IPL 2021 | Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings - BONS preview, head to head, where to watch, and betting tips

09/28/2021

Mumbai Indians (MI) will play against Punjab Kings in match 42 of IPL 2021 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, September 28. In their last fixtures, MI went down to the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 54 runs, while Punjab Kings secured a five-run victory against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

BONS Preview

Mumbai Indians (MI) will play against Punjab Kings (PBKS) aiming to get into the top-four on the points table, with both teams locked at eight points each from 10 games currently. The Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals are way ahead of the others, and with Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Rajasthan Royals closely stacked in the race, the Tuesday fixture becomes all the more significant.

MI suffered a 54-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their last game. Chasing 166, the Rohit Sharma-led side once again failed to capitalize on their start, after the skipper and Quinton de Kock had notched up a 57-run partnership. Each of the remaining batsmen were dismissed for single-digit scores, as the defending champions were bundled out for 111.

The poor form of the batting unit has been the biggest concern for the Mumbai-based franchise in IPL 2021. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult have continued their brilliance both at the start and at death, with Adam Milne too, delivering crucial breakthroughs.

A disciplined bowling performance helped Punjab Kings secure a 5-run win in a low-scoring thriller against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sharjah. PBKS scored 125 from their 20 overs, Aiden Markram being the highest run-scorer with a patient knock of 27 runs before Ravi Bishnoi’s 3/24 helped them restrict SRH to 120.

On the batting front, PBKS have often lacked in the middle-order due to the inconsistency, and that puts an added responsibility on the shoulders of skipper KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Chris Gayle.

Form Guide

Mumbai Indians - L, L, L, W, W

Three defeats from the last three games depict that the form of the defending champions has slumped. Their batting has been the biggest disappointment, with no notable contributions from the middle and lower order. MI will rely on the experienced Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, and Hardik Pandya towards the business end of the tournament.

Punjab Kings - W, L, L, W L

Punjab bounced back with a resounding bowling performance against SRH, following their heartbreaking loss to the Rajasthan Royals, wherein they’d failed to score four runs off the last over. Rahul will demand more consistency from his men if Punjab Kings are to make it to the play-offs for the first time since 2014.

Head to head

Mumbai Indians and Punjab kings have played 27 matches against each other. The matchup is quite close with MI winning on 14 occasions while PBKS were the winners in the other 13 matches. The average score for MI is 162, while it is 165 for PBKS.

Kieron Pollard has 514 runs under his belt against Punjab while KL Rahul has scored 443 runs versus Mumbai. Jasprit Bumrah has 17 wickets against PBKS while Mohammad Shami has 10 wickets against MI.

BONS Mumbai Indians Predicted XI

Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult

BONS Punjab Kings Predicted XI

KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh

BONS Match Prediction

Both the teams are struggling in the batting department, and thus the bowling might well determine the result of the match. Bumrah, Boult, and Milne make a strong pace attack while Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar contribute with the spin. With MI's bowling lineup looking more settled and experienced, they are the favourites to win the contest.

Pitch Report

Since the start of the second leg, all the matches on this surface have been won by the chasing team so far. There is assistance for pacers on this surface in the initial overs, but batting gets relatively easier in the second innings. The team winning the toss should opt to bowl first and exploit the conditions to restrict the opposition for a low total.

Match info

Match - Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings, IPL 2021 Match 42

Date - 28 September 2021

Time - 7:30 PM IST

Venue - Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Where to watch - Star Sports Network and Hotstar will telecast all the IPL 2021 matches