It seems like the change in name and change in kits haven’t brought any change of fortunes for the Punjab Kings as they find themselves reeling at the bottom of the points table after playing 4 games in IPL 2021. In a quest to revive their campaign and get some along with winning momentum, the Punjab Kings will be squaring off against the defending champions Mumbai Indians in match number 17 of Vivo IPL 2021.
Mumbai Indians also haven’t had a great start to their campaign as they have managed only two wins from four games under their belt. They are currently placed fourth on the points table and are heading into this contest on the back of a defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets.
Head to Head (MI VS PBKS)
Total Played: 26
MI won: 14
PBKS won: 12
Match Details–
Tournament- Indian Premier League 2021
Match- 17, PBKS VS MI
Venue- MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Pitch nature- A typical slow surface is on offer
Match Timings- 7:30 PM IST
Watch Live on- Star Sports 1 (English), Star Sports 3 (Hindi)
Live Streaming- Disney+Hostar
Year after year, Punjab Kings have narrated a similar sort of story. They start with prominence and then get under the shallows. 2014 was the last year when they made it to the finals, and since then, they haven’t finished in the top four for not even once. They do have a brilliant side full of match-winners in there, but they have not lived up to the expectations so far.
Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, are known as the late starters. It takes them some losses to charge up, but this year, their batting has not gone anywhere so far. Let us move ahead and talk about the composition of the two teams for this game.
Punjab Kings (Punjab Kings)
KL Rahul and Co. have a lot to think. Apart from the skipper himself, none of the batsmen have found any rhythm, whereas, in the bowling unit, the 21-year old Arshdeep Singh is the only shining star.
Bug guns like Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle, Mohammad Shami have looked minuscule. The team management needs to have a closer look into both the facet of the game. Some changes in the lineup are definitely expected to take place.
Considering the slowness in the wicket, the Kings should look to bring in Jalaj Saxena or Ravi Bishnoi into the eleven at the expense of Mohammad Shami, who has been struggling badly. Also with three ducks this season from 4 games, Nicholas Pooran’s IPL has turned into a nightmare. Dropping him would be a tough call, but with someone like Dawid Malan, the number one T20I batsman waiting in the sheds for his opportunity, the Kings management might rethink their strategy.
PBKS Expected XI
KL Rahul
Chris Gayle
Mayank Agarwal
Nicholas Pooran/Dawid Malan
Deepak Hooda
Shahrukh Khan
Moises Henriques/Fabian Allen
Jhye Richardson
Murugan Ashwin
Jalaj Saxena/Ravi Bishnoi
Arshdeep Singh
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Mumbai Indians are not known for changing or revamping their composition. Whether they win or lose, they prefer to sticking with the same combination.
It seems like Chennai’s surface is surprising them, and they are yet to find a settled composition, at least in the bowling lineup. Not only their bowling, but their batting has also looked offbeat, with only Surya Kumar looking in some sort of form with the bat.
Skipper Rohit Sharma has got runs under his belt, but he has looked rusty more often than not. All-rounders Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, and Hardik Pandya have found it tough to send the ball out of the park, which has dropped their slog-over run-scoring rate massively. Some changes might help their cause in this game. Ishan Kishan, getting replaced by Sourabh Tiwary and Piyush Chawla, a much-established spinner and an apt replacement for this kind of surface, could come in for Krunal Pandya. These are the two options Mumbai might look forward to.
MI Expected XI
Quinton de Kock
Rohit Sharma
Suryakumar Yadav
Ishan Kishan/Saurabh Tiwary
Kieron Pollard
Hardik Pandya
Krunal Pandya/Piyush Chawla
Jayant Yadav
Rahul Chahar
Jasprit Bumrah
Trent Boult
ALSO READ: IPL 2021: Can The Capitals Go One Step Ahead In This Edition?
Time to wrap up: Both teams are eager to get back to winning ways. It has been an underwhelming effort from the two teams so far, but they will be giving their all to register a win in this crucial contest. A cracker of a game is definitely on the cards.
