Mumbai Indians will hope to get back to winning ways as they take on Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Mohali on Thursday evening.
After a tough start to the campaign, it seemed like Mumbai had returned to form as they won two matches on the trot at home against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals. But Hardik Pandya and his team's morale took a beating yet again as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's last-over onslaught launched Chennai Super Kings to victory on Sunday.
In their next match, Mumbai face a team that too has struggled to get going in the competition. Like Mumbai, Punjab have won only two of their first six matches. Though level on points (4), the Punjab franchise is placed at seven on the IPL leaderboard, one place above MI due to slightly better run-rate.
For Punjab, it is the lesser known players, like Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh that have lit up the stage.
PBKS vs MI: Live Toss
Punjab Kings have won the toss and chosen to field first.
PBKS vs MI: Predicted Lineups
Punjab Kings Confirmed Playing XI:
Rilee Rossouw, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Ashutosh Sharma, Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Impact players: Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Shivam Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Vidwath Kaverappa.
Mumbai Indians Confirmed Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi, Shreyas Gopal, Jasprit Bumrah, Gerald Coetzee.
Impact players: Akash Madhwal, Nuwan Thushara, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Naman Dhir.
PBKS vs MI: Prediction
Though Mumbai Indians is the markedly better team on paper, they haven't quite found their mojo. Apart from the match against RCB, where they chased down a target of 196 with seven wickets and 27 balls to spare, MI have lacked consistency and panache.
Jasprit Bumrah's bowling has been the silver lining for MI and he will be encouraged with the pace and carry at the newly built Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium. Mumbai undoubtedly have the firepower and experience to defeat PBKS. Moreover, the Punjab franchise has won only one of their three home fixtures so far.
On a pitch that has something in it for the bowlers, a better balanced team like MI has the slight edge. PBKS will once again be without their captain, Shikhar Dhawan, who is out due to a shoulder injury.
PBKS vs MI: Betting odds
MI are slight favourites to win the match according to Betting Odds via Dafabet.
| Team | Odds |
| Punjab Kings | 2.50 |
| Mumbai Indians | 1.57 |
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