The Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Monday. It is the 41st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013 and the first meeting for the teams this season.
Overview:
MI must be on high confidence after the big win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the previous match. It was a sweet revenge for them after being defeated in their match of the IPL sixth edition by two runs. They are currently placed in the fourth position with 10 points after winning five of the eight matches played so far.
KXIP are wounded by six-wicket lost to KKR in the previous match. They are currently placed sixth on the table with eight points after winning four of the eight games played so far. They will be keen to win on Monday and improve their ranking.
Previous Meetings:
They teams have met 10 times in the past. KXIP won six games to MI's four.
Team News:
Mumbai Indians: Stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Smith and Kieron Pollard are in good form. Sachin Tendulkar has scored a half century and given significant contribution to the team but skipper Ricky Ponting has been dropped after repeated poor performance.
On the bowling front, they have Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel and Kieron Pollard. Dhawal Kulkarni took two wickets, and Harbhajan and Dwayne Smith took two wickets apiece in the previous match.
Kings XI Punjab: Skipper Adam Gilchrist scored 27 in the previous match, which could boost the spirit of the team. David Hussey's performance has been consistent. They also have Mandeep Singh, David Miller Luke Pomersbach and Manan Vohra, who can capable of scoring big. Shaun Marsh is expected to return to the side, and his presence will boost the confidence of the team.
On the bowling front, they have Praveen Kumar, Azhar Mahmood, Parvinder Awana, Piyush Chawla, Harmeet Bansal, Ryan Harris and Manpreet Gony. Mahmood took three wickets in the previous match but the rest were not impressive.
Prediction:
KXIP are a strong team and have good record against MI, but considering their performance this season, MI are the favourite to win on Monday's second match.
SQUADS:
Mumbai Indians: Ricky Ponting (captain), Abu Nechim Ahmed, Akshar Patel, Aditya Tare, Aiden Blizzard, Ambati Rayudu, Amitoze Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Harbhajan Singh, Jacob Oram, Jalaj Saxena, James Franklin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, Munaf Patel, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Phil Hughes, Pawan Suyal, Pragyan Ojha, Rishi Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Suryakumar Yadav, Sushant Marathe, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal
Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist (C), Azhar Mahmood, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, David Hussey, David Miller, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Harmeet Singh Bansal, Luke Pomersbach, Manan Vohra, Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Gony, Nitin Saini, Parvinder Awana, Paul Valthaty, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Rajagopal Sathish, Ryan Harris, Sandeep Sharma, Shaun Marsh, Siddharth Chitnis, Sunny Singh
Where to Watch Live
The match will begin at 8:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
