diff --git a/common/.commonfiles.sha b/common/.commonfiles.sha
index f6eca75c6f..9d3815b7d1 100644
--- a/common/.commonfiles.sha
+++ b/common/.commonfiles.sha
@@ -1 +1 @@
-6486a8d7f2ee1a548488da3e6a083039adf9d540
+19f8b28fea87a1e78a40088cc90f8d837121c0a5
diff --git a/common/scripts/kind_provisioner.sh b/common/scripts/kind_provisioner.sh
index c3fed856cf..278207bee7 100644
--- a/common/scripts/kind_provisioner.sh
+++ b/common/scripts/kind_provisioner.sh
@@ -111,14 +111,14 @@ function check_default_cluster_yaml() {
 # 1. NAME: Name of the Kind cluster (optional)
 # 2. IMAGE: Node image used by KinD (optional)
 # 3. CONFIG: KinD cluster configuration YAML file. If not specified then DEFAULT_CLUSTER_YAML is used
-# 4. KUBECONFIG: Kubeconfig file for this cluster.
+# 4. NOMETALBINSTALL: Dont install matllb if set.
 # This function returns 0 when everything goes well, or 1 otherwise
 # If Kind cluster was already created then it would be cleaned up in case of errors
 function setup_kind_cluster() {
   NAME="${1:-istio-testing}"
   IMAGE="${2:-gcr.io/istio-testing/kindest/node:v1.19.1}"
   CONFIG="${3:-}"
-  KUBECONFIG="${4:-}"
+  NOMETALBINSTALL="${4:-}"
 
   check_default_cluster_yaml
 
@@ -158,8 +158,10 @@ EOF
     kubectl apply -f "${METRICS_SERVER_CONFIG_DIR}"
   fi
 
-  # Install Metallb
-  install_metallb "${KUBECONFIG}"
+  # Install Metallb if not set to install explicitly
+  if [[ -z "${NOMETALBINSTALL}" ]]; then
+    install_metallb ""
+  fi
 }
 
 ###############################################################################
@@ -210,7 +212,7 @@ EOF
     CLUSTER_KUBECONFIG="${KUBECONFIG_DIR}/${CLUSTER_NAME}"
 
     # Create the clusters.
-    KUBECONFIG="${CLUSTER_KUBECONFIG}" setup_kind_cluster "${CLUSTER_NAME}" "${IMAGE}" "${CLUSTER_YAML}" "${CLUSTER_KUBECONFIG}"
+    KUBECONFIG="${CLUSTER_KUBECONFIG}" setup_kind_cluster "${CLUSTER_NAME}" "${IMAGE}" "${CLUSTER_YAML}" "true"
 
     # Kind currently supports getting a kubeconfig for internal or external usage. To simplify our tests,
     # its much simpler if we have a single kubeconfig that can be used internally and externally.
@@ -232,10 +234,14 @@ EOF
     wait "${pid}" || exit 1
   done
 
-  # keep track of the list of Kubeconfig files that will be exported later
+  # Install MetalLB for LoadBalancer support. Must be done synchronously since METALLB_IPS is shared.
+  # and keep track of the list of Kubeconfig files that will be exported later
   export KUBECONFIGS
   for CLUSTER_NAME in "${CLUSTER_NAMES[@]}"; do
     KUBECONFIG_FILE="${KUBECONFIG_DIR}/${CLUSTER_NAME}"
+    if [[ ${NUM_CLUSTERS} -gt 1 ]]; then
+      install_metallb "${KUBECONFIG_FILE}"
+    fi
     KUBECONFIGS+=("${KUBECONFIG_FILE}")
   done