Punjab Kings had played their first 3 games at the Wankhede in Mumbai. They registered a thrilling win over Rajasthan Royals in the opening encounter. PK posted a mammoth total (221) and scraped home by 4 runs in that game. But since then the Punjab franchise have flattered to deceive. They were completely outplayed by CSK in their second game. While they went on to lose against DC even though they were in a dominant position.

PK’s problems have been confounded with their captain KL Rahul’s conservative approach. They will be hoping for him to play his natural game and set the tempo. The Chennai pitch tested the PK team even more. PK could score a paltry 120 batting first against SRH. They went on to lose by 9 wickets. PK will be up against MI who are one of the form teams this season.

Mumbai Indians on the other hand have played all their games at the Chepauk, Chennai. They have slowly mastered the art of playing on these slow low wickets. MI ran RCB close in their opening game and then went on to defeat KKR and SRH. The defending champions have notched up 4 points without even playing their best cricket. This is a worrying sign for all the opposition. MI’s bowling attack has arguably been the best in these conditions. They went on to lose a close game against DC. MI will be hungry for a win against the underwhelming Punjab Kings.

PK vs MI: Favourites?

Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians are coming off losses heading into this game. PK lost to SRH in a low-scoring encounter while MI couldn’t fare any better against DC. PK have now lost 3 games on the trot and are looking vulnerable at the moment. They started the tournament with a win but went on to lose 3 games thereon. MI on the other hand have had a mixed campaign so far. They have won 2 and lost 2. The Chennai pitch has challenged the mighty Mumbai Indians. Both teams will be eager to get their campaigns back on track. MI possesses a stronger bowling unit as compared to PK and that might prove to be the difference between the two teams.

Which players will be match-winners in this game?

KL Rahul has scored 580 runs in 12 innings against MI at an average of 64.44 and a strike rate of 131.22.
Kieron Pollard has scored at a Strike Rate of 200+ in five of his last six innings against Punjab. He has 3 fifties in the last 6 innings against them.

X-factor player:

Murugan Ashwin might be persisted with considering Rohit Sharma’s struggle against wrist spin. He might be PK’s X-factor. He has dismissed Suryakumar Yadav twice in space of 8 deliveries.
Jayant Yadav and Rahul Chahar will be crucial to MI’s chances given Punjab’s spin susceptibility.

Probable Playing XI:

Punjab Kings predicted XI:

KL Rahul (WK), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, Moises Henriques, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh

Mumbai Indians predicted XI:

Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah

What do stats say about PK vs MI?

PK and MI have played 26 IPL games against each other.
PK has won 12 matches. MI has won 14 games.
PK’s highest score against MI is 230. MI’s highest score against PK is 223.
PK’s lowest score against MI is 119. MI’s lowest score against PK is 87.

Pitch:

The Chennai pitch has been a challenging one for all the batters. Teams have found it hard to score especially with the older ball. Teams batting first have won the majority of the games in Chennai this season. The last two games saw the reversal of this trend.

Weather Report:

A high of 33 degrees and a low of 27 degrees is expected. There are no chances of rain. Dew might play a big factor and teams will prefer to chase under such weather conditions.

Ground stats:

150 is the average score at this venue.

StumpsandBails verdict:

It is a battle between PK’s tenacity and MI’s strength. MI start favourites in this game but expect PK to bounce back.