IPL 2018, MI vs KXIP: Five players to watch out for

Finally, we are on to the last week of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League. As the race for the playoffs berth heats up, Kings XI Punjab face-off against Mumbai Indians in a must-win game at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday.

It has been a tale of two halves for Kings XI Punjab this season. They have won five out of their first six games, but since then their form has been going down the slope in their next six games. With just 12 points on the board in as many games, the Ashwin's team have to win their remaining two games to directly qualify for the playoffs.

On the other hand, with the loss against Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians made their chances weak as they now have to depend on the results of other matches even after winning their remaining two matches.

With both teams finding themselves in a must-win game, let us take a look at the five players who could make an impact in this high-octane clash.

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#5 KL Rahul

KL Rahul

The Karnata lad has been in imperious touch this season. KL Rahul has single-handedly shouldered the burden of carrying KXIP's batting. After that dramatic collapse in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the onus will be on Rahul to give them a solid start along with Chris Gayle.

With 558 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 162, Rahul would again be the batting mainstay for Punjab in this highly anticipated game against Mumbai Indians.

#4 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya

The younger Pandya has been in excellent form this season with both and ball. He has scored valuable runs with the bat and has also provided crucial breakthroughs with the ball thus far.

With the bat, the Baroda-born all-rounder has thus far amassed 224 runs in eleven innings at an average of 32.00 and a strike-rate of 135. With the ball, the medium pacer took 18 wickets in eleven matches going at 8.74 runs per over.

Given his ability to change the course of the match with his brilliance in three aspects of the game, Hardik Pandya would be a key player for MI to come on top in this must-win clash.

#3 Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye

After being roped in by KXIP for a whopping Rs.7.20 Crore, Andrew Tye has paid back every single rupee of that huge sum with his exceptional bowling performances throughout the season.

With 20 wickets in 12 games, Tye leads the wickets charts of the season. Going at 8 runs per over the 31-year-old secured two four-wicket hauls thus far with 4/34 against RR being his best.

The struggling KXIP would want their key bowler to be at his best in this must-win clash.

#2 Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle was written-off at one stage but he came back and silenced his skeptics in style by giving some stellar performances for KXIP this season.

The Jamaican giant has thus far aggregated 350 runs from 9 matches at an average of 50.0 and a healthy strike rate of 146.44. His crucial partnerships with KL Rahul at the top have been the main reasons behind Punjab's brilliant performances this year.

With his team in trouble, the dashing opener would want to put up a match-winning performance to keep his team's playoffs hopes alive.

#1 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma

The Mumbai Indians skipper, Rohit Sharma, has not had best of the seasons thus far. A total of 267 runs in twelve innings and an average of 26,70 is not just what his team expected of a player of his caliber.

With his team on the verge of losing playoffs hopes, there will be an extra burden on Rohit to take care of alongside his batting failures.

Considering the tough phase he is in, it will be interesting to see how Rohit fares in the all-important clash.