For Mumbai Indians, IPL 2016 has been so far just the same as IPL 2014 and IPL 2015. An early stutter, which saw them lose most of their first few matches, followed by a sharp recovery and ending in grand IPL success. Mumbai Indians’ best performance so far was in the last match against the star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore, which they won handsomely.
They now take on Kings XI Punjab, the bottom ranked team in the IPL. This position is nothing new to Kings XI Punjab, who, with the exception of a couple of seasons, always find themselves at the bottom of the IPL. The problem with them is the complete absence of quality Indian talent and overseas professionals who either don’t care or are in the worst form of their careers.
Mumbai Indians are doing very well. They have even won matches where Rohit Sharma has not fired. They have two match winners in the middle order in Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard. They have a superb bowling attack with the likes of Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah, supported by veteran Harbhajan Singh and the impressive Krunal Pandya.
They still have glaring weaknesses. Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel is one of them. It has been quite clear for a while that Patel is not cut out for the highest stage in cricket and he is a habitual underperformer.
One doesn’t understand why he gets to open the batting for a side as good as Mumbai Indians, as he is clearly out of his depth. His scores suggest that as well. Parthiv has made 1, 0, 21 and 1 in his last four innings and has only got a single 50+ score in this IPL.
As for Kings XI Punjab, they have absolutely no chances of making it to the playoffs. They might as well bid IPL 2016 goodbye. They have been let down badly by their overseas players. In fact, one can say that of all the teams in the IPL 2016, Kings XI have the worst overseas contingent.
David Miller has been poor and averages 16.37 after 10 innings. Shaun Marsh didn’t do much and has returned home. Glenn Maxwell has underperformed and there are concerns over his fitness. Their Indian players have tried their best, especially M Vijay, but without much success. This represents another failed season in the IPL for them.
They do have Hashim Amla in the side, but he hasn’t done much in the two games that he has played so far. Mumbai Indians have gotten rid of the ineffectual Hardik Pandya, which is good to see. They now need to take a decision on Pathiv Patel.
The Teams
Kings XI Punjab : 1 M Vijay (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 4 David Miller, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Glenn Maxwell/Farhaan Behardien, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Mohit Sharma, 9 Anureet Singh, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 KC Cariappa
Mumbai Indians : 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Parthiv Patel (wk), 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Jos Buttler, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Match Conditions
Tonight’s match will be played in the new home ground of the Mumbai Indians, Vishakapatnam, which is as far removed from Mumbai as it could be. This has been a great track for bowlers and we expect to see the same tonight as well. Fortunately, no rains have been forecast.
Watch Mumbai Indians play Kings XI Punjab tonight at 8:00 pm LIVE on Sony Six!
