Oh, our King, our glorious King. The king of Indian cricket reminded everyone exactly why he holds that crown, as Virat Kohli smashed yet another IPL century and also crossed the incredible milestone of 14,000 T20 runs.
Kohli, once again the man of the moment, completely dominated the KKR bowling attack and, in the process, may have almost ended Kolkata’s playoff hopes. While KKR still have a mathematical chance of qualifying, it now looks extremely unlikely.
As for RCB, they have climbed back to the top of the table, and Bengaluru fans finally have every reason to celebrate. Their superstar has delivered on the big stage once again, and the dream of a special season suddenly feels more alive than ever.
Onto tonight’s clash, and it is pretty much a must-win game for Punjab Kings as they take on Mumbai Indians in Dharamshala. MI have absolutely nothing to lose at this stage, but PBKS have plenty at stake. Punjab have already lost four matches in a row, and they will be desperate to finally turn things around against a struggling Mumbai side.
However, teams with nothing to lose are often the most dangerous opponents. That is exactly what makes this contest so interesting. Punjab will be carrying the pressure of expectations, while Mumbai can play with complete freedom.
All signs point towards this being a very entertaining encounter. Let’s get this preview started.
Expected Playing 11:
PBKS:
- Priyansh Arya
- Prabhsimran Singh (WK)
- Cooper Connolly
- Shreyas Iyer (C)
- Marcus Stoinis
- Suryansh Shedge
- Shashank Singh
- Marco Jansen
- Ben Dwarshuis
- Arshdeep Singh
- Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact Player- Yash Thakur
MI:
- Ryan Rickelton (WK)
- Rohit Sharma (C)
- Naman Dhir
- Tilak Verma
- Will Jacks
- Raj Bawa
- Robin Minz
- Corbin Bosch
- Deepak Chahar
- AM Ghazanfar
- Jasprit Bumrah
Impact Player- Krish Bhagat
Before you ask, yes — there is a genuine possibility that “Mumbai Cha Raja,” the Hitman Rohit Sharma, could lead Mumbai Indians against PBKS tomorrow.
Hardik Pandya has not travelled with the squad to Dharamshala, while Suryakumar Yadav returned to Mumbai due to personal reasons. Although SKY is expected to return soon, there is still a possibility that he may miss the game. If that happens, Rohit Sharma could once again captain the franchise he famously led to five IPL titles.
There is also a chance that Jasprit Bumrah could be handed the leadership role, which makes the captaincy situation for Mumbai even more interesting heading into this clash.
Head to Head:
| Matches- | 35 |
| PBKS Won- | 18 |
| MI Won- | 17 |
| No Result- | 0 |
Pitch and Weather Conditions:
In the previous match in Dharamshala between PBKS and DC on Monday, all 39 overs were bowled by fast bowlers. Axar Patel for DC and Yuzvendra Chahal for PBKS did not bowl at all. Though there was significant seam movement all through the game, there was also significant dew during the second innings. There was also some rain on the eve of the match.
-ESPN CricInfo
Prediction:
Well, as we mentioned earlier, a team with nothing to lose is often far more dangerous than a team carrying the pressure of expectations. However, Mumbai Indians simply have not looked threatening this season. This is not the same MI side we saw last year. A lot has changed, and they have struggled to build any sort of consistency or momentum throughout the tournament.
For Punjab Kings, this feels like the perfect opportunity to regain confidence and build momentum before heading into the final two matches of the league stage. With the playoff race tightening up, PBKS cannot afford another slip-up.
That is why we are backing Punjab Kings to defeat Mumbai Indians tonight.
If you want to see Rohit Sharma play in India’s most beautiful cricket ground, than tune into JioHotstar at 7:30 PM IST.
Until next time!
Thank you.
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