IPL 10, Match 22, KXIP v MI Preview: Desperate Kings XI Punjab aim to end MI winning run

The Kings XI Punjab have been going through a horror run in the last few games. The way they had started off their campaign, things looked like they were on a merry roll the way they had in 2014. Kings won their first two matches of the season at Indore. Since then, they have played 3 matches and have lost all of them. Certainly, the away games have not been very fruitful for them.

Now, they are back to their den in Indore and would be hoping to turn the tables yet again in their favor. However, they are up against a side that was once tagged as the late bloomers. The Mumbai Indians have traditionally been known to be at their best towards the business end of the tournament. But this year, they have started on a roll. They have won 4 matches on a trot after having lost their first game of the season.

Clearly, they are the favorites when they take on the struggling Kings XI Punjab. The stark difference between the two sides in the stability. While the MI camp has had a different hero in every game they have played thus far, the KXIP side has largely failed to find one. They have been struggling with inconsistency in their batting lineup and that has hurt them the most.

Toss: Mumbai Indians won the toss and choose to bowl first

Quotes from the toss:

Rohit Sharma: The overall trend with chasing has been good. We all know we have to restrict Kings XI’s heavy batting line-up. We are playing the same team. Everything is falling into place for us. I don’t see why we should change the team

Glenn Maxwell: Not too disappointed about batting first. There might be some dew later, but it won’t have a big impact. Vohra is sick. He is out. Shaun Marsh, Stonis, Gurkeerat, and Swapnil in for four other blokes.

Focus will be on

Glenn Maxwell

Kings XI Punjab skipper Glenn Maxwell had started the season on a high. With two unbeaten scores in the first two matches, he had seen his side notch up wins. However, the next three games has seen him struggle largely with the bat. The spinners have been accounting for his downfall. As the case has always been, leg spinners have continued to bother him in the beginning of his innings. But knowing the fight the Australian all-rounder is capable of, expect him to be turning the heat on against his former franchise.

Wriddhiman Saha

KXIP wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha has been a big disappointment for his camp until now. He has been exceptional behind the stumps and has taken some stunners with the gloves on. However, when it comes to his batting, there are no good scores to validate the kind of form he had come into the tournament with. Saha had plundered runs at will in the recent grand home Test season of India. He had expressed his desire to translate the same form to the shorter formats but has failed miserably in his attempt until now.

Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma walked into the tournament after having been out of action for a long period due to his injury. He came to the tournament but then ended up looking rusty on his comeback. In the first 4 games that he played this season, he failed to score a double digit. The spinners accounted for his dismissals and it was the googly that saw his downfall in the matches. But the Mumbai batsman got back to some form in the previous game with an unbeaten score. If he backs it up with another one in the match against KXIP, things might just get back to normal for him.

Team Combination – Kings XI Punjab

The Kings found a new hero in Manan Vohra in the previous match. Vohra looked in sublime touch with the bat and that has pretty much solved the top order woes for the Kings. Hashim Amla has also been among the runs this season. The problem arises with the middle-order. Wriddhiman Saha has been a big failure in the tournament thus far. Eoin Morgan has failed to leave an imprint in the season thus far.

Kings might ponder over the option of resting David Miller from the lineup. Miller has averaged less than 20 since the last edition of the tournament. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis is likely to be fielded in his place. In the bowling lineup, not many changes are expected to take place. Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma bowled decently in the previous match to retain their place in the lineup.

Team Combination – Mumbai Indians

The Mumbai Indians are likely to field the same playing eleven. They have been known for sticking to their same winning combination for long durations in the tournament. All the batsmen have been among the runs. Rohit Sharma was the only batsman in the lineup who had very few runs under his belt. In the last game, even he struck some form. Kieron Pollard has had two back to back good shows in the last two matches.

The Pandya brothers have been instrumental in finishing the games for the team. Mumbai Indians have a very strong bowling lineup on paper. However, the bowling form of Lasith Malinga remains under a dark cloud for now. He has not looked at his best in the tournament thus far and the team would be hoping for him to click sometime soon.

Playing XI:

Mumbai Indians: Parthiv Patel (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Rohit Sharma (c), Kieron Pollard, Jos Buttler, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nitish Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya

KXIP: Hashim Amla, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell(c), Marcus Stoinis, Wriddhiman Saha(wk), Axar Patel, Gurkeerat Singh, Swapnil Singh, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Ishant Sharma

StatAttack

147 – Number of wickets taken by Lasith Malinga in the IPL history. He is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL.

3923 – Number of runs scored by Rohit Sharma in IPL history. He is the third leading run scorer in the IPL history behind Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina.

191 – Krunal Pandya had the strike rate of 191 in IPL 2016 – the highest for any batsman in the tournament.