When Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Mumbai Indians (MI) lock horns against each other at PCA, Mohali today in the first match of the day, both the teams will come with a different mindset into game. KXIP would be looking forward to clinch back to back victory against the MI, whereas MI would have revenge on their mind. Last time when the teams met, the match finished on an unexpected line as it was hardly expected that KXIP would beat MI so convincingly. But that is the beauty of this format and anything can happen.
And now talking about today’s match, even though Mumbai have a slight edge over Punjab considering the depth of their side, still none of the teams enter as a favorite and the better side would emerge victorious.
Both the teams have some potential match winners in their arsenal and let us have look at the players to watch out from today’s tie:
Kings XI Punjab:
Shaun Marsh: He has been the most consistent performer for the KXIP side and even though he has been a little inconsistent in this year’s tournament, but still scored two half centuries for the winning cause. He single handedly won the last match for Punjab and his team would be looking forward to see him fire again in this big ticket clash.
Azhar Mahmood: His citizenship status with UK has earned him the opportunity to play in IPL and he did not let it go for a waste. In his first match of the IPL against Royal Challengers Bangalore he showed what he can do in this format of the game and would be looking forward to deliver in a big way to live up to his reputation.
Piyush Chawla: Chawla has been one of the consistent bowlers for KXIP this season and his aggressive nature is what makes him so. He goes into bowling with the mindset of taking wickets rather than just containing runs. He takes up the challenge to the batsman, mixes his line cleverly and is never afraid to toss the ball up.
Parvinder Awana: He is looking in great shape and already has a four wicket haul to his name this season. He is sure to post some serious threat to Mumbai batsmen upfront.
Mumbai Indians:
Sachin Tendulkar: There is nothing much that could be said about the little master. He was looking in god touch in their last match against Punjab, but unfortunately could not carry it on for long. Sachin who celebrated his 39th birthday yesterday would be looking forward to start his kick start his 40th year with a bang.
James Franklin: He is looking very good in this year’s tournament. He was unfortunate that his half century in the last match went in vain but nevertheless his team would want him to perform in the same manner.
Munaf Patel: He was fined 50% percent of his match last time for misbehaving on the field, and he would be looking forward to rub that blemish off with his performance in today’s match. With Lasith Malinga out, the expectations will be very high from this experienced bowler and is also in the race for the purple cap.
Harbhajan Singh: Harbhajan has not been among the wickets and he will be worried because of that. The captain of the Mumbai team will know that he will have to start performing sooner rather than later. With the bat he is very handy and he has already shown that.
By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News
