IPL 2014: 48th match – Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians, May 21, 2014

September 17, 2020May 21, 2014 by PunterPolls

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Kings XI Punjab, the first team to seal a place in the Playoffs, take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in Match 48 of Pepsi IPL 2014.

Kings XI Punjab will now want to win for two reasons: They say winning is a habit, and KXIP will want to develop that habit. And secondly, the team now needs to finish among the top two, so they will get a second dash at qualifying for the title clash – if the need arises.

MI’s win over the Rajasthan Royals on Monday means they are barely alive in the race for the Playoffs. With two Playoff spots still open and five teams competing for them, MI cannot afford another subpar day on the field.

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IPL 2014: 44th match – Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians, May 19, 2014

September 17, 2020May 19, 2014 by PunterPolls

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The Rajasthan Royals play their final home match of the season when they take on the Mumbai Indians in Match 44 of Pepsi IPL 2014.

RR, with 14 points from 11 matches, have a foot in the Playoffs and a win in this contest will only firm up their position among the top four teams. The defending champions, Mumbai Indians, have won only three of their 10 matches so far and need to win every single match from here on to give themselves an opportunity of making it to the Playoffs.

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IPL2014: 40th match – Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians, May 14, 2014

September 17, 2020May 14, 2014 by PunterPolls

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Mumbai Indians have a lot more riding on the outcome in Cuttack, considering defeat could leave them needing to win all their remaining matches. So managing Kolkata Knight Riders' spin attack gains further priority. Sunil Narine and Co juggle between attack and defence quite well and it will fall upon the Indian batsmen to circumvent them.

Rohit Sharma has had trouble deciding whether to open or not, but with Knight Riders known spin threat in the middle overs, he might remain at No.4. Mumbai will need him and Kieron Pollard to provide acceleration late in the innings. Their other resources - Corey Anderson has not looked comfortable without pace on the ball, CM Gautam is a rookie at this level and Lendl Simmons tends to be hit or miss - do not inspire much confidence.

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IPL2014: 36th match – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Mumbai Indians, May 12, 2014

September 17, 2020May 12, 2014 by PunterPolls

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Hours before the game between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils dug themselves into a hole by keeping their batsmen down the order for too long. Against a team ranked No. 2 on the points table, Mumbai Indians played to a similar strategy - Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard and Corey Anderson all came in in the second half of the innings - and they were restricted to 157.

Mumbai retained Kieron Pollard and paid big money for Corey Anderson but with time running out in their campaign, they may want to look at giving both batsmen more time in the middle. A strong top order last season meant Mumbai played Pollard at No. 5, but this season the signs are he needs to be pushed up. Mumbai are one of only two teams - the other being Daredevils - to not have at least one fifty-plus opening partnership, and both these teams are stuck at the bottom of the table.

Heavily reliant on their bowling, Sunrisers have rediscovered some of the form that took them to the play-offs in IPL 2013. The match against Mumbai is the first of four home games for them, and they will be keen to emulate their stellar record at Uppal last season, where they won seven out of eight games. Apart from a 200+ score by Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers didn't concede 150+ at home last year and they will be eager to establish that kind of dominance this time too.

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IPL2014: 33rd match – Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings, May 10, 2014

September 17, 2020May 10, 2014 by PunterPolls

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They may be at opposite ends of the points table but Mumbai Indians will go into Saturday's match against Chennai Super Kings aware of one record - they are the team to have defeated Super Kings the most number of times in the IPL, nine out of 16 encounters. In Mumbai, their IPL record against Super Kings stands 5-0. To top that off, Mumbai have won 10 successive IPL games in Mumbai.

While they would have come as immense confidence boosters, Mumbai's last two wins at home have only underlined how heavily reliant the batting is on Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard. The focus, though, will be on Mumbai's bowlers, fresh off having reined in Royal Challengers Bangalore. Harbhajan Singh had been economical through this tournament, but against Chris Gayle and co, he stepped up as the bowling leader Mumbai needed in the absence of Zaheer Khan. He and Lasith Malinga will have to take charge again - Praveen Kumar comes into the IPL with little cricket in recent months, and Jasprit Bumrah will be playing his first match against the formidable Super Kings.

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IPL2014: 27th match – Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore, May 6, 2014

September 17, 2020May 6, 2014 by PunterPolls

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In their last meeting in Dubai, Royal Challengers Bangalore stomped all over an unsure Mumbai Indians, restricting the latter to 115 and then chasing it down with seven wickets to spare, despite being reduced to 17 for 3.

Both teams will meet on Tuesday at the Wankhede with similar wins in their previous games, wins that could easily have turned into defeats had it not been for individual performances and the teams are similar on many other counts, too. Mumbai and Royal Challengers have powerful line-ups on paper, but that potential has been inconsistent on the field, save for the odd knocks from their stars.

Bowlers from both sides have, given the opportunity, done well but have also found themselves defending a few sub-par totals. Royal Challengers bowlers, however, have had a better run than Mumbai, with the presence of genuine quicks in Mitchell Starc and Varun Aaron and a legspinner in Yuzvendra Chahal.

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