Kings XI Punjab will host three times champions Mumbai Indians in the ninth match of the Indian Premier League. The hosts had lost their previous match whereas Mumbai Indians had managed to win the previous match by the skin of their teeth. Consequently, both teams will like to get a win. We bring you the Pitch Report.
Punjab had lost their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders by 28 runs. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians had won their last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs.
Punjab will like to get back to winning ways.
Meanwhile, Mohali pitch is expected to be neutral for both batsmen and bowlers. In fact, Michael Slater believes the ball might hold onto the surface and the slower balls are going to come into action.
“The average first-innings score is 169. The average bounce here over the last three years hasn’t been that great when you compare with a stadium like Wankhede. There might not be much pace or bounce to work with although batting should still be alright if you dig in. Slower balls when not pitched fuller can be handy as Andrew Tye has shown,” opines Michael Slater in the Pitch Report.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin will like to lead from the front. Kings XI Punjab will like to make a solid comeback after losing their previous match.
They had made as many as four chances to their playing XI in the previous match. However, they have made only one change in their final XI as Murugan Ashwin has come in place of Varun Chakravarthy.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have remained unaltered and they have backed the same playing XI as they had played against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Meanwhile, Punjab will be playing in their own home conditions and they will like to make most of the familiar conditions. Mumbai Indians had got off the mark in the previous match and they would like to continue their good show.