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Indore, May 3: Mumbai Indians (MI) will be aiming to sort their 'opening woes' in both departments of the game when they take on a rejuvenated Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in a must-win Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter on Friday (May 4).
The three-time IPL champions MI are staring at an inglorious exit having brought up the rear so far, with only two wins in their kitty from eight games.
On the other hand, Kings XI Punjab, under R Ashwin's leadership, have won five out of their seven games, surely inching towards the Play-Offs.
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A week off has certainly helped the likes of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul recharge their batteries and they will be aiming to come out all guns blazing at their adopted home.
Kings XI Punjab's season has been about collective performance. They don't have the 'Orange Cap' or 'Purple Cap' holders in their ranks but everyone has chipped in with impact performances.
'Universe Boss' Gayle (252 runs) came into the tournament with a bruised ego and battered the bowlers into submission with two half-centuries and a hundred. Rahul (268 runs) also showed why he is rated so highly with the fastest ever 50 in IPL.
Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman, with an economy rate of 6.51 and seven wickets, has been nurtured well by skipper Ashwin.
The pace duo of Ankit Rajpoot (7 wickets at 6.27) and Andrew Tye (9 wickets at 7.78) have also done the job.
For MI, the primary reason for six defeats in eight matches has been poor start by openers along with new ball bowlers leaking too many runs in Power Play overs.
While Suryakumar Yadav, with 283 runs from eight games, has performed decently for MI after being promoted up the order, but Caribbean left-hander Evin Lewis (194 in 7 games) has not been able to replicate his form in international matches.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Pushing the limits further defines us as a team.#CricketMeriJaan #KXIPvMI #MumbaiIndians pic.twitter.com/FBBiFn6RkV
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) May 3, 2018
MI skipper Rohit Sharma (196 in 8 matches) has shuffled his own batting position but his inconsistency has also hurt MI big time.
The opening stands in eight games has so far yielded: 7, 11, 102, 0, 1, 12, 69, 5. A look at the statistics will reveal that MI have got solid foundation in only two games of which they won the match against CSK.
The other problem that has plagued MI has been the performance of their two all-rounders -- Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya.
With Pollard not fit enough to bowl, his contribution of 76 runs in 6 innings has been an issue. Hardik has also blown hot 'n' cold during the season with 111 runs, including a toiling 50 in the last game along with 11 wickets.
Left-arm pacers Mustafizur Rahaman (7 wickets) and Mitchell McLenaghan (9 wickets) have both been expensive at the start and back-end of the opposition innings with unimpressive economy rates of 8.34 and 8.66 respectively. That has put immense pressure on Jasprit Bumrah (9 wickets at an economy rate of 7) and Hardik (11 wickets at 8.74).
Kings coming back to the camp and resuming training again makes some of our happy moments from today ☺️
— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) May 2, 2018
Tell us about yours using #50DaysOfKXIP#LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi #KXIP #KingsXIPunjab #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/yfh31UgsDu
Teams (from): Kings XI Punjab: R Ashwin (captain), Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, KL Rahul (wk), Karun Nair, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Barinder Sran, David Miller, Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Axar Patel, Akshdeep Nath, Mayank Agarwal, Manoj Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh, Manzoor Dar Pandav, Pardeep Sahu, Ben Dwarshuis, Marcus Stoinis, Mayank Dagar.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Mayank Markande, Mitchell McLenaghan, Mustafizur Rahaman, Jasprit Bumrah, Akila Dananjaya, Ben Cutting, JP Duminy, Rahul Chahar, Sharad Lumba, Adam Milne, Siddhesh Lad, Md Nidheesh, Mohsin Khan, Anukul Roy, Pradeep Sangwan, Tajinder Singh, Aditya Tare (wk), Saurabh Tiwary.
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