Mumbai Indians vs. Kings XI Punjab, IPL: Date, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview
The Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab meet in the seventh match of the 2015 Indian Premier League season on Sunday, with both sides coming off opening losses.
Date: Sunday, April 12
Start Time: 3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. local
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Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Live On: Sky Sports (United Kingdom), Sony Max & Six (Indian Subcontinent), OSN Cricket (Middle East and North Africa), SuperSport (South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa), ESPN (U.S.), Now TV (Hong Kong), StarHub & Singtel (Singapore), IMC SportsMax (Caribbean)
Live Stream: Sky Go (United Kingdom)
Weather: The Weather Channel is forecasting a fine and hot day in Mumbai, with a top temperature of 31 degrees Celsius barely cooling to 27 in the evening.
Overview
For both of these teams, it's two games in less than a week. For one of them, it will be two losses in a hurry.
In such circumstances, it's hard to shake the feeling that this year's edition of the IPL has come a little too soon for some of the world's leading players. Indeed, when the Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab meet on Sunday, we'll only be two weeks removed from the World Cup final.
Between these two squads, five players—Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Johnson, George Bailey and Corey Anderson—were members of the teams that reached the global tournament's finale, while two others (Rohit Sharma and David Miller) contested the semis only days earlier.
Who can shake the World Cup hangover and power their team to a maiden victory?
Interestingly, Mumbai's World Cup stars in Sharma and Anderson played leading roles against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday, with the pair accounting for 153 of the team's 168 runs.
However, the men in blue were undone by just one superb spell, as Morne Morkel stifled the opening to their innings and left Mumbai 15 to 20 runs short of what they required. In response, the Knight Riders reached the total with nine balls to spare.
Over in the Kings XI camp, meanwhile, there were some obvious signs of a World Cup hangover in their tournament opener against the Rajasthan Royals. With the bat, Maxwell, the IPL sensation, was dismissed for just seven, while Miller and Bailey compiled scores in the 20s at well below their usual pace. With the ball, Johnson was also expensive.
On that evidence, and given the better balance in their squad compared with last year, the Indians should have a slight edge at home on Sunday.
And if last season's results are anything to go by, Mumbai's attack led by Lasith Malinga has the capacity to limit the influence of the Kings XI's biggest strength—explosive hitting.
Form Lines
| L: 7 wickets vs. Kolkata Knight Riders | L: 26 runs vs. Rajasthan Royals |
Predicted XIs
| Rohit Sharma (c) | Virender Sehwag |
| Aaron Finch | Murali Vijay |
| Aditya Tare (wk) | Wriddhiman Saha |
| Ambati Rayudu | Glenn Maxwell |
| Corey Anderson | David Miller |
| Kieron Pollard | George Bailey |
| Harbhajan Singh | Axar Patel |
| Lasith Malinga | Mitchell Johnson |
| Vinay Kumar | Anureet Singh |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Karanveer Singh |
| Pragyan Ojha | Sandeep Sharma |
Players to Watch
It took Corey Anderson quite a while to get into his innings against Kolkata in the tournament opener on Wednesday. Against one of the IPL's best attacks, the New Zealander laboured to 27 from 30 balls before a late flurry took him to 55 not out from 41.
But with that innings under his belt, the big-hitting left-hander might be ready to launch an onslaught on the Kings XI on Sunday.
Indeed, Bailey's men conceded a tournament-high 2,229 runs in last year's group stage and tend to rely on their batting strength—not discipline with the ball—to overwhelm opponents.
As such, Anderson might enjoy himself with the bat in hand.
When it comes to the Kings XI, meanwhile, there's only ever one man to watch: Glenn Maxwell.
In last season's competition, the Australian was extraordinary, blasting 552 runs at a strike rate nearing 200.
And though he fell cheaply against Rajasthan on Friday, Maxwell's form throughout the recent World Cup was strong, which suggests it's only a matter of time before he inflicts his characteristic brand of carnage.
Odds (via OddsChecker)
Mumbai Indians: 11/10
Kings XI Punjab: 4/5
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