In one of the most significant matches of the season, Mumbai Indians lock horns with Kings XI Punjab
Initially, it looked like Kings XI Punjab would be the first team to qualify for the playoffs, but that’s the beauty of the IPL as Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Chennai Super Kings qualified before them. Now, the situation is such that they are unable to win even a single game now.
FollowAmidst every game that is turning out to be somewhat knockout for one or the other team, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians will lock horns tomorrow at Wankhede Stadium to stay alive in the tournament.
It’s a must-win game for both the sides as a loss here will most probably end the hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. Both the teams need to win each of their remaining encounters to end in top four positions. Top two places have been sealed by SRH and CSK while KXIP, KKR, RCB, and MI are fighting to end up in the remaining two spots.
Kings XI Punjab just completely lost the track in the last match. They have had a good tournament up until now, and then this nightmare of a match came. Punjab will like to forget that as soon as possible and start afresh. They need to polish up their batting, so if for some reason the openers can’t give them the start, they can keep on going. Andrew Tye is turning out to be a good go-to wicket taking bowler for the captain, who is also having a decent performance with the ball. Being all out for just 85 is something they just cannot afford at this stage.
Mumbai Indians had secured a six-wicket win against the Kings XI Punjab in the reverse fixture at Indore earlier this season. Mumbai Indians will be playing on their home ground but have lost four out of the six matches they have played here. There will be a lot more pressure on the Mumbai Indians as a defeat in this game will knock them out of the tournament.
Team News:
Mumbai Indians:
Rohit Sharma praised the team’s efforts despite the losing streak, and he seems to have the confidence on the current combination. MI is most likely to go unchanged for the game.
Kings XI Punjab:
There is still no news about Mujeeb Zadran. If he is fit, then he is likely to replace M Stoinis.
Yuvraj Singh can replace Mayank Agarwal.
If Mujeeb Zadran is not fit on time, then there can be a case that David Miller can replace M Stoinis.
MI vs KXIP Head to Head
Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab have played 21 matches against each other in the IPL. While the former has won 11 of those, the latter is not far behind with 10 wins.
Mumbai Indians have beaten Kings XI Punjab three times in their previous five attempts.
The most recent encounter between these two teams came in the 34th match this season at Indore where the Mumbai Indians chased down KXIP's total of 174 to win by six wickets and an over to spare.
Total Matches: 21; Mumbai Indians Won: 11; Kings XI Punjab Won: 10
Mumbai Indians Predicted Playing 11: Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ben Cutting, Jean-Paul Duminy, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah
Kings XI Punjab Predicted Playing 11: Lokesh Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis/Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mayank Agarwal, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot
Match Prediction
It's a do-or-die die fixture for both sides and purely because they have a history of doing well in knockout games, the Mumbai Indians will start favourites. But the Kings XI Punjab will surely be hurting after what happened on Monday and so they will come hard at the hosts as well.
It promises to be a cracker!
