IPL 2019: Match 24, MI vs KXIP, Preview: Will the new kid in the dark blue outfit ruin Kings party?

A popular expression reads “revenge is a dish best served cold”.  This should aptly suit the three-time league champions Mumbai Indians. It was a shaky start for the IPL heavyweights as they lost their first and third match against Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab respectively. The raging Mumbai side have got an opportunity to exact revenge against high flying KXIP at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

It has been just 10 days that KXIP have punished the solid bowling attack of Mumbai Indians to carve an eight-wicket victory at I.S Bindra Stadium in Punjab. But after that loss, the Rohit Sharma’s boys had clinched two back-to-back victories against Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The MI paltan have gone allout with their tremendous all-round performances to fetch victories.

Especially, the new kid on the block has wreaked havoc with the six-wicket blitz against SRH. The Caribbean young sensation was the main reason for orange outfits batting order topple. With the revelation of their secret weapon, the hosts have definitely sent out a threatening message to KXIP. Nonetheless, the tourists should have come up with back up plan to face Alzarri.

The Mumbai Indians have won all three matches comfortably so far. Can Mumbai repeat last year’s feat of beating Kings XI at iconic Wankhede? Well, most of the matches upto an extent are being decided based on toss. So this match might as well be based mostly on toss.

The other side of the coin tells a different story, in which KXIP after thrashing Mumbai Indians had won two matches (Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad) and lost a match (Chennai Super Kings). The common factor in both the teams is that they are fresh out of victories against Hyderabad franchise SRH.

Team Combinations

Mumbai Indians

The Mumbai Indians after a comfortable victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad would want to go with the same team. As they have a well-balanced side with good top order followed by a decent middle-order. Also, the bowling has developed after Behrendorff and Alzarri joined the Mumbai clan. Now the local paltan would give their best after racking up a best team to face off KXIP.

Probable XI: Siddhesh Lad, Kieron Pollard (C), Jason Behrendorff, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Alzarri Joseph, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar.

Kings XI Punjab

The Punjab franchise was well stabilized but going with the Wankhede Stadium pitch conditions, Hardus Viljoen might be in for Mujeeb Ur Rahman. In the previous matches, pacers made more impact than the spin attack for the Kings XI Punjab. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, bowling was the strongest aspect as the home team could restrict the orange outfits for 150. So Ravi Ashwin would focus more on a strong bowling attack as the batters are well on track.

Probable XI: Lokesh Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Ankit Rajpoot, Mohammed Shami, Hardus Viljoen.

Mumbai Indians win the toss, opt to field

Focus will be on

Mumbai Indians: Alzarri Joseph

After breaking an 11-year-old record by taking six-wicket haul while conceding 12 runs, Alzarri Joseph made heads turn. On his debut, the Caribbean paceman displayed a brilliant show and send out a strong message to the travelling side. After his outstanding performance, he has taken social media by storm as most of the game’s stalwarts heaped praises on the quick.

Kings XI Punjab: Lokesh Rahul

Lokesh Rahul is the one in the whole squad, who is most consistent. Against Mumbai Indians, he had played a match-winning innings scoring 71 runs. The right-handed batter also scored a responsible half-century against SRH. KL Rahul have been in the news for all wrong reason before the commencement of IPL, as he was along with Hardik Pandya where the misogynistic comments came up on a TV show. But, he is striking all right cords in this season of Indian Premier League.

Head-to-head

Matches: 23, Mumbai Indians: 12, Kings XI Punjab: 11

Stat Attack

3: The KXIP opener, Lokesh Rahul is tied on top with David Warner to record most number of half-centuries (3) so far in the tournament.

Broadcast Details

TV: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Select HD

Live Streaming: Hotstar

Match Timings: 20:00 IST.

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