Punjab Kings (PBKS) will look to bounce back from defeat and wade through a short turnaround when it takes on the Mumbai Indians (MI) here on Monday.
A reverse at the hands of the Delhi Capitals (DC) at their third ‘home’ venue on Saturday meant the Kings are yet to seal a spot in the top two of the standings.
Despite posting a formidable 206 for eight in its batting essay, the Shreyas Iyer-led side faltered in its bowling execution, conceding the game in the final over.
“We were a bit inconsistent in the middle overs. That’s something we need to go back to the drawing board and address,” said PBKS spin-bowling coach Sunil Joshi after the defeat.
Chahal return likely
Against MI, the bowling attack could be bolstered by the return of Yuzvendra Chahal, who was rested for the previous game due to a small niggle.
MI too remains in contention for a spot in Qualifier 1, and will need to win its final league game and hope Royal Challengers Bengaluru falters away at Lucknow Super Giants. The side enters the contest on the back of a 59-run thumping of DC at home, which secured its place in the Playoffs.
India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has been at the forefront for the side, amassing 583 runs at a strike rate of 170.46. PBKS will hope to become the first team to dismiss the Mumbai batter before he crosses 20 this season.
MI’s PowerPlay threat
MI has picked the most PowerPlay wickets among any team this edition (22), with Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar accounting for eight each. Punjab’s uncapped opening duo of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh will have their task cut out in providing a blistering start during the first phase.
The surface is expected to be conducive for batting, evidenced by the team batting first crossing the 200-run mark in each of the last four encounters here. With both teams already defending a target at this ground, they might be tempted to make full use of scoreboard pressure during this crunch contest.