In the 17th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be locking horns with Mumbai Indians (MI) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday. A change of venue made no difference for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) as they crumbled to 120 all out against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Meanwhile, MI has won a couple of games this season as they have lost the same no. of games. The batting hasn’t really come to the party for PBKS as they are too much dependent on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal.
The inclusion of Moises Henriques and Fabien Allen in the last game didn’t work either. On the other hand, their bowling attack has not managed to perform well as they haven’t really looked threatening enough. Punjab has suffered a similar start like 2020 and time is running out in the ongoing season as well. On the other hand, MI have batted first in four out of four games and seem to be setting themselves up really well.
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However, MI’s middle-order has been failing more often than not so far this season. The likes of Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, and Krunal Pandya have looked slightly out of sorts and have struggled on the slow Chepauk decks. However, their bowlers have been good overall. Apart from Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult have fared pretty well too.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Having dismissed Hardik Pandya thrice in eleven balls, Mohammed Shami will be PBKS’ best bet against the MI allrounder in the death overs. Punjab will be keen on retaining M Ashwin early considering that Rohit Sharma hasn’t been at his best against legspin in the past and that Suryakumar Yadav has been dismissed twice in eight balls and he has been averaging just 4 against Ashwin.
Probable XI: KL Rahul (c/wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, M Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Mumbai will be wary of the two southpaws in the top four of the Punjab line-up, which means Krunal Pandya’s bowling can be the deciding factor between the two teams in the middle-overs. Rahul Chahar, although a legspinner, has bowled well to left-handers this season and might combine with Jayant Yadav for bulk of the middle overs.
Probable XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Fantasy Suggestion 1:
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Mayank Agarwal (c), Hardik Pandya, Fabien Allen, Krunal Pandya, Shahrukh Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar (vc), Arshdeep Singh
Fantasy Suggestion 2:
Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma (vc), Mayank Agarwal, Krunal Pandya, Fabian Allen, Trent Boult, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar
