10 April,2019 05:30 PM IST | Mumbai | Subodh Mayure
Mumbai Indians' Alzarri Joseph (left) celebrates after claiming IPL's best figures of 6-12 against SRH in Hyderabad on Saturday. Pics/AFP, PTI
Tonight's Indian Premier League game at the Wankhede Stadium could be about Mumbai Indians' bowling versus Kings XI Punjab's batting. Both teams go into the match in a positive frame of mind after Punjab beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali on Monday while MI trounced Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Having the world's best death bowler in the form of Jasprit Bumrah (five wickets in as many games) in the team along with young pacer Alzarri Joseph, who impressed with his 6 for 12 for a match-winning IPL debut and left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff in the attack, MI's opponents have to be cautious in those 12 overs. However, to counter this attack, KXIP have two technically sound batsmen in their armory - KL Rahul (217 runs in six games) and Mayank Agarwal (184 in six). If they play to potential, it will make it easier for local boy Sarfaraz Khan (165 in six games) to play his natural game as well as innovative shots to build the total.
MI's young batsmen Ishan Kishan, who replaced Yuvraj Singh in the last game against SRH, wanted to see a bouncy pitch at the Wankhede Stadium which would be an advantage for the home team. "In T20 cricket, it helps the batsmen when there is good bounce. It [bouncy pitch] makes it easier because in T20 cricket you play on your instinct. We have plenty of plus points as we practice here," Kishan said during the pre-match press conference yesterday.
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MI may be concerned about their openers as Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock's best effort this season has been only 54 in 6.3 overs against Royal Challengers Bangalore when Rohit registered his season's highest score of 48. Rohit, who has opened the innings right from the first game, has managed to score only 118 runs in five games.
MI's one-drop batsman Suryakumar Yadav's tally in five games is 117 which includes 59 against CSK. With the team's top three batsmen (De Kock 133 runs in five matches) not having enough runs under their belt, much of the responsibility falls on hard-hitters like Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard. With experienced bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin (seven wickets in six games), Mohammed Shami (six in six) and Sam Curran (six in four) in the opposition team, Mumbai Indians' batting powerhouse will be tested.
Kishan, though, who scored 17 before getting run out against SRH is confident about team's top order batsmen coming good tonight. "We played most of our matches on slow wickets on which 130 too is a good total in a T20 game. An outside view reflects a bad score, but the batsmen's contribution has been good. This is just a start; still a lot of matches to be played," Kishan said.
Also read: IPL 2019: Mumbai Indians host Punjab in their first return leg back in Mumbai
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