Overview
Punjab Kings suffered a disappointing loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore at their home ground, leaving them with a 3-3 record. Their batting performance was lacklustre, and they failed to chase down a target that was achievable. In their upcoming match against Mumbai Indians, they will hope for a better outcome. Mumbai had a rough start to the season, losing their first two matches to Bangalore and Chennai. However, they bounced back with three consecutive wins and are now very much in play-off contention.
Mumbai’s recent wins have come against teams that are currently considered outsiders to win the competition. Despite this, four consecutive wins would be impressive, and put them in a strong position for their upcoming challenges against Gujarat and Rajasthan. Mumbai couldn’t maximise home advantage last year when most of the competition was played in their own city. In their last six home games at the Wankhede Stadium since the start of 2022, they have alternated between winning and losing.
Rohit Sharma joins hands with Jio Cinema as brand ambassador
Punjab Kings relied on a late rally from Jitesh Sharma to save their Net Run Rate in the last game. Although their bowling effort was impressive, they ultimately fell well short in their pursuit of 175. Punjab would have benefited greatly from the presence of Shikhar Dhawan, who was close to being fit but had not yet fully recovered. However, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to play in Mumbai. Liam Livingstone’s return to the team should provide long-term benefits, but he will need to improve on his previous scores against Mumbai.
Venue and time
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. 7:30 PM IST
Head-to-Head
Out of the 29 matches played between the two sides, Mumbai have won 15 times, while Punjab have come out on top on 14 occasions.
Expected conditions and toss
It is going to be hot and humid in Mumbai, with the temperature expected to hover around 32C. With dew also expected to play a part later in the game, the team that wins the toss is likely to field first.
Likely Playing XIs and Impact Player
Piyush Chawla for Nehal Wadhera could be a good Impact Player option for Mumbai Indians if chasing a taregt. If defending, then Kumar Kartikeya can inflict some damage with the ball for the five-time IPL winners.
For Punjab, Prabhsimran Singh has been their regular Impact Player and made a couple of telling contributions.
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green, Tim David, Jason Behrendorff, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Riley Meredith, Piyush Chawla.
Punjab Kings: Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.