Wednesday’s IPL clash between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab will be about the battle of wits between captains Rohit Sharma and Ravi Ashwin, more than anything.
Punjab are on the rise with four wins from six games while Mumbai are not too far behind, with three wins from five. Both teams enter the contest in Mumbai on the back of morale-boosting results.
While Punjab eked out a tense six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad with one ball to spare, Mumbai rode on a record haul of 6-12 by debutant pacer Alzarri Joseph to defend 137 against Sunrisers.
The pitch in Mumbai has been one of the better ones this season, so batsmen should look forward to a fruitful outing.
Rohit v Ashwin
Mumbai skipper Rohit is considered by many to be the best tactical Indian captain – more so than Virat Kohli.
The Mumbai Indians skipper has not been in the best of forms with the bat but has marshalled his resources well, especially in the absence of pacer Lasith Malinga and in the handling of quicks Jason Behrendorff and Joseph.
Ashwin, on the other hand, has been superb with the ball and as captain. Be it his situational awareness, the ‘Mankading’ of Jos Buttler was as smart as it was controversial, or the way he has utilised his international players, benching Mujeeb Ur Rahman for three games, Ashwin has backed his decisions with results.
With the ball, he has been brilliant, picking up seven wickets at an economy of 7.3. It will be a fascinating contest between two high-quality tacticians.
Joseph v Gayle v Pollard
The Caribbean flavour will be heavy in this clash at the Wankhede.
And it’s Mumbai who seem to have the edge in this regard. Debutant quick Joseph tore through the Sunrisers line-up to dismiss them for 96 in Hyderabad, getting the ball to tail in.
Kieron Pollard has been the engine of Mumbai’s lower order batting alongside Hardik Pandya, and should enjoy the balmy conditions in Mumbai.
Kings XI Caribbean star Chris Gayle, however, has threatened to ‘Universe Boss’ this tournament, but hasn’t gone all the way after the opening clash where he hit 79 off 47 against Rajasthan.
All three will have a point to prove, especially since the league phase is approaching the halfway stage and teams will finalise their core for the rest of the season soon.
Likely XIs
Mumbai Indians: Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Alzarri Joseph, Jason Behrendorff, Jasprit Bumrah
Kings XI Punjab: Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (wk), Mayank Agarwal, David Miller, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, Ravi Ashwin (c), Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ankit Rajpoot
