TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsWhile Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) still remain in contention for a place in the playoffs, another hiccup or two could prove to be fatal for them. Both sides were unable to build any sort of momentum throughout the tournament. They have either had bankable players out of form or injuries have hampered their progress. As a result, they have not had their preferred combination in every game.
As we enter the business end of the tournament, Punjab and Mumbai will hope to iron out their flaws and brace themselves for what promises to be a challenging period. The good news for them is neither are in a position of despair, but they could be if they do not get their act together.
Both teams though go into this game high on confidence after successfully chasing down over 200 in their previous matches.
Which team will blink first though?
Things to watch out for
Surya coming to the party
Suryakumar Yadav came into the tournament under immense pressure after registering three back-to-back golden ducks in the One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia. With the way he started off IPL 2023 – 15 (16) vs RCB, 1 (2) vs CSK and 0 (1) vs DC – it seemed like he had not shaken his ODI performances off. However, in the next three matches, the batter slammed two fifties, striking at 195.
He has been among the prolific strikers in the middle-overs (SR 195), only behind Nicholas Pooran (209) among batters with at least 100 runs in the phase.
While he has a strike-rate of 212 against the pacers, he has to be wary against left-arm pacers, who have already dismissed him thrice this season. Bowling short or back of a length has been key to Surya has been the key to getting his wickets and knowing that, works well for PBKS who have quality options.
Batting first too has not been his cup of tea, given that he averages just 7.7 while doing so. Can he turn it around in this game?
The Curran conundrum
While Sam Curran has shown his prowess with the bat, especially in the last three games where he has struck at 175 and averaged 35, it is his bowling that is letting the team down.
While the pace attack led by Arshdeep Singh has been among the best in IPL 2023 – having picked up 34 wickets – Curran’s contribution to it has been the bare minimum. He has gone at over 10 an over five times in the tournament already. In fact, in his last three matches, he has conceded 11.5 an over vs CSK, 12.7 vs LSG and 13.7 vs MI, which has been demoralising for the side, to say the least.
With Kagiso Rabada still working his way back from injury, and Curran’s poor show with the ball this season (7 wickets at 43,4), a PBKS have depended heavily on Arshdeep, who is one of three players with 15 wickets this season. Punjab will hope that their overseas pacers come to the party against a Mumbai side, who have scored a boundary every 4.3 deliveries against the fast bowlers – the best in the league.
Ground details
The pacers will have a larger say at the PCA Stadium, Mohali, having picked up 36 wickets this season at 25.3 (SR 16.5), but have been a tad expensive (ER 9.2), compared to the spinners (8.4) The average first innings total this season here has been 194, and we could once again have a high-scoring match on the cards.
It is no longer a case of win toss-ball first-win match sort of tournament, especially at the PCA Stadium, Mohali. The teams have found that out the hard way. In Mohali this season, three out of the four times, the team that has batted first have won the match.
But the team that won the toss have always opted to bowl. That trend is slowly changing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, where batting first and putting runs on the board seems to be the way to go of late. Not to forget, lately, the away teams have had the edge.
Tactical nous
Coming up against Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar will be a challenge for Ishan Kishan. He averages just 10 against orthodox spinners (SR 77) and 17 against leg-spinners (SR 136) in IPL 2023. Introducing at least one of them to Kishan in the early stages could pay off given that he is going into the game low on confidence, having scored just 42 runs at 14 (SR 88) in his last three innings.
Kishan’s opening partner Rohit Sharma too could be in some trouble early on given that he has lost his wicket four times to Kagiso Rabada, averaging just 22.3 against the pacer, which is the worst against bowlers who have bowled at least 50 balls to him.
Jitesh Sharma has hit plenty of sixes this season, but a majority of them have come in the V down the ground. The reason for that could be the fact that the bowlers have bowled a little too full to him – most likely a case of yorkers gone wrong. Bowling back of a length could force him to go square of the wicket, which is on the longer side in Mohali.
Team combination
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians played with a very thin batting line-up in their last game against Rajasthan Royals, yet chased down 213 in the last over. MI have the best middle-order (4-6) in the tournament, having scored 610 runs at a strike-rate of 166, and hence may take the gamble of playing with the same combination. However, depending on which way the toss goes, they have the option of getting in another big hitter in Nehal Wadhera.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Jofra Archer, Piyush Chawla, Kumar Kartikeya, Riley Meredith, Arshad Khan
Punjab Kings
PBKS pulled off a heist against Chennai in their last game, winning the match off the last ball and seem to be a balanced, settled unit at the moment.
Probable XI: Atharva Taide, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Liam Livingstone, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
