It's taken a while for the Kings XI Punjab to play their first game in front of their home crowd at Mohali, and such is the dominance of the team at the moment, they have already confirmed their place in the playoffs of IPL 2014.
Live Streaming Information:
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The game is set for an 8 pm IST (11.30 am BST, 6.30 am ET) start with live coverage on Sony Six, in English, and Sony Max, in Hindi, in India. The match can also be watched via live streaming online in India HERE or HERE. Viewers in the US can catch the game on Willow TV or with the live streaming option HERE, while Canada viewers can do the same HERE. Watch the action in the rest of the world HERE, HERE or through the GoCricket apps.
Viewers in the UK can catch the match on ITV, while Pakistan viewers can do the same on Geo Super, with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh audience able to watch the game on TV on Masaranga TV and Carlton Sports Network respectively. Audience in the Middle East can catch the action on OSN with the live streaming link available HERE, while New Zealand viewers can do the same via Sky NZ or HERE or via the above rest of the world options.
All that remains for KXIP to do is to seal that top spot, which they will pretty much do with a victory over the Mumbai Indians on Wednesday. Punjab have garnered 18 points from 11 matches, losing just two games all season, and the George Bailey-led side will be confident of ending their regular season with three more wins.
Their opponents the Mumbai Indians will be playing for little more than hope of a miracle, with the Kolkata Knight Riders' win on Tuesday night pretty much ending their hopes of defending their title.
MI are on eight after 11 matches, and with KKR on 14 from 12, they need the Kolkata franchise to slip up in their last couple of games, with those loses also having to be heavy ones due to the fact that KKR have a far superior net run rate.
It does look really unlikely and MI will just want to end their IPL 2014 campaign on a high note by winning their final three games, starting with a win over KXIP, the team they beat at the Wankhede impressively earlier this month.
"Although the tournament hasn't gone the way we were hoping, we have to keep everything aside and move forward as a team," MI skipper Rohit Sharma told IPL's official website. "I know that the squad we have got is a talented one and has a lot of potential.
"But we were not able to put things together at the start of the tournament. We lost five out of five games in the beginning – that was not acceptable. With a team like this, I wasn't excepting such a performance. But it happens. We have to move on now."
The primary reason for MI's failings this season has been their batting, which sparkled in their win over the Rajasthan Royals on Monday. The likes of Michael Hussey finally found some form with the bat, but it does look like it has come about a little too late to have any real effect on the tournament.
With Lasith Malinga starring for Sri Lanka in England, the Mumbai Indians brought in Krishmar Santokie, who went for 50 runs in his four overs, even if he picked up two wickets.
Santokie, or whoever else is picked, will have to do a lot better if they are to stop Glenn Maxwell and co., who have just been near unstoppable this season, from going berserk in front of their won fans.
