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With four straight losses and no points on the board, Mumbai Indians (MI) will be desperate to reverse the trend when they face Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Wednesday (April 13). The five-time champions have equalled the record for their worst start in the IPL, after losing their first four matches during the 2015 season as well.
However, MI went on the win the trophy that season, giving their fans hope of a comeback this time around. Currently ninth on the points table, skipper Rohit Sharma, himself yet to shine, will be eager to turn the tables.
Their biggest concern is in the bowling department, with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Murugan Ashwin and Daniel Sams failing in create an impact. In their third match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Bumrah went for 12 runs, before Australian all-rounder Pat Cummins smashed 35 runs of Sams' bowling to gift KKR the win.
Rohit has not been his usual dominant self for his team. He will have to lead from the front. Youngsters Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma have been their only influential batters, with Kishan currently fourth on the Purple Cap standings. The 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has 175 runs to his name this season, with two half-centuries as well.
Highly-rated South African Dewald Brewis, known for his ranges of shots, is yet to play a meaningful innings. The same goes for Kieron Pollard and especially Tim David, with the MI management paying Rs 8.25 crores for the Singaporean's services at the IPL 2022 mega auction. "We want batters to bat deep. And if you get runs on the board, there's something for the bowlers to do," Rohit was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, PBKS are lying seventh in the standings. They come into this fixture on the back of a six-wicket defeat to Gujarat Titans (GT).
Their pace attack led by Kagiso Rabada will surely hope to cause the MI batters a lot of trouble. He will be aided by pacers Arshdeep Singh and Vaibhav Arora, making the prospect of a win against the out-of-form MI batters like Pollard, Rohit and David or Brevis more plausible. Former MI spinner Rahul Chahar has also been in good form, scalping seven wickets in four games. He will hope to be a thorn in his previous employer's plans for a revival.
MI are up against a team with power-hitters like Liam Livingstone and Shahrukh Khan. Livingstone has been especially strong, and keeping the Englishman quiet will be a top priority for the Mumbai bowlers.
Having been unable to close out their match against GT from a winning position, skipper Mayank Agarwal will need to ensure that his players keep their cool. A win will be imperative for the team if they need to continue their push for a place in the top four.
Mumbai Indians squad:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Ramandeep Singh, SuryakumarYadav, Tilak Verma, Tim David, Arjun Tendulkar, Basil Thampi, Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Tymal Mills, Arshad Khan, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Fabian Allen, Kieron Pollard, Sanjay Yadav, Aryan Juyal and Ishan Kishan.
Punjab Kings squad:
Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.
