Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab will be looking for a confidence-boosting win after deflating defeats when the two sides meet on Thursday.
Reeling from narrow defeats, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) look to get back to winning ways when they meet each other at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on October 1. The two sides play each other on Thursday after being involved in high scoring games.
Mumbai Indians suffered agony in the super over against Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier this week. At one point in the game, MI were staring at a big defeat as they needed 90 runs in 30 balls. The exploits of Kieron Pollard and Ishan Kishan helped them to take the game to super over. There was an anticlimax ending to the game as RCB successfully chased down a timid total of six runs in super over.
Meanwhile, KXIP also suffered a similar type of defeat against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, September 27. They ended up conceding 51 goals in the last three overs to allow RR to chase down a mammoth score of 223 runs.
It was a deflating defeat for both sides, but they will be looking to shrug off the disappointment on Thursday as there are 11 games left in the league campaign.
Players to watch
KL Rahul: It has been a wonderful start to IPL 2020 for KL Rahul as he has a century and a half century to his name after three games. The Karnataka batsman has been in tremendous hitting form, so he will be the main man for KXIP on Thursday. It will be interesting to see whether he takes up the anchor role or becomes the aggressor in the opening pair.
Mayank Agarwal: KL Rahul’s best mate has also been in fine form. Agarwal managed to score a century against RR and a composed 89 against Delhi Capitals in the first game. His astute timing has been on display while hitting sixes all over the park in these two innings. Agarwal and Rahul will have the onus of scoring big runs against MI.
Rohit Sharma: MI has decided to use Rohit Sharma in his preferred opening role after using him in the middle order in previous campaigns. The 33-year-old batsman has endured mixed results on the pitch this season, but his 80-run innings against Kolkata Knight Riders was an aesthetic display due to the perfect execution of pull shots. MI will be banking on Sharma to give a good start on Thursday.
Jasprit Bumrah: Ever since recovering from a serious injury, Jasprit Bumrah has found it difficult to string consistent performances. He was excellent against KKR, but AB de Villiers took him to cleaners in the death overs during the game against RCB. Bumrah is just going through a lean patch, but he can still come up with moments of brilliance even during the poor run of form.
Head to Head
Mumbai Indians have enjoyed an upper hand over KXIP in head to head record in IPL, 13-11 in favour of MI. It is unlikely to be a one-sided game on Thursday as both sides have in form players, with some glaring weaknesses too.
By Kiran Thakare