June 1, PBKS vs MI Highlights: Punjab Kings will be eyeing a comeback after leaving behind the disappointment of defeat in the Qualifier-1 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). On the other hand, the Mumbai Indians team, which defeated title favourites Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator, will enter Qualifier-2 with increased morale. The teams of Punjab and Mumbai are one step away from reaching the final.
Punjab has got a second chance to reach the final due to being on top in the group stage. This is like a semi-final match for both Punjab and Mumbai. Even though Mumbai performed well in every department in the Eliminator match against Gujarat Titans, they will have to defeat Punjab to reach the title match. On the other hand, defeating Mumbai will be a tough challenge for Punjab as well
Punjab will have to make a comeback
Punjab’s confidence may have diminished after the crushing defeat against RCB, but if Punjab Kings want to become champions for the first time, then they will have to give their best performance in this match. Compared to RCB and Punjab Kings, the Mumbai Indians team has more experience of winning in the knockout stage. The challenge before its head coach Mahela Jayawardene will be to keep his team organized. However, the former Sri Lankan captain has played this role well so far. He has played an important role in taking Mumbai Indians, who were at the bottom last season, to the playoffs.
The challenge for the duo of captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting in Punjab Kings will be to ensure that their players forget the crushing defeat in the last match and put their energy into fighting the challenges that have come up, especially in the bowling department due to the exclusion of some players. This is creating additional pressure on its main fast bowler Arshdeep Singh. At the same time, Punjab’s batting was very poor in the last match and the team was all out for 101 runs. Punjab will have to improve its batting against Mumbai.
Chahal’s availability depends on fitness
The absence of Marco Jansen and the unavailability of Yuzvendra Chahal, who took the highest number of wickets in the IPL, have become a problem for the team as the options he tried in place of these players could not perform as expected. If Chahal is fully fit, he is sure to play in this match, but a decision on his availability will be taken before the match. Rohit’s return to form is a relief for Mumbai As far as Mumbai Indians are concerned, experienced batsman Rohit Sharma took advantage of the two lives he got in the beginning and played a big innings against Gujarat Titans.
Rohit is back in form again and it will not be easy for Punjab Kings bowlers to curb him. If seen overall, there is no shortcoming in the Mumbai Indians team as it has performed well in every department of the game. To reach the final, his team will largely depend on Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma and captain Hardik Pandya.
PBKS vs MI: The probable playing-11 of both the teams for this match is as follows…
Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Kyle Jamieson, Arshdeep Singh.
Mumbai Indians: Johnny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya (captain), Naman Dheer, Mitchell Santner, Raj Bawa, Trent Boult, Jaspreet Bumrah, Richard Gleeson.
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