Mid-table Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab beset by bowling worries ahead of key contest
The Mumbai Indians have been one bowler short with Hardik Pandya not bowling, while Kings XI could look at fielding Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Karthik Krishnaswamy
30-Sep-2020
Big picture
The Kings XI Punjab might still be wondering what hit them after the Rajasthan Royals pulled off the most madcap of heists against them. The Mumbai Indians might still be pondering the what-ifs after a Super Over defeat to the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
They will have to put the wondering and pondering away quickly, though, because the IPL carousel is relentless and remorseless. The Mumbai Indians meet the Kings XI on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, the home ground for the former and a first-time venue for the latter this season.
These are two of the best batting line-ups in the IPL, but there are gaps in both bowling attacks. The Kings XI are possibly the worst death-overs attack in the tournament, while the Mumbai Indians, for whom Hardik Pandya is more or less just a specialist batsman after undergoing back surgery, often end up using only five bowlers, which presents teams a greater chance of using pre-planned match-ups against them.
This meeting comes at a stage when every point seems to matter more than ever. It's still early days, but the signs point to this being one of the most open seasons in recent times, particularly after the Sunrisers Hyderabad got their first points on Tuesday with a brilliantly controlled performance against the Delhi Capitals. The Mumbai Indians and the Kings XI both seem like strong contenders to make the playoffs this season, but who doesn't?
In the news
It's not yet clear if Nathan Coulter-Nile has recovered from the side strain that has kept him out of the Mumbai Indians' XI so far. If he has, he could come in for James Pattinson and shore up the lower-order batting.
Likely XIs
Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 James Pattinson/Nathan Coulter-Nile, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.
Kings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Karun Nair, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 James Neesham, 7 Sarfaraz Khan, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 M Ashwin, 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Mohammed Shami.
Strategy punts
- Among those who have sent down at least 12 balls in the death (16-20) overs in the IPL this season, three of the four highest economy rates belong to Kings XI bowlers - Chris Jordan (21.50), Sheldon Cottrell (16.00) and Mohammed Shami (15.50). Jordan hasn't featured since the Kings XI's season-opener against the Capitals, but Cottrell has played all three of their matches, and given them regular wickets with the new ball. How do you solve such a problem? One possible change they could make is to bring in the mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman for Cottrell, and play one of the three uncapped Indian fast bowlers in their squad - Arshdeep Singh (who played three games last season), Ishan Porel or Darshan Nalkande - in place of M Ashwin, their second Indian spinner. Porel is among the most highly rated young quicks in Indian domestic cricket, while both Singh and Nalkande give the Kings XI a left-arm option. Mujeeb is known for his parsimony in the powerplay, but he's also quite useful at the death. This year, he's bowled 16 death overs in 14 T20 games, conceding 6.9 runs per over in that phase. Mujeeb could also come in for the allrounder James Neesham, but that would compromise the Kings XI's batting depth.
Stats that matter
- Jasprit Bumrah's death-overs economy rate this season is 14.6 - significantly higher than the world-class 7.8 he finished with last season. He's looked a little rusty coming back from the long pandemic-induced break from cricket, and conceded 42 in his four overs against the Royal Challengers. It was only the sixth time he had conceded more than 10 an over for the Mumbai Indians since the 2017 season. The Mumbai Indians have lost five of those six matches.
Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo