Kings XI Punjab’s (KXIP) Director of Cricket Operation Anil Kumble has stated that his side will have to put their best game against the four-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winner, Mumbai Indians, on Thursday (October 1). Notably, both the teams are facing each other for the first time in the IPL 2020.
Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi will host the match between MI and KXIP. Rohit Sharma-led side has already played the two matches in that stadium, winning one match against KKR.
On the other hand, KXIP will play its first match in Abu Dhabi. Thus, MI might have the upper hand in the game as by now they are well acquainted with the pitch condition.
Keeping in mind the advantage with MI, Kumble reckons that the defending champion is a strong team because they have well-settled batting as well as bowling order.
“We need to assess the conditions, we are entering Abu Dhabi which is a new venue for us. Having said that, Mumbai is a very strong team, we know that. They are a very settled team, they have been playing the same XI, almost the same XI for the last couple of years,” said Anil Kumble in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of KXIP.
We will have to bring our ‘A’ game: Anil Kumble
Satisfied with the team’s performance in the last three matches, Anil Kumble said that they would have to be at their best to beat Mumbai Indians.
“We know their strengths and we will have to bring our ‘A’ game against them. I am really happy with our last three games for the way we have been consistent, so looking forward to that kind of effort again in Abu Dhabi,” Anil Kumble added.
KXIP played their last match in Sharjah where small boundaries have made it easy for batsmen to hit boundaries. As a result, with the help of Mayank Agarwal’s century and KL Rahul’s half-century, Punjab had set a mammoth target of 224 runs.
However, they failed to defend the target in front of Sanju Samson and Rahul Tewatia‘s power-hitting as sixes poured from their bat.
But Abu Dhabi’s boundary is bigger than Sharjah and it will not be easy for the batsman to hit sixes. Anil Kumble also stated that the Abu Dhabi wicket will be different from Sharjah and the team will have to adapt to the conditions.
“It’s new ground, the boundaries are bigger so it is not going to be easy to hit sixes like how it was in Sharjah. But having said that, we will have to assess conditions and adapt,” said Kumble.
Meanwhile, KXIP is at the fifth position in the points table, winning one match out of three.