IPL 2019: Mumbai Indians probable playing XI against Kings XI Punjab
After an initial stutter where they lost their opening game to Delhi Capitals (DC), Mumbai Indians (MI) registered their first points on the 2019 IPL Points Table. They beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Bengaluru and extended their dominance over RCB at the Chinnaswamy. The top-order fired but the middle-order endured a collapse before Hardik Pandya’s rescue act helped them to 187. And it was Jasprit Bumrah who starred with the ball and he led the charge with the ball.
However, the no-ball controversy created headlines and took the sheen off their maiden win of IPL 2019. They will look to put that behind them and continue the small momentum they’ve built with the win over RCB. Here’s the predicted XI for them for their third game of the season which is against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Mohali.
Rohit Sharma has stated that he will open the batting throughout the season. He looked like he was returning to his best when he scored a 33-ball 48, giving MI a solid start. Quinton de Kock will most likely continue to partner the MI skipper at the top of the order. He has got starts in both the games so far but has failed to convert them.
Suryakumar Yadav opened the batting last year. However, this year he’s been assigned the No. 3 spot. He looked good in the last game against RCB. Yuvraj Singh has shown signs he’s returning to his best once again. He got a fifty in a losing cause in the first game before he struck three consecutive sixes off Yuzvendra Chahal in the last game.
Kieron Pollard hasn’t quite looked at his best in the first couple of games. He’s had scores of 21 and 5 so far in the tournament. But MI will likely persist with the hard-hitting West Indian. Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya have always been a vital cog of the MI line-up. The former failed with the bat last game but he’s done well with the ball. Meanwhile, it was Hardik’s quickfire cameo towards the back end of the innings against RCB that made the difference. He was brilliant towards the death as he struck a fine 14-ball 32.
Mitchell McClenaghan has been expensive in this season so far. But he has a happy knack of picking up wickets as he did in the first game against Delhi. Also, he has been a big part of the MI set-up for the last few years. After he was left out in the first game, Mayank Markande made a decent start to his 2019 IPL season. He finished with figures of 1/23 in his three overs. Lasith Malinga returned to the side as well after a break of almost two years. However, he blew hot and cold. AB de Villiers took him to the cleaners before he came back and delivered an excellent final over. Jasprit Bumrah was the game-changer in MI’s win against RCB. He was simply superb at the death and he was the one who bought MI back in the game.