IPL 2021: PBKS vs MI – The 17th match of IPL 2021 will see Punjab Kings take on Mumbai Indians at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium. The match starts at 7:30 pm in the evening. No fans are allowed in the stadium due to the increasing restrictions imposed by the government to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The match will be played behind closed doors and fans will have to extend their bit of support from their home.
PBKS vs MI – Match Preview
M.A Chidambaram Stadium, also known as Chepauk, is a batting paradise but has been a low scoring ground off late. The hard and dry pitch with a short boundary length has proven to be beneficial to the batting side but the bowlers have been the unexpected dominant force in this year’s IPL, keeping the runs in check. Punjab would heavily reply on their opening order in this match as their bowling has not been proficient this season. It is very important for them that they get themselves into winning ways and mark their revival.
The IPL table becomes increasingly interesting with every passing day. The clash amongst the top four heavyweights takes a different turn every day. RCB sit on the top, and are yet to be defeated, followed by CSK, DC, and MI.
Punjab Kings Team News
Punjab Kings came out with yet another defeat on Wednesday and are unable to find their mojo back. It is no secret that they have struggled against big teams this season, but not being able to put up a decent score for the opponents to chase has been something quite regular for them. In their previous match against Chennai Super Kings, Punjab could only put up 106 runs up for chase. Similarly, their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad was no different.
Punjab’s batting order crushed into pieces in front of the likes of Rashid Khan and Bhuvaneswar Kumar. Their strategies and game plan against Sunrisers Hyderabad in a dry and hard pitch like Chepauk did not work out. The ground started to crack even before the match started and proficient bowlers like Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan made the most out of it. They were able make ground for their errors as they managed to take the match to the death overs, trying to fend of their opponents as long as they could.
Nicolas Pooran has had a disappointing start of matches, and could be dropped from the starting eleven any time soon. The West Indian all-rounder has scored 9 runs in the last four matches, out of which he walked back to the pavilion scoring for a duck, thrice.
Dawid Malan could be brought into the squad anytime sooner, or maybe in this match as Punjab needs to buckle up.
Predicted Eleven– Mayank Agarwal, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Shami, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen(Overseas), KL Rahul (C/wk), Jalaj Saxena, Dawid Malan(Overseas), Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran(Overseas).
Mumbai Indians Team News
Mumbai Indians came off second best in their previous match where they faced Delhi Capitals. Their decision to bat first after winning the toss on a slow pitch like Chepauk did not favour them. Rohit Sharma’s 44 runs off 30 balls appeared to be a great start for Mumbai but their inability to hold their ground gave way to their slow demise in the match. In the end it was Ishan Kishan and Jayant Yadav’s efforts that helped Mumbai get a 130 plus total.
Mumbai lost their first match against Delhi since last year. The Capitals dominated the entire match and prevented Mumbai from being the brute force they are. Nevertheless Rohit Sharma and his team would be favorites to win this tie against Punjab Kings who are struggling to keep up against big teams in this year’s IPL.
Predicted Eleven– Rohit Sharma (C), Trent Boult(Overseas), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard(Overseas), Jayant Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah Rahul Chahar, Quinton de Kock (wk)(Overseas).
PBKS vs MI – Key Stats
Punjab Kings are on the losing end of the rope with 12 wins in 26 matches against Mumbai. Even though the difference is very marginal as Mumbai Indians only have a lead of two matches, Friday can prove to be something different. Keiron Pollard, the West Indian all-rounder, has scored the most number of runs(498) in this fixture followed by the Mumbai Indians captain, Rohit Sharma(423) and KL Rahul(383).
The second fixture between these two sides in IPL 2020 turned out to be the most entertaining one. The match witnessed two super overs and both Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings relentlessly fought over 2 points. Punjab emerged as the winner in the end.
Conclusion
An interesting fixture which will have the fans glued to their television sets.
