Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians, IPL 2012, Mohali

A test of Mumbai's bouncebackability

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Match facts

Wednesday, April 25, Mohali
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)

	Mumbai need Rohit Sharma to contribute more © AFP  Enlarge

Big Picture

In this round of back-to-back matches, Kings XI livened up the tournament with their win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. The talking point for Mumbai Indians - who've lost two in a row - in that game was their selection of just three foreign players, though their overseas bench was weakened by injuries to Lasith Malinga and Herschelle Gibbs. The overseas batting options, barring perhaps Gibbs, are not automatic picks given there being plenty of strength in the Indian contingent, but the performance of James Franklin at the top of the order is a welcome development for them. The game against Kings XI was lost in the last five overs of the Mumbai Indians innings, which produced just 34 runs, something they'll seek to rectify in Mohali.

Kings XI did well in the absence of Adam Gilchrist, who is yet to recover completely from a hamstring injury, with openers Mandeep Singh and Nitin Saini giving them a good start in the chase. Their strength is a powerful middle order that includes Shaun Marsh, David Hussey and Azhar Mahmood and being the seniors in the side, the responsibility is theirs to guide an otherwise young team. Whoever wins will take their tally of victories to four, something at least six other teams have either achieved or bettered this season, showing how the clamour for a place in the final four is getting more intense.

Form guide

(most recent first)

Mumbai Indians: LLWWL
Kings XI Punjab: WLLWW

Players to watch

Rohit Sharma's last-ball six off Daniel Christian to win Mumbai Indians a thrilling game against Deccan Chargers was his highlight of the season so far. Since then, he hasn't lived up to that form, getting out to avoidable shots in the previous two games when the situation demanded some restraint. Consistency is something he's lacked this IPL.

Parvinder Awana has bowled with good pace, got the ball to move both ways and kept things tight while opening the bowling. He plays for Delhi on the domestic circuit, and was their highest wicket-taker in this Ranji Trophy season. He was the top wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic one-day tournament, and so far he's repaid Kings XI's faith with six wickets in three games at an economy-rate of 6.25

Stats and trivia

• The average score for a team batting first at the PCA Stadium in Mohali in the IPL is 169. Eight times have teams won batting first.
• Dinesh Karthik will be approaching a Twenty20 landmark - he needs two more games to play100 T20 matches.
  Quotes
  "We are sitting probably sixth or seventh on the league table. If we just keep collecting the wins here we can make it to the finals. If we stick to good basic cricket we can shock a few teams."
  David Hussey, who's been leading Kings XI in the absence of Gilchrist