In the 17th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians will meet Punjab Kings at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Both the teams will walk out to the middle of the field on the back of defeats. The title defenders faced woes while facing Delhi Capitals spinner Amit Mishra in their last game. Captain Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav swung their bats to bring MI into the game, but the consistent fall of the wicket at the other end torn apart their batting lineup.
Coming to Punjab, the Kings are in distress. Scooping up their series opener against Rajasthan Royals, Punjab had been far from penning the win in their next three fixtures. In their last match, Sunrisers Hyderabad gifted them a humiliating loss, and SRH chiseled a victory. On 23rd April, both the teams will assay a remarkable win.
Both the teams are studded with star batters. Mumbai have Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and a finisher like Kieron Pollard; Punjab KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, and Nicholas Pooran on their side. Their batting line-ups can annihilate any bowling unit.
The workload of execution will be on the bowlers. Chasing has been an arduous task for the teams, but in the last match, SRH batters applied themselves on the batting and chased down a sub-par total.
Mumbai have a lambent bowling line-up. Spinner Rahul Chahar has picked up wickets regularly, Trent Boult has appeared as a genuine death over specialist, and Jasprit Bumrah alongside them. Chahar has eight wickets under his belt in four matches. The side has tossed batters this season. For PBKS, Mohammed Shami is guiding their bowling line up consisting of Arshdeep Singh, Jhye Richardson. But among the two teams, Mumbai bowlers have been more effective so far.
IPL 2021: Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from 7:30 PM IST
Match Prediction – Who will win the match?
On head-to-head, Punjab clenched 12 games out of their 26 total games. They have clashed against each other at neutral venues nine times, Punjab thumped Mumbai in four games, and Mumbai emerged victorious in five games. Therefore, they have given a tough fight to each other.
While MI will try to bring itself back on track, KL Rahul’s Punjab will aim to solve the zig-saw puzzle. Hence, taking into account, their head-to-head and their current flow, Mumbai Indians will start as the favourites.