IPL 10, Match 54, KKR v MI - Mumbai Indians Predicted XI

The Mumbai Indians would be gearing up to seal one of the top two spots in the league stages. A position among the first two will guarantee them at least two shots at the finals of the tournament. They have been hanging around on 18 points for quite some time now. They were the first team to qualify for the playoffs when they had won the match against the Delhi Daredevils.

Since then, they have endured two defeats in their next two fixtures. Their key player, Parthiv Patel, had quoted that it was perhaps the right time to lose games so that they could strengthen themselves before the playoffs. However, now they need to get back to winning ways else losing could well creep into the mindset of a very good looking team. Mumbai have a stiff ask ahead of them.

They will be up against the Kolkata Knight Riders at Kolkata. The KKR team is a win away from qualifying for the playoffs and would be under some pressure too. Also, the fact that they will be playing at their home venue, which has been a fortress for them this season, is bound to pep them up. The last time these two sides had met in the season, it was Mumbai Indians who had registered a clinical 4 wicket win in Mumbai. What combinations do they go forward with now?

Here is the Mumbai Indians Predicted XI for the KKR v MI Encounter:

Openers (Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel)

The Mumbai Indians suffered a big setback when their star batsman Jos Buttler had to head back to England for the national duty. Lendl Simmons rightly filled the void left by the English batsman by notching up a fifty in his very first game of the season. Simmons got a good score in the previous game as well and has surely been on a run scoring spree. He is a certain starter in the Mumbai lineup.

Parthiv Patel has had a very good season with the bat. The veteran wicket-keeper batsman has been scoring runs on a consistent basis this year and is a key player of the MI lineup. He has been instrumental in giving good starts to the Mumbai team in this season thus far. He has amassed 325 runs in this season already and is looking good for more with a strike rate over 136.

Middle Order (Nitish Rana, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard)

Perhaps the only reason why the Mumbai Indians have seen a slump in the last two matches this season is because of the misfiring middle order. Nitish Rana, who was being tipped as the forerunner for bagging the Orange Cap, has been quiet with his numbers in the last few matches. He is due for a big score and the team would hope for Rana to get back to the same note from where he had started earlier.

Skipper Rohit Sharma has scored 3 fifties this season with two of those being in losing cause. While the 3 fifties might seem like a decent number for a player, it is definitely an understatement for someone like Rohit Sharma. He has had 6 scores of single digits this season which certainly does not speak about the kind of batting he is capable of coming up with.

Kieron Pollard has slowly settled into the role of the finisher for the team. He has been in a very good form for the Mumbai Indians this season. Even in the previous game against the Kings XI Punjab, Pollard had got the team almost over the line in the runchase in excess of 200. He is certainly not short of good form and will be a key player against Knight Riders as well.

All-rounders (Hardik Pandya, Karn Sharma)

The Mumbai Indians will feel very blessed to have someone like Hardik Pandya in the team. Pandya has settled in the role of the finisher this season. He is hitting the ball with a strike rate close to 200 this season. Barring the game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Pandya has always been in a hitting form. Also, he has been used as the floater in the bowling department and covered up overs for the bowlers having an off day.

While one Pandya has been impressive, the senior one seems to be good too. Krunal Pandya has had a brilliant season thus far but got injured a couple of games ago. There is still no update on his injury though. Hence, Karn Sharma is likely to retain his place in the side. He has been doing a decent job for the team. A match ago, he had returned with brilliant figures of 3/11 for the MI team.

Bowlers (Harbhajan Singh, Mitch McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga)

The Mumbai Indians bowlers have been doing an excellent job this season. Harbhajan Singh has been a part of the Mumbai camp since the very first edition of the tournament. This year, it seems that the veteran spinner has brought all his experience to full use. He has consistently bowled well to be very impressive in the initial overs. Albeit he has not been amongst the wickets, he has managed to contain the run flow with an economy of just 6.48.

The pace department has seen Mitch McClenaghan shoulder the bulk of the responsibility this season. He has been bowling well for the team throughout the season. He has not been able to replicate his overall impressive showing from the last year when it comes to containing the batsmen. However, he has emerged to be the wicket-taking option in the team.

Jasprit Bumrah has been the star performer of the MI camp with the ball. The way he had defended 11 in the Super Over against the Gujarat Lions is still very fresh in the memories of the fans. He has been quite economical too with an economy just over 7.5. For a fast bowler who bowls with the new ball in the powerplay and then comes back at the death overs, the number seems to be very impressive.

Lasith Malinga is arguably the biggest name in the MI camp when it comes to bowling. He recently became the first bowler in the history of the IPL to take 150 wickets. However, his form this season has been far from impressive. He is yet to deliver the goods with the ball for the team. He needs to live up to his reputation in this game.