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IPL 2018: Will KXIP get in the groove or can Mumbai Indians bounce back?

Kings XI Punjab will look to strengthen their position in points table when they meet Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 at Indore on Friday. For Mumbai, it is a do-or-die clash as another loss would confirm their exit from playoffs in IPL. 
 

IPL 2018: Will KXIP get in the groove or can Mumbai Indians bounce back?

Last season title holder, this edition bottom-placed- Mumbai Indians will face Kings XI Punjab in their next fixture. The 34th match of Vivo IPL will be played between KXIP vs MI at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore.

While one side it will be Universe Boss- C Gayle and KL Rahul entertaining with the big hitting, the other hand it will young M Markande using his Googlies. For the first time in this season, both the teams will come face to face.

  • Kings XI Punjab's four-match winning streak was ended when they were bowled out for just 119 in their last match. 
  • This is Kings XI Punjab's first match at the Holkar in this year's IPL - Mumbai Indians scored 199 in just 15.3 to win when these two teams met there last year. 
  • While Chris Gayle has the highest average in this year's IPL, thanks to his unbeaten century against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians' Suryakumar Yadav has scored more runs in the race for the orange cap.

KXIP VS MI TEAM NEWS

Kings XI Punjab

  • Kings XI might get tempted to replace Aaron Finch with David Miller or Marcus Stoinis.
  • Manoj Tiwary did not do too well replacing Yuvraj Singh in the lineup, although he is likely to keep his place.
  • Mohit Sharma may slot in for Barinder Sran.

 Mumbai Indians

  • Evin Lewis, who missed the last game for a wrist injury, is expected to return. One among Cutting and Pollard will make way.
  • Ishan Kishan has been out of sorts in the last few innings. MI management might look to Aditya Tare for wicket-keeping duties.

KXIP Predicted XI: Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (WK), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Manoj Tiwary, David Miller, Ravichandran Ashwin (C), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Zadran

MI Predicted XI: Evin Lewis, Surya Kumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), JP Duminy, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah

KXIP VS MI KEY PLAYERS:

Kings XI Punjab:

Chris Gayle has scored 252 runs in the 4 innings thus far, including a hundred and 2 fifties.
Andrew Tye is the leading wicket-taker for Kings XI Punjab.

Mumbai Indians:

Suryakumar Yadav is the only MI batsman with more than 200 runs in the tournament.
Mayank Markande and Hardik Pandya have picked 11 wickets each.
 
KXIP vs MI Head to Head

Mumbai Indians had won three of their last five matches against Kings XI Punjab, including a big win when they met at Indore previous year. In that game, they took just 15.3 overs to reach their target of 199 to win. They have not played this year, but their most recent match last season was a high-scoring classic - Kings XI Punjab set an astonishing 230/3, and Mumbai Indians finished just seven runs short despite Kieron Pollard's late half-century.

Match Prediction

It will be interesting to see who comes out on top in this battle between a batting-heavy line-up and one that has struggled with its bowling. On a small ground, with plenty of big-hitters on both sides, this will be a high-scoring affair but just how much will depend on the openers from both teams. With a superior bowling line-up, Kings XI Punjab will start as favourites, but MI shouldn't be ruled out, especially if they get an inspired display from their captain, Rohit Sharma.

 

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