Mumbai Indians suffered a loss for the first time in four games against Delhi Capitals while Punjab Kings are in the midst of a slump in IPL 2021.
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In IPL 2020, Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings played out one of the greatest Twenty20 matches ever. The match in Abu Dhabi was tied. The Super Over was tied. In a second super over, Punjab Kings won by a slender margin. That match did two things. Rohit Sharma’s injury, and the uncertainty of his availability for the Australia series dominated the discourse. For Punjab Kings, their campaign was rejuvenated and they were in contention for the playoffs.
KL Rahul’s side are losing momentum. The loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad by nine wickets indicated that there are many gaps in the batting and bowling. Apart from Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and to a certain extent, Shahrukh Khan, the rest of the batting has struggled. The bowling has been good in patches. Against a fired-up Mumbai Indians, their struggles will only increase.
Heading into IPL 2021, Punjab Kings would be aiming for a repeat. Mumbai Indians, the five-time champions, do have weaknesses. There is a certain area that can be exploited. The middle order of the Mumbai Indians is threatening to be the weak underbelly of the side. Amit Mishra ran through the middle order and they struggled to recover. That the match against Delhi Capitals went to the final over was due to the brilliance of the bowling.
On paper, Mumbai Indians have a potent line-up. The middle order has not converted their starts into big ones. Rohit Sharma has not yet gotten the big score that he is know for. Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and the Pandya brothers have been inconsistent with the bat. Apart from one innings, Kieron Pollard has struggled. But, if there is one match that they will be wanting to tie all the loose ends, it will be against Punjab Kings.
Mumbai Indians might want to get Marco Jansen back after Adam Milne struggled. The No.8 position has been a strange conundrum for the five-time champions in IPL 2021. The fifth bowling option is a slight area of concern. For Punjab Kings, getting Chris Gayle might not work as the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult have a good record against him.
Mumbai Indians: Quinton de Kock(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav/Marco Jansen, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Moises Henriques, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Match No.17: Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians
Venue: MA Chidambaram stadium, Chennai
Time: 7:30 PM IST
The weather in Chennai will be humid with 27 degrees the minimum and humidity over 60 percent. The pitch will be sluggish and spinners will find plenty of purchase.
Punjab Kings are one of the only five teams who have defeated Mumbai Indians more than 10 times. In 26 games, they have won 14 but lost 12.
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