Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings: Will MI be able to break their losing streak by defeating PBKS?
Both the teams are coming after a defeat in their previous match. Thus, they will be looking to bounce back with a win in this one.
Kagiso RabadaMumbai, looking for their first victory
Mumbai Indians had a horrendous start to IPL this season with four consecutive losses and are placed at the bottom of the points table. They have been in a similar spot previously and emerged to be the winner, but it is more challenging this season than the previous editions. The Bowling lineup has been a matter of concern for Mumbai Indians as they have been struggling to take wickets in succession to put pressure on the opposite side. Even top-order batters haven't been able to capitalise with the best of Rohit Sharma yet to be seen. Suryakumar Yadav's return has been positive for the team in the last two games as he enabled the team to post a respectable total for the opposition. But the team needs to put an all-around effort from top-order batters to bowlers to win this game.
Punjab is aiming for a strong comeback.
On the other hand, Punjab Kings has done decently well in patches with two wins and two losses. However, they are coming after suffering a brutal defeat against Gujarat Titans as they were ahead in the game throughout but couldn't defend in the last two balls to win it. Their team has plenty of power hitters, with Liam Livingstone holding the innings in the middle order. They have a decent yet match-winning bowling lineup of Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh and Rahul Chahar. They can cause serious trouble to Mumbai Indians' batters.
Pitch Report
Pitch at MCA Stadium helps batters and spinners at the start. The game may look advantageous for the chasers due to dew.
Probable Playing XI
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan (Wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen, Jaydev Unadkat, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Basil Thampi.
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh
Stats to watch out
- The two teams have played 28 matches against each other, and Mumbai Indians have won 15 of them, while Punjab Kings could manage to win 13 games.
- The average first-innings score in Pune this IPL has been 173 for 6, and while teams winning the toss have always chosen to bowl, they haven't always won the match. The split is very even 2-2.
- Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings have the worst economy of 9.41 and 9.13 with the ball.
It will be interesting to see if Punjab Kings would be able to hand Mumbai Indians their fifth consecutive loss of the season, or Mumbai Indians will be able to make a comeback with a win tonight.