Get the bowling in order and ask more from the batsmen – the Kings XI Punjab need to find their mojo again as they host the Mumbai Indians in an IPL 2017 match in Indore on Thursday.
With three straight losses, KXIP have a lot to do to get back to the promising start they made to IPL 2017, when they won their first two games, both of which were played at the Holkar Stadium.
However, in all the games, apart from one, the one major disappointment for the Kings XI Punjab has been their former captain David Miller.
Live Streaming and TV Information of KXIP vs MI
The left-hander, despite getting opportunity after opportunity, has continued to disappoint with the bat, and it surely must be time to drop the South African and bring in one of the other overseas batsmen sitting on the sidelines, or even Marcus Stoinis, who has, surprisingly, been dropped in the last few games.
Stoinis will feel he has a good chance to make it to the playing XI, after impressing against the Mumbai Indians last season, when he took a four-for to lead Kings XI Punjab to victory.
KXIP have Shaun Marsh and Martin Guptill to call upon as pure batsmen, while Darren Sammy also could be an option.
The only question is if Marsh and Guptill are free of the back and hamstring injuries that they suffered earlier this year. If they are, you would feel one of them need to come in for Miller, who has scores of 30, 28, 24 and 1 in IPL 2017, with a combined strike rate of 103.75, which just isn't good enough at this level.
Hashim Amla and Eoin Morgan haven't been consistent enough either, while Glenn Maxwell needs a captain's innings, so the big problem for KXIP is their overseas players. What Kings XI will be happy with, though, is Manan Vohra's form, with the opener scoring a wonderful 95 in their last match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, an innings, which nearly won them the match.
The Indian bowlers did reasonably well on a slow wicket in Hyderabad against SRH last time out, but with Indore expected to be a better wicket to bat on, they will need to execute their plans to perfection.
Especially against a Mumbai Indians team who have made their best ever start to the IPL.
With four wins in five matches, MI are sitting pretty at the moment, with everything seemingly going swimmingly well.
The batting looks strong and deep, with the likes of Nitish Rana, Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya contributing nicely, while the bowlers have done the business when required as well.
Unless there is a late injury or illness, there is absolutely no need to tamper with the playing XI, especially with the players getting enough rest, considering their last game was on Sunday.
Confirmed playing XI:
Kings XI Punjab: Hashim Amla, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhiman Saha, Glenn Maxwell (C), Marcus Stoinis, Gurkeerat Singh, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Ishant Sharma.
Mumbai Indians: Jos Buttler, Parthiv Patel, Nitish Rana, Rohit Sharma (C), Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga.
