gives lackluster performances in 3 consecutive matches" - Aakash Chopra picks Bumrah among MI players in focus vs LSG

Aakash Chopra expects Mumbai Indians (MI) seamer Jasprit Bumrah to bounce back from two slightly indifferent performances heading into his side's IPL 2024 clash against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Tuesday, April 30.

With 14 scalps at an economy rate of 6.63 in nine games, Bumrah is the joint-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2024 along with Mustafizur Rahman and Harshal Patel. However, the unconventional seamer has picked up a solitary wicket and conceded 72 runs in eight overs over the last two games.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Bumrah as the Mumbai Indians bowler to watch out for in Tuesday's game.

"Without a shadow of doubt, it's Boom Boom Bumrah. The side boundaries are big and Bumrah has given slightly lackluster performances in the last two matches. It cannot happen that he gives lackluster performances in three consecutive matches. So I am going towards Jasprit Bumrah that he will come and do something spectacular," he reasoned (8:40).

The former India opener picked Suryakumar Yadav as the first MI batter in focus against LSG.

"I am going to go with Suryakumar Yadav because if he had played decently in the last match against Delhi, they (MI) would have won the match. The powerplay actually killed them completely against Delhi. Two got out and then Surya also got out soon," Chopra said (7:25).

"If you lost by only 10 runs from there, it means the batting is strong. Tilak Varma is scoring runs for you every day. Even Hardik's (Pandya) bat was striking the ball well. (Mohammad) Nabi also comes and hits sixes, and Tim David is there. In such a scenario you feel that if Suryakumar Yadav fires, their wagon will start moving," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

Suryakumar has aggregated 166 runs at a slightly underwhelming average of 27.67 in six innings in IPL 2024. He scored a 13-ball 26 in MI's 10-run loss to the Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 27 and would want to make a more substantial contribution against LSG.

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"He is coming after scoring two half-centuries in two games" - Aakash Chopra on MI's Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma has top-scored for the Mumbai Indians in their last two games. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra picked Tilak Varma as the second Mumbai Indians batter to watch out for in Tuesday's game.

"Tilak Varma this time because he has been playing well. He is coming after scoring two half-centuries in two games. The expectation was that Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma would both do well but they have gone off the boil in the last two games. They were giving good starts before that," he explained (8:05).

"The last two matches have been 50-50. The Ekana ground, big side boundaries, the new ball moves a little - Matt Henry and Mohsin Khan, I am going with Tilak Varma. Varma Ji's son should do a good job once again, score runs and another half-century should get loaded from his bat," the former KKR player added.

With 336 runs at a strike rate of 158.49 in nine innings, Varma is the Mumbai Indians' highest run-scorer in IPL 2024. The left-handed batter scored half-centuries in the five-time champions' last two games, though they went in vain.