Series: Indian Premier League, 2016 Venue: Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali Date & Time: Apr 25, 08:00 PM LOCAL
A contest between inconsistent teams
The much-vaunted batting line-ups of Kings XI and Mumbai Indians have failed to fire
For the third year in succession, Mumbai Indians is
struggling in the first half of the Indian Premier League. Four defeats
in six games for the defending champion shows that it is yet to overcame
the ‘starting trouble’ persistent since 2014.
Looking
back, Mumbai had lost its first four matches in 2014 and the first five
in 2015. Going by that piece of statistics, this season appears a shade
better for Mumbai.
On Monday, Mumbai faces Kings XI Punjab, the only other team to lose four times this season.
Of
the four defeats for Mumbai, the one against Delhi Daredevils on
Saturday was sure to hurt the most. After controlling the match for the
better part, Mumbai messed up the chase despite the presence of in-form
skipper Rohit Sharma in the middle. Overall, Mumbai’s batting appears
suspect.
Currently placed sixth on the table, Mumbai
is pretty much in the hunt for the play-offs since a team can afford to
lose six matches and still be among the top four teams. A team with
seven wins, aided by superior net run-rate, can also make the grade.
Much
like Mumbai, Kings XI is struggling to bat to its potential. Just one
victory in five matches has pushed the host to the bottom of the table.
It is really surprising that a side with an intimidating middle-order —
Shaun Marsh, David Miller and Glenn Maxwell — is repeatedly failing to
bat to its reputation.
Even more perplexing is the
same-over dismissals of Miller and Maxwell. The frequency — three times
in five outings — is truly puzzling.
Gujarat Lions’s
Dwayne Bravo showed the way to get the duo out in the campaign-opener,
Daredevils’ Amit Mishra followed it in the second match and Sunrisers
Hyderabad’s Moises Henrique proved on Saturday night that the pair had
not put a price-tag on their wickets.
A team that
boasts of flamboyant openers like M. Vijay and Manan Vohra, followed by
the big names in the middle-order, Kings XI’s strength clearly lies in
its batting. But so far, inconsistency is the only consistent factor for
it. As things stand, when two inconsistent teams clash on Monday, one
is sure to get its act right.
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