Mumbai Indians (MI) will play Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 23 of IPL 2022, on 13 April at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
The IPL table has an unfamiliar look to it right now, with the two most dominant teams in IPL history featuring at the bottom of the points table. Last night's win against Royal Challengers Bangalore helped Chennai Super Kings get off the mark in five attempts. Mumbai, however, languish at the bottom, having lost all four matches.
They went into the campaign with, apart from Jasprit Bumrah, a completely different bowling line-up to last season. It will be fair to say that the revamped attack has failed to gel so far.
The decision not to rely on the overseas talent at their disposal – only two foreigners were used in their most recent defeat against Bangalore – may need to be revisited at some stage if the losses continue.
PBKS have been a model of inconsistency so far in 2022. They began with a successful big run chase against RCB, lost to Kolkata Knight Riders, posting a below par score which they were unable for defend. They bounced back against Chennai, but, in the last match they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against the Gujarat Titans.
Despite being on top until the final over of the match, Odean Smith’s last two balls both went for six, and they slumped to a potentially damaging defeat.
Likely Teams:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Dewald Brevis, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen, M. Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Basil Thampi.
Punjab KIngs: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Varun Arora, Arshdeep Singh.
Fantasy Tips:
• Expect Suryakumar to play another important innings.
• Pick Livingstone. One of the standout performers with the bat for PBKS this season, he may be a good bet to get runs again.
• Bumrah has been out of sorts this season, but this can be the day he comes good.
Streaming
‘Match 23 between MI and PBKS will start at 19:30 on Wednesday, April 13th. You can watch the match on the Star Network and Hotstar.