Mohali will host the 41st match of the IPL between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab on the 9th of April. Mumbai Indians go into the match having already qualified for the semi-finals - or probably needing one win out of their remaining six games - whereas the Punjab side probably need to win all the matches from here to make it to the semi finals.

The form team of the tournament so far, Mumbai Indians may be almost through to the semi-finals, but they will know better than to lose momentum at this crucial stage of the tournament. While all their wins have come in Mumbai, they will need to start performing well enough in other parts of the country as well, to be able to take full confidence into the knock-out stage.

For that to happen, the side will need to quickly adjust to the conditions in Mohali, which are quite different from those back home at Brabourne. There could be a little more grass on the wicket, and that would mean that the side would need to plan their batting accordingly.

However, the good thing for the Mumbai Indians is that their batting is not overly dependent on the maestro, Sachin Tendulkar, as it has been in the past. Their middle order has been doing reasonably well too and that includes the likes of Ambati Rayadu and Saurabh Tiwary. In the last couple of games, Kieron Pollard has also shown signs of getting back into form and that has meant that the side is now gelling even better than what they were earlier.

First, the good news for Punjab. They won their last game against Kolkata Knight Riders to be able to notch up only their second win in the tournament, but most importantly, they did that while chasing a mammoth total of 200. Mahela Jayawardene is form and the subsequent century leaves the Punjab side in a happy conundrum; whom to take in their line-up. Jayawardene was not even supposed to play in the game and it was the injury to Shaun Marsh that allowed him the chance, and with Kumar Sangakkara already present in the line-up, there is a good chance that Ravi Bopara may be given the boot.

However, it is the bowling the side needs to mind against. With the kind of bowling form that Punjab is in, and contrastingly, the kind of batting that Mumbai has doled out in the tournament so far, it is only natural that the side will need to buck up their act for the rest of the games.

Tag :- Kieron Pollard   Kings XI Punjab   Mahela Jayawardene   Mumbai Indians   Ravi Bopara   Sachin Tendulkar