IPL 2019 – Match 9: Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians – MI Predicted Playing XI

The Mumbai Indians (MI) left the fans glued to their seats in the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The team is often not known to be great starters in the tournament. Also, they lost quite a few close games in the IPL 2018 season. But this time around, they managed to hold onto their nerves in the crucial situations and successfully got over the line.

One might argue that Mumbai was slightly lucky with the no-ball off the final delivery of the match. But a no-ball bowled by Navdeep Saini earlier in the game also went unnoticed and karma possibly evened it out. Nevertheless, they have got two important points in their kitty now and will head to Mohali for their next game. They will be up against the Kings XI Punjab, who have also had controversial moments in both their outings thus far.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Mumbai Indians (MI):

Openers (Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk))

After a little break, Rohit Sharma finally got back amongst the runs in the game against RCB. He was looking set for a massive score but was unfortunate to have got out at the wrong time. He scored 48 off 33 balls in the last game and will look to build upon the confidence he gained from the previous match.

Mumbai Indians could back Quinton de Kock for one or two games more at least. The South African has been in sublime form of late and has been timing the ball sweetly. However, he failed to convert his starts in both the games thus far. The left-hander got out while attempting to play a cheeky shot in the last match. He should look to stick to his basics and build a good inning.

Middle Order (Suryakumar Yadav, Yuvraj Singh)

After missing out in the first game, Suryakumar Yadav also played a good knock against RCB. Due to the heroics of the other batsmen, his efforts largely went unnoticed. Yadav mustered 38 runs off 24 balls and hit five good boundaries. His responsibility will be to hold the MI line-up together and yet score runs at a quick pace. The 28-year-old often plays safe shots and is tough to dismiss.

Yuvraj Singh has rolled back the clock with his knocks in the last two games. While he compiled a great fifty in the first match, he smashed three consecutive sixes in the last game. He was an absolute delight to watch and will want to keep the momentum going. In the last 18 months, he has never hit the ball any better and also seems to have worked a lot on his fitness and bat speed.

All Rounders (Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya)

From a fan’s perspective, they will want Kieron Pollard to be replaced by someone else. But the MI management backs him to the core and might give him one or two more chances. It is not that the Caribbean cricketer is out of form and hasn’t been middling the ball. He has been doing well and could break out in Mohali. Also, if they bench him, they will have to play Ben Cutting which they might not prefer at this point in time.

The Pandya brothers are irreplaceable in the MI line-up. The last game would have given you a clear idea of why the team trusts them so much. While Hardik was destructive with the ball, Krunal bowled a highly economical spell. They complement each other well and will certainly continue in the eleven.

Bowlers (Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah)

Mumbai has fielded an additional bowler in the last match and might continue with the same plan. Mitchell McClenaghan will play this match before the team might ponder about replacing him with Jason Behrendorff for the game against Chennai Super Kings. With the long boundaries in Mohali, Markande makes a very good case to continue in the eleven.

The duo of Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah will finish the bowling line-up. Jasprit Bumrah proved yet again that he is the best bowler in the world in the last match. He is four or five steps ahead of the batsmen and also managed to outfox a smart thinker like AB de Villiers. Lasith Malinga, on the other hand, has been quite rusty in recent times. He leaked a lot of runs but managed to restrict the opposition in the last over of the match. Malinga needs to improve his performance as this kind of bowling wouldn’t really work in pressure situations.

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