Mumbai Indians will look to get off the mark when they take on Punjab Kings in the 23rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, on Wednesday (April 13).
The five-time Champions had an unpleasant start to their campaign as they have lost 4 off 4 matches so far and are currently sitting at the ninth spot of the points table.
They played their last game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, where the Men in Red got their better and handed the Mighty Mumbai a seven-wicket defeat. They deployed a playing XI with only two overseas players – Dewald Brevis and Kieron Pollard against Bangalore, which saw them getting completely outplayed by Faf du Plessis and Co.
Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan have failed to convert the starts while their bowlers couldn't contribute much with the ball as well. However, middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav's good form with the bat is their only positive and heading into their fifth game; they would be expecting more from him.
Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah and captain Rohit Sharma need to step up and take responsibility as they can't afford to lose another game when the fight for the top spots has been amplified with two more teams.
On the other hand, Punjab Kings had a mixed season so far as they won two games while losing as many and are placed at the seventh place of the points table with four points in their account.
Talking about their previous encounter, Punjab Kings are coming into this match on a six-wicket defeat over Gujarat Titans as Rahul Tewatia smacked two back-to-back sixes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against the Kings.
Jonny Bairstow added the firepower to their batting unit. It will be interesting to see how they play the uneven bowling unit of Mumbai Indians, which hasn't looked good so far in the tournament.
There's nothing to separate the two sides as they possess an excellent head-to-head record. With either side-eyeing a win on Wednesday, we are in for another thriller in the tournament.
Match Details
Match: Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings, Match 23
Venue: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Date & Time: April 13th at 7:30 PM IST & Local Time
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar
Pitch Report
The pitch at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, offers assistance to the fast bowlers. There is ample swing and bounce on offer for the pacers, while the spinners have also come into play in the middle overs. However, the batters need to set their eyes before going for big hits. Both the captains will look to bowl first after winning the toss.
Pitch Stats [IPL 2022]
Matches Played: 4
Matches Won Batting First: 2
Matches Won Bowling First: 2
Average 1st Inning Score: 173
Average 2nd Inning Score: 155
MI vs PBKS Head-To-Head
Matches Played: 27
Mumbai Indians Won: 14
Punjab Kings Won: 13
Injury Update/Players' Availability
Mumbai Indians: Tymal Mills and Sanjay Yadav are expected to be included in the playing XI for MI, while Tim David might make a comeback against PBKS.
Punjab Kings: They are expected to go in with the unchanged playing XI.
Key Matchups
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat, Fabian Allen, Anmolpreet Singh, Sanjay Yadav, Riley Meredith, Ramandeep Singh, Mayank Markande, Tim David, Aryan Juyal, Arjun Tendulkar, Hrithik Shokeen, Rahul Buddhi, Arshad Khan.
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh, Jonny Bairstow, Benny Howell, Sandeep Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, Baltej Singh, Writtick Chatterjee, Prerak Mankad, Ishan Porel, Atharva Taide, Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ansh Patel, Raj Bawa.
Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Murugan Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Jasprit Bumrah, Basil Thampi/ Tymal Mills.
Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh.
Crex XI Suggestions
Wicket-Keepers: Ishan Kishan, Jitesh Sharma
Batters: Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan
All-Rounders: Dewald Brevis, Liam Livingstone
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Kagiso Rabada
Captain: Liam Livingstone
Vice-Captain: Suryakumar Yadav