The Game
The first match of the day will see the last two teams in the points table, Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab fight for the survival at the PCA stadium from Mohali at 4.00 PM.
Mumbai Indians won their last game beating Rajasthan Royals whereas Kings XI Punjab lost their previous match to Delhi Daredevils in convincing fashion. It is a must-win situation for both teams. When these teams met earlier in this edition of IPL, Kings XI Punjab beat the Mumbai Indians.
PREVIOUS YEAR CLASHES
The first time they met was on 3rd May, 2014 at Mumbai. It was a high scoring match. Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to bat. Punjab lost 2 early wickets of Sehwag and Pujara at the score of 24. After that Saha and Maxwell put up 69 third-wicket partnerships. Saha remained not-out on 59 whereas Maxwell scored 45.
The rest of batting did not continue the good work done by Maxwell and Saha. Kings XI Punjab scored 168 for 5 in 20 overs. While chasing, Mumbai lost 2 early wickets of Dunk and Rayadu at the score of 23, after that CM Gautam, Rohit Sharma, Corey Anderson, Kieron Pollard and Aditya Tare contributed. CM Gautam, Corey Anderson and Rohit Sharma scored in the 30s as Mumbai Indians won the match by 5 wickets with 5 balls to spare.
After 18 days they met again but this time in Mohali. It was not a high scoring match this time around. Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field. Punjab lost an early wicket of Sehwag for 17. Marsh and Vohra steadied the innings with a 64-run second wicket partnership. Only Vohra, Marsh and Bailey scored some runs and Mumbai restricted Punjab to modest total of 156 for 8.
While chasing, Mumbai Indians got off to great start with Simmons and Hussey putting a 68-run first wicket partnership. Rayadu and Rohit Sharma fell soon. Simmons played a fantastic knock of 100 and remained not-out. Mumbai Indians won the match by 7 wickets with 6 balls to spare.
Key Players
Lendl Simmons
Lendl Simmons did provide a good start against Rajasthan Royals. He was dropped in the first over but took the advantage of the dropped catch. He played some excellent strokes coming down the track and put pressure on the Rajasthan Royals bowling. He laid the foundation and scored 38 runs off just 31 balls, helping Mumbai Indians to post a competitive total of 187. Against Kings XI Punjab his contribution at the top will help Mumbai Indians to put pressure on Kings XI Punjab bowling.
Mitchell Mcclenaghan
He was the pick of the bowlers against Rajasthan Royals who changed the course of the match picking Smith. When Sanju Samson was taking the game away from Mumbai he came and picked 2 important wickets, not conceding too many runs winning an important match for Mumbai. Again today he must do the same job as he did against Rajasthan and try to pick early wickets to put pressure on Kings XI Punjab batting.
George Bailey
George Bailey has to lead from the front. He must come up the order and take the charge. He has been the leading runs scorer for Kings XI Punjab in this tournament so far. If Kings XI Punjab want to win against Mumbai Indians his contribution will help Punjab get back on the winning ways.
Sandeep Sharma
Sandeep Sharma has been impressive in the tournament so far with his bowling. In the previous match against Delhi he did not have enough score to defend but bowled well giving away 10 runs in 3 ove’s. Against Mumbai his role is pick early wickets and create pressure on the batting.
Predicted Starting 11 –
Mumbai Indians –
L Simmons, P Patel, U Chand, RG Sharma, K Pollard, A Rayudu, H Singh, J Suchitch, V Kumar, M McClenaghan, L Malinga
Kings XI Punjab –
V Sehwag, M Vijay, Maxwell, G Bailey, D Miller, W Saha, A Patel, S Thakur, M Johnson, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma