IPL 10, Match 51, MI v KXIP Preview: Playoffs contention at stake for Kings XI Punjab

The Kings XI Punjab pulled off a very crucial win against the Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous match. The expressions on the face of their skipper Glenn Maxwell revealed it all about how important the win was for them. Kings now stand firm in the points table with 12 points to their name. The win did not improve their standings but has ensured that they stay in the contention for the playoffs.

With two more matches left at their disposal, they need to win those games to ensure they have their case served for the playoffs. However, things will not be easy for them in the remaining fixtures. They will be up against the Mumbai Indians in their next encounter at Mumbai. The venue at Mumbai has been the fortress for the MI camp and have dropped only one game this season at the Wankhede Stadium.

It will certainly not be easy for the Kings to topple the table-toppers in their own den. However, given the fact that they are coming up with the winning momentum, the Kings would be high on confidence. At the same time, the MI camp suffered a shock and rare defeat in their previous game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The last time these two sides had locked horns in the season, Mumbai Indians had steamrolled the Kings by 8 wickets at Indore. Expect a high-intensity clash between the two sides this time around.

Toss: Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected for field first

Quotes from the toss:

Glenn Maxwell: It’s a semi-final for us, we have to play well though. Haven’t won too many tosses, just four. We too wanted to field, nice to know what total to chase. Just one change, we haven’t had too many Sharmas in the playing eleven, hence, Ishant comes in for Swapnil.

Rohit Sharma: We will field first. Looks like a good track, it’s a new one, we haven’t played this season on this, dew is always a factor, chasing is the way to go. We haven’t secured the top two position, but we are not thinking about it, just want to play a good game and that’s what we have done so far, wasnt to continue from where we left last game. No changes for us

Playing XI:

Kings XI Punjab: Manan Vohra, Martin Guptill, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Glenn Maxwell(c), Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Matt Henry, Mohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Sharma

Mumbai Indians: Lendl Simmons, Parthiv Patel(w), Nitish Rana, Rohit Sharma(c), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Karn Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga

Focus will be on

Sandeep Sharma

KXIP pacer Sandeep Sharma has been a perennial performer for his franchise for a long time now. In the last few games, he has got into a very good groove. He bagged two consecutive Player of the Match awards this season and hence will be high on confidence. In the previous game as well, he negated the onslaught of Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn with fine display of spin bowling in the powerplay. Considering the strong Mumbai Indians batting lineup, the team would bank on Sandeep Sharma to continue with his good form.

Glenn Maxwell

The KXIP skipper Glenn Maxwell seems to have been hitting the right straps yet again. The last couple of matches has seen him hit very good finishing cameos. Maxwell’s heroics towards the fag end of the innings has helped the Kings to finish on a high which has given them the much-needed impetus going into the second innings of the fixtures. The look of things is similar to the way Maxwell had started his season. However, he had failed to capitalize on his chances after that. This time around, the team would hope the form stays longer.

Rohit Sharma

For the numbers, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma has three fifties to his name. Despite this, the pundits could safely assume that the experienced opener is not at his comfortable best this season. He has had a string of low scores to his name which is a bothering concern for the team at the moment. Also, the inconsistency that Sharma has shown in the season thus far is not a very happening prospect for the MI camp. He will be under observation much like his counterpart skipper Maxwell.

Team Combinations:

Mumbai Indians

The Mumbai camp is at a happy place at the moment. They were the first team to qualify for the playoffs and would want to continue their dominion at the top. However, the last game saw them endure a rare failure. The batting collapse saw them suffer their third defeat of the season. Despite the loss, the team will stick back themselves to pull off a win against the Kings.

They have a very balanced squad at their disposal at the moment. Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel seem to be gelling very well at the top order. Nitish Rana is due for runs in the last few matches and skipper Rohit Sharma has struck back his form again. Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya have settled in the role of the finishers for the team. The pace bowling department looks strong with the trio of Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, and Lasith Malinga.

Kings XI Punjab

The Kings XI Punjab will definitely not try to tinker with their winning combinations. In absence of Hashim Amla, they promoted Manan Vohra back to the opening slot in the match against the Kolkata Knight Riders. He fared decently with 25 runs to his credit. In the middle order, only Wriddhiman Saha was due for runs this season. He also got his feet going in the previous match with 38 runs to his name.

They drafted in a few new faces in the bowling department that worked wonders for them in the match. Rahul Tewatia, the leg spinner who had earlier played for Rajasthan Royals, was the pick of the bowlers for them in the match. Also, the Kiwi speedster Matt Henry got into his groove with the ball and had a good show first up. Sandeep Sharma, as usual, was their most valuable bowler.

StatAttack

1 – Number of bowlers to have taken more than 150 wickets in IPL history – Lasith Malinga.

2 – Number of fifties scored by Rohit Sharma in a losing cause this season.

19 – Number of times the two sides have faced off each other in IPL history. KXIP have won on 9 occasions and MI nose ahead with 10 wins.

37 – Number of runs needed by Glenn Maxwell to complete 300 runs this season. He has not breached the mark in the last two editions of the tournament.