IPL 2016, MI vs KXIP Playing 11: Probable XI for Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (Confirmed XI)

Confirmed Playing XI

Mumbai Indians Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Unmukt Chand, Ambati Rayudu, Nitish Rana, Kieron Pollard, Jos Buttler(w), Krunal Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah

Kings XI Punjab Playing XI: Hashim Amla, Murali Vijay(c), Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, KC Cariappa, Sandeep Sharma

Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab will engage in battle at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ADA-VDCA Stadium in Vishakapatnam on Friday. Mumbai moved up to the 6th position in the points table courtesy of a victory over RCB in their previous match and are just 2 wins away from a spot in the playoffs. Punjab, meanwhile, have remained stuck at the bottom of the table for a long duration now and are staring at the possibility of losing out on a playoffs berth. The defending champions will want to get 16 points under their belt as quickly as possible and as such, they will push hard to win in Friday's match. The 2014 IPL runners-up, on the other hand, will be desperate to register a victory against MI to keep their chances of progressing alive.

Here's is the likely line-up that may come out to play for Mumbai Indians:

Batting

Skipper Rohit Sharma has been the leader of the pack as far as the MI batting is concerned. The prolific right-hander has 413 runs in his kitty and averages in excess of 50 with 5 half-centuries to his name. Ambati Rayudu has also been in pretty good form as he has scored 321 runs in 10 innings.

New recruit Jos Buttler has played a good hand for them and has a tally of 195 runs at a very impressive strike rate of 145.52. The Mumbai batting has been bolstered by Kieron Pollard's return to form. The explosive all-rounder had been struggling in the initial stages of the tournament but has made a fine comeback thanks to a few blistering knocks in the past few games.

All-rounders

Krunal Pandya has easily been the top all-rounder for Mumbai Indians in his debut season. The southpaw has scored 128 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 177.77 and has also picked up 4 wickets with his left-arm spin. His younger brother Hardik Pandya, though, has struggled badly with just 37 runs and 3 wickets to show for his efforts. Pollard may be doing well with the bat but he hardly has had a role to play with the ball this time around.

Bowling

Left-arm Kiwi pacer Mitchell McCleanaghan has been the star bowler for Mumbai this season with 15 wickets so far. He has received some outstanding support from youngster Jasprit Bumrah who has grabbed 11 wickets in the 2016 IPL. Tim Southee has also done a fine job with 8 wickets from 10 matches.

Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh may have picked up only 7 wickets this year but he has bowled quite well and conceded runs at under 8 per over. Krunal Pandya has supported him well by taking a few wickets and also being very economical. Most of the other bowlers in the MI squad have not received many opportunities to play till now.

Probable Playing XI

Rohit Sharma (c), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Mitchell McCleanaghan, Jasprit Bumrah.

KXIP will have their work cut out against the defending champions

Here is the team that may play for Kings XI Punjab on Friday:

Batting

The Kings XI Punjab batting has centered mainly around their new skipper Murali Vijay so far in the tournament. The stylish batsman has scored 318 runs in 10 innings, which include 3 half-centuries. Aussie all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has been impressive in the 5 matches he has played thus far with 146 runs at an average of nearly 37.

The problem for KXIP has been the fact that some of the mainstays of their batting line-up have underperformed quite badly. Glenn Maxwell has scored 179 runs with 2 fifties but he has hardly looked threatening. Left-hander David Miller has been one of the major disappointments with just 131 runs at an average of under 17.

Wriddhiman Saha has also not played well enough and has recorded a tally of 160 runs in 8 innings so far. Hashim Amla has also not fired in the 2 innings that he has played. Punjab will need to sort out their batting quickly if they want to win their remaining matches.

All-rounders

Axar Patel has been the most impressive among the Kings XI Punjab all-rounders with some quick runs towards the end of the innings and also a few important wickets. Marcus Stoinis has also contributed with the ball and picked up 4 wickets to go alongside the runs that he has scored. None of the other all-rounders that have been tried by the Kings have yielded results so far.

Bowling

The fast bowlers have done a pretty good job for KXIP in the 2016 IPL. Both Mohit Sharma and Sandeep Sharma have claimed 10 wickets each and have given away their runs at an economy of under 8. In the spin department, Patel has ruled the roost with 9 wickets this season at an impressive economy rate of 7.40.

Newcomer KC Cariappa has also been quite impressive in the 3 matches he has played as he has grabbed 3 wickets and conceded runs at less than 7 per over. One of Punjab's most reliable bowlers from the past couple of seasons, Anureet Singh, made his first appearance only in his team's previous match against RCB.

Probable Playing XI

Murali Vijay (c), Hashim Amla, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Farhaan Behardien, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, KC Cariappa.