IPL 2023, MI vs KKR: Jofra Archer unlikely to play; Tim David admits planning headache for Rinku Singh
IPL 2023: As Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, Jofra Archer is unlikely to play, whereas Tim David has established that it has been a tedious task to devise a proper plan for batters like Rinku Singh.
FollowRecord five-time former champion Mumbai Indians (MI) is expected to take the field without its ace fast bowler Jofra Archer in its fourth match of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) against former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon. Archer has missed the last two games for MI, having played the season-opener in Bangalore on April 2, as fresh trouble to his elbow has put him on the sidelines.
The unavailability of Archer has certainly compounded MI's troubles, who have one win to show from three games so far, with their spearhead Jasprit Bumrah also missing the entire IPL 2023. "Currently, Jof is being managed by the medical team, and I am not a part of those conversations. Whenever they have him ready to play, he will be ready to go," MI and Australia batter Tim David told the media during the pre-match conference on Saturday.
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While the right-arm bowler had a light bowling session here on Saturday afternoon away from the training nets, he returned later to have a bat and looked at ease playing the big shots. David said it is challenging to plan for batters like KKR's Rinku Singh, who smacked five consecutive sixes when his side needed 28 runs to win from the last five balls against defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT to record an unbelievable finish.
Even in KKR's high-scoring match on Friday night against former champion SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), Rinku smacked four sixes and as many fours to make a 31-ball 58 not out, albeit in a losing cause. "They [KKR] have got some dangerous batsmen, and [if] our bowlers get them out [early], that will be a perfect start for us," David acknowledged.
"But no, it is tough to plan. We are more focused on ourselves, and we want to play a good game and know that when we play our best cricket, we will top," added David. The dashing Australian batter said despite MI's dominating record against KKR, eight wins in nine matches at the Wankhede Stadium, the challenge will be harsh on Sunday afternoon.
"I am unsure how many games I have played, so it's tough to comment on that. It is a new [MI] team, but it is our home ground. As a home team here, we get great support and want to make this our fortress. We want to get good results all the time and be confident about the style of cricket we want to play here and take on every team," David concluded.
