A winless Mumbai Indians will be looking to turn their fortunes around when they meet Punjab Kings at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on 13 April (Wednesday).
It has been an underwhelming start to the season for the Mumbai Indians. The side was comprehensively beaten by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last outing. Their batters could only post 152 runs, which was never going to be enough for MI’s bowling attack to defend. The side’s bowlers, including Jasprit Bumrah, have struggled to pick wickets regularly so far in the tournament.
For Mumbai Indians, Suryakumar Yadav has been their best batter since making a comeback from an injury. He has hit two half-centuries on the bounce. Rohit Sharma has been inconsistent so far, but he now needs to kick on and get a match-winning score. Ishan Kishan needs to be far more attacking in the first six overs to put pressure on the Punjab bowlers.
On the other hand, Punjab Kings will still be licking their wounds after Odean Smith conceded two sixes in the final two deliveries in their match against Gujarat Titans. They have won two out of the four games so far and their batting is their biggest strength. However, they will need far-better performances from their bowling unit if they have to challenge Mumbai’s batting order.
Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal has not got going so far in this edition of the IPL and his team would want the captain to lead from the front and set a powerful foundation. The likes of Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow can tear apart any bowling attack and hence, a good start up front is very crucial.
Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings predicted playing XI:
Mumbai Indians probable playing XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Basil Thampi
Punjab Kings probable playing XI: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Varun Arora, Arshdeep Singh
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