PBKS, on the other hand, have had an up and down time. They have played four, winning two and losing as many. They suffered a heartbreak in their previous match against the Gujarat Titans (GT). Chasing 190, GT got home as Rahul Tewatia slammed the last two balls of the match for sixes. That game was, however, held on April 8 and Punjab would have got enough time to recover.
MI’s batting has been below par. Against RCB, they posted 151 thanks mainly to Suryakumar Yadav’s fifty. Rohit Sharma needs to find form while Ishan Kishan needs to find consistency. Kieron Pollard’s form is also a worry. In the bowling, the others somehow need to find a way to support Jasprit Bumrah.
MI Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Fabien Allen, Murugan Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Jasprit Bumrah, Basil Thampi
Punjab batters need to score runs. It has all been about Liam Livingstone in the last two matches. Skipper Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan need to lift their game. Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith have also not lived up to the finishers’ tag. Their bowling is doing well, but the fifth bowler is an issue, which cost them the game against GT.
PBKS Predicted XI: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh
Top fantasy picks for MI vs PBKS clash: Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Liam Livingstone, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar
--Renin Wilben Albert