Indian Premier League 2019 Match 24, Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

Mumbai Indians will host Kings XI Punjab for Match 24 of IPL 2019, at Wankhede Stadium. Punjab have won 4 out of 6 matches; Mumbai, 3 out of 5. Mumbai are slightly ahead on net run rate. In other words, there is little to choose between the two teams.

Mumbai Indians will host Kings XI Punjab for Match 24 of IPL 2019, at Wankhede. Punjab have won 4 out of 6 matches; Mumbai, 3 out of 5. Mumbai are slightly ahead on net run rate. In other words, there is little to choose between the two teams.

Both sides have gathered momentum of late. Mumbai have felled Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad; both sides have been table toppers at some point. Punjab, on the other hand, have also beaten Hyderabad.

Mumbai have been boosted by the arrival of Alzarri Joseph, who blew away Hyderabad with 6/12 on debut; these are the best figures in IPL history. Their bowling, headed by Jasprit Bumrah, has come together. They can perhaps do with some batting boost: none of their batsmen feature in the list of top ten run-getters.

Punjab look a more rounded side. They had a bizarre defeat against Chennai, when they were strangled completely by spinners in the middle overs. They immediately changed their line-up in the Hyderabad match. Three of their top six have struck at above 140 (and one at 138).

Their bowling had been on the expensive side before Ankit Rajpoot impressed in his two appearances.

Head to head

Three-time champion Mumbai hold a marginal advantage (12-11) over Punjab, that too after winning both matches in 2018. Indeed, given their track record, Punjab have punched above their weight against Mumbai.

Punjab scored 174/6 last year at Indore, Chris Gayle top-scoring with a 40-ball 50. Bumrah had figures of 4-0-19-1. Mumbai chased this down with an over to spare.

Suryakumar Yadav set up the chase with a 42-ball 57. Mumbai needed 55 in 27 balls when Hardik Pandya joined Rohit Sharma. They were still together when the winning runs were scored.

Mumbai’s 186/8, dented by Andrew Tye (4/16) at Wankhede was largely due to Kieron Pollard’s 23-ball 50. KL Rahul‘s 60-ball 94 was impressive, while Aaron Finch contributed with a 35-ball 46. In the end Punjab lost by 3 runs as Bumrah took 3/15.

Key players

Alzarri Joseph (Mumbai Indians): Not much to write here. Mumbai scored a paltry 136/7 at Hyderabad, but Joseph, fast and accurate, simply blew the hosts away with 6/12. His wickets included three in the top five, among which was David Warner, current holder of the Orange Cap. Mumbai are awaiting an encore.

KL Rahul (Kings XI Punjab): Rahul was in terrific form last season, and seems to have found his form back now. The strike rate of 123 is slightly low, but 3 fifties in 6 innings definitely makes a force to contend with. He has been tidier than usual behind the stumps as well.

Likely XIs

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Alzarri Joseph, Jason Behrendorff, Jasprit Bumrah.

Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, David Miller, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, R Ashwin (c), Ankit Rajpoot, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Prediction

Both teams have gained momentum of late. Tough call, but home advantage lies with Mumbai.