IPL 9: Mumbai Indians target playoff berth
Mumbai Indians’ last two matches have resulted in contrasting performances. First up, they succumbed to a humiliating defeat against bottom dwellers Kings XI Punjab and then bounced back in a dominating fashion by outplaying Delhi Daredevils in their next. On Saturday, they face Gujarat Lions in a make or break tie which will either extend their prospect of defending the IPL title or knock them out. Currently, sitting at the sixth spot, a win will put them on level with Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad at 16 points and will see them through to the playoffs but a defeat will end their season.
On the other hand, Lions who have bounced back after faltering midway through their maiden campaign, will aim to close out on a top-four spot with a win and thus eliminate the possibility of depending on the results of other matches as their poor run-rate (-0.479) could play spoilsport.
Batting has been Mumbai’s strength and they will aim to repeat their performance against Daredevils that kept them afloat. But Lions too are coming after a big win against another playoff contender Kolkata Knight Riders and will seek to carry the momentum in Kanpur to sign off the league stage with a win.
Date: May 21, 2016
Time: 20:00 (IST)
Venue: Green Park, Kanpur
Weather: A hot day with temperature reaching a high of 43 degree Celsius.
Team news
Following a dominating performance, it is unlikely Suresh Raina will aim to disturb the winning combination.
Gujarat Lions
Probable XI: 1 Brendon McCullum , 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Dinesh Karthik , 5 Aaron Finch, 6 Dwayne Bravo , 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Eklavya Dwivedi , 9 Praveen Kumar , 10 Dhawal Kulkarni , 11 Shadab Jakati
Mumbai Indians
Rohit will likely field the same side that bossed Delhi Daredevils in Vizag. Could they bring back Hardik Pandya who has been benched in the last three matches in such a crucial tie? In case he returns, Vinay Kumar , who has played only two matches this season, will have to make way.
Probable XI: 1 Rohit Sharma 2 Martin Guptill , 3 Ambati Rayudu , 4 Jos Buttler, 5 Kieron Pollard , 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Nitish Rana, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Hardik Pandya/Vinay Kumar, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Quote
“We have one thing on our mind, about winning the next game. We are not thinking about the result, but are focusing on the process. We will go there (to Kanpur), practise well for two days. If we will execute the skills, then the result will be in our favour,” – Krunal Pandya
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