Punjab sniff chance against vulnerable Mumbai Indians
It’s been a while that the Mumbai Indians have had such a poor run in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They’ve looked vulnerable in batting and bowling. While it is foolish to write off a champion side so early, MI’S rickety form in this phase has raised hopes of teams pitted against them, and Punjab Kings will believe they have a good chance to win on Tuesday.
With four teams tied on eight points, there is one, just perhaps two slots available for the playoffs, so this match becomes vitally important for both MI and PBKS.
The winner in tonight’s game between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings could get into the top 4, depending on Net Run Rate.
So, what are PBKS’S chances in this contest? Rather good considering MI’S floundering form, but only If KL Rahul’s men can get past a couple of obstacles without big damage.
One of these is breaking the opening partnership of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock early, and playing out the threat of Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay, when batting.
Rohit and De Kock have threatened mayhem, before falling to high-risk shots in previous matches.
This has exposed Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan fairly early, and with both these batsmen struggling, by mid-innings, MI have found themselves in a crisis in all three previous matches.
If Rohit and De Kock play out 1012 overs, the pressure on batsmen to follow will be that much lesser.
Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh have been excellent, and leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi showed in the previous match why he should never be left in the dug-out.
But they will have to be at the top of their game as MI’S batsmen, smarting under three defeats caused by their inadequacies, will be eager to prove a point.
While Mumbai have been let down by the batting, the bowlers have been splendid, especially Boult and Bumrah.
They’ve produced early wickets, conceded few runs in the death overs, generally kept batsmen under duress.
The Mumbai Indians’ support cast of Krunal Pandya, Adam Milne and Rahul Chahar has lived up to expec
tations too, covering up for the absence of Hardik Pandya.
This is the other obstacle Punjab have to overcome, and in this, the in-form opening pair of Rahul
and Mayank Agarwal has a crucial role. They have to thwart Mumbai’s bowlers in the powerplay and beyond. This is imperative since their middle-order batsmen — including
the likes of Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran — haven’t quite clicked as desired.