Dubai: Mumbai Indians would look to keep their winning juggernaut going when they face Kings XI Punjab at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (October 18).
The Mumbai Indians have been terrific, with six wins in eight games so far in IPL 2020. Their bowling attack consisting of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult has been particularly impressive, with oppositions finding it difficult to put up defendable scores against them.
And even if they do, Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav have consistently come up with the good performances. MI are easily at the top 2 of the IPL 2020 points table, and could assert their dominance on the league even more with a win against the Kings XI Punjab.
As for the Kings XI Punjab, things haven’t gone according to plan in IPL 2020. Although they did win their previous game against RCB, it was only their second win of the season.
The opening duo of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are the top run-getters in the competition, but KXIP have struggled to clinch the crucial moments in a few games. With their backs up against the wall and Chris Gayle back in the side, a better performance is expected from KXIP, for whom each game is do-or-die.
KXIP wouldn’t want to look back at the reverse fixture, with MI having walked away with the two points earlier in the season. However, a rejuvenated KXIP side will bank on their power-packed batting unit to get the better of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, both of whom feature in the top 5 of the wicket-takers chart.
With two very formidable batting units locking horns on Sunday, one can expect a cracking encounter to close out what promises to be an entertaining double-header in the IPL.
Kings XI Punjab: Lokesh Rahul (C), Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel, Mandeep Singh, James Neesham, Tajinder Singh, Chris Jordan, Karun Nair, Deepak Hooda, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sarfaraz Khan, Sheldon Cottrell, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammed Shami, Darshan Nalkande, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle, Murugan Ashwin, Jagadeesha Suchith, Krishnappa Gowtham, Hardus Viljoen, Simran Singh
Mumbai Indians (MI): Aditya Tare, Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary, Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Sudhakar Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, James Pattinson, Mitchell McClenaghan, Trent Boult, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Mohsin Khan, Digvijay Deshmukh, Prince Balwant Rai
