IPL 2020: Match 32, MI vs KKR – MI Predicted Playing XI

The Mumbai Indians (MI), who are also the defending champions, are going from strength to strength in this season as well. With 5 wins from 7 games, Rohit Sharma and his men have been unstoppable on the field. With a brilliant NRR and 10 points already in their tally, they are a few wins away from sealing a playoffs spot.

Moreover, the win against the Delhi Capitals (DC) in their previous fixture would have been quite morale-boosting for them. In their upcoming encounter, MI will be taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Earlier when these two teams met each other, MI emerged triumphs with a 49-run. Quite evidently, they have got one of the most settled batting line-ups in the tournament and might not want to experiment much at this stage.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Mumbai Indians (MI):

Openers (Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk))

The opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock hasn’t fired collectively yet. In the last game, the skipper missed out as he was dismissed for just 5 runs. However, he has shown signs of good form in the tournament with 216 runs from 7 games. He has a good idea about the conditions in Abu Dhabi and is expected to fire in this match, given his wonderful record against KKR. Rohit Sharma was the ‘Man of the Match’ with a 54-ball 80 when these two teams met a few weeks ago.

Quinton de Kock, meanwhile, has been inconsistent. He has registered two fifties in 7 games including one in the last match. The wicket-keeper batsman scored 53 off 36 balls against the Capitals and would want to continue with the good form going further in the tournament.

Middle Order (Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya)

In the last two games, Suryakumar Yadav has played some fabulous knocks. After the whirlwind knock of 79 against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), he registered a 32-ball 53 against DC. Thus far, he has got 233 runs in the tournament and will hope to carry on with his fine run in this game as well.

Ishan Kishan’s first game of this season started on an explosive note as he scored an excellent 99. Since then, he bagged a couple of failures. But in the last game, he did a decent job scoring an aggressive 15-ball 28 and has usually been brilliant on the field.

With Hardik Pandya not bowling in recent times courtesy his injury concerns, MI are playing him as a pure batsman. He has taken up the role of a finisher in this tournament. While his strike rate is good at 155, he only scored 135 runs. He even bagged a duck in the last match and should look to be more consistent going forward.

All Rounders (Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya)

It was an easy chase for Mumbai against the Capitals and Kieron Pollard didn’t have to break a sweat. To ensure that there is no collapse of any sorts, he decided to take his time and remained unbeaten on 11 off 14 balls. His overall strike rate in the tournament, however, is 189 and has been dismissed only once. Moreover, he has been quite handy with the ball as well.

Krunal Pandya has had his role limited with the bat. The southpaw scored 12 off 7 balls in the last match and helped his side get over the line. He has picked up 5 wickets in 7 games while maintaining an economy rate of 8.18.

Bowlers (James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah)

James Pattinson  has been one of the most impressive bowlers in this tournament. As the third pace bowling option, the Australian has done a good job for his team with 9 wickets from 7 games. The other two pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, have also been doing a brilliant job.

Both of them have 11 wickets each in their kitty halfway through the tournament and would look forward to further improving on those numbers. The economy rates, however, are at around 8 and they would fancy being slightly more economical. Rahul Chahar, on the other hand, has 7 wickets in 7 games. He should look to be more aggressive in the middle overs and pick more wickets.