Mumbai lock horns with Punjab in pivotal clash

Wednesday night will see Mumbai Indians play host to Kings XI Punjab in an encounter where victory is a necessity - for both teams.

Mumbai had just started to smile after going unbeaten through three successive and therefore strengthening their chances of reaching the last four, but Sunday's seven-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals has got them all grumpy once again. Presently, they are sixth on the league table with five wins from 12 games.

Kings XI Punjab, meanwhile, are a place above Mumbai, having slid there after their fourth defeat in five games on Monday. They had started strongly in the league, but the latter phase of the competition seems to have borne them down.

Mumbai Indians have an impressive net run-rate to brag about, but their middle order has been a grain in the shoes as of late. The collapse, including that of Captain Rohit Sharma, was apparent in the last game.

However, the hosts will be putting their hopes on Suryakamar Yadav - one of their few consistent run-scorers - and opener Evin Lewis.

In the bowling department, the home side will be demanding some crafty manoeuvres with the ball from Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and left arm pacer Mitchell McClenaghan to contain KXIP's KL Rahul and Chris Gayle.

Nevertheless, KXIP themselves are a worried side, desperate for improvements in all key areas.

The collapse of Rahul and Gayle when subjected to Umesha Yadav's short balls will be something that will be at the back of the Mumbai bowlers' minds as they will look to exploit this particular weakness to strangle the opposition's chances of scoring big.

Afghanistan leg-spinner Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman's hand injury is another cause of worry for Punjab, which means that the responsibility of claiming wickets during the middle overs shall fall upon skipper Ashwin and Axar Patel.