Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Mumbai Indians (MI) both have played two matches each in this edition. Both teams have one win each in their kitty.
Head to Head
The Head to Head between these two teams is slightly in favour of Mumbai Indians.
In total, they have played 24 matches out of which MI have won 13 matches while KKR has won only 11.
In the recent four matches in which they were pitted against each other, apart from the last match, MI has won 3 out of the 4 matches.
Squads
Top Players of KXIP and MI
KXIP:
C Gayle: He has not played a single match as yet, but the more he sits out, the hungrier for runs he would be. The team selection is trusting N Pooran more than Gayle. Gayle might be sitting this one out as well thanks to N Pooran's quickfire 25 of 8 balls towards the end in the previous match.
KL Rahul: He played a magnanimous inning against RCB and played second fiddle to M Agarwal against RR. The consistency with which he is performing in IPL as well as T20I's is amazing to watch. He plays with a Rohit-like fluency and at times outshines him as well.
M Agarwal: This man right now is doing nothing wrong; he is playing like a champion. If we look at his previous T20 record and the way he is playing in this edition, he looks like an altogether different player. His gameplay and consistency is the perfect epitome of how a positive attitude and confidence boost one's performance.
M Shami: He was a touch expensive in the previous match but by no means did he bowl badly. He was taken apart by good batsmen ship more than his bad bowling. He has picked up wickets in all the matches this season.
S Cottrell: Like Shami, Cottrell has also consistently troubled the batsmen. His bowling figures of 17/2, 24/2 in his first two matches show how good he is. In the third match, he got clobbered by R Tewatia for 5 sixes in an over but this could be just a one-off over for him.
MI:
R Sharma: He blew KKR apart in the second match of the tournament but got out early against RCB. He even fell to the W Sundar trap set by RCB. Usually an extraordinary captain, he looked mediocre against RCB.
K Pollard: He and I Kishan went berserk towards the end of the match against RCB to help them tie the game.
J Bumrah: He has looked a bit scratchy in patches and brilliant in some. He hasn't been able to produce Yorkers consistently as yet. MI needs their premiere bowler to be consistent with his performance especially against KXIP which has in-form opening batsmen- KL Rahul and M Agarwal.
Q de Kock: Q de Kock has looked in touch; it is just that he hasn't converted it into big innings. R Sharma and Q de Kock both failed in the previous match and it is high time that MI openers get their act together to perform well.
H Pandya: He, along with Pollard, makes a destructive lower-middle order for MI. He hasn't got going yet in this tournament but, like Pollard, he is a very crucial player for MI.
Likely Playing 11
Other Players to watch out for
I Kishan (MI): He was arguably the best batsmen against RCB and might end up smoking the bowlers today as well.
R Chahar (MI): This MI leg-spinner is pretty good he doesn't get the recognition he deserves. In the match against RCB, every bowler was expensive although he looked dangerous every time he had the ball in his hand. Along with K Pandya, he was the pick of the bowlers.
R Bishnoi(KXIP): What Chahar does for MI, Bishnoi does for KXIP, he comes in bowls his overs and does a decent job silently. It would be interesting to see how he bowls today.
G Maxwell(KXIP): He is dangerous batsman, although, he hasn't performed as expected from him in the tournament, today could be his day. After all, we cannot expect openers to do the job every single day.
It is too difficult to choose a winner for the match today. KXIP looks in better form when it comes to their batting but MI have shown how dangerous their lower-middle-order can be. All in all, a perfect masala match to watch today, two smooth looking batsmen are gonna take the crease today, R Sharma and KL Rahul, I am ready with my popcorn are you ready with yours?