Kings XI Punjab(KXIP) and Mumbai Indians (MI) will play the 13th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 on Thursday (October 1) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. This will also be the first match between the two in the ongoing tournament.
KXIP and MI have overall played 24 matches in past editions of IPL. Out of which, MI had an upper hand, winning 13 matches. KXIP have won 11 matches.
In the ongoing IPL 2020, Mumbai Indians have played three matches but have won only one and are at no.5 position in the points table. Similarly, KXIP have also played three matches but have won only one. Both the teams are strong and the match will be highly competitive between the two in Abu Dhabi.
Mumbai Indians predicted XI
1. Rohit Sharma (c):
Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians captain, didn’t have a good day against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He lost his wickets after just scoring eight runs while chasing 202 runs target. Although the game went into super over, his side could not win the match. The defeat would have surely hurt him deeply. Against KXIP, the hitman will surely be hungry to score runs and lead his team to victory.
2. Quinton de Kock (wk):
The wicketkeeper-opening batsman Quinton de Kock is yet to show his batting prowess for Mumbai Indians. In the three previous matches, he has lost his wicket early and has struggled to set up himself in the field which has added pressure on the middle-order. So far, he has amassed 33, 1, and 14 runs against CSK, KKR and RCB respectively.
Although he will be in the playing XI against KXIP, but he might lose his place to Chris Lynn if he fails to give a good start to the team further in the tournament. Therefore, the proteas will like to score big in the upcoming match.
3. Suryakumar Yadav:
Suryakumar Yadav has very well handled the pressure at no.3. Against KKR, he was unlucky as he was run out before completing his half-century although he set up a much-needed partnership with Rohit Sharma. The Mumbaikar scored 47 off 28 balls, striking consecutive fours in four balls of Sandeep Warrier. The franchise will be looking for him to deliver such performances further in the tournament.
4. Ishan Kishan:
Ishan Kishan replaced Saurabh Tiwary in the last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and played a warrior like knock. The youngster scored 99 off 58 balls, striking nine sixes and two boundaries, although he is not a power hitter. Unfortunately, neither he could complete his century nor Mumbai Indians could win that match. But he showed that his will and hunger to win can do wonders.
5. Hardik Pandya:
The captain Rohit Sharma is using Hardik Pandya as a pure batsman because he is coming back from injury. In the last three matches, the allrounder has only batted, scoring 14, 18, and 15 respectively. But these performances nowhere stand to his class. Against RCB, the attacking batsman was given to bat in the super over but he could not score a boundary. As he is not being used as a bowler, he has a huge responsibility with the bat in the middle-order.
6. Kieron Pollard:
When Kieron Pollard is in the crease, everything is possible. In the match against RCB, the run rate was mounting but the attacking batsman was calm and was waiting for the right opportunity. In the 16th over of the match, he started taking on the bowlers and showed no mercy. The spinner Adam Zampa was on the receiving end as Pollard struck three sixes and one boundary off his six balls. However, he failed to take the team to the finishing line. But in the process, he scored fifty from just 20 balls. So, Pollard is an inevitable member of MI.
7. Krunal Pandya:
Krunal Pandya had not got the right start of the tournament neither with his bat nor ball. He has proved to be expensive with the ball while struggled to score runs with the bat. However, seeing his past contributions to Mumbai Indians, the spin-bowling allrounder will retain his place in the team.
8. Rahul Chahar:
In the last three matches, Mumbai Indians have come out only with the youngster Rahul Chahar as in and out spinner. But it has not added pressure on him. The right-arm spinner has picked prize wickets of KKR captain Dinesh Karthik, CSK’s batting mainstay Ambati Rayudu and RCB captain Virat Kohli to give a breakthrough to MI. So, he will be in the playing XI against KXIP.
9. James Pattinson:
James Pattinson, the end moment replacement of Lasith Malinga, has ticked all the boxes right in the last three games. He has picked the wickets at the regular intervals while tightening things up a bit. Against KKR, Pattinson bagged the crucial wickets of Sunil Narine and Pat Cummins although against RCB, he was not economical and neither picked a wicket. But one bad day will not be his reason to ouster from XI against Kings XI Punjab.
10. Trent Boult:
Trent Boult has given the expected start to Mumbai Indians in the last three matches. With the new ball, he has troubled batsmen. So far, he has snared a total of five wickets. Playing the first season for the franchise, he is a crucial member of them.
11. Jasprit Bumrah:
Mumbai Indians’ bowling mainstay Jasprit Bumrah has not been consistent with his performances in previous matches. Against CSK, he conceded runs easily while against KKR, he bounced back and picked two wickets. But he was again struggling to find the correct bowling length in the last match against RCB. The yorker king’s performance has a huge impact on the match results of MI. The 26-year old would be aiming towards being consistent in the coming matches.