The 46th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will be played between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali. PBKS is currently placed at the sixth position on the points table of this season of IPL whereas MI is currently placed at the 7th place on the points table. Punjab Kings played nine games in IPL 2023 where they won five matches while Mumbai Indians played eight games in this season where they managed just four victories.
Punjab Kings played their last match against Chennai Super Kings where they registered a close 40-wicket win. Prabhsimran Singh and Liam Livingstone smashed 42 runs and 40 runs respectively for Punjab Kings in that game. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians played their last match against Rajasthan Royals where they won the game by 6 wickets.
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Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav played match-winning knocks of 44 runs and 55 runs respectively for Mumbai Indians in that game. These two teams have played have played 30 games against each other in the history of IPL so far where both Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians won 15 matches each. The last time they played against each other in this season, Punjab Kings registered a close win by 13 runs over MI.
Here are three player battles to watch out for during PBKS vs MI match:
#1 Suryakumar Yadav vs Sam Curran
Mumbai Indians’ batter Suryakumar Yadav has witnessed a few good outings in the last couple of matches. If he gets his eye in, Yadav can be destructive, but he needs to spend time at the crease. Sam Curran, on the other hand, has been doing a pretty decent well for Punjab Kings, claiming 3/31 against Lucknow Super Giants and being economical against Royal Challengers Bangalore. If he comes up against Suryakumar, Curran will look to stop him.
#2 Tim David vs Arshdeep Singh
Mumbai Indians’ Tim David has played some impressive cameos for MI in IPL 2023. He is a great striker of the cricket ball and has proved his worth with his batting performances. David will be looking to make the most of the purple patch. Arshdeep Singh has done a decent job for Punjab Kings in the slog overs. He is now a reasonably experienced campaigner and knows how to ball in the slog overs. David will look to take him on, but Arshdeep will be confident of challenging him.
#3 Rohit Sharma vs Kagiso Rabada
Despite not scoring too many big runs in IPL 2023, MI skipper Rohit Sharma has looked in a decent touch every time he has walked out to bat, with a good amount of runs against the opposition. Punjab Kings should bring back Kagiso Rabada for the game against Mumbai Indians. The South African pacer has picked up three wickets in the first two matches he played and looked reasonably good, but he was left out for the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Nathan Ellis had a poor game, so Rabada could be back, and if he is, he will be up against Rohit.
