IPL 2020 match 13 pits Kings XI Punjab against defending champions Mumbai Indians at Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Thursday.
Both teams have had identical starts to their IPL campaigns – a dominant win interspersed with two close losses, including a Super Over heartbreak. Despite being touted by many as the favorites heading into this competition, the Mumbai Indians have been disappointed and none of the hitters have been able to display the kind of consistency they are generally known for in IPL.
However, the team would be happy with Ishan Kishan’s breakthrough against RCB, even though he fell behind a well-deserved one-ton run. There is also a lot of room for improvement in the bowling department and Bumrah also fades at times.
The Mumbai team is having a tough time against a well-oiled KXIP unit, which could have easily finished with three wins out of three. Punjab starters KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are the highest-scoring hitters in the competition and will be instrumental in their fortunes once again. However, they will expect more from the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Karun Nair, who have not finished in this competition yet.
The last time these two sides clashed at IPL 2019, Kieron Pollard staged an epic heist despite KL Rahul’s first ton of IPL. The Mumbai Indians also lead in the head-to-head between these two teams with 13 wins to KXIP’s 11. KL Rahul and company will look to close that with a victory on Thursday. With both sides seeking their second win of the season, we should be in a very intense competition between two of the best hitting units in the competition.
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Squads to choose from
Kings XI Punjab
KL Rahul (C), Karun Nair, Mohammed Shami, Nicholas Pooran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Hardus Viljoen, Darshan Nalkande, Sarfaraz Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Murugan Ashwin, K Gowtham, J Suchith, Glenn Maxwell, Sheldon Cottrell, Deepak Hooda, Ishan Porel, Ravi Bishnoi, James Neesham, Chris Jordan, Tajinder Dhillon, Prabhsimran Singh, Agnivesh Ayachi, Harpreet Brar, Murugan Ashwin
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma (C), Saurabh Tiwary, Chris Lynn, Anmolpreet Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Anukul Roy, Prince Balwant Rai, Sherfane Rutherford, Jasprit Bumrah, James Pattinson, Nathan Coulter-Boult-Boult-Boult-Boult Tigre, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Mitchell McClenaghan, Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Aditya Tare, Digvijay Deshmukh and Mohsin Khan
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Predicted move 11
Kings XI Punjab
KL Rahul (C&WK), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Glenn Maxwell, Nicholas Pooran, James Neesham, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cottrell / Chris Jordan
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, James Pattinson / Nathan Coulter-Nile, Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah
Match details
Match: Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians
Date: October 1, 2020 at 7:30 pm IST
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
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Launch report
The field at Sheikh Zayed Stadium is perhaps the slowest of the three fields at IPL 2020. Hitters have taken their time early on before launching an attack, a ploy that has served some teams well. Although there is some change on offer, the dew has played its part with the boundary of the squares and has done the spinners no favors either.
Having terrain in hand is vital here, as conditions are unlikely to change much during play. The average first-inning score in Abu Dhabi at IPL 2020 is 165, which sheds some light on the competitive nature of the surface. Ideally, both teams would look to bowling first with Dew possibly having a say later in the game.
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