IPL 2019 – Match 9: Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians – KXIP Predicted Playing XI

The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) have got two away games out of their way and will play their first home game of the season at Mohali against the Mumbai Indians. The side won its first game against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) but failed to get over the line against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Even though they will be playing at home, beating the Mumbai Indians won’t be easy for KXIP.

Mumbai won a close-fought contest against the RCB team in their last game. They will be a confident unit entering into this game. KXIP has got a bit of thinking to do about their playing eleven before the home match that will be played on the weekend. The Mohali surface is good for batting just like it was at the Eden Gardens. Their bowlers haven’t lived up to the expectations in the last match. But, will that prompt a few changes? Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP):

Openers (KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle)

Even though KL Rahul hasn’t quite fired as yet, the management is sure to persist with him. Rahul is the best Indian batsman available in their ranks and enjoys playing in the T20 format. He needs just one big knock before he gets going and Mohali could be the ideal venue for him to do the same. The 26-year-old needs to spend some time in the middle before he goes for the big shots.

In the game against KKR, after Rahul got out early, the fans had a lot of expectations on Chris Gayle. However, the Universe Boss failed to get going. The left-hander has been in good form of late and can be destructive once he gets in. Gayle will like the Mohali pitch where the ball comes onto the bat nicely.

Middle Order (Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller, Mandeep Singh)

Mayank Agarwal’s 34-ball 58 is the best he has ever played for the KXIP side. He should look to keep the same kind of momentum going and should anchor the innings. It would be great for the team if he gets a good score even at a strike rate of 120 or 130. Sarfaraz Khan didn’t get going in the last match. The youngster must have spent some time playing in Mohali during the pre-season camp. Thus, he would have a good idea of the conditions and needs to play an aggressive knock.

David Miller was not completely at his best in the last match. Yet, the South African scored an unbeaten 59 off 40 balls. He smashed three sixes and five fours during his innings. He has played a lot at Mohali and knows the ground in and out. Mandeep Singh seems to have fitted into the finisher’s role quite well. Even in the last match, he scored 33 off 15 balls and looked good. He might even bat above Miller depending upon the situation of the game.

Bowlers (Hardus Viljoen, Ravichandran Ashwin (C), Ankit Rajpoot, Mohammed Shami, Andrew Tye)

This is possibly the biggest weakness for the KXIP side as there is an abrupt end to their batting line-up and there is no transition between the two departments in the absence of capable all-rounders. All of them can bat a bit but can’t be classified as all-rounders. Hardus Viljoen was highly impressive on his debut. He is a superstar in T20 leagues all around the world and is very experienced. Once he figures out the right areas to bowl on the Indian pitches, he’ll be tough to deal with.

Ravichandran Ashwin went for quite a few runs against KKR. In comparison to him, Varun Chakravarthy might have bowled slightly better. But, the 25-run first over that he bowled might cost him his place. On second thought, there is nothing wrong in KXIP continuing with him as he conceded just 10 runs in the remaining two overs that he bowled. Ankit Rajpoot might come in his place and will share the pace duties with Mohammed Shami and Andrew Tye.

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