DUBAI: MI have been in rampaging form with five straight wins but Mumbai Indians can ill afford to be complacent against a Gayle-inspired Kings XI Punjab side in their IPL game on Sunday.
A win for Mumbai Indians will virtually seal them a spot in the play-offs while a loss for KXIP could send them out of contention.
Mumbai Indians have steamrolled opposition teams with an explosive batting line-up complemented by a lethal bowling attack and the latest to bear the brunt were the Kolkata Knight Riders who suffered an eight-wicket defeat on Friday.
On the other hand, KXIP are languishing at the bottom of the table despite having the top-two leading run-getters of the tournament in skipper K L Rahul (387 runs at a strike rate of 134.84) and Mayank Agarwal (337 runs).
KXIP’s problem has been that their batting and bowling have not fired in unison on most occasions.
A captivating duel may be in store between Gayle on one side and Bumrah and Boult on the other. KXIP have other in-form batsmen in Rahul and Agarwal, with both or at least one of them scoring big in almost every match.
However, KXIP’s bowling has been the weakest link. Barring Mohammad Shami and Ravi Bishnoi, none of the bowlers have inspired confidence, especially in the death overs. (PTI)
