What

The Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab will eye a move up the VIVO IPL 2016 standings when then come up against each other in Match 43.

MI have six wins from 11 outings and come into this match at the back of a resounding win against Royal Challengers Bangalore. After restricting a powerful RCB batting line-up to 151, the defending champions cruised past the target, winning by six wickets with more than an over to spare.

For Kings XI Punjab, this match gives them an opportunity to get off the floor of the table. It’s been a largely forgettable season for the 2014 runners-up; they’ve only managed three wins from ten outings, and even if they go on to win their remaining four fixtures, there’s only a slim mathematical possibility that they will qualify for the Playoffs. In two of their last three matches, KXIP have run their opponent close, but have just not been able to slam the door shut; to win such close matches, one needs plenty of self-confidence and that comes from the habit of winning. KXIP will have hopefully identified those moments when the balance tilted towards their opponents, and will come better prepared.

When

13 May 2016, 2000 Hrs IST

Where

ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam

Weather

Temperature: Max 31°c, Min 30°c
Humidity: Max 83%
Wind: 11kmph

The Protagonists

It is good signs for Mumbai Indians that Kieron Pollard is striking the ball well; the Trinidadian is among the cleanest strikers of the cricket ball and can pulverise the opposition in a matter of minutes – just like he did against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday night. But the two men whose performances with the bat are extremely crucial to the MI’s success are their captain Rohit Sharma and their one-drop batsman Ambati Rayudu. Though slow starters, both batsmen are long-innings players and will most certainly cash in if they’ve got their eye in. With the ball, Mumbai Indians will look towards Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah to do the bulk of the damage.

For Kings XI Punjab, skipper Murali Vijay will be the central character in the team’s batting plans. Much like his counterpart in MI, Vijay will make the opposition pay if he bats long enough. It remains to be seen if Glenn Maxwell has recovered from the injury that sidelined him in the previous match; the Australian was hitting some kind of form when injury forced him to miss the game against RCB. The two Sharmas – Mohit and Sandeep – have been KXIP’s two best bowlers, and they will be expected to do what they’ve done so well right through the season.

Head to Head

Mumbai Indians have a slender edge where historical contests over Kings XI Punjab are concerned; MI have won 9 of their 17 matches against KXIP.

Trivia

Kings XI Punjab have a scoring rate of 7.74 and a boundary percentage of 48.57 – the lowest among all teams in VIVO IPL 2016. The numbers are in stark contrast to their numbers in the IPL 2014 when they made it to the Final; in that season, they had a scoring rate of 9.09 and a boundary percentage of 60.6.

Mumbai Indians have had only two good opening partnerships in VIVO IPL 2016 – 53 v KKR and 39 v RPS. In their remaining 9 matches, the aggregate runs of their opening partnership stands at 47 runs, with a highest of 9.

MI’s record in run-chases in VIVO IPL 2016: Won – 5, Lost – 2.

In VIVO IPL 2016, Mumbai Indians have the highest dot ball percentage and the highest boundary percentage when batting – 38.31% and 57.80% respectively.

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