Mumbai Indians (MI) will be out to extend their five-match winning run while Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will be looking to secure their third win as the teams square off in Match 36 of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Both the teams are coming into this game on the back of their eight-wicket wins. While MI beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on the back of Quinton de Kock’s 78-run blitz, KXIP managed to overcome the last-over drama to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

In their first encounter in the IPL 2020, MI defeated KXIP by 48 runs following skipper Rohit Sharma’s 70 and Kieron Pollard-Hardik Pandya blitz. KL Rahul and Co. will be eager to turn the table in their second clash of the season.

The Rohit Sharma-led unit will be looking to consolidate their position while KXIP, who are on the eighth position in the points table, will be targeting their second successive win.

Here are the players who could tip the balance of the match in their team’s favour.

Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock is having a ball of a time with the bat in hand. The left-hander batsman is coming into this game on the back of three half-centuries from four matches, including his Man of the Match effort against KKR. He is currently MI’s leading run-getter with 269 runs from 8 matches and will be looking to continue his excellent run of form.

KL Rahul

One hundred, four fifties and 448 runs from 8 games. KL Rahul is currently the leading run-getter of the tournament and beholder of the Orange Cap. The KXIP skipper is coming into this game on the back two successive fifties and will be looking to go one better to power his side to victory.

Rohit Sharma

While de Kock is topping the run-scoring charts for MI, Rohit Sharma is a close second with 243 runs. The MI skipper had played a match-winning knock when these two sides last played each other, and he will be looking to have an encore of that performance to guide his team to its sixth successive win.

Mayank Agarwal

While Rahul is IPL 2020’s leading run-getter, Mayank is holding the second spot in that list with 382 runs. The right-hander, who has a hundred and two fifties to his name, has the highest strike-rate (161.18) in the list of the top run-getters of the season and he will be someone that KXIP will bank on to score at brisk pace at top.

Chris Gayle

Playing his first game of the season, the Universe Boss announced his arrival in style scoring a fifty against RCB in KXIP’s last game. The left-hander’s availability is a big boost for KXIP and adds more firepower to their batting which also has the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Nicholas Pooran.

Wild Card

Rahul Chahar

Rahul Chahar enjoyed a fine outing with the ball against KKR. The young leg-spinner picked two wickets in an over and returned with the figures of 2/19 in his four overs. While MI boasts of a fine pace-bowling unit, how Chahar performs against the batting might of KXIP will also hold the significance in the outcome of the match.

Stats

• MI at this venue: Played 4, Won 3, Lost 1
• KXIP at this venue: Played 5, Won 2, Lost 3

Approaching Milestones

• Rohit Sharma needs 21 runs to complete 4000 IPL runs for MI.
• Quinton de Kock needs 1 dismissal to complete 50 IPL dismissals.
• KL Rahul requires 4 sixes and 75 runs respectively to complete 100 IPL sixes and 2500 IPL runs.
• Chris Gayle needs 89 runs to complete 1500 IPL runs for KXIP.