Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians come face to face in Match 13 of the Indian Premier League on October 1, Thursday in Abu Dhabi. It will be the fifth match in Abu Dhabi and the fourth match each for these two teams. Both the teams are coming into this match on the back of losses in their previous encounters.

While Mumbai lost to Banglore in a Super Over, Punjab lost to Rajasthan as they recorded the highest ever chase in IPL history.

Mumbai Indians had a game of two were unfortunate to lose their last game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. For the most of 40 overs, they had a grip on the game on a betting-friendly pitch. However, as per many experts, they lost the plot in the Super Over by not sending in Ishan Kishan who was too ‘drained’ after the first 40 overs.

However, the failure of Rohit Sharma, Quinton De Kock and Suryakumar Yadav at the top will keep them thinking. Rohit has just one big score in the first three games, while De Kock and Yadav have been inconsistent.

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Meanwhile, their bowlers too went around the park against Bangalore with Jasprit Bumrah having a forgetful day out. Ahead of the KXIP vs MI contest, their bowlers would like to get their act together. The match will be played in Abu Dhabi, which means they will have big boundaries in their favour.

However, they missed the mark against RCB and they will have to get it back in the KXIP vs RCB contest. Kings XI Punjab too would consider themselves unlucky to lose end up on the wrong side of a high-scoring encounter. Mayank Agarwal’s maiden IPL ton was overshadowed by Rahul Tewatia’s brilliance.

This is a defeat which will be a hard-pill to swallow for the KL Rahul-led team. However, they have a chance to set it right against Mumbai Indians.

Batting wise, Rahul and Mayank look ready to do the job for the team again. The two Karnataka boys feed off each other’s friendship and success which makes them click well together. Glenn Maxwell’s form is a bit of a worry for the Kings. He is yet to play an innings of substance and hopefully, the match against Mumbai is the occasion for him to rise.

As a bowling group, KXIP have good bowlers in Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cottrell. The two experienced internationals will be again the driving force for the Punjab bowling attack. Ravi Bishnoi has been a revelation so far in this IPL and the cricketing world is waiting to see much more from him.

What will be interesting to see is if they will be eager to go with Mujeeb ur Rahman against Mumbai as a match-up against Kieron Pollard.

In short, there are a lot of match-ups awaiting in this KXIP vs MI contest and it will be interesting to see if both teams make some tactical changes.

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Head to Head

24 matches have been played between the two teams in total with Mumbai winning 13 and Punjab 11. In the last five KXIP vs MI encounters, Mumbai Indians have won three while Punjab two.

Weather And Pitch Conditions

Abu Dhabi will have hot and humid conditions for this encounter. In the last two games at this venue, a score between 160 to 170 has been a par score. However, with big hitters in both teams in this particular encounter, we can expect the score to reach at least 200.

Also in the last two games, one team has won batting first and one team has won chasing. With the trend of chasing having changed in the last few matches, it will be interesting to see if the captain who wins the toss would like to set a score and defend it under lights.

Team News

It is unlikely that both the teams will make any changes to the side, especially when scores of 200 have been set and chased down.

Squads

Kings XI Punjab

KL Rahul (C/WK) Arshdeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Darshan Nalkande, Krishnappa Gowtham, Hardus Viljoen, Harpreet Brar, Jagadeesha Suchith, Karun Nair, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Murugan Ashwin, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Jordan, Deepak Hooda, Glenn Maxwell, Ishan Porel, James Neesham, Prabhsimran Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Sheldon Cottrell, Tajinder Dhillon

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma (C)Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McCleneghan, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult, Chris Lynn, Digvijay Deshmukh, Mohsin Khan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Saurabh Tiwary

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